It’s going to happen. One day, John Schneider is going to sit back in his chair and say to himself, ‘this is the guy‘.

The Seahawks are going to draft a quarterback. It’s just a question of when and who it is. Schneider has waited patiently. He’s been criticised for waiting by some but he did the right thing. Drafting a quarterback for the sake of it is not a good idea. He hasn’t whiffed on anyone worth having since trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos three years ago.

Eventually though, Schneider will find his man. The player he’s been waiting for. The quarterback he thinks can achieve a high level.

That player doesn’t necessarily have to emulate Russell Wilson’s impact or reach the status of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Schneider liked all three players a lot. He drafted one of them and was seemingly prepared to move on from Wilson for the other two.

I’m not sure he’ll have to foresee greatness to pull the trigger. If he likes enough about a player I doubt he’s going to hang around. He’ll make his move.

I found this report from Brady Henderson interesting on Tuesday:

I don’t think Shough was firmly on the radar of a lot of teams during the 2024 college season. He’s an older player, he’s had injuries. He’s even said a few people told him along the way to give football up.

I’m not suggesting the NFL didn’t scout him, wasn’t aware of him or that every team wasn’t really taking him seriously. However, I also know when literally nobody in the media is talking about a quarterback at all, there’s a reason for that. Especially at this position.

He went to the Senior Bowl, practised, and spoke to teams. Then he goes to the combine and throws brilliantly. He runs brilliantly. He measures well. I listened to all of his media interviews in Indianapolis. He’s incredibly natural, humble, driven and likeable.

I think Shough has surprised the NFL. I think he’s caught their attention in a way many decision makers didn’t expect.

Schneider said in an interview after the quarterbacks performed at the combine that there were a couple of players they had to do more work on after watching them throw live. He talked about getting into the schools, trying to get more intel.

I said this at the time and I’m even more certain now. He was talking about Shough. I think his rise has been so unexpected within NFL circles that a lot of teams are now doing extra work on him.

In Seattle’s case, this means bringing him in for an official-30 visit.

The visit is probably part of the process of gaining more intel on a suddenly quite intriguing prospect. It’s due diligence — but with fascinating consequences if they determine he’s the guy they’ve been waiting for.

The beauty of the Sam Darnold contract is it’s flexible enough to allow the Seahawks to be wowed by another quarterback in the draft. Having Darnold also means if you’re going to draft a quarterback early, you probably need to be convinced they’re going to be better to warrant the investment and noise that will come with it.

Shough is ranked 32nd on Todd McShay’s big board, one place above Grey Zabel. It’s certainly trending in a way where he feels like he’s going to be taken in the second half of round one or top half of round two. The Steelers (#21), Rams (#26), Browns (#33) and Giants (#34) could all be possible suitors.

Would the Seahawks take him at #18? I don’t know. The answer is yes if they think he’s the guy. I like Shough a lot. I’m not sure he’s going to be considered quite that good. For desperate teams like the Steelers and Giants, or a team with an ageing quarterback reaching the end like the Rams, it makes more sense to take him early. For the Seahawks with a 28-year-old Darnold, I’m not sure they need to be that aggressive and can afford to be more picky.

It would also be quite the set of events if they were to hope for the best on the offensive line and pray that good options remain available at #50 and #52. Having seemingly put their eggs in the draft basket for the O-line, not taking one in the first round would be a gamble most people will hope they avoid.

Let me push back on that a little bit though. The Seahawks for some years now have operated on a best player available basis in the first round. They aren’t going to force a lineman pick. Daniel Jeremiah’s new mock draft today didn’t even have Zabel on the board at #18 which is interesting, while he has Tyler Booker falling — presumably because of his bad testing numbers.

In this kind of scenario, they might be forced to look at other positions anyway. Jeremiah pairs them with Colston Loveland — although personally I think there’s very little chance of the Michigan tight end lasting to #18. He’s one of the few true first round talents in the draft.

I think they’d consider Donovan Ezeiruaku, who is without a doubt a Seahawks type of player. Malaki Starks is too. So is Jihaad Campbell and Jahdae Barron.

Tyler Shough might be another. I’m guessing they’re trying to find out whether that’s the case.

As noted earlier this week:

The Seahawks’ greatest quarterback move in franchise history involved a big free agent signing (Matt Flynn) followed by a steal of a third round pick who pinched his job (Russell Wilson). It seems they’re at least open to history repeating.

This isn’t unusual for the NFL in general. The Bears signed Mike Glennon to much fanfare, invited him to their draft party as a special guest, then promptly traded up to select Mitchell Trubsiky second overall. A year ago, the Falcons spent a fortune on Kirk Cousins and then drafted Michael Penix Jr with the #8 pick.

Nobody saw the Falcons drafting Penix Jr until it happened. It’d be a similar situation if the Seahawks took Shough, another older quarterback, in round one.

If I had to guess, I’d say this is the Seahawks doing a ton of due diligence on an intriguing player and ultimately they won’t draft a quarterback in the first frame. I think if Shough was there in round two, the interest could be a lot more serious.

There’s absolutely no way I’d rule anything out though. When John Schneider finds the guy he wants, he’s going to draft him. It’s as simple as that.

If you missed my latest mock draft, check it out here.

Note — I’ll be appearing on 710 Seattle Sports tomorrow at 11am PT on the Bump & Stacy show. Please check it out!