The Seattle Seahawks can add much-needed draft capital in the 2026 NFL Draft and ruin an expected plan of one of their biggest rivals with one single move, and it could be brilliant.
The Seattle Seahawks don’t have a large war chest of picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. The team only owns four picks in the class, but three of them come in the top 100. It seems like a near lock that Seattle will trade back at some point in this draft.They would get the best return if that trade back comes at pick 32. The icing on top would be the chance to ruin one of their NFC West rivals’ projected ideal draft plan.
The Seahawks’ first selection in this week’s draft is the final first-round pick at 32. So if they opted to trade back, it would mean they would be moving out of round one altogether. This may annoy some fans, but I honestly think it would be a very smart idea for Seattle to consider. It also wouldn’t be a new concept. The 32nd pick has been traded twice since 2020 and four times since 2015. The most recent came in 2024, when the Carolina Panthers traded up with the Buffalo Bills to take Xavier Legette. The instance that I want to look at more closely, though, came in 2018. The Philadelphia Eagles sent the pick to the Baltimore Ravens, who used the pick on quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Getting back into the first round to take a quarterback is valuable because of the fifth-year option it gives teams. The quarterback in this year’s class that all eyes are on in the range of pick 32 is Alabama’s Ty Simpson.A team that has been heavily linked to him as of late is the Seahawks’ NFC West rivals, the Arizona Cardinals. Many believe selecting him at the top of round two would be the dream plan for Arizona. If he is one of the board at pick 32, the Seahawks have the power to gift someone that fifth-year option. In 2018, the Eagles got a fourth-rounder in that draft and a future second to move out of round one. I’m not sure they’d get quite that much in a deal this year, but gaining a fourth this year would be a good start. Here are three teams that come to mind as possible fits to trade up for Simpson, beating the Cardinals to the punch.