In the 2017 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks made an ill-fated decision that had long-lasting implications for the franchise.
No, we’re not talking about the Malik McDowell pick.
We’re going into Day 3. The Seahawks were interested in Iowa tight end George Kittle, who was eventually taken in the fifth round by the San Francisco 49ers. According to Seahawks general manager John Schneider, they were close but not close enough.
Seattle, of course, used its fourth-round pick on safety Tedric Thompson. The rest is history. Kittle later claimed the Seahawks tried trading into the fifth to get him (Note: Seattle had two sixth- and seventh-rounders but no fifth-rounder), but the 49ers were also on the phone ready to select him.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Dan Graziano had a feature column on the art of NFL roster building. He spoke with a dozen general managers, including Schneider, about the many aspects of constructing a squad.
The money quote from Schneider comes from looking back at the “Thompson over Kittle” decision as a mistake.
You may also recall the Seahawks took Michigan safety Lano Hill in the third round, so with Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas’ long-term futures in doubt, the Seahawks tried to plan ahead at safety. It just worked out very poorly. Chancellor’s career ended in 2017, Thomas’ Seahawks career ended with a broken leg and an infamous middle finger in 2018, and Thompson and Hill have not been on an NFL roster since 2021. I can think of the cascade effect that led to a certain safety costing the Seahawks a pair of first-round picks within this timeline…
Interestingly, the tight end position wasn’t exactly rock solid for the long-term. Jimmy Graham’s deal was expiring, as was Luke Willson’s, leaving Nick Vannett as the only Seahawks tight end under contract through 2018. In an alternative world, the Seahawks would’ve taken Kittle, and while they may not have drafted Will Dissly, they also wouldn’t have given out a silly contract to Ed Dickson to be the planned TE1.
We’ve definitely seen the Seahawks have a philosophical shift in their last three drafts, and it may have been borne out of some of the decisions made in prior drafts like Thompson over Kittle.
