Seahawks Mock Draft: Building a Better Charlie

Charlie Whitehurst is not particular in any way that should preclude building an offense that works for him but will also work for another quarterback. His greatest weakness is pocket awareness, and that emphasizes building a strong pass blocking line. His greatest strength, that is, relative to his type, is short range accuracy. A lot of athletic, strong-armed quarterbacks never learn how to properly check down, and Whitehurst looks capable of delivering an accurate touch pass underneath.

This draft is designed to build around Whitehurst, but also the Whitehurst prototype. To accomplish that, every pick is geared towards adding talent to the offense. This is not meant to accurately reflect how the Seahawks will draft, only some players they could target, and a goal they could have.

All players are picked within ten spots of their ranking as provided by NFL Draft Scout.

6. C.J. Spiller: Whitehurst knows how to hit the underneath man, and maybe with a little time and patience, will understand how to outlet out of pressure. It would help Whitehurst immensely if Seattle could add a player that can give the Seahawks passing yards without air yards. Spiller is a dangerous receiver, and splitting carries with Justin Forsett, a sort of tempest in a teapot thunder and lightning. If Forsett can continue to show inside power, and Spiller prove his ability to slash at the edges, only a short yardage rusher would be needed to fill out the Seahawks running back committee. A good running game sets up play action, and play action is a simple but extremely effective kind of passing attack.

14. Trent Williams: Russell Okung has established himself as the best tackle in his class, and a worthy top five pick. Detroit needs someone to protect their own pocket-presence challenged quarterback. Washington needs every offensive lineman it can sign. So I do not see Okung slipping to six. Trent Williams at fourteen is possible, and potentially as valuable.

Williams is undervalued for the wrong reasons. Despite being the most athletically gifted member of the vaunted Sooners offensive line, he played right tackle for most of his career. He even played some center in the Sun Bowl. That speaks to a team-first attitude and the overall quality of Oklahoma's line, not Williams' inadequecies. He was showing marked in-season growth at left tackle and has excellent tools and size for the position.

He is a quick learner with versatility. Williams is not polished yet at left tackle, but for an accomplished offensive lineman with some of the purest tools in the draft, that should be a doable conversion. I think Williams fits the sweet spot for athletic talent, technique, effort and health. If he can buy Whitehurst a beat before pressure arrives, he could save Seattle from fumbles and injuries. If he can slide out and become an excellent screen-pass blocker, he could further reduce the pressure put on Whitehurst.

60. Anthony McCoy: McCoy is a huge, sure handed tight end with decent speed and excellent potential. Seattle might seem backlogged at tight end, but as the loosening passing game deemphasizes speed and correspondingly emphasizes the ability to box out and control a position, players like McCoy become viable slot receivers, and deadly out of bunch packages. A two-tight end set with John Carlson and McCoy would give Seattle excellent run-pass flexibility, and Whitehurst a simpler, more forgiving set of progressions. McCoy is an excellent receiver for a quarterback that passes around his target. He not only should snag some errant passes, but help shield incomplete passes from finding a defender.

Perhaps most importantly, McCoy strengthens the Seahawks rushing attack, and by being both a sound run blocker and good receiver, gives Whitehurst another versatile weapon in play action.

104. Jordan Shipley: A skilled route-runner that can be trusted to finish his routes, and a good set of hands, Shipley is a developing quarterback's best friend. Shipley does not have tremendous upside from a tools standpoint, and his pro windows will be smaller, but if Whitehurst is looking for someone to develop trust with, that won't demand the ball or quit on him, Shipley is the kind of receiver that can move around, surface as a primary read and help move the chains.

127. Selvish Capers: Seattle is gutting its offensive line, and it looks like only Max Unger and Sean Locklear fit the profile of an Alex Gibbs lineman. Capers is zone blocking approved, but concerns persist about his ability to capably man the blindside. His power is never likely to develop. Drafting Capers allows Seattle to move Locklear inside and potentially start a Williams-Locklear-Unger-X-Capers front five. That is not a lot of power, but it's a ton of quickness.

139. Dezmon Briscoe: Briscoe is another big bodied, position wide receiver that controls a zone and helps modestly accurate passers complete passes. Unlike Shipley, Briscoe is not made to order. He is the developing upside to Shipley's concrete ability. Briscoe could develop on his own, and develop chemistry with the Seahawks quarterback as the primary backup to T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

176. Jevan Snead: Snead isn't ruined; he is marred. Seattle adds another toolsy, modest upside slinger to complement and compete with toolsy, modest upside slinger Charlie Whitehurst. Snead could step in if Whitehurst fails, and hopefully the time spent developing can help him tap into his potential. Basically, adding Snead is adding a younger, cheaper and more talented Whitehurst, but one with further to develop before being functional.

213. LeGarrette Blount: The swinging sleeper that hit snooze is probably not the Jamal Lewis clone many hoped, but he is a powerful inside presence with long strider speed. Seattle adds another cog to its run game hoping to draw in safeties and clear passing lanes for Whitehurst.

245: Kyle Burhart: This is when you hope Gibbs genius can assert itself and find good talent in the rubbish pile. Any player that falls this far has red flags, and Burkhart is a tad slim, a tad weak, and most recently, suffered a torn labrum. Luckily, a little weak and a little slim doesn't hurt a Gibbs guard, and a torn labrum is small beans for an offensive lineman. He's quick and studious and certainly looks the part.