NFL Draft: The Seahawks Select Guard Germain Ifedi in the First Round
By Ben Renner
Finally, after much speculation and guessing by NFL Draft experts, we know what the Seahawks did with their 26th pick.
The Seahawks traded their 26th pick to the Denver Broncos for the 31st pick and a third round pick. The Broncos chose yet another quarterback, Paxton Lynch.
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The Seahawks have built their team on selecting cheap talent in the NFL Draft in recent years. John Schneider and Pete Carroll assembled a long list of possible draft targets they liked for various reasons. Today, we finally know how the Seahawks spent their first round pick, now the 31st in this year’s NFL Draft. They have found diamonds in the later rounds in strong safety Kam Chancellor (fifth round), quarterback Russell Wilson (third round), cornerback Richard Sherman (fifth round), and presumptive starting running back Thomas Rawls (undrafted) after day one of the NFL Draft.
So what did they do with their first round pick this year?
The Seahawks selected guard Germain Ifedi out of Texas A&M. Ifedi will like be expected to play to his full athletic ability in 2016. His build–6’6″ 324lbs–offers considerable promise. However, Ifedi is considered a raw talent by some, including an anonymous NFC area scout who said: “I think he should have gone back (to school). I like the talent, but he didn’t put it together like I needed to see to give him a first two-round grade. I see him as a guard and not a tackle.”
It could be because the recent run of success for the Seahawks has routinely dropped their first round picks to late on day one every year, but Schneider and company have seemed ready and willing to trade down and assemble more picks, a strategy that some of the most consistent teams in recent years have employed. Only time will tell if their moves today during NFL Draft 2016 will pay off this coming season and beyond.
Next: Ranking the Eight Seahawks Coaches
Share your initial thoughts on the Seahawks’ first round moves in this year’s NFL Draft below. ECS will have more analysis for the 2016 Draft Class for you in the coming days.