It's bigger than football, NFL draft, The roster

Carroll and Schneider are such drama queens

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NFL draftYou wouldn’t think it by looking at or listening to them, but Pete Carroll and John Schneider are drama queens.

They proved it again Friday when they used their top draft pick, No. 63 overall, on one of the most controversial players in the draft: banned Michigan pass rusher Frank Clark. Then, as if to take everyone’s mind off the controversial pick of Clark, Carroll and Schneider parlayed four draft picks to move up and grab explosive return man/wide receiver Tyler Lockett six picks later.

Carroll and Schneider knew they would take heat for drafting Clark, who was kicked off the team at Michigan after a domestic violence arrest last year.

But the Hawks have never been afraid to acquire players with dubious character. They traded for Marshawn Lynch, signed Terrell Owens and Braylon Edwards, traded for Kellen Winslow, drafted Bruce Irvin and Christine Michael and traded for Percy Harvin.

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NFL draft, Trades

Hawks reportedly trying to trade up in Round 2

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NFL draftMany have speculated that the Seahawks — overstocked with 11 picks — would try to move up from their spot deep in the second round. And it turns out they apparently are trying.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, “Teams I hear want to come up into the early part of the 2nd round: The Steelers, Seahawks, Falcons.”

Draft Insider Tony Pauline said last week that the Seahawks “would love to grab Dorial Green-Beckham if he’s available at the 63rd selection, but they expect the receiver to be off the board during the initial 15 picks of Round 2.”

If they aren’t after Green-Beckham, they might be angling for one of the top offensive or defensive linemen.

NFL draft

On Day 2, Hawks should find a lineman

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Pete Carroll spent the first day of the draft joking about the Seahawks’ first-round pick.

He even stopped in the media room at VMAC and cracked to reporters, “Don’t tell anyone but we’re taking a tight end.”

Obviously, the Seahawks consider Jimmy Graham their first-round pick — they sent the 31st overall selection to New Orleans along with center Max Unger for Graham and a fourth-rounder.

It was one of the best picks of the first round, which was one of the least intriguing in years — just two trades.

And now the Hawks’ draft will begin, with 11 picks from the 63rd to the 248th.

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NFL draft, The roster

Irvin reports make sense

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Graham vs. IrvinIt’s no surprise that the Seahawks apparently won’t pick up Bruce Irvin’s $7.75 million option. We already have pointed out why they probably wouldn’t do it.

As for the Atlanta trade rumor, it certainly makes more sense than the Michael Bennett/Atlanta rumor from a few weeks ago.

The Seahawks apparently told Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN that they are not trying to trade Irvin, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t listening to teams asking about him.

O’Neil wrote: “Trading Irvin is not something Seattle is planning to do or has actively pursued. In other words, any ‘chatter’ about a potential trade is occurring somewhere other than Seattle’s front office. The team is planning on having Irvin back at strong-side linebacker, where he has established himself as a strong starter.”

Of course, nothing there says the Hawks are not talking to the Falcons. It is quite possible that Dan Quinn (former Seattle DC now Atlanta’s coach) initiated talks with Seattle about Irvin.

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NFL draft

Hawks more likely to move down than up

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NFL draftThere seems to be growing sentiment that the Seahawks want to move up in the second round to get an impact player, but it seems more likely that they will bail out of the second round. And not just because John Schneider has moved down in all five of his Seahawks drafts.

Unless a player they really like falls to them, they are likely to see a bunch of similarly skilled players — any of which they might like — and that could make Schneider want to move down and pick up another draft choice or two.

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CHAWK LINES, NFL draft
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CHAWK LINES -- Draft

NFL.com put together a seven-round mock draft. Like many, they gave Oregon center Hroniss Grasu to Seattle at No. 63.

Rotoworld gave the Hawks two Michigan players to start off its seven-round mock.

Rob Staton broke down the players selected in the NFL.com and Rotoworld mocks.

Everyone seems to have Ty Montgomery landing in Seattle, which means of course he won’t. But Bob Condotta lists him among 10 players who could fit the Seahawks.

