Seattle Seahawks: Best pick from every draft under John Schneider

The Seattle Seahawks and general manager John Schneider have made a habit out of finding gems in the later rounds of the NFL Draft.

John Schneider became the general manager of the Seattle Seahawks the same year that Pete Carroll became the team’s head coach. Together, the two men have turned Seattle into one of the most consistent teams in the league, which isn’t a stretch when you consider the team has only missed the playoffs twice since 2010.

Since the NFL Draft just passed and we’re preparing to enter the dog days of the NFL offseason, I thought we’d take a trip down memory lane and look at the Seahawks best selections from each draft since the current front office came to power.

We start with 2010.

2010 – Earl Thomas (14th overall)

The former Texas Longhorn safety is the first entry on our list, but he’s also the final first-round selection you’ll see. The Seahawks have a habit of trading down to accumulate assets and, frankly, they tend to hit on more of their late-round selections than their first-round picks. That wasn’t the case with Thomas though, who was the Seahawks second selection in the 2010 draft.

Thomas had a very public breakup with the Seahawks that took place over the span of the last year, but the new Baltimore safety has said he envisions retiring as a Seahawk and hopes the team will retire his number. Thomas has a great run with Seattle, going to two Super Bowls, serving as the X-factor in one of the most legendary defensive backfields of all-time, making six Pro Bowls and being named to five total All-Pro teams.

The Seahawks did draft three other future Pro Bowlers in 2010 including tackle Russell Okung (sixth overall), wide receiver Golden Tate (60th overall), and safety Kam Chancellor (133rd overall). Even after all of these years, you could still argue the 2010 class was the deepest and most talented under Schneider.