NFL Draft 2011: The Seattle Seahawks Should Trade Up

The Seattle Seahawks barely made the playoffs last year after winning the sub-par NFC West. But they did end up making some kind of noise, upsetting the 2010 Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints.

Beating the Saints and making the playoffs dropped the Seahawks in the draft to the 25th pick, where it would be hard to improve a team instantly, which the Seahawks need to do right now. 

The quarterback for the Seahawks as of right now is Matt Hasselbeck, who is now 35 years old. If you watched any games last season, you should have seen Hasselbeck aging and slowing down a bit. 

But because of winning the conference and a playoff game, the Seahawks will now have to draft very wisely in the late first round and later rounds. One thing that should be done is to trade up in the first round.

A rumor that is surfacing as of late is that Hasselbeck will leave during free agency. Hasselbeck is a unrestricted free agent and, because of the lockout, the Seahawks have not signed him yet. Many rumors are saying he will leave.

The starting quarterback then would be Charlie Whitehurst, which in my book should never happen. What should happen is that the Seahawks should trade up to a top 10 pick and draft Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert.

Many other positions could also be selected with a higher pick, such as an offensive lineman or cornerback or almost any other position on defense or offense.

I think it would be smartest for the Seahawks to trade up if Hasselbeck leaves, but, if not, they should keep the 25th pick and draft a quarterback in that spot which will probably be Jake Locker. If not Locker, there are many other options for that pick. 

What the Seahawks need will be tough find at the 25th pick but with a good pick they should be fine and make strides in the upcoming years.