Even though the Seahawks had the benefit of a great quarterback over the last 10 years, the organization never really caught on to how important passing is in the modern NFL.
If you need evidence that the front office just doesn’t understand how to build a roster for today’s game, look no further than these numbers from Nick Korte from Over the Cap. They show Seattle has used the lowest percentage of their first-round picks on premium positions since 2011.
Teams w/the highest % of 1st rounders used on QB/WR/EDGE/LT/CB/IDL, 2011-21:
1. HOU, 100%
T-2. DEN/PHI/BUF, 90%
5. KC, 85.7%
6. JAX, 83.3%
7. GB, 81.8%
T-8. NE/WAS/MIN, 80%Teams w/the lowest %:
32. SEA, 33.3%
31. DET, 36.4%
30. NO, 45.5%
T-28. DAL/TB, 50%
27. NYG, 53.8% https://t.co/7k95Fc2vZ6— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) April 26, 2022
The Lions are never the kind of company you want to keep and the next team up – the Saints – already had a franchise QB (Drew Brees), a superstar EDGE (Cameron Jordan) and a stellar left tackle (Terron Armstead) for most of that stretch and they’re still over 12% higher.
In addition to wasting multiple first-round selections on running backs and inside linebackers, the Seahawks have traded one first-rounder for a tight end (Jimmy Graham) and two more for a strong safety (Jamal Adams).
The point is this organization has mad a bad habit of misusing the most precious resource in the league and they only managed to stay competitive because they had a transcendent talent at quarterback who they just traded away.
The good news is they got two first-round picks in the bargain. Then again, the latest reporting suggests they’ll use a top-10 pick on a nose tackle, so odds are things will get worse around these parts before they get better.