The Seahawks were supposed to be in love with Desmond Ridder heading into the 2022 NFL draft. However, they had four chances to pick him and decided not to every time.
Seattle also passed on all the other quarterbacks in this class. We have since learned that the team thought the consensus top QB prospect Malik Willis was “nowhere near” NFL-ready.
The only other QB in this group that they were supposedly interested in was North Carolina’s Sam Howell, who wound up getting drafted by Washington on Day 3. Apparently there was legitimate support for Howell in the building, just not enough to draft him, per ESPN.
“Sam Howell had a lot of support in Seattle’s building as a developmental quarterback to take on Day 2 or 3. But even as Howell slipped to the fifth round, the Seahawks stayed away from QB, addressing several other needs instead. Why? Coming off last year’s draft that included just three picks due to multiple trades, Seattle wanted to reestablish roster strength with its nine selections this year. And since a middle- to late-round QB would probably be the backup to Geno Smith or Drew Lock, why not maximize the talent elsewhere.”
This makes sense, but only because the Seahawks put themselves into a bad situation through two poorly conceived trades.
First, sending two first-rounders to the Jets for Jamal Adams has predictably aged like milk and did serious damage to their draft capital. Then, the Seahawks sent Russell Wilson away, recouping some of those picks but in the process opening up a massive hole at the most important position in the game.
Their new approach to the draft this year was a promising turn. However, there’s still a very real chance that the combined weight of the Adams and Wilson trades will sink this ship.
