Seahawks general manager John Schneider lets his actions do the talking

Seahawks general manager John Schneider met with the media Monday and, well, those aren’t words you see written too often. Unless there’s a major contract extension, or the draft is coming up, or the NFL combine is taking place in Indy, access to the Wisconsin native is limited.

That’s not a complaint. The man is busy working. And it becomes a little clearer every year that, among executives at least, he’s doing some of the best work in the NFL.  

Seriously, when was the last time you looked at the Seahawks’ roster and thought the season was over before it started? The answer might have been “at this time last year,” when Geno Smith was slated to be the starting quarterback after Russell Wilson forced his way out. 

But even that became The Rebuild That Never Was, as Seattle wiggled its way into the postseason with a 9-8 record — which was at least three wins more than any sportsbook was predicting. Simply put: The Seahawks have been the most consistent team in the NFC over the past decade-plus, and Schneider deserves the kudos for his hand in the construction. 

Every fan knows about the three drafts from 2010-2012 that made this organization a mainstay on prime-time television. From Wilson, to Earl Thomas, to Richard Sherman, to Kam Chancellor, to Bobby Wagner, Schneider culled Hall of Fame-worthy talent — many in the late rounds — and helped put Seattle in consecutive Super Bowls. 

The idea that Schneider can hit like that again is probably fanciful, but the Seahawks have stayed relevant despite all those future Ring of Honor players having gone (except for Wagner, who returned this season). 

Sure, it always helps to have a premier quarterback, which Seattle had for 10 years with Wilson. Almost as impressive as the Seahawks’ win totals in the middle part of the last decade was that they had so few losses by any margin bigger than a touchdown. 

They were in every game. Wilson played a major role in that. But there was always talent around him — even if it didn’t come in All-Pro form. 

One example is Tyler Lockett, who has never made a Pro Bowl as a receiver (he made it as a returner as a rookie), but who has played in at least 15 games in all eight of his seasons — racking up 7,100 receiving yards during that stretch. Fellow receiver DK Metcalf — the last pick of the second round — has been even more dynamic and broke the team’s single-season record for receiving yards in 2020, when he tallied 1,303 of them. 

The Seahawks trading for safety Quandre Diggs in the second half of the 2019 season helped spark them to 11 wins and a playoff victory, and though it doesn’t compare to the trade for Marshawn Lynch in 2010, it was one of Schneider’s more shrewd moves. 

Of course, you can’t speak honestly of Schneider without mentioning some of the whiffs. Seattle used its first pick of the 2019 draft on Malik McDowell, who never played a game here due to an ATV accident. Schneider also took underwhelming defensive end L.J. Collier in the first round of the 2020 draft. And though the narrative on this one can still change, trading two first-round picks for Jamal Adams — who then signed a massive extension — seems like a mistake given Adams’ injury history. 

But then to fleece the Broncos with two first-round selections in exchange for the declining Wilson? To add pieces such as Riq Woolen and Kenneth Walker III in last year’s draft and get Devon Witherspoon with the fifth pick this year? Yes, Seattle could steal the NFC West.

“We want to be a championship-level team when we get to the latter part of the season,” Schneider said Monday.

Monday’s Q&A with the GM wasn’t the juiciest of news conferences. Schneider mentioned how he and his staff got into a rut in the past by drafting based on need or contract situations. He expressed mild frustration about how the team isn’t playing as many prime-time games at home. He also answered a question about not budging with Witherspoon during his training-camp holdout, saying, “I would tell you that we are just very consistent with how we approach contracts. We have to be in order to stay structured and be able to continue to do business the way we want to do business.”

The truth is that the Seahawks’ consistency goes beyond how they approach contracts. They have been a threat in just about every season since 2012 and appear to be one again.

Lots of people to thank for that. The general manager is sure one of them.