Seahawks Offseason: John Schneider is Clearly a Seattle Mike Fan
Now that Shedeur Sanders has finally been drafted, we can remember there were other players in this draft! I think…Like that one guy. And that other guy. Maybe I was even in the draft—I don't know, it was a long night.
In all seriousness:
They call me Seattle Mike because my name is Mike... and I'm from Seattle. I write about sports across the country, but Seattle has my heart. And my lease—so I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.
Which brings me to the Seahawks.
They've been active this draft and this offseason—and honestly?
John Schneider is doing everything I’ve been calling for on YouTube, Reddit, and random bars with strangers wearing Seahawks hats.
Clearly, John Schneider is a Seattle Mike fan. And for the record, I’m a John Schneider fan! Even if he does kind of look like Andy Serkis.
Here’s what I was calling for before the draft:
Cut or trade Geno Smith
Sign Sam Darnold or trade for JJ McCarthy (Whichever the Vikings didn’t want)
Trade DK Metcalf (I know he’s great—but too many personal fouls)
Cut Tyler Lockett (Hate it. Love Tyler. But it was time.)
And you know what?
John called me up and said: "I got you, fam." And did every single one of those things!
Then he went ahead and reminded me why he's a general manager, and I'm a random blog writer and irrelevant YouTuber.
John’s offseason masterclass included:
Signing Cooper Kupp — Great move.
Signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling — Good depth.
And—according to ESPN—signing Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh to play for the Seahawks.
(Context: ESPN accidentally added Cal Raleigh’s new contract to the Seahawks transactions page, instead of the Mariners)
(And yes, it’s even funnier when I explain the joke.)
Then we get to this draft.
John asked me one more time: "Mike, what should we do in Round One?"
And I said: "Thank you for seeking my counsel, John. You’re wise. Go offensive line. Protect Sam. Build cheap, build tough."
John said: "Mike, you’re a genius. I wish I was more like you." (Or maybe that part happened in my head. Whatever.)
Round One: The Seahawks drafted Guard Grey Zabel, who immediately won me over with one of the greatest draft night quotes ever:
"I’m probably going to start diving into these Busch Lights!" before adding "We have the 12-hour rule. We get to celebrate it for 12 hours, then we get back to work."
This is exactly the kind of lineman the Seahawks needed.
Attitude – perfect! Mindset – perfect! Beer choice – Eh, not my choice. But at least it’s not White Claw.
So far, the Seahawks’ draft haul includes:
Nick Emmanwori (Safety)
Elijah Arroyo (Tight End)
Robbie Ouzts (Tight End)
Jalen Milroe (Quarterback)
Rylie Mills (Defensive Tackle)
Tory Horton (Wide Receiver)
And they still have four picks left at the time I’m writing this.
Oh—and they traded backup QB Sam Howell to the Vikings.
Big picture:
The Seahawks are absolutely crushing this offseason.
They currently have the 8th most cap space ($34.8 million, per Over the Cap), and they’re setting themselves up to have the 5th most next offseason, with a solid, young, affordable roster already in place.
Reminiscent of the past:
The last time John Schneider did exactly what I wanted at quarterback was 2012.
The Seahawks signed Matt Flynn after he set the Packers' single-game passing record in a meaningless Week 17 game. Then... they drafted Russell Wilson in the third round.
Wilson went on to:
Win a Super Bowl
Appear in a second (Lost it. But Pete Carroll and Darrell Bevell deserve some of that blame too)
Appear in 10 Pro Bowls
And tear the Denver Broncos apart from the inside out!
Moral of the story:
You never know when a mid or late-round quarterback can pop.
Tom Brady was pick #199.
Brock Purdy was literally the last pick of the draft.
Russell Wilson was third round.
You don’t always have to tank for Caleb Williams to find your guy. To be fair, the jury’s still out on Caleb.
Bottom line:
John Schneider is playing chess while the rest of the NFC West is playing Connect Four with missing pieces.
And if the Seahawks keep drafting like this: Look out, NFC West! Seattle might just be all the way back.