National Football League

Seahawks' draft plan: How to replace Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner

Updated Apr. 28, 2022 2:50 p.m. ET

By Rob Rang
FOX Sports NFL Analyst

After jettisoning two of the most iconic players in team history Tuesday, the Seattle Seahawks now face as daunting a rebuild as any team in the NFL.

The draft picks and salary-cap space afforded to Seattle by moving on from Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, however, do provide general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll greater flexibility than the duo has enjoyed since the 2012 draft — a historic class that brought those two future stars to Seattle a decade ago.

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With Carroll the league’s oldest head coach, investing a premium pick in a quarterback to replace Wilson would appear to be more of a rebuild than he might prefer. As such, expect Seattle to consider all veteran options at the position, including a potential trade for Deshaun Watson.

The purpose of this series, however, is to identify how the Seahawks (and, in the coming weeks, other teams with the picks to be "big fish" in the 2022 NFL Draft) can best use their current draft capital to restock their roster and win in April.

Following the pick-by-pick plan outlined below would help Seattle do precisely that and, more importantly, put the team in position to keep winning in the fall.

First round, No. 9 overall (from Denver Broncos): Jermaine Johnson II, Edge, Florida State

Trading into the top 10 might provide Schneider the opportunity to take his pick of the quarterback group. As you’ve likely read and heard by now, however, the 2022 draft features a below-average crop of quarterbacks.

Reaching on an unpolished talent such as Liberty’s Malik Willis would run counter to the best-player-available approach the Seahawks have consistently taken over the past decade. A much likelier scenario has Seattle taking advantage of a rich edge rusher class and seeking immediate impact with the most important commodity gained from trading Wilson.

Winning with speed, power and technique, Johnson was the best player on the field throughout Senior Bowl week. Pairing him with 2020 second-round pick Darrell Taylor, an ascending star, would give the Seahawks the fierce pass rush Carroll and newly promoted defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt have each identified as a prime goal of the offseason.

Second round, No. 40 overall (from Broncos): Channing Tindall, LB, Georgia

Seattle (and others) might have had flashbacks to Wagner after watching Tindall’s workout at the combine. The future Hall of Famer was unable to work out at the 2012 combine due to a bout of pneumonia. However, he put up eye-popping numbers at his Utah State pro day, clocking a 4.45-second 40-yard dash and demonstrating his explosiveness with a 39.5-inch vertical and 11-foot broad jump — numbers typically associated with receivers or defensive backs.

Tindall posted eerily similar numbers last week in Indianapolis (4.47 seconds in the 40, 42-inch vertical, 10-foot-9 broad), and just as Wagner was out of Utah State, he is being criminally underrated by many due to all the talent at Georgia.

The Seahawks prepared for the eventual loss of Wagner by investing a first-round pick in Jordyn Brooks two years ago, and he broke the franchise single-season record for tackles in his second year, racking up a staggering 184 stops to rank second in the entire league.

Seattle already has an in-house candidate in the steady Cody Barton to consider promoting but should take advantage of this year’s underrated off-ball linebacker crop to upgrade the position and, again, receive immediate impact with the selections gained from Denver.

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Second round, No. 41 overall: Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati

A decade ago, Schneider and Carroll turned the Seahawks into an NFL powerhouse by drafting edge rusher Bruce Irvin, Wagner and Wilson with their first three selections of the 2012 draft. Given how often Wilson (and his fans) clamored for Carroll to "Let Russ Cook," it would be more than a little ironic if the Seahawks used that same recipe in 2022.

To be clear, Ridder is not the same caliber of precision passer as Wilson. Frankly, no one in this draft class is — which is why if Seattle hopes to realistically compete for an NFC West title in 2022, it needs Drew Lock (or Jacob Eason) to take a massive leap in accuracy and decision-making or to add another veteran to the roster.

