The 2018 NFL Draft is a little over a month away, but the Seattle Seahawks are already on the clock. It’s clear that the Seahawks are in full-blown rebuild mode when it comes to their defense. However, if the Seahawks are planning on using the draft as their primary tool for said rebuild, they may have a tough time doing so with their selections. As it stands right now Seattle has eight draft picks, but here’s what the order looks like:

1^st round

4^th round

5^th round

5^th round

5^th round

5^th round

7^th round

7^th round

Seattle no longer has their 2^nd and 3^rd round picks due to trades acquiring Duane Brown and Sheldon Richardson (who is no longer even on the team). Currently, there are 102 picks between the Seahawks first selection and their second selection which won’t even come until the third and final day of the draft. That’s really not great. Unless the Seahawks are banking on the fact that Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor were both 5^th round picks and they hope to recapture that magic with one of their four 5^th rounders… because that’s oh-so likely.

It’s painfully obvious the Seahawks need draft ammo, and as of right now there is only one viable way to reload:

Trade Earl Thomas.

Earl Thomas is an All-World, Hall of Fame level talent. When it is all said and done, not only will he go down as one of the best Seahawks of all time but he will be remembered as one of the best safeties ever. Earl clearly makes our defense better and I would love for him to stay in Seattle the rest of his career, but perhaps it’s time to part ways.

Earl is still playing at a high level, but he’s no spring chicken. He will be 29 by the time the 2018 season kicks off. It’s not as 29 is a deal-breaker age for safeties in this League, but if we’re being realistic his stock as a top-tier bargaining chip will never be higher. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network recently tweeted that Seattle was looking for a 1^st and a 3^rd round pick in any trade involving Earl.

Adding a 1^st and 3^rd? That would be huge. Having another 1^st round pick means that Seattle will likely trade the lower of the two in exchange for a 2^nd round pick, filling out the glaring selection holes in this year’s draft.

Trading Earl doesn’t just help Seattle with draft ammo, it also helps to alleviate salary cap issues. Earl will be owed over $10 million for 2018. Seattle has helped its cap situation by parting ways with Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett, but there can always be room for creating more cap space.

2018 is the last year on Earl’s contract, and since the Seahawks have set a precedent that they will renegotiate contracts with one year left, Earl is looking for another major extension. He has even threatened to hold out if he doesn’t get paid. I say let some other team spend big bucks on an aging defender, that way the Seahawks won’t have to deal with the headache of a holdout or waste money. Seattle should trade him so they can get something out of it instead of letting an asset walk out the door when his contract is up.

The NFL is a business, and in business there are hard choices to make. Earl Thomas will always be a cornerstone of the famed Legion of Boom, but right now clinging to an older safety who is expensive is not what Seattle needs. What they need is to complete their defensive rebuild with quality draft selections, clear cap space, and use the money to finally start addressing the offensive line. Right now, Earl Thomas would better serve the Seahawks by getting Seattle more draft picks.