The Seahawks finished with a 7-9 record in 2010 but because they made the playoffs and beat the Saints in the first round, ended up picking 25th overall in the subsequent Draft. In 2011, the Hawks finished with an identical 7-9 final record but out of the playoffs, and after a tie-breaking coin toss with the Chiefs, sit at #12 overall in next Thursday's first round. It's an interesting position to be in - most of the elite, bluechip prospects off the board in the top five or eight picks, and a great big glob of talented but sub-elite options likely remaining on the table. But, there's always the chance that this guy or that guy could fall, and according to John Schneider, that position is an advantage.
"Now we're in a position - especially at 12 - I look at 12 like at 11, 12, 13 there's a little bit of a ledge there - there's a little bit of different players," Schneider said. "So if we want to stay and pick, I think it's a really cool place to pick."
"If somebody does something that's really attractive [offers an attractive trade back option], then we feel comfortable with the way we've prepared that we can go back, too. We feel like we've covered some things so we can go ahead and just take the good players that come to us."
Some flexibility is always a good thing, and with the way the Hawks have built their roster, a trade back is a very viable option. Fewer major holes to fill means trading back and taking two slightly lower rated players over one slightly higher rated, isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"We're in a position now where we've kind of covered ourselves a little bit where we can just be prepared," Schneider said. "We've got good input from the coaches. The scouts have been out busting their tails. The preparation is in place. Our process is pretty much winding down.
"We can just sit and take players."
Only six more days.
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