Editor's Note: I threw this up on the front page because I like this idea a lot and it'll get more interaction, hopefully, this way.
Howdy Twelves. Draft season is in full swing. All the hype. All the scout-speak. All the Mike Mayock. I lovez it.
However, over the past couple years I've felt disappointingly uninvolved (apparently that's not a word but screw you Mr. squiggly red line) in the draft for how much time I commit to learning about prospects who most likely won't become Seahawks. There's no Fantasy Football equivalent for the draft to satiate my armchair GM disposition.
So with my bare fingers I invented a challenge for my fellow Seahawk draft aficionados to put their skills to the test. The rules are pretty straight forward.
- Make two lists of ten prospects. Each list should be ranked in the order you feel they are most likely to be drafted by the Seahawks. The first list is for rounds 1-2 and the second list is for rounds 3-7.
- If your top ranked prospect is drafted by us in the appropriate round then you will receive 10 points for that pick. If your tenth ranked prospect is drafted by us in the appropriate round then you will receive 1 point for that pick.
- If a player is drafted by us in a round which you did not list him for, you will receive half points for that pick. For example, if Kirk Cousins was your second ranked prospect for rounds 3-7, but he was drafted by us in the second then you will receive 4.5 points for that pick.
- Whoever has accumulated the most points at the end of the draft is the winner. Your prize is bragging rights as the Field Gulls' 2012 Armchair GM Champion.
For the sake of discussion and perhaps explanation, I'm presenting a winged-it pair of lists below to show how easy it is to participate in this challenge.
Rounds 1-2: 1-Courtney Upshaw, 2-Melvin Ingram, 3-Kirk Cousins, 4-Doug Martin, 5-Quinton Coples, 6-Zach Brown, 7-Kendall Reyes, 8-Mychal Kendricks, 9-Brock Osweiler, 10-Michael Brockers
Rounds 3-7: 1-Bruce Irvin, 2-DaJohn Harris, 3-Robert Turbin, 4-Leonard Johnson, 5-Jake Bequette, 6-Akiem Hicks, 7-Jaye Howard, 8-Sean Spence, 9-Marcus Forston, 10-Audie Cole
I like this challenge because it's really simple, yet still allows you to succinctly demonstrate your opinion of how the draft will turn out for the Seahawks. Think the Hawks will trade down from the 12 spot? List guys who are projected to go later in the first. Think the Seahawks will again grab a couple CBs in the later rounds? Put a few corners who you like on your rounds 3-7 list.
It's also fun because it could definitely reward those who go out on a limb and don't follow the pack. How many of you would have listed James Carpenter for last year's draft? My guess is not many. I know I wouldn't have. But taking a chance on him could have easily propelled you to the winner's circle.
I will make the official post for this one week before the draft. Anyone who wants to participate should simply post a pair of lists in the comments section. In the mean time, I'd encourage people to give it a trail run in the comments section below. Feel free to discuss the draft or ask any questions you have about the rules.
