There is no doubt that the Seahawks landed a premium player in the trade for Jamal Adams, but they certainly paid a heavy price for doing so.
To acquire the All-Pro security, Seattle sent its first-round picks in the next two NFL drafts, a 2021 third-round pick and Bradley McDougald, a pretty good safety in its own right, to the New York Jets. The Seahawks also received the Jets’ fourth-round pick for 2022 in the deal.
There hasn’t been a long record for teams giving up so much on a trade for a player that while he is a star, he will still have to pay a record-setting contract extension. Just look at the position the Los Angeles Rams are in after coughing up a package similar to cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Accordingly, the general consensus is that the Seahawks gave up too much on the trade, particularly due to the fact that security is not considered a premium salary position like quarterbacks, left tackles, and pass runners. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell explored that theory in detail and did not come to a considerably different conclusion.
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The Seahawks, unsurprisingly, feel differently. Seattle general manager John Schneider recently joined NBC Sports’ Peter King Podcast and defended the transaction, specifically including a second first-round pick in the package.
“The way we look at it is, and I hope this is found in the right way, but historically we have been choosing in the late 1920s,” Schneider told King. “… When you’re picking in the late 1920s, it’s a different challenge. And we only saw it as an opportunity to say if we were picking at 27 and moving on to No. 26, what does that look like? weekend project? And honestly, we felt it was appropriate for us that that would be the right compensation.
“Now that can be debated, right? It’s fun, it’s entertainment for everyone, I get it. But when you’re in that arena with someone and you’re having those negotiations and you’re trying to figure out what your future is going to look like, and how They see your windows of opportunity, we just feel like we should go for it. And you can’t just sit here and preach that you’re going to be a consistent championship caliber football team and not be in something like this and go for it. “
On the one hand, you cannot criticize Schneider’s logic. The Seahawks should definitely be considered an NFC contender now, and unlike the Rams, they have a Russell Wilson quarterback capable of leading them to the Super Bowl.
On the other hand, it uses very curious reasoning.
To say that the price of going up to selection 26 of 27 justifies including a second first-round selection in the trade package is simply incorrect.
In the April 2020 draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sent the 49ers a 2020 fourth-round pick (No. 117 overall) along with their own No. 14 pick in exchange for No. 13 pick from San Francisco and a 2020 seventh-round pick. So essentially, the Bucs traded a fourth for a seventh to move up a spot in the first round, and that was in the upper half of the round.
The later in the draft, the less an overall team has to offer to change a team. So going from 26 to 27, in theory, would cost the Seahawks less than it cost Tampa Bay to go up from 14 to 13.
It is certainly not a first round choice.
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In fact, according to the often referenced Draft Selection Trade Value Chart, the difference in value between Selection 26 (700) and Selection 27 (680) is the equivalent of the value of General Selection No. 178, which falls roughly halfway through the sixth round.
So while it remains to be seen if the Seahawks will regret their decision to give up what they did for Adams, it certainly seems like they will if they were their prevailing logic.
