The Seattle Seahawks had the No. 5 overall selection in the 2023 NFL draft, their highest they’ve ever had in the John Schneider and Pete Carroll era. But perhaps they could have picked even higher…
On the night of the first round, Seattle’s Schneider placed a call to Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer to inquire about trading for the No. 1 overall pick. Don’t believe me? Just watch!
#Seahawks GM John Schneider jokingly called #Panthers GM Scott Fitterer to see if they'd trade the No. 1 overall pick on draft night.
Fitterer and Schneider worked together in Seattle for over a decade and are close friends.
(via @Panthers YT)pic.twitter.com/Zw25VwLMe8
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 28, 2023
Of course, the call was in jest. As mentioned in the tweet above, Schneider and Fitterer are close. Fitterer was in the Seahawks organization for nearly two full decades, starting in 2001 as an area scout and eventually climbing the ladder to vice president of football operations before being hired by Carolina.
Although this was merely a joke between two friends, it is interesting to think about what the Seahawks might have done at No. 1 overall. They met with every top quarterback prospect in the draft, but three were already (expectedly) off the board by the time Seattle was on the clock.
In this alternate timeline, could Bryce Young be challenging Geno Smith for the starting spot?