Seattle Seahawks: Best pick from every draft under John Schneider
By Samuel Teets
2015 – Frank Clark (63rd overall)
The second round selection from Michigan was eased into the starting lineup. As a rookie, Clark only recorded three sacks and didn’t start in any games. The next year he started in five of his 15 appearances and recorded ten sacks. He went on to record nine sacks in 2017 and a career-high 13 last season.
Unfortunately, contract talks between Clark and Seattle did not go smoothly. The star pass rusher refused to sign the franchise tag the team placed on him until a long-term contract was put in place. With Bobby Wagner, Jarran Reed, and Russell Wilson, at the time, all in the final years of their deals, Seattle decided to trade Clark to Kansas City, where he got a five-year, $104 million deal. In return for Clark and a third-round pick, the Seahawks got a 2019 first-round pick, a 2019 third-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick.
It’s a shame that Clark’s stay in Seattle was so short. He seemed like the guy who would replace Michael Bennett in the long run, but his asking price was just too high. While Clark is a great pass rusher, he’s never made a Pro Bowl and is now making the fourth most money on an annual basis of any defender in the NFL.
His $20.8 million annual salary is only behind DeMarcus Lawrence ($21 million), Aaron Donald ($22.5 million) and Khalil Mack ($23.5 million). Clark is not as good of a pass rusher as Donald or Mack and he isn’t as good of a run defender as any of the three men being paid more than him. The fact that he’s making more money than guys like Geno Atkins, Chandler Jones, Von Miller, J.J. Watt and other perennial Pro Bowlers is crazy.
In the third round of the 2015 draft, with the 69th overall pick, the Seahawks selected Tyler Lockett, who has also worked out nicely for them. Lockett made the Pro Bowl and was a First Team All-Pro as a rookie because of his return abilities. His production in that area has slid since then, but he was still a Second Team All-Pro in 2016 and 2017. Last season, Lockett set single-season career highs in receptions (57), receiving yards (965), receiving touchdowns (10) and yards per reception (16.9).