RENTON, Wash. - In his first draft in charge with Seattle, general manager John Schneider got his left tackle of the future.

Schneider now hopes he's found his bookend on the offensive line, even if Alabama's James Carpenter didn't think he'd be coming off the board until Day 2.

"I was so shocked," Carpenter said. "I thought I was going to go in the second round. I'm glad someone had faith in me."

Carpenter, who started every game at Alabama after walking on campus, was drafted by Seattle with the 25th overall pick in Thursday's NFL draft. He addresses a need for increased depth on an offensive line that was decimated by injuries and an inability to run the ball during the 2010 season.

He'll come to Seattle with the expectation of being the Seahawks starting right tackle, likely meaning an end to the tenure of Sean Locklear with the Seahawks. That's the plan of head coach Pete Carroll and assistant head coach Tom Cable, although both believe Carpenter could play any of four positions on the line.

"I wouldn't have drafted him if he was finesse," Cable said. "That's not my style."

The selection of Carpenter was surprising considering who was still available, but the Seahawks said Carpenter was their target.

There was Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi, who most rated higher than Carpenter. There was Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith, who could have filled Seattle's need for a shutdown cornerback in a leaky secondary.

And there were quarterbacks Ryan Mallett, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick, all of whom have been linked to Seattle at one point during the lead up to the draft.

Instead, the Seahawks addressed the offensive line after failing to trade out of the 25th spot as Schneider had hoped to do. Schneider said a couple of deals were being worked up to the final minute with Seattle eventually stepping away and staying at No. 25.

"We got close on two things quite frankly and then we had one to make a decision on that we walked away from," Schneider said.

The arrival of Carpenter with the plan of playing him at right tackle likely means the end of Locklear, who has started at right tackle since arriving in 2005 but is an unrestricted free agent and has struggled at times throughout his career.

It was the week leading up to the Senior Bowl where Carpenter's draft stock jumped. He'd spent his entire college career planted at left tackle, opening holes for running back Mark Ingram during his Heisman Trophy winning season.

But when he went to the Senior Bowl, Carpenter showed the ability to play both right tackle and left guard. That type of versatility, combined with a 6-foot-4, 321-pound frame and a reputation for toughness, made Carpenter attractive for the Seahawks, who were 31st in the NFL last season in run offense.

"I've been practicing it since the season ended and I've gotten pretty good," Carpenter said of playing other offensive line positions.

Cable, in charge of Seattle's run game, said he believed before Carpenter went to the Senior Bowl that he could play other spots on the offensive line, but seeing him take the initial steps of the transformation at the showcase helped solidify his belief.

"James brings us a toughness that we need. We need to continue to build our football team up front and it's a necessary move to make to get this guy," Carroll said. "... It's not as exciting as a flashy receiver or something like that, but at this stage for our program we think it's really important to get hard-nosed, tough guys who can come in and have some flexibility and really help us out."

Carpenter originally signed with Iowa State out of high school, but didn't qualify and ended up at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. From there it was on to Alabama, where Carpenter says his work ethic improved dramatically playing for Nick Saban.

Carpenter is the 10th offensive lineman to be drafted in the first round in Seahawks history.

"I'm just going to go in there and compete," Carpenter said, sounding just like his new head coach. "Coach Carroll, that's what he's looking for - people competing and putting the best players on the field."