Previewing the Seahawks’ 2017 Draft Order

The 2017 NFL Draft is less than 10 months away, people!  Let’s take a look at the moves that already affected the 2017 Draft for the Seahawks.

As the NFL calendar grinds to a halt with only tales of head-scratching financial woe and a litany of Dallas Cowboy player suspensions keeping things remotely interesting, it’s as good a time as any to review where the Seahawks stand as it pertains to next year’s draft choices while anxiously waiting for training camp to get here.

You may remember the Seahawks trading wide receiver and former fourth round pick Kevin Norwood to the Carolina Panthers on August 31 of last year. Compensation for the unaccomplished pass catcher was one ladder rung higher than a box of chin straps- a conditional seventh round selection in the 2017 draft.

The condition was Norwood had to make the Panthers’ roster in 2015, and he managed to do that. So, the variable was met and Seattle now owns Carolina’s pick in the draft’s final round next April.

In addition, the Seahawks will qualify for draft pick compensation based on the net loss of free agents that signed elsewhere this spring.

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While the Seahawks did sign two unrestricted free agents from other organizations (Bradley Sowell and J’Marcus Webb), they lost four of their own qualifiers in the compensatory process: Bruce Irvin (OAK), JR Sweezy (TB), Brandon Mebane (SD) and Russell Okung (DEN).

After the two new Seahawks cancel out the losses of Mebane and Okung, this results in Seattle likely being awarded two compensatory picks in the 2017 draft, though we’ll have to wait until next March to get official notification from the league on this.

The two players for which Seattle will be afforded extra selections are Irvin and Sweezy. According to overthecap.com, Irvin’s $9M APY contract will yield a late fourth round compensatory selection and Sweezy’s $6.5M APY deal will result in a late fifth rounder coming Seattle’s way.

Finally, a trade made during the third day of the 2016 draft affects next year’s pool of picks. The Seahawks traded their seventh round pick–# 225 and next year’s native fourth rounder to the Patriots in exchange for New England’s fifth round pick–# 147 and seventh round–# 243.

Seattle used pick # 147 to grab defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson and the later seventh round selection on wide receiver Kenny Lawler.

As of now, these are all of the transactions made that affect the organization’s 2017 picks. An overview of the Seahawks 2017 draft selections currently looks like this:

ROUND 1- Owns their native pick, slot to be determined

ROUND 2- Owns their native pick, slot to be determined

ROUND 3- Owns their native pick, slot to be determined

ROUND 4- Native pick traded to New England

ROUND 4- Expected to receive compensatory selection for loss of Bruce Irvin

ROUND 5- Owns their native pick, slot to be determined

ROUND 5- Expected to receive compensatory selection for loss of JR Sweezy

ROUND 6- Owns their native pick, slot to be determined

ROUND 7- Owns their native pick, slot to be determined

ROUND 7- Owns Carolina’s native pick, slot to be determined

The Seahawks, should they choose not to make any more moves that affect their 2017 draft selections, will likely have nine total picks–six of them on day three of the process.

Just as John Schneider likes it.