Philly Front Office

John Schnieder has been the GM in Seattle since 2010, the same year Pete Carroll was hired. When it came to the NFL Draft, both men had influence in the overall selection. For the last 2 years it has been just Schneider. What this team has done since 2022 has been nothing short of spectacular. As an Eagles fan, we often talk about the heater Howie Roseman has been on since drafting DeVonta Smith in 2021, but Seattle might be even better. By my count, they have 13 starters from the last 4 drafts along with several more quality backups and a possible future QB.

2022 – Charles Cross (Round 1), Boye Mafe (2), Kenny Walker (2), Abraham Lucas (3), Coby Bryant (4), Riq Woolen (5)

That’s 6 quality starters in 1 draft. WTF! The only problem here is that this whole group is now up for new contracts and not everyone can come back. One guy who will be back is former top 10 pick Charles Cross. He just signed a 4/$104m extension. He followed Abraham Lucas who is coming back for 3/$46m. They have yet to make a Pro Bowl, but that is two starting offensive linemen locked up at below market deals for the foreseeable future.

Trading AJ Brown Doesn’t Make Sense

Mafe, Walker, and Bryant are all free agents coming up. All 3 have produced but none of the 3 have made any type of post season team. This is incredibly good for the team. Why? Because it probably means all 3 will be back on a solid deal, not unlike Cross and Lucas above. The one who is likley not returning is Woolen. He burst onto the scene as an incredible rookie with unreal size and speed. Unfortunately, he has tailed off since then. Still, he provided nothing but incredible value as a former 5th round pick.

2023 – Devon Witherspoon (1), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (1), Derick Hall (2), Zach Charbonnet (2), Anthony Bradford (4)

Sweet merciful crap that’s a haul. The 2023 draft had some heavy hitters in it (Jalen Carter and Will Anderson) but Witherspoon and JSN were just named All-Pros. Both are cornerstones of this team and will be talking massive extensions a few days after the Super Bowl. Even a top 10 pick doesn’t guarantee that kind of performance and the Seahawks got TWO in the 1st round.

Derick Hall has not lived up to his #37 pick draft pedigree so far, but he is still starting and has an 8 sack season in his pocket. Charbonnet has landed on IR, but he managed 12 TDs this year. Bradford makes the 3rd starting offensive lineman in these drafts so far.

2024 – Byron Murphy (1), AJ Barner (4)

Murphy wasn’t looking too good after his first year in the league but busted out big time this year, picking up 7 sacks and 7 more tackles for loss from the DT position. All of a sudden, he is one of the anchors of the defense next to the even more dominant Leonard Williams. You are going to have to double team one of them! AJ Barner is slated to start the Super Bowl even with rookie Elijah Arroyo coming off of IR. Barner ended up a top red zone target for Darnold this season managing 52 catches and 6 TDs.

Best 1-Year Contracts in Recent Philadelphia History

2025 – Grey Zabel (1), Nick Emmanwori (2), Elijah Arroyo (2), Jalen Milroe (3), Robbie Ouzts (5)

Everything above would have been great for any front office, but then they went over the top in 2025. This group is of the high upside, obscure position variety. We have a guard, safety, tight end, backup QB, and even a fullback! They pick up their 4th offensive line starter in Grey Zabel then pulled the trigger on the incredibly special athlete of Nick Emmanwori. Emmanwori looks like a future star in the league. Arroyo is the tight end of the future with nothing but upside (and someone a few of us wanted the Eagles to pick up). Personally, I love Jalen Milroe. He is very much Jalen Hurts light but probably faster and with a bigger arm, but without nearly the polish or size. He could end up being a very interesting back up.

One note: There are 4 starting offensive linemen named above. The 5th, center Jalen Sundell, was signed as an undrafted free agent. Their entire starting offensive line for the Super Bowl makes less than $30m (both cap and cash). Rashawn Slater is the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL at $28.5m AAV. I would say that’s pretty efficient roster building.

All of these guys are playing this year on rookie scale contracts. When you have that many starters on naturally under-market deals, you can afford to splurge on veterans like Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp, and Leonard Williams. The party isn’t stopping either. Yes, they have several free agents coming up and will need to give big old extensions to Witherspoon and JSN, but they can afford to do that rather easily. Seattle’s books are bleach clean. As long as Darnold doesn’t turn back into a pumpkin, this team is here to stay.