John Schneider explains Seahawks giving up 2027 fourth-round pick to draft Beau Stephens

Mar 1, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Iowa offensive lineman Beau Stephens (OL48) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks didn’t have a fourth- or fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft as a result of the Rashid Shaheed trade, but John Schneider was able to maneuver his way back into the fifth round by dipping into next year’s draft capital.

Seattle gave up a 2027 fourth-rounder to the Cleveland Browns for pick 148, which was used on All-American Iowa guard Beau Stephens. General manager John Schneider explained why they made the move, citing incoming compensatory picks as a factor.

“It was too big of a gap and too much talent there” Schneider said. “Beau came on a 30 visit. Really cool, right? Just the process of [him] coming in.

“We were pretty surprised [he was available at 148],” Schneider added. “But when the guy lasts that long, you’re like, ‘Okay, how do we figure this out?’ We did have a plan to play the compensatory game, if you
will. We were, like, ‘We have the 12 picks next year. What does it look like?’ The coaches, we got a lot of buy-in from the coaches. They’re really excited about it.”

For what it’s worth, Stephens wasn’t even aware the Seahawks had traded up to get him when the life-changing phone call came.

“I was unaware of that until they told me on the call,” Stephens said. “I was like, ‘Are you serious right now? You guys are going to trade up for me right now?’ They said you were staring at us on the board, so we had to do something.”