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Seahawks G.M. says team “debated” taking Dalton at No. 25

John Schneider, Pete Carroll

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, right, answers questions about the upcoming NFL football draft, as Seahawks general manager John Schneider, left, looks on, Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at the Seahawks headquarters and practice facility in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

AP

The Seahawks went into the draft with only Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback, and they left the draft with only Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback.

That has inspired some criticism locally and from folks like Trent Dilfer, who thought Andy Dalton might be ticketed to Seattle with the No. 25 overall pick. Seahawks G.M. John Schneider admits Dalton was a serious consideration there.

“We debated with Andy Dalton, there’s no question about it. But I think we all felt like we were at a point in our development where we couldn’t pass on a starting tackle right now,” Schneider said on the Kevin Calabro show on 710 ESPN Radio.

“Quite honestly, we’d like to have a guy, especially a rookie, be more of a developmental type and a guy more like Aaron Rodgers and sit for a year or two. So that was really the only point in the draft where there was a guy where we were like, ‘There he is, that’s a very viable option.’”

Schneider and coach Pete Carroll instead chose Alabama tackle James Carpenter. Schneider indicated that no other quarterbacks the rest of the draft particularly interested him compared to other positions.

In the end, it sounds like the Seahawks wanted a player that could help them win sooner than later, even if that means they will still be looking for that developmental quarterback in 2012.

“I think by choosing Carpenter that we were helping our team immediately, whereas with Andy we would have wanted a veteran in there with him anyway,” Schneider said.