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The big news swirling around the Seattle Seahawks this offseason has been what's going to happen with Russell Wilson. The franchise quarterback and likely future Canton inductee to the Hall of Fame did not formally request a trade from the Seahawks but did about as much. Wilson and the front office are at a breaking point, and “Mr. Unlimited” gave them a list of teams he would be fine being traded to. There have been talks, Seattle has fielded calls but as of now, Wilson remains in Seattle. Putting that ordeal to the side, there are still spots to fill on this Seahawks team and none may be more glaring than the cornerback position.
The Seahawks were somewhat thin at corner in 2020 and so far this offseason they've already lost Shaquill Griffin, their top corner, to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency.
#Seahawks have lost their top CB Shaquill Griffin to the #Jaguars, per @MikeDugar
Griffin signs a 3-year, $44.5 million deal with $29 million guaranteed with the Jags
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 16, 2021
Quinton Dunbar started six games for Seattle a season ago and he is still a free agent feeling out the market. While Seattle did add Ahkello Witherspoon, that certainly isn't an upgrade from Griffin. This leaves the Seahawks super thin at cornerback, with limited options to work with.
Long gone are the days of the Legion of Boom and Seattle is in a spot now where opposing offenses might be welcoming a matchup against its corners if they don't square things away.
There are free agents at the position that would provide a well-needed facelift to the position for Seattle like Casey Hayward and Richard Sherman but Seattle likely doesn't have the financial flexibility for either and it's unknown whether or not Sherman would go back for a reunion anyways.
This takes us to the NFL Draft.
And this will be another pickle for the Seahawks. No team has fewer picks than Seattle does entering the draft. Not only do the Seahawks not have a first-round selection, they only have three picks total (2nd round, 4th, 7th). This leaves them in yet another bind to address the cornerback position.
Now depending on what happens with Wilson, if the Seahawks were to trade him, it's a safe assumption that a boatload of picks would be sent the way of Seattle in return. So that's a possibility, but nothing that the Seahawks can hang their hats on in anticipation of.
A dream scenario for Seattle would be someone like Greg Newsome, the cornerback from Northwestern, falling to them in the late second round. Newsome's name is gaining traction and he's slotted to go anywhere from the middle of the first round to the middle of the second round. Other names like Eric Stokes out of Georgia or Aaron Robinson from UCF could be in play as well.
Seattle's offense has plenty of pieces and a good core of Wilson, D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and the recently resigned Chris Carson. The defense has some studs like Bobby Wagner and Jamal Adams but leaves plenty to be desired elsewhere in the secondary especially at cornerback.
In a division that has offensive-minded coaches like Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, and Kliff Kingsbury, it's best if Seattle gets the cornerback spot figured out sooner rather than later.
