Seahawks predicted to help Cardinals land new QB in Round 1 of NFL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Seattle Seahawks are coming off their big Super Bowl 60 win and are in great spirits entering the 2026 NFL Draft. They own the 32nd pick, signifying they won the Super Bowl this past season.
But the Seahawks might not actually use that pick. With a league-low four selections in the 2026 draft class, the Seahawks trading down and adding more capital is very much on the table this draft.
And Eric Williams of Fox Sports is predicting a very fascinating trade-down partner in the form of NFC West division rival Arizona Cardinals. This trade-up from Arizona wouldn’t be for just any player, either; it’s predicted to be for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
Seahawks predicted to trade down with Cardinals to help ARI land their new QB
“Prediction: The Arizona Cardinals trade with the Seattle Seahawks to move up to the end of the first round to select Simpson,” Williams writes.
The Cardinals own the third and 34th picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. With the third overall pick being far too early to take Simpson, their best bet is to wait until Round 2.
However, the New York Jets own the 33rd pick in Round 2, which would pose a big problem for the Cardinals if the Jets are eyeing Simpson as well.
If the Cardinals are to try to acquire Simpson, they might have to trade back up into the first round. And the Seahawks, looking to move down, could be open to such a trade-down with the Cardinals.
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While they’d move out of the first round, they would only be moving back two spots, with a very strong chance to land whoever they were considering at No. 32 if they didn’t trade down.
If they did swing this trade-down, the Seahawks likely could land a Day 3 pick in return for this two-pick drop. The fifth-year option with the first-rounder and the intra-division tax likely could net the Seahawks a decent return for such a small move-down.
While it might seem odd for a team to willingly let a division rival trade up for a quarterback, the Seahawks are on a different timeline than the Cardinals, and making such a trade wouldn’t be a bad move at all for the Super Bowl champions.
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