There is no way the Seahawks do this, otherwise my jaw will detach from my face.
It’s been six years since the Seattle Seahawks last traded down in the first round of an NFL Draft. John Schneider has opted to stick and pick from his number one draft selection from 2020 onward.
We’re in the middle of “any draft content is content” portion of the offseason, so we might as well entertain it so you can go off in the comments. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell opted for a mock trade instead of a mock draft, with mock trade ideas for every team. These trades are disconnected from each other, so it’s 32 separate trades for 32 picks. For the Seahawks, Barnwell proposes a major deal that would see them land Browns guard Wyatt Teller at the expense of their first-round pick.
18. Seattle Seahawks
Seahawks get: 2-33, 3-67, G Wyatt Teller
Browns get: 1-18
If the Seahawks want to land multiple starting offensive linemen in this draft, one way to get there is to trade for a veteran. Teller is a bruising guard who was on a run of three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances before missing out in 2024. The 30-year-old is due $14.5 million in the final year of his deal. He would step straight in at right guard for Seattle.
The Browns signed former Bears guard Teven Jenkins in March, a move which hints toward a potential Teller departure. Jenkins could potentially play left tackle, but the Browns seem eager to give Dawand Jones a shot there. Right tackle Jack Conklin’s deal was restructured, and Joel Bitonio is returning for another year at left guard. Jenkins could just be a depth option, but Teller is the most likely lineman to be moved.
This deal would value Teller as the No. 114 pick in a typical draft, right around the middle of the fourth round. The Chiefs just got a similar return for Joe Thuney, a better (but older) player in the final year of his deal. Once upon a time, the Browns drafted a cornerstone (Joe Thomas) at No. 3 and then moved up into the first round when a quarterback they liked (Brady Quinn) fell further than expected. Could this be how they get ahead of the Steelers and Rams for a signal-caller?
Alright, the obvious subplot involving Wyatt Teller is his role in injuring Uchenna Nwosu in last season’s preseason finale. Nwosu initially didn’t consider the low block to be a dirty play, but he changed his tune toward the end of last season.
Leaving that aside, Teller is on an expiring contract and this move would be both trading out of the first round (while, admittedly, tripling up on second- and third-round picks) and presumably looking to extend Teller’s deal. Seattle did do this with Gabe Jackson in 2021 but the Seahawks only gave up a fifth-rounder before tacking on three more years (of which he did not complete).
Teller is much more accomplished than Jackson, earning All-Pro Second-Team honors in 2020 and 2021, as well as three Pro Bowl nods. He’s generally been healthy throughout his career, although he was on IR for several games last season for the same MCL sprain injury he inflicted upon Nwosu.
It isn’t unthinkable that the Browns trade Teller given his looming contract extension, but it’d be a stunner if the Seahawks made this trade on draft night. Forget the Nwosu-Teller dynamic because I don’t think that’s a big deal; this would be about as big a move as Seattle has made regarding an established offensive lineman since Duane Brown in 2017. Even with adding more Day 2 picks, I don’t think the Seahawks would be so enamored with Teller that they’d plunge out of Round 1 to get him.
But maybe I’m wrong. Do you believe the Seahawks would trade for (and presumably contract extend) Teller, and do you think this is an appropriate mock trade? Scroll to the bottom of the page and have your say in the comments section below!