For the first time in years, the story around the Seattle Seahawks and day one of the draft revolves around the cornerback position. Pete Carroll and John Schneider thrived for years with a fifth round pick, a former CFLer, a sixth round pick, and a UDFA safety transition at cornerback, but times they are a changing. Carroll and Schneider have never drafted a cornerback higher than round four, but that seems impossible in 2017.

The Seahawks know that DeShawn Shead will be missing a good chunk of the season with a torn ACL and Richard Sherman remains on the trade block. Carroll has said that Jeremy Lane will compete on the outside and for now they will abandon the idea of him at nickel. For that reason, it seems like Seattle will target a slot corner rather than an outside corner, unless they trade Sherman. If they do trade Sherman, then it is probable that they could get a pick to target someone like Ohio State’s Marshon Lattimore, but he’s likely out of their range at 26.

As far as which others are out of their range, that is still pretty unknown. Lattimore’s teammate Gareon Conley and Alabama’s Marlon Humphrey are often mentioned as the next two off the board, but nothing is clear. Some suggest they could fall out of the top 20. Though this is a deep draft for corners, there are not clear levels of talent between picks 20 and 60. That’s what makes it an interesting proposition for the Seahawks, and possibly a reason they are so closely nosing around UConn safety Obi Melifonwu. The team could look to the uber-athletic Melifonwu to be their next nickel player, but it’s a risk since he’d be learning a new position and would likely need at least a little time to get up to speed.

There are also local products Kevin King and Sidney Jones. King is one of the top five players in the draft in terms of size+athleticism (along with Melifonwu) but his game tape is considered awful to some people and his potential weaknesses, like playing slower on the field than he does in timed drills and some tackling issues, are concerning. Jones is the superior player on the field but his frame is really small and he probably won’t contribute in 2017 because of a torn Achilles.

Seattle could target a corner on day one, but they could also just as easily find out what happens in round two and look to move up. Potential round two options include Ahkello Witherspoon, Cordrea Tankersley, Jourdan Lewis, Desmond King, and Howard Wilson.