Seattle is 2-10. If it wins out - it won't - it could scrape to achieve 6-10. Realistically, Seattle will finish the season 3-13 or 4-12. Scanning the contenders, Seattle should draft as early as third and definitely within the top five. That certainly excites some. Maybe it shouldn't.

The first ten picks demand some of the highest salaries in the NFL. That burdens the worst teams in the NFL in two ways. A bust is a disaster. The contract forces teams to start unworthy players and often at keystone positions. Top ten picks must also be sufficiently better to justify their salary. That requires scouting accuracy I've yet seen.

There's an exception to this theory. Marquee players at positions that don't fall, mostly offensive tackle and quarterback, are typically very scarce past the top fifteen. Seattle needs both. So how should Seattle negotiate this draft: Target the best available tackle or quarterback, undertake a huge salary, but potentially draft that Walter Jones or Peyton Manning to build their franchise around? Or aggressively trade down, even accepting bargains, and stockpile cheaper picks while retaining cap flexibility?

I'll be gone until late Saturday, preempting the podcast and regular posting, but just to keep the discussion going, I offer a question for discussion/debate:

If you could add one player from any NFL roster to the Seahawks, who would it be and why?

I'll go first.

LaRon Landry, Free Safety

Previewing Seahawks/Skins last season, I wrote this about Landry:

Landry is an excellent young safety. He has both good quickness and excellent long strider's speed. Plus, he's tremendously athletic. The Skins deployed him ultra deep for most of the game against the Vikings, where, to television crews, he was essentially invisible. What I saw, from his ability to read the play to his overall athletic potential, makes me think he's a future star, and, perhaps, superstar. He needs some polish, but an occasional bad break on a ball is to be expected from a rookie.

Landry is one of a handful of safeties perfectly met for Seattle's needs. He kills the cover one, has the quickness, speed and reaction to truly cover sideline to sideline, and the ball hawking instincts and dangerous return ability to take away the deep passing attack entirely. His contributions were instrumental to a Washington defense that went from last in the NFL in 2006 to sixth in 2007. He's quick enough and a sound enough tackler to aid in run support, plus an aggressive and fearless hitter.

Landry is an example of a young player who's great now and a superstar to be. He's expensive, five years 41.5 million, but there's not another safety in football that has his potential. Besides, he'd be replacing Brian Russell. With Landry, Seattle would have a legendary defense.

I'm heading out on a hike, so I'm putting this in your hands. Here's the catch, no button clicking. Make an argument, all (rational) arguments held equal, but one player, one vote per person. I don't want the box stuffed for someone who won't fit the system, so I'm going to narrow the pool.

Early Doucet
Jamaal Charles
Tyrell Johnson
Andre Caldwell
Earl Bennett
Jeremy Zuttah
Josh Barrett
John Carlson
Jermichael Finley
Andre Fluellen
Fred Davis

If I'm an ignorant slut and ignoring someone perfect and you can explain why to me, write-ins are welcome.

I'm heading out on a hike, so I'm putting this in your hands. Here's the catch, no button clicking. Make an argument, all (rational) arguments held equal, but one player, one vote per person. I don't want the box stuffed for someone who won't fit the system, so I'm going to narrow the pool.

Early Doucet
Jamaal Charles
Tyrell Johnson
Andre Caldwell
Earl Bennett
Jeremy Zuttah
Josh Barrett
John Carlson
Jermichael Finley
Andre Fluellen
Fred Davis

If I'm an ignorant slut and ignoring someone perfect and you can explain why to me, write-ins are welcome.

Update: I count three for Carlson. Looks like the pick. Writeup mañana. Thank you everyone.

