Even Rashaad Penny did not expect to be drafted in the first round, which tells you all you need to know about whether the Seahawks made the right pick at the right time.
John Schneider and Pete Carroll said they had offers to move down from 27, but they obviously didn’t want to risk dropping too far and losing the running back to another team. Their fears might have been confirmed when a team apparently called right after they drafted Penny and offered to trade for the back. Schneider said he had never been offered a deal AFTER drafting a player.
Obviously some people think Penny, just the third back ever drafted in the first round by Seattle, is going to be great. For the pick to be worth it, though, Penny will need to become the primary rusher and score 8-10 touchdowns a year. To do that, new line coach Mike Solari will have to fix a run-blocking unit that was among the league’s worst last season.
If the Seahawks cannot fix the blocking and continue to use a rotation rather than riding Penny, he will have been a wasted pick.
Quarterbacks were the topic of the day for Pete Carroll and John Schneider on Thursday. The gist of their individual messages: Colin Kaepernick still could be an option (don’t count on it), Russell Wilson’s contract is not a problem (it really isn’t) and Schneider feels like he has done a poor job of acquiring quarterbacks behind Wilson (he has).
This is the level of paranoia John Schneider has created with his surprisingly explosive offseason: Russell Wilson’s agent apparently is concerned Schneider is looking to replace the quarterback.
Richard Sherman is gone because John Schneider has drafted poorly and paid too many guys, not because Sherman can’t play anymore.
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 