Whether the Seattle Seahawks take a quarterback or not with the No. 5 selection is beside the point. 

Seahawks general manager John Schneider admitted on Thursday that the team's draft formula is actually quite simple: Take the best player available. 

"In general, we do a much better job when we just pick the best player,'' he said on The Wyman and Bob Show on 710 Seattle Sports.

It has been rumored that Seattle could take Jalen Carter to bolster its defensive line. But the organization has also been open to selecting its future quarterback early in round one. 

No one has a clear direction. And it appears that, at least on the surface, Schneider wants the draft process to be a simple one: stop thinking about team-need and make a move for the player that can be a star at a given position. He explained as much in a hypothetical scenario that could very well be the reality for the Seahawks soon. 

"When you’re self-scouting, the evaluation process, reviewing the draft, you can get in situations where, you know, personally, I feel like we’ve made some mistakes where we’ve pushed players based on need and what the draft looks like," he said. 

"So that particular class, say you have – I’m using generalities here and vague terms – but if you have one receiver on the board in one round, and then there’s a gap of two rounds, and you have five cornerbacks on the board in those same two rounds, (the idea is) ‘Well, we should just go ahead and take the receiver.’ Well, is the receiver really the best player, or is the corner the best player with more options below him? And in retrospect, over the years, when we look back at pushing players up, you can do that based on need because you say that guy’s gonna step right in and he’s gonna play. But is that truly accurate when you’re comparing the players?"

A few days ago Schneider also admitted that more preparation has gone into the pre-draft process now that the team possesses a high draft selection. With the high selection comes the expectation of star power. And that is something he wants the Seahawks to walk away with after April 29. 

“I think you guys have heard me talk about there’s ledges all throughout the draft, there’s gaps in each round, and you have to be really careful not to push a player based on a specific need or based on what the numbers look like in that specific draft,” he said. “That’s why you have to be really, really honest and in-depth on your study of what each class looks like, and know that, hey… maybe he really is a fourth-rounder and you made him a third-rounder.”

Seattle has a busy week ahead of it. But what is clear is that the organization wants everyone to know that whether it picks for scheme fit or just takes the best player available, it is a process Schneider has thought through thoroughly in recent weeks.