The “spine of the Seahawks” built in three drafts under John Schneider & Pete Carroll
NFL.com Around the League editor Gregg Rosenthal recently ranked what he considers to be the five NFL teams that are the best when it comes to finding talent in the NFL Draft.
Rosenthal stresses that his list is in no particular order, but the Seahawks, under the direction of general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll, are conveniently Rosenthal’s first mention.
The defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, NFC West rival San Fracisco 49ers, New England Patriots, and New York Giants round out Rosenthal’s top five.
On the Seahawks, Rosenthal writes:
“GM John Schneider and Pete Carroll have only been together three years, but their track record is outstanding. They see players differently than other teams. Last year’s three-pack of Bruce Irvin,
Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson were all controversial picks that didn’t fit the traditional mold. They were all outstanding.
2011 was a shakier draft, but they found an All-Pro cornerback in Richard Sherman in the fifth round. That’s also the round they found Kam Chancellor in their first draft in 2010. That crop included Earl Thomas and Russell Okung. The spine of the Seahawks were built in three drafts.”
Twenty-two of Schneider and Carroll’s 28 total picks from the last three years remain on the Seahawks’ current roster. Four of their picks have been named to the Pro Bowl (Okung, Thomas, Chancellor, Wilson). Three have been named first-team All-Pro (Okung, Thomas, Sherman). And 10 of their 28 picks were listed as starters on the Seahawks’ depth chart heading into last year’s divisional playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Below is a pick-by-pick rundown of the Seahawks’ drafts guided by Schneider and Carroll.
2010:
| Round | Pick No. | Name | Height | Weight | Position | College |
| 1 | 6 | Russell Okung | 6-5 | 310 | T | Oklahoma State |
| 1 | 14 | Earl Thomas | 5-10 | 202 | S | Texas |
| 2 | 60 | Golden Tate | 5-10 | 202 | WR | Notre Dame |
| 4 | 111 | Walter Thurmond | 5-11 | 190 | CB | Oregon |
| 4 | 127 | E.J. Wilson | 6-3 | 289 | DE | North Carolina |
| 5 | 133 | Kam Chancellor | 6-3 | 232 | S | Virginia Tech |
| 6 | 185 | Anthony McCoy | 6-5 | 259 | TE | USC |
| 7 | 236 | Dexter Davis | 6-1 | 244 | DE | Arizona St. |
| 7 | 245 | Jameson Konz | 6-3 | 234 | WR | Kent. St. |
2011:
| Round | Pick No. | Name | Height | Weight | Position | College |
| 1 | 25 | James Carpenter | 6-5 | 321 | T | Alabama |
| 3 | 75 | John Moffitt | 6-4 | 319 | G | Wisconsin |
| 4 | 99 | K.J. Wright | 6-4 | 246 | LB | Mississippi St. |
| 4 | 107 | Kris Durham | 6-6 | 216 | WR | Georgia |
| 5 | 154 | Richard Sherman | 6-3 | 195 | CB | Stanford |
| 5 | 156 | Mark LeGree | 6-0 | 211 | S | Appalachian St. |
| 6 | 173 | Byon Maxwell | 6-1 | 207 | CB | Clemson |
| 7 | 205 | Pep Levingston | 6-4 | 292 | DE | LSU |
| 7 | 242 | Malcolm Smith | 6-0 | 226 | LB | USC |
2012:
| Round | Pick No. | Name | Height | Weight | Position | College |
| 1 | 15 | Bruce Irvin | 6-3 | 248 | DE | West Virginia |
| 2 | 47 | Bobby Wagner | 6-0 | 241 | LB | Utah State |
| 3 | 75 | Russell Wilson | 5-11 | 206 | QB | Wisconsin |
| 4 | 106 | Robert Turbin | 5-10 | 222 | RB | Utah State |
| 4 | 114 | Jaye Howard | 6-3 | 301 | DE | Florida |
| 5 | 154 | Korey Toomer | 6-2 | 234 | LB | Idaho |
| 6 | 172 | Jeremy Lane | 6-0 | 190 | CB | NW Louisiana |
| 6 | 181 | Winston Guy | 6-1 | 218 | S | Kentucky |
| 7 | 225 | JR Sweezy | 6-5 | 298 | G | North Carolina St. |
| 7 | 232 | Greg Scruggs | 6-3 | 284 | DE | Louisville |
