Darrell Taylor joins short list of players for whom Seahawks have traded up

In the recently concluded 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks surprised fans and observers when they did not trade down with their native first round pick. Staying and selecting linebacker Jordyn Brooks out of Texas Tech at 27, it was the first time the Hawks had used their own first round pick to select a player since drafting James Carpenter in 2011. However, in the second round was when the team decided not to stay patient and wait for its own pick to arrive, trading out of both of the second rounders the team held.

Specifically, with the first of the two second round picks the team held, the Hawks traded pick 2.59 and 3.101 to move up into the middle of the second round to select defensive end Darrell Taylor out of Tennessee. While most fans are familiar with the tendency of the Seattle front office to trade down, the team has traded up to target specific players at times, including doing so more often in recent drafts. Taylor joins a group of names for which the team has traded up that should bring a smile to the face of fans, as the members of this group include:

• 2013: Jesse Williams
• 2015: Tyler Lockett
• 2016: Jarran Reed
• 2016: Quinton Jefferson
• 2018: Michael Dickson
• 2019: DK Metcalf
• 2019: Cody Barton
• 2019: John Ursua
• 2020: Darrell Taylor
• 2020: Stephen Sullivan

The jury is obviously still out on Ursua and Barton, while Taylor and Sullivan only joined the group over this past weekend. However, the hit rate on the players that have been with the team for multiple seasons is certainly impressive, and leads one to wonder why the team doesn’t build the whole airplane out of trading up?