2012 DRAFT: Cost Of Trading Up

Danny O’Neil did some homework to find out that the Seahawks could wind up picking as high as No. 10, or as low as No. 19 in the 2012 NFL Draft. You can see the types of players Rob Rang, a fantastic local draft scout, has projected to be taken around the 10-19th picks in the first round. Believe it or not, a player like OG David DeCastro is going to be very tempting if he is available for the Seahawks. Robert Gallery is 31, and injury-prone. John Moffitt had a serious knee injury, and DeCastro is being compared to Steve Hutchinson. Of course, the focus for every Seahawks fan will be who they draft at quarterback.

Matt Barkley returning to USC will have a serious impact on the Seahawks chances of getting the player they want. It is possible that both Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III could be drafted in the Top 5. Trading up that high will be very costly. Costly is not impossible. Just last season the Atlanta Falcons moved up twenty-one spots from the No. 27 pick to the No. 6 pick. The cost for them was their No. 27 pick and 4th-round pick in 2011, and their 2012 1st, 2nd and 4th-round picks.  Moving up twenty-one spots is extreme, but it may take an extreme deal to pry quarterback out of the Top 10. If the Seahawks are drafting near the Top 10, the price to move up to No. 5 could be two firsts and a second. Getting the player that can lead the franchise for then next decade at quarterback is well worth that price or more. Minnesota, Cleveland, and Jacksonville could all be potential trade partners at the top of the draft.

If no team is a willing trade partner, expect the Seahawks to trade down and accumulate additional picks. There doesn’t appear to be a quarterback worth taking in the middle of the first-round, but there may be near the end.