Category Archives: NFL draft

NFL draft

Looking at first-round options and overall strategy

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The NFL draft is two weeks away, and the Seahawks are finishing up their evaluations of players and starting to put together their final draft board.

John Schneider outlined upcoming steps on his radio show on Thursday: Scouts went over the board last week and coaches are meeting to go over it again this weekend. Next week, Schneider will hear from his medical team and let the analytics squad “pick the board apart” (he said that with a laugh). On Tuesday of draft week, Schneider and Pete Carroll will go over the board one last time.

Schneider said it’s time to “hunker down in the draft room with everybody and be able to study and continue to bounce things off each other and try to figure this thing out.”

So let’s figure it out with them.

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NFL draft

Will Jalen Carter be on Seattle’s board?

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Jalen Carter reportedly will meet with the Seahawks in the “coming days” – and it will be one of the most important pre-draft meetings in franchise history.

Carter, one of the top two defenders in this draft, is almost surely going to be available when the Seahawks draft at No. 5. Talent-wise, he seems like a perfect fit, but in nearly every other way he sure seems like the anti-Seahawk.

All signs indicate he would be the second coming of Aaron Curry (Seattle’s 2009 bust at No. 4 overall who never earned the millions he was paid). The current Hawks have their own cautionary tale as well in Malik McDowell, their top pick in 2017 who never played for them.

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NFL draft

A QB at 5 is fine, but Hawks should not burn good picks to move up

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The Seahawks are not hiding their interest in Anthony Richardson, but are they really willing to trade up to No. 3 to get him? Knowing it would cost them valuable resources they could use on their defense?

Two reports this week mentioned league buzz about Seattle possibly trading up with Arizona to draft the Florida quarterback. Corbin Smith of SI.com also reported that the Seahawks showed a lot of interest during Richardson’s Pro Day — John Schneider meeting with Richardson’s agent and Pete Carroll talking privately with Florida coach Billy Napier.

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NFL Combine, NFL draft

Should Hawks play the lottery and use No. 5 pick on a QB if possible?

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The Seahawks’ draft position improved Saturday.

No, they didn’t make a trade. But Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson’s record-setting performance at the Combine seemed to vault him into the top five of the draft.

That put the Hawks in an even better spot at No. 5, with the top five players now expected to be, in some order, Richardson, Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud, Alabama QB Bryce Young, Alabama OLB Will Anderson Jr. and Georgia DE Jalen Carter.

So the Hawks will have their choice of a top QB or an elite front-seven player – a winning proposition however you slice it.

Last year, after the Hawks traded Russell Wilson, a QB in this draft seemed a no-brainer. But then Geno Smith put together a Pro Bowl season, and there is a real debate now about whether they should take a QB at 5 — especially knowing it is a 50-50 bet or worse.

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NFL Combine, NFL draft

Experts on draft’s top four defensive ends

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At the Combine today, Pete Carroll said the Seahawks are “totally connected to the quarterbacks coming out” in the draft.

However, other teams are likely to scoop up the top two guys, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, in the top three picks. That’s OK, because the Seahawks really need to use their top pick on the best combination defensive lineman they can find – a guy who can set the edge against the run and rush the passer from both inside and out.

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NFL draft, The roster

No. 3 receiver is not high on the need list

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Q&A series: We take a look at some big questions about the Seahawks’ salary cap situation and roster.  

Today’s question: Should the Seahawks prioritize a No. 3 receiver with one of their top three picks?

Because Dee Eskridge has been a bust, there is a hue and cry by some for the Seahawks to prioritize a No. 3 receiver again this offseason — preferably with one of their top draft picks.

Should that really be a priority though? Over the front seven and interior offensive line?

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Contracts, NFL draft

Smith a better value than top-five QB in 2023

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Q&A series: We take a look at some big questions about the Seahawks’ salary cap situation and roster.  

Today’s question: Instead of paying big money to Geno Smith, should the Seahawks draft a QB or go with Drew Lock and use cap space on other positions?

There remains a subset of fans and media who think the formula for winning the Super Bowl is a quarterback on a rookie contract and a team built around that player.

The main data point for their argument is the fact that no team has won a Super Bowl with a QB who has taken up more than 13.1% of the team’s salary cap. Russell Wilson, a former third-round pick with a cap hit of $681,000 when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, is the bellwether for that theory.

The fact is that, in the salary cap era (1994 to now), 75% of the time the Super Bowl-winning QB has been in the top three in team cap percentage, according to a 2022 study by Bookies.com. Three QBs on rookie deals have won it in the past 11 years, but most of the winners fell in the range of 10.6% to 12.3% of team cap.

In other words, there is no rhyme or reason to the trend.

If the Chiefs beat the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, Patrick Mahomes will become the first QB over 13.1% (Steve Young in 1994) to win it. Mahomes took up 17.2% of the Chiefs’ cap this season.

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NFL draft, The roster

Building around QB spot: Roster report after the draft

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The Seahawks may not yet know who their quarterback will be – Geno Smith, Drew Lock or someone else — but they certainly are building around that position.

For once, the Seahawks played the draft by the book – and the result looks like their best set of rookies in a decade.

They filled all of their most pressing needs except center — adding tackles Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, running back Kenneth Walker, pass rushers Boye Mafe and Tyreke Smith and corners Coby Bryant and Tariq Woolen. They tossed in a pair of receivers/possible return guys in the seventh round.

The Seahawks got proper value for every pick. Cross, Lucas, Walker, Mafe and Bryant look like five foundational players – four who should be starters now or quite soon. Woolen is an intriguing project as well.

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NFL draft

Hawks can have a big Day 2; will it include a quarterback?

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The Seahawks did what they needed to on Day 1, finding their new permanent left tackle in Charles Cross.

Now they prepare for a big Day 2, where they have the eighth and ninth picks to start the session, plus No. 72 overall (third round).

They figure to be looking for a possible QB, plus a corner, center, running back, linebacker and edge rusher.

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NFL draft

Draft Day 2022: Hawks get a new left tackle

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The Seahawks eschewed drafting outside linebacker Jermaine Johnson, instead filling their void with left tackle Charles Cross.

It’s a redux of 2010, when they drafted Russell Okung to anchor the left side.

Some analysts who know the Seahawks’ penchant for a balanced offense don’t think Cross has the necessary run-blocking skills. But he graded second in the SEC in run blocking last season, per PFF.

No one doubts his pass blocking, as he faced the premier pass rushers in the NCAA and held his own.

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