One might wonder how the Seattle Seahawks have been as relatively successful as they have over the last 15 seasons with a general manager who can't draft well. That opinion might not be widely shared, but that is what Rotoballers' John Johnson says without offering much evidence to back up his stance.
In a recent article about tight end outlooks in 2025 fantasy football, Johnson highlights Noah Fant for Seattle, but does not go into depth about Fant. Johnson instead spends half the paragraph is has set aside for the Seahawks on rookie Elijah Arroyo.
Sort of. As it turns out, Johnson's three-sentence paragraph is a set up to disrespect Schneider.
One fantasy football analyst offers a bold take on Seahawks general manager John Schneider
Johnson writes, "Yes, the team drafted TE Elijah Arroyo, but Seahawks general manager John Schneider isn't a good drafter. He should have picked more offensive linemen. Fant probably remains the starter for now, though he could be gone in a season or two."
Schneider is not a "good drafter" is false. Maybe Johnson is only taking into account the last couple of draft years when Schneider had full control over all roster decisions. Former head coach/vice president of football operations Pete Carroll used to hold that role, but Schneider definitely had his input.
This was the way the Seahawks did business from 2010 through 2023. If Johnson is not involving these years as part of his thought process, his entire point that Schneider is not good when it comes to the draft is pointless. (To be fair, it's rather pointless anyway.)
If Johnson is only thinking of the last couple of years, then he must be some kind of soothsayer. The 2024 draft picks have only had one season, and a draft pick cannot be honestly evaluated after just one season.
The 2025 picks, of course, have not even played a down in the NFL.
In more recent drafts, Schneider (and, yes, Carroll) was able to take winners such as cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen, left tackle Charles Cross, edge rusher Boye Mafe, and others. All of those picks have come since 2022.
Going back as far as 2010, when Schneider first became GM, Seattle has picked up draftees Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, and a whole host of others.
Have the Seahawks had bad draft years with Schneider? Definitely. Every GM will have bad drafts if he is with the team as long as Schneider has been with the Seahawks, but saying Schneider can't draft is just a poor take.
Johnson also makes a point of saying Seattle should have chosen more offensive linemen, other than first-round choice Grey Zabel. That opinion is tired and, well, lazy.
The presumed assumption is that Seattle doesn't choose O-linemen enough in drafts, but at one point last year, mostly due to injuries, the Seahawks had an offensive line that featured Cross, Laken Tomlinson, Olu Oluwatimi, Sataoa Laumea, and Abe Lucas. Every one of those players, except Tomlinson, had been drafted since 2022.
The argument can be made that Schneider has not been good at selecting offensive linemen, though Cross has been quite good, and hopefully Zabel will be too, but saying overall Schneider can't draft well is foolish.