Where Ridder is comparable to Wilson, however, is that he is a legitimate dual-threat weapon whose durability and dependability for the Bearcats were complemented by uncommon leadership skills. Succeeding in the NFL at quarterback is about more than being a talented passer. Ridder has the intangibles to become a franchise signal-caller and is a team player who won’t clash with Carroll’s preference for a run-heavy offense.

Third round, No. 72 overall: Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State

The Seahawks have expressed interest in retaining veteran left tackle Duane Brown, but if they are committing to a refresh of the roster, spending an early pick on the offensive line’s most important position could be in order.

In fact, selecting a tackle earlier than this is very much a possibility, including at No. 9 overall, should Alabama's Evan Neal or NC State's Ikem Ekwonu surprisingly still be available or should the team opt to invest a rare early pick on a small-school prospect such as Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning, the top senior left tackle in this class.

But the 6-foot-6, 313-pound Walker has the girth and athleticism to fit in new offensive line coach Andy Dickerson’s scheme. He’s relatively pro-ready for an underclassman, given all the talent he faced in the Big Ten and in practice at Happy Valley. Even if Brown is retained, Seattle might consider using an early pick to push second-year right tackle Jake Curhan, an undrafted free agent from Cal a year ago.

Nebraska's Cam Taylor-Britt is the type of physical cornerback Pete Carroll loves. (Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Fourth round, No. 107 overall: Cam Taylor-Britt, CB, Nebraska

With starting cornerbacks DJ Reed and Sidney Jones each pending free agents, the Seahawks might opt to invest an even earlier pick at cornerback. However, the talent and depth at this position in the 2022 draft is excellent — as is Seattle’s track record of turning lower-round picks into starters since Carroll took over as coach.

Taylor-Britt lacks the 32-inch arms Seattle has famously prioritized throughout much of Carroll’s tenure, but the former safety plays with the physicality and tenacity against the pass and run alike that are even more important in the Seahawks' evaluation of the position.

Fifth round, No. 151 overall: Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida

Given how much Carroll prioritizes the running game, perhaps it isn’t surprising how often Seattle selects running backs. Taking last year’s three-man draft class out of the equation, the Seahawks had selected at least one running back five consecutive years — and chose three of them in 2016.

The club invested its first-round pick in Rashaad Penny in 2018. In a dominant five-game stretch, in which he scampered for an NFL-best 671 yards to end the previous season, Penny finally showed off the form to justify that pick. With him now a pending free agent, Seattle must determine if Penny is real money or fool’s gold.

The decision is even more important given that previous bell-cow back Chris Carson has a neck injury that could end his career. Pierce does not have Penny’s breakaway speed, but he is a bullish runner between the tackles and comes with plenty of tread left on his tires after operating as part of a committee at Florida.

Fifth round, No. 152 overall (from Broncos): Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor

The Seahawks currently boast two of the NFL’s better deep threats in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and Seattle’s eagerness to attack deep off play-action won’t disappear with Wilson heading to Denver.

Lock, in fact, has a similarly strong arm, with quite a bit of his success in the SEC having come off aggressive downfield shots. Thornton blistered the track at the combine with an electronically timed 4.28-second 40-yard dash. He is not as polished a receiver as he is explosive, however, which is why he is expected to be available on day three.

Seventh round, No. 227 overall: Luke Wattenberg, C, Washington

One could make the argument that center is Seattle’s biggest area of concern. That's why the Seahawks could choose to invest an early (perhaps very early) pick to fortify the position, especially with Aaron Donald expected to return next year for the Super Bowl champion Rams.

The Seahawks could recognize that this year’s center class has some intriguing late-round candidates, including a local product in Wattenberg who has demonstrated versatility in playing up and down the line of scrimmage for the Huskies. He stood out during both the practices and game at the East-West Shrine Bowl.

One of the most recognized names in the industry, Rob Rang has been covering the NFL Draft for more than 20 years, with work at FOX, Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Yahoo, NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com, among others.