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The paucity of top drafted talent on the 2011 Seattle Seahawks

Now that it appears as if Curry has been benched, and perhaps even up for trade, his future with the Seahawks seems ordained: he won't be a part of it. NFL teams expect to obtain top talent in the first two rounds of the draft. Sure, later rounds are important, and we can name dozens of such players who have had excellent careers. But on balance, most teams expect to draft players in the first two rounds who will contribute at high levels, either right away or in the following few years. With that in mind, it occurred to me that the 2011 Seattle Seahawks are virtually bereft of top-round talent from their own drafts over the past decade. Setting aside the past two drafts (Okung/Thomas/Tate/Carpenter) there are exactly 2 players contributing to the 2011 Seahawks from the top two rounds of the previous nine drafts: Trufant (2003) and Unger (2009). Two players out of 18 drafted, the drafts that we would expect to have the largest impact on the current team. The point is not to point blame at the drafters, or the players, or make excuses about injuries, but simply to point out that with so little conbtribution from these critical rounds over those past decade, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the Seahawks are routinely touted as the worst team in the league. Sure, success in later rounds (Mebane, Wright, Bryant, Forsett) and FA (BMW, Miller, Rice, Browner) and UDFAs (Hawthorne, Baldwin) help offset this draft drought, but it doesn't make up for what should be the primary source of top NFL talent. Nor does it help that some of the players on the list below were traded, as in every case the trade netted a lower draft pick, not an equivalent one. Take a look at those past drafts: 2001: 1/9 Koren Robinson; 1/17 Steve Hutchinson; 2/40 Ken Lucas 2002: 1/28 Jeremy Stevens; 2/54 Maurice Morris 2003: 1/11 Marcus Trufant; 2/42 Ken Hamlin 2004: 1/23 Marcus Tubbs; 2/53 Michael Boulware 2005: 1/26 Chris Spencer; 2/45 Tatupu 2006: 1/31 Jennings; 2/63 Tapp 2007: 2/55 Josh Wilson (first round pick traded for Branch) 2008: 1/28 Lawrence Jackson; 2/38 John Carlson (IR) 2009: 1/4 Curry; 2/49 Max Unger The following 2 drafts look good, as all these players are contributing at some level: 2010: 1/6 Okung; 2/14 Thomas; 3/60 Tate 2011: 1/22 Carpenter.

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Of the formatting issues and typos, just one of substance to point out right away: Tate should be labled "2/60".

Some of these top picks were busts, in that they never lived up to their draft status (Jackson, Curry), and some were sidelined by injury (Tubbs, Carlson), some had good careers that ended early (Tatupu), and some of them simply didn’t fit with PC/JS’s vision of what a player should be (Tapp, Wilson).

Others were/are okay players (Jennings, Morris), and some flopped themselves out of the league (Robinson, Stevens). No matter how they left, though, they are not helping the 2011 Seattle Seahawks, and that’s too bad. Just think if instead of 2 starters from that group, the team still had six or seven.

Without having done a league-wide study, I would predict that 2/18 is far below the league average, and speaks volumes for some of the current woes of the Seattle Seahawks.

About the 2011 Seahawks: "And if I laugh at any mortal thing, tis that I may not weep." Byron

by Hawksince77 on Sep 30, 2011 12:14 PM PDT reply actions  

Honestly though, not wanting to undercut you

This isn’t news. PC inherited a very talent-poor team (and shed some fringe talented guys right after), because, well, Ruskell wasn’t good at top-end talent. That’s not news, really.

Formerly knows as Vasilii, follow me on twitter @dolgorukii

by Thomas Beekers on Sep 30, 2011 12:44 PM PDT up reply actions  

You're right, I suppose. A waste of everybody's time pointing out the obvious.

About the 2011 Seahawks: "And if I laugh at any mortal thing, tis that I may not weep." Byron

by Hawksince77 on Sep 30, 2011 12:49 PM PDT up reply actions  

I wouldn't say waste

Like many teams with streaks of failure in top-end drafting (Colts, for instance), we have a talent paucity is that is, well, explained by that draft failing. It’s always worth keeping in mind when looking at our team, and where we are in the rebuilding effort.

Formerly knows as Vasilii, follow me on twitter @dolgorukii

by Thomas Beekers on Sep 30, 2011 1:32 PM PDT up reply actions  

Less likely to "draw traffic" perhaps...

but not a waste of time.
As Beekers pointed out, it’s always worth keeping in mind. Rebuild almost isn’t even the word for the degree to which PC/JS blew this team up. When I think about that, it’s a little easier to have patience… not much easier, haha, but a little.

by TacomaHawk on Oct 1, 2011 5:00 PM PDT up reply actions  

Ruskel blows, pre Ruskel we're fine, post Ruskel we'll be fine.

Ruskel is gone, rejoice!!!

Learn JiuJitsu.
"Gelato isn't Vegan?" -- Superman
"It's milk and eggs bitch." -- The Punisher

by RolloTomasi on Sep 30, 2011 4:31 PM PDT reply actions  

All that needs to be said is forget about Andrew Luck.

As of last night, Russell Wilson and the entire Wisconsin offensive line is on my wish list.

Russell Wilson will wash away to draft pains of the last decade.

by Wilder. on Oct 2, 2011 6:43 AM PDT reply actions  

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