The folks at ESPN Insider put together offseason grades for all 32 teams this week and the Seahawks earned themselves a relatively good grade for their efforts. The great Mike Sando called on the expertise of Bill Polian, Louis Riddick, Matt Williamson and Field Yates to formulate the grades, and the five of them landed on a B+ for the Seahawks.
Bill Polian really liked the addition of Jimmy Graham, even at the cost of a first-round pick.
"Lynch, like Adrian Peterson, is a force multiplier," Polian said. "Then you add Graham to a team that came within a yard of winning the Super Bowl, you have to like what you see. It's exciting because it gives Russell a reliable target who is used to playing with a quarterback like Russell. Drew Brees is not unlike Russell. They are going to develop a chemistry and Jimmy is a guy who mismatches everybody wherever you play him. When you create a mismatch for the quarterback every time you snap the ball in the passing game, you give him a comfort level that is extraordinary."
Former NFL scout Louis Riddick thought there was a lot of upside in the Frank Clark pick. He liked a lot of what the Seahawks did this offseason, in fact.
"Clark could be the most explosive pass-rusher in the draft," Riddick said. "That could be a home-run pick if they did their diligence on him and he turns out OK. The Lockett addition in the third round gives them run-after-the-catch and speed. The Richard promotion was smart, exactly how you want to do it because it keeps everything humming along. They did not make a ton of moves, but when you've played in back-to-back Super Bowls, you do not have to make a ton of moves."
How would you grade Seattle's offseason?
By my count, here are the moves that Seattle's made (in addition to the Draft):
Extended DE Cliff Avril
Extended OLB K.J. Wright
Extended RB Marshawn Lynch
Traded for TE Jimmy Graham
Re-signed TE Anthony McCoy
Re-signed DTJesse Williams
Re-signed DT D'Anthony Smith
Re-signed DE Greg Scruggs
Re-signed FB Will Tukuafu
Re-signed DE Demarcus Dobbs
Re-signed LS Clint Gresham
Re-signed LB Mike Morgan
Signed CB Will Blackmon
Signed CB Cary Williams
Signed DT Ahtyba Rubin
Signed LB Mister Alexander
Signed SS Deshawn Shead
Signed WR Ricardo Lockette
Outstanding questions:
Will they re-sign QB Tarvaris Jackson?
Will they re-sign DT Kevin Williams?
Will they extend QB Russell Wilson?
Will they extend LB Bobby Wagner?
Vote below.