The Seahawks likely have interest in a lot of the guys on this list of “underrated prospects” by Doug Farrar of SI.com.

The NFL has asked reporters not to tip picks on social media.

NFL.com calls out four draft smokescreens from teams.

Football Outsiders put together some data on teams that have created the best and worst trade value in the draft. The Seahawks were the best in 2000-04 — largely because they had two first-round picks in 2000 and 2001 off the Joey Galloway trade.

NFL draft, Trades

Will Hawks move off 63 or pull from 2016 stock?

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NFL draftDRAFT COUNTDOWN: Five days. A weekly look at draft-related topics involving the Seahawks.

John Schneider already has made three trades involving picks in this draft, and everyone is curious to know whether he’s going to make another one — moving off the Seahawks’ first pick at No. 63 on Friday.

Last season, Schneider basically ended up swapping sixth-round picks while adding cornerback Marcus Burley and deleting wide receiver Percy Harvin.

But the big move was the one Schneider made March 10, sending center Max Unger and Seattle’s first-round pick (No. 31 overall) to the Saints for tight end Jimmy Graham and a fourth-rounder.

The other day, Schneider said, “When you acquire a player of Jimmy’s caliber with the 31st pick, that makes it that much easier to sleep at night knowing that we wouldn’t be able to get a player like that.”

With Graham coming in as their nominal first-rounder — much like Harvin in 2013 — the Hawks are left to pick at No. 63. But will they stay there? Or will they consider using some 2016 draft capital to add a pick in the second round?

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Contracts, The roster

Hawks aren’t sure Irvin is worth $7.75 million

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Salary cap logoAs expected, the Seahawks are not sure Bruce Irvin is worth $7.75 million.

That much is clear after John Schneider said Wednesday that they have not decided whether to pick up the 2016 option on the 2012 first-round player.

“Those options can be tricky,” the GM said. “That’s all I can get into right now.”

He might not want to get into it, but his meaning is clear: Picking up the option would set a baseline for any future contract negotiations while also forcing the Hawks to take a certain direction with their 2016 salary cap.

It’s hard to see the Hawks exercising the option when they don’t know what Russell Wilson’s contract will look like in 2016 and might not have decided what they are doing with Russell Okung.

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Contracts, It's bigger than football, State of the team

Wilson: ‘I can’t wait to play (football) again’

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Wilson HBO clipRussell Wilson has been the center of attention in Seattle all month — whether it has been talk of his contract, the recent team-building trip to Maui he organized or his talk about baseball.

His HBO interview with Bryant Gumbel caught a lot of attention due to his comments about his “dream” of playing baseball. We’ve already dismissed all of the conspiracy theories surrounding those comments, and Wilson today waved off any concerns himself, saying he is focused on his future as a football player.

“I didn’t say I was going to leave the NFL,” Wilson told ESPN’s The Herd. “I love playing the game of football. To be one of 32 men in the world who get to do what I do, it’s a special thing, and I’ve been able to play in two Super Bowls and I’m only 26 years old. That’s been a blessing.”

Contract negotiations with the Seahawks reportedly have not gone very far, and neither side is saying much.

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Schedule

This schedule is much better than 2014

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Chris Matthews comes down with the onside kick amid several Packers (Seahawks.com)So, apparently if you lose a Super Bowl in agonizing fashion, you get a much friendlier schedule the next year.

For a team with the fourth-toughest schedule in the league (based on 2014 records), the Seahawks pulled as amenable a schedule as they could have requested Tuesday when the NFL released the full slate.

With a team-record five prime-time games, three straight contests at home in November, a perfectly placed midseason bye, no bad-weather games and a friendly final two months, the Seahawks have a much better setup than they faced in 2014. (Plus, they get Al Michaels calling games three times and we have to suffer through Jon Gruden just once.)

Last year, the Seahawks were among the first set of byes in Week 4 and finished with five rugged division games in the final six weeks — and they still claimed the top seed in the NFC for the second straight year.

Despite a tough early schedule, they are in good position to win the NFC for a third straight year.

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