Today and Sunday are the last two days I'm really strapped for time before the NFL Draft. It's been a hairy week, so sorry if the posts have been less substantial than usual. Unfortunately, today I'm very short on time. So, here's my idea. Let's have an open discussion on the best Seahawks draft of all time. The ancillary discussion could be this: with more and more teams attempting to trade down, might Seattle want to trade up? A player like Glenn Dorsey or Sedrick Ellis could be available at 7, New England's pick. New England is known to want to trade down. It might take this and next year's 1st round pick, but I think you'll see two of Seattle's best drafts involved trading down. Grabbing Walter Jones and Lofa Tatupu cost Seattle depth, but both have become irreplaceable fixtures on their respective units. It'll be a longtime before a Glenn Dorsey is available at the Hawks' natural pick. The pick will be expensive, something to the tune of 6 years, $40 million, 17 million guaranteed (last year's #7 Adrian Peterson's contract). But, in a position to make a title push, and not in need of depth, one could argue Seattle's in the perfect place to grab that elite talent, that final piece that makes a good unit great. Anyway, as Linda Richman would say "Discuss"--though I always thought that sketch represented the worst elements of SNL.

Greatest Hawks drafts off all time after the jump. Here's a list of every Seahawks draft of all time.

Continue reading this post »

I'm very interested in everyone's thoughts about this incoming draft class. I've read a lot of love for Rashard Mendenhall recently, but am a bit perplexed. Medenhall looks decent, but a ton of his production came playing out of the option. Is Mendenhall or Jonathan Stewart truly head and shoulders above the bounty of backs sure to fall to the second round or later. Scout.com lists a full 12 backs as 4 star players or better, though many of those backs have endured a frightening workload--including 450 carries by Kevin Smith this last season. Given that depth and the extremely unpredictable trajectory or running backs, I can't figure a single good reason to draft a back in the first round, but I'm open to arguments to the contrary.

I'm very interested in everyone's thoughts about this incoming draft class. I've read a lot of love for Rashard Mendenhall recently, but am a bit perplexed. Medenhall looks decent, but a ton of his production came playing out of the option. Is Mendenhall or Jonathan Stewart truly head and shoulders above the bounty of backs sure to fall to the second round or later. Scout.com lists a full 12 backs as 4 star players or better, but many of those backs have endured a frightening workload--450 carries by Kevin Smith this last season. Given that depth and the extremely unpredictable trajectory or running backs, I can't figure a single good reason to draft a back in the first round, but I'm open to arguments to the contrary.

Looks like our mock draft pick is going to preempt my TE piece. Briefly, here's the lowdown: Zach Miller is an awesome route-runner and receiver who was hurt too much by his combine performance. Tight end is a "skill position" and therefore is less about a player's forty or bench and more about his ability to see holes in the zone and compete for jump balls. Miller is the best receiver in the draft and the Hawks might just be lucky enough to have him fall to them. Also, tight end has a vast middle class this year. The best of which is Kevin Boss. I would be elated to see Boss in Seahawk grey next year. But on to our pick...
For the next 60 minutes I will keep this thread open so everyone can discuss who we should pick. To narrow the discussion here is a short list of players I'm considering in no particular order: Paul Soliai, Baraka Atkins, Kevin Boss, Josh Beekman, Allen Barbre, Brandon Frye, and James Marten.

Soliai is the best talent. Atkins could be a force at defensive end. Both have shown that most deadly character flaw, though, lack of motivation. Boss is a second round talent who suffered a shoulder injury that has pushed his stock way down. I think he is far and away the best available talent of the remaining tight ends, but, again, it's a deep class. Beekman is severely undersized for the guard position and is probably more of a center prospect in the NFL. Barbre, Frye and Marten are all quality guards, but one is almost certainly going to slip to the second day.

Boss fills the most pressing need, but if Marcus Tubbs fails to return healthy, Soliai could be godsend for a team that couldn't stop the long run in Tubbs' absence. Atkins is a nice combination of need and value, the kind of third rounder with first round talent. Truthfully, I'm not too worried about his character concerns. He's very smart player and one that could take off under the right coaching.

So, roughly, I'd rank them: Atkins, Boss, Soliai. Now it's your turn. Take it away.