Analyzing Seattle Seahawks Best Trade Options with 31st Pick in NFL Draft

All of Seattle can take solace in the fact that they will return all of the key pieces to a team that has appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls. The entire offseason can be spent on mental healing following the team's thrilling defeat to the New England Patriots, using the narrow defeat as fuel for yet another trip to the big game.

Personnel wise there's plenty for general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll to decide on as the offseason approaches. Some of the team's key free agents are CB Byron Maxwell, G James Carpenter and DT Kevin Williams. There's plenty of other free agents that have provided the team with quality depth, but will likely leave the team for the opportunity to start on another team.

Malcolm Smith and O'Brien Schofield are prime candidates to leave Seattle for brighter starting prospects. Those are the type of losses every franchise has to deal with on an annual basis. The Seahawks are an extremely talented team with depth that is quickly beginning to dwindle.

The team's core will remain, but the team will most certainly be different. Something that cannot be underestimated is the huge competitive advantage Seattle had from Russell Wilson playing on his rookie contract.

The less-than-a-million-dollars-a-year contract for Wilson has allowed the team to load up the roster with talent that cannot be matched. If there's one thing that's clear following the Seahawks' Super Bowl 48 victory, it's that the team's that didn't win feasted during free agency.

The New England Patriots lost Aqib Talib to the Denver Broncos, but replaced him with Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner and signed other contributors as well. Revis is the obvious standout name, but should give Seattle a similar idea. 

Not long ago Bleacher Report's own Jason Cole made it known that Ndamukong Suh would like nothing more than to play for the Seattle Seahawks next season. Seattle signing would be an extremely difficult undertaking with the team set to give raises to Wilson and Bobby Wagner.   

Signing Suh to a fair contract would likely cost the Seahawks upwards of $10 million if the Detroit Lions were to even allow him to reach free agency. One thing that could help make the move more tenable for both franchises is a sign-and-trade with Detroit getting Seattle's first-round pick in return.

The projected franchise for defensive tackles next season is roughly $9.65 million dollars. The Seahawks have roughly $23 million dollars in cap space and could add to that by making some tough roster cuts. I'm looking at you Brandon Mebane and Zach Miller.

Seattle has been looking to add more dynamic receiving options to its offense for several seasons now, starting with its signing of Sidney Rice, followed by Miller's addition. The team traded first-, third- and seventh-round draft picks to acquire Percy Harvin. 

However in a matter of months, the team said goodbye to Rice and Golden Tate, watched Miller succumb to injury and traded the problematic Harvin. In their attempts to trade Harvin, Schneider attempted to acquire Julius Thomas, Jordan Cameron and Coby Fleener. Later he would attempt to pry Vincent Jackson away from the Tampa Buccaneers, obviously coming up short.

What's clear is that the team knows it needs better weaponry. The Seahawks may be a bit gun shy when it comes to trading for receivers now, but if the right players are available, it could peak their interest. Reports surfaced in Chicago of the Bears possibly jettisoning Brandon Marshall.

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Similar stories have cropped up in Tampa Bay about the aforementioned Jackson. While trading a first-round choice for either of these 30-plus-year-old receivers may seem a tad high, they would both give Wilson the big receiving target with true No. 1 talent the team has been lacking.

The Seahawks have a pick in each round of the upcoming 2015 NFL Draft and should expect three more, according to Over the Cap's compensatory draft picks projections. Though none of these picks are as valuable as a first-round pick, they would make its trade much easier to take.

There's still plenty of time for the Seahawks to lick their wounds and prepare for the offseason, but these are definitely some discussions that should move to the forefront.