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Trading Up

It might be too early to know for sure, but 3 years in, most would say Tim Ruskell's first draft was his best. That draft, unlike the two that followed, produced some top talent but little depth. Trading up for Lofa Tatupu, a move widely criticized, stands as Ruskell's finest moment. Oh, and if you're curious why I'm very lukewarm on draft experts, checkout Kipers' Reaches/Values chart from 2005. I didn't search this out, just stumbled upon it while looking for something else. That Mike Williams, what a value. Search past drafts and you'll find scads of this stuff. Something to chew on before taking for granted that a "Draft Expert" knows when and where a pick should be taken. Anyway...

In 2005, Ruskell traded up to grab Tatupu in the 2nd. He accomplished this by first trading down from his spot in the 1st to acquire an additional 4th round pick and then moving Seattle's 2nd round pick and two 4th round picks for the 45th overall pick. This year, Seattle might have something similar in the works. If, for a second, we assume both Shaun Alexander and Maurice Morris are on the outs, and that one or both will fetch a draft pick in return, Seattle will have 7-9 picks depending if they will or will not be awarded a compensatory pick. With good defensive depth and decent offensive depth, Seattle could move late round picks or future picks to concentrate their resources in the valuable 2nd and early 3rd round. A player like Trevor Laws has a good shot of slipping to the top of the 2nd, but not much farther. Like Tatupu in 2005, Seattle could move up to grab Laws in the early 2nd by moving some of its later round picks. Moving late picks to grab Laws and John Carlson in the second makes a lot of sense, but might cost Seattle much of their late picks this season and maybe next season, too. Given Seattle's needs, projected window, Ruskell's history and the resurgent showing of Carlson at ND's Pro Day, I would be very surprised if Seattle isn't very busy draft weekend making moves, grabbing picks and moving up to get the players they want.