RENTON, Wash. -- General Manager John Schneider and Coach Pete Carroll built the Seattle Seahawks into champions in part by taking full advantage of the NFL draft in the early years of their tenure.
The foundation of a roster that was strong enough to reach back-to-back Super Bowls was built in four drafts, with little augmentation through trades and free agency.
The drafts delivered immediate starters, some of whom have become All-Pro-caliber players at different points in their careers.
Subsequent draft classes have not come close to those first four. There have been more misses than hits, leaving Seattle at a crossroads entering this week's NFL draft.
"How come that doesn't happen anymore?" Schneider said to Carroll, his voice heavy with sarcasm when discussing the lack of stars from recent drafts. "What's your problem dude?"
Seattle has seven picks, but five of those come in the first three rounds, beginning with the No. 26 overall selection. The expectation is that Schneider will likely deal one of those early-round picks to get more selections later on since Seattle has no picks in the fourth or fifth rounds.
Seattle, while still an elite team, has an aging core that is getting more expensive as time passes.
"Having the three threes, the five picks in the three rounds is outstanding, don't get me wrong," Schneider said. "But you always feel a certain level of anxiety about what's going to happen."
Seattle's window for success appears half-way open.
Defensive linemen Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are 31. For all the trade talk surrounding cornerback Richard Sherman this offseason, he just turned 29. Free safety Earl Thomas is nearly 28 and coming off a serious leg injury, while strong safety Kam Chancellor is 29 and had surgery on both ankles in the offseason.
Even quarterback Russell Wilson will turn 29 during the 2017 season. Of Seattle's core players, only Bobby Wagner, Jermaine Kearse, Tyler Lockett and Justin Britt will start the season younger than 28 years old.
Add it up, and the Seahawks are a veteran team that is getting older every year.
The foundation for what the Seahawks became was built during the 2010-2012 drafts and there are still seven players from those draft classes on the Seahawks roster, including Sherman, Thomas, Chancellor, Wagner and Wilson. That might not seem like much, but consider the three drafts from 2013-2015 yielded eight players who remain on Seattle's roster at a time that the Seahawks needed to replenish with younger, more cost-effective talent.
Schneider said Seattle has been able to make up for some of the draft deficiencies by finding capable players as undrafted free agents, on waiver claims or developed off the practice squad.
"We've traded for a couple guys, anybody we could possibly get in the mix," Schneider said. "I think our level of competition has raised and raised."
Sports on 04/26/2017