On Tuesday, the football world broke the internet. Longtime Seahawk, Russell Wilson, was traded from his home for a boatload of draft picks and three Denver Broncos. Wilson made it to nine Pro Bowls, took Seattle to two Super Bowls and came away with the Lombardi Trophy in 2014.

One of the many picks that the Seahawks acquired was Denver’s 2022 first round pick which, due to a mediocre season, is ninth overall.

Despite getting rid of Wilson, a pick this high is one of many reasons why I liked this trade on Seattle’s end. At ninth overall, a wide variety of top prospects will still be available for Seattle to select. On top of that, the Seahawks did not even own a first round pick until the trade went through. With Wilson having an uncharacteristically bad season in 2021 (coming off of finger surgery), it is safe to assume that the one-time superstar may not be the same anymore. As heart-breaking as it is to ditch your longtime starter, it seems like Seattle may have made the right move.

As for the first round selection, the Seahawks have numerous options. There is a very good chance that at least two of the top three quarterbacks in this draft (Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett, Matt Corral) will be on the board here, leaving Seattle with a young star to take the reigns from Wilson.

Another viable option for the Seahawks would be to select a lineman. The three featured linemen of this draft class (Ikem Ekwonu, Evan Neal, Charles Cross) are probably going to be taken by this spot, but Tyler Linderbaum would still be a good fit considering the all around poor Seattle offensive line.

A final option that I think is possible is the addition of a cornerback to Seattle’s locker room. I would imagine that either Ahmad Gardner or Derek Stingley Jr. is available at ninth overall, but, in the case that they aren’t, even Trent McDuffie, Kaiir Elam, or Andrew Booth would be decent selections. While either of those three might be reaches at nine, the Seahawks are in major need of a cornerback and, as a result of the circumstances, I could see one of them winding up in Seattle.

Overall, the Russell Wilson trade really spiced up the 2022 NFL Draft. For Seattle, they have a great opportunity to draft a better future. With the ninth pick in the draft, the Seahawks have a great variety of players to choose from and there aren’t many ways that I can see them going wrong.