The NFL trade deadline is approaching and the 5-2 Seattle Seahawks figure to at least be testing the market for a piece or pieces to aid their playoff push.
The Seahawks have been aggressive in the past under general manager John Schneider when it comes to acquiring players midseason. Linebacker Ernest Jones IV was Seattle’s prized midseason trade acquisition a season ago. In years past, players like left tackle Duane Brown, safety Quandre Diggs and defensive lineman Leonard Williams have also come to Seattle via an in-season trade.
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Those sorts of trades have shown Schneider and the Seahawks aren’t afraid to make a big deal leading up to the deadline. On Tuesday, Pro Football Focus suggested another one for Seattle to pull off.
PFF put together a list of 10 “fairytale trades” ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, which included high-caliber players who would be tough to acquire but could realistically get moved. The Seahawks made the list with a trade for third-year guard Pete Skoronski from the Tennessee Titans.
Seattle has a clear need at right guard where third-year pro Anthony Bradford has continued to struggle. Skoronski has played exclusively on the left side in the NFL, but he’s been one of the league’s best guards this year.
Skoronski ranks third out of 82 guards with a 78.8 PFF grade this season, including third in pass blocking (81.7) and eighth in run blocking (76.0). He’s allowed just 12 pressures and one sack in 341 pass-blocking snaps.
Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard shared his thoughts on a potential trade for Skoronski during his Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Wednesday.
“A bunch of these 30-something kind of beat up guys could come in here and play better than Bradford, but what if you actually wanted to add a 20-something to this group and build one of the most elite offensive lines, I don’t know, for the next three, four or five years in the NFL?” said Huard, who noted with the ages of 24-year-old left tackle Charles Cross, 23-year-old left guard Grey Zabel and 27-year-old right tackle Abraham Lucas.
“(Skoronski is) pretty darn good, and I liked this guy coming out of school a couple of years ago,” Huard added. “He was kind of like Grey. He played up and down (the line).”
Huard believes the relationship between Seahawks general manager John Schneider and the Titans could be helpful.
“You’ve got great relationships in Tennessee. You traded for Ernest Jones there last year,” Huard sad. “You know people in their front office. John’s got relationships there.”
But would a rebuilding Titans squad be willing to trade a good, young player like Skoronski?
“That would be a bigger swing. That would not be a conditional fifth-round pick,” Huard said. “That would be something of your value. So (the Titans would) probably want a player and a pick of some sort for the former first-rounder who’s playing at that level in Tennessee.”
Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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