The 2022 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, and thanks to one of the most significant trades in franchise history, the Seahawks have a lot of draft capital they can use to improve the roster, including the No. 9 overall pick as well as two picks early in the second round.
The Seahawks very well could move back as they so often have done with first-round picks under John Schneider and Pete Carroll, but if they do pick at No. 9, it will be their highest pick since they selected Russell Okung with the No. 6 pick in 2010, Schneider and Carroll’s first draft together.
With that in mind, it’s time to take one last look at what some of the draft experts think the Seahawks might do with that No. 9 pick:
*King has the Seahawks taking Thibodeaux with pick No. 13 after trading back, sending No. 9 to Houston for 13 and a third-round pick (No 68 overall).
King: “Perfect Pete Carroll pick. Thibodeaux’s an LA kid, he’ll be supremely ticked off at not being the first edge off the board and falling this far, and Carroll knows how to feed into the mental game that fuels players. That, plus Thibodeaux would be the kind of top talent that the Seahawks never get to pick in the draft because they’re always picking at the bottom of the round, or later. Thibodeaux, if he works out, would be a good pick for a team devoid of a top-end pass-rusher, in a division with some serious passing games.
“I’d like this pick, in this spot, for Seattle. I’m not alone. ‘Thibodeaux at 13 would be a coup for Seattle,’ one GM told me Sunday when I apprised him of my diabolical plan to send the Oregon edge down the draft board.”
Sam Farmer from the LA Times conducts an annual live mock draft in which a local beat reporter makes the pick for the team he/she/they cover. Bob Condotta from the Seattle Times made the Seahawks pick.
Condotta: “The Seahawks would love it if one of the top three offensive tackles fell to them. But if not, then they’ll address their pass rush, which has been persistently inconsistent the last…