Seattle Seahawks Trade-Up Targets 2020 NFL Draft

Defensive End

When the Seahawks traded their best edge rusher to the Kansas City Chiefs for draft capital, it was a double-edged sword for the organization. While trading Clark had its advantages (future cap space, extra draft picks), the team also lost a player who had 13 sacks and 27 quarterback hits in 2018, according to Sports Reference. Finding a defensive end to replace that kind of production was never going to easy.

High-priced free agent acquisitions Jadeveon Clowney and Ezekiel Ansah were decent in 2019 but neither played more than 56 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last season. On top of this, both players spent significant time injured during the regular season.

2019 first-rounder Collier only played 14.18 percent of all defensive snaps last year. He sustained an injury early in the year during training camp, an omen for how the rest of his season would go. Now Clowney and Ansah are searching for new contracts and the team has resorted to re-signing Bruce Irvin, a former Seahawk who will turn 33-years old before the end of the 2020 season. Neither Ansah or Clowney have re-signed with the Seahawks as of this article’s publication, leaving the Seahawks short of defensive line talent.

The Seahawks play in the ultra-competitive NFC West, so an average pass-rushing unit isn’t going to cut it. If the Seahawks want to seriously contend for the divisional title, they will have to try again at defensive end in the first round. With defensive ends drafted after the third round having a pretty lousy track record of success, Schneider and the Seahawks front office may want to seriously consider moving up in the 2020 NFL Draft to get one of the top edge rushers in this year’s class.

Would Ohio State phenom Chase Young be completely out of the picture? You would assume so, but it could happen at the right price. The Washington Redskins are slated to draft Young second overall, but they spent a first-round pick to draft Montez Sweat in 2019. Drafting Sweat required the team to trade this year’s second-rounder to move back into the first round last year.

If Washington drafted Young, they would essentially have spent two-first rounders and one second-round pick for two edge rushers who no one is sure can actually hang in the NFL. Sweat was serviceable in 2019 but was hardly a shut-down menace. All while still having future Hall of Fame defensive end Ryan Kerrigan on the roster. It seems like a lot of draft capital for an unknown future.

Reports have suggested that Washington is open to trading their first-round pick for the right price. But would Washington really move all the way back to the twenty-seventh pick? Unless Schneider is willing to put a Ricky Williams-level package together for Washington, it is a highly unlikely prospect. But certainly not impossible.

After Young, the consensus top edge defender in the 2020 NFL Draft is A.J. Epenesa from Iowa. He is ranked twentieth on the PFF Big Board, which moving up seven spots is certainly more doable than moving up to second overall. Epenesa is a stud, an athletic force of nature off the edge.

At 6-foot-5, 275-pounds, Epenesa has the size and violent jump off to be the disruptor at the line of scrimmage the Seahawks need. He worked well on Iowa’s defensive line, finding consistent pressure lining up outside the tackle. He has the physical skills to elevate the pass-rush in Seattle, allowing players like Ansah and (potentially) Clowney to spend less time on the line and thus less likely to get injured.

Moving up seven spots might cost the Seahawks a bundle in draft capital. The twentieth pick is currently held by the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team looking to re-build the roster and off-load defensive end Yannick Ngakoue before he is due a new contract. The Jaguars could potentially be using one of their first-rounders on a defensive end to replace Ngakoue. Next up is the Philadelphia Eagles, who are also looking for a defensive end in the 2020 NFL Draft.

To move past both teams or convince them to trade their picks will likely cost more than just a late-rounder in this year’s draft. The Seahawks would likely have to say goodbye to one or both of their second-rounders in the 2020 NFL Draft. That is a steep price, considering the Seahawks have other serious needs on the roster.

Past Young and Epenesa is a hodgepodge of unknown defensive end talent. Boise State defensive end Curtis Weaver is the next highest-ranked edge rusher. While impressive in college, he also faced much weaker competition in the Mountain West than he would in the NFL. Notre Dame edge rusher Julian Okwara has been productive since 2018, but lacks consistency on the field, having only racked up 21 tackles and 2.5 sacks during his first two college seasons, per Sports Reference.

Moving up to take a top edge rusher in the 2020 NFL Draft will not be easy. But re-signing Clowney to an enormous contract could be worse. If they are serious about targeting one of the best defensive ends in this year’s draft class, they will have to move up past the Jaguars and Eagles to be sure they get him.