The Seattle Seahawks have done a great job this offseason addressing some of their needs on the roster. In need of reinforcements on defense, the front office brought in Dre’Mont Jones and Julian Love from the Denver Broncos and New York Giants. Star linebacker Bobby Wagner also came back to the franchise after a one-year hiatus with the Los Angeles Rams.
The 2023 NFL Draft will provide Seattle with more opportunities to continue bolstering the weaknesses on their roster. With the No. 5 and No. 20 picks in the first round, the Seahawks will have a chance to add two premium prospects to their roster.
A lot of the focus has been on adding another pass rusher or cornerback to the roster with those picks. A quarterback, depending on how the board breaks, could be under consideration at No. 5. Wide receiver has also been mentioned as a possibility.
An underrated need for the Seahawks is at the running back position. An in-depth analysis of their history with draft running backs was done by Frank T. Raines at Field Gulls of SBNation and to sum things up, it is very poor.
The Seahawks look to have hit with Kenneth Walker III in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but he is the only starting-level running back on the roster. The team needs to add another one and if they don’t address it via the draft, maybe they could seek an upgrade on the trade market.
One player that could fit the bill is Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders. The Seahawks were mentioned as a logical landing spot for him and the fit does make some sense.
Walker provides the team with very little impact in the passing game whether it is in pass protection or pass catcher. Travis Homer was solid in that regard, but he departed in free agency, signing with the Chicago Bears. Jacobs is much improved in both areas, recording 107 receptions in the last two seasons combined.
The 2019 first-round pick is much more than a change of pace and pass-catching back and would create the best one-two punch in the NFL. For a team that wants to run the ball as much as Pete Carroll and the Seahawks do, having two starting-caliber running backs would be ideal.
What could a trade between the teams look like? Because of the non-exclusive franchise tag that was placed on Jacobs, the Seahawks would have to surrender two first-round picks if they were to sign him to an offer sheet. That isn’t going to happen, but the teams could work out a tag-and-trade deal.
Seattle has been on both sides of a tag-and-trade deal, acquiring Jadeveon Clowney in 2019 from the Houston Texans and trading Frank Clark to the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2019 NFL Draft. Acquiring Jacobs would likely be a better use of mid-round picks as an established talent instead of relying on a rookie once again.
Seattle could offer their third-round pick and a fifth-round pick via the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2023 NFL Draft in exchange for Jacobs. Las Vegas would be happy to get some draft capital in exchange for Jacobs instead of potentially losing him for nothing in free agency next year. The Seahawks would have a dominant running back duo to lean on throughout the season, just as Carroll likes it.
