How do pundits grade the first two days of Seahawks 2019 draft?

After more than one of the selections that the Seattle Seahawks have made through the first two days of the draft fans have pointed out that the pick felt like a reach. Whether it was Marquise Blair in the second round or Cody Burton in the third, some fans have opined that the Seahawks could have been more patient and selected these players later. That may or may not be the case, as fans are not as plugged in with scouts and contact around the league, so in order to get an assessment of the Hawks draft so far, let’s take a look at some of the grades that have been given out.

Just as a reminder, four players have been added to the roster so far, and they are:

• DE L.J. Collier, TCU
• S Marquise Blair, Utah
• WR D.K. Metcalf, Ole Miss
• LB Cody Burton, Utah

I’ll start with every Seattle fan’s favorite, Pete Prisco. Prisco has for years been at odds with many Seahawks fans, as he was not a believer in Russell Wilson what Russ brings to the table. That obviously came to an end back in December when Prisco authored an apology letter to Wilson admitting that his opinion about Wilson’s game was wrong. In any case, Prisco has Seattle with some variation of a B for all four of the selections.

His grades for the picks are a B+ for the selection of Collier, a B for Blair, a B- for Metcalf and a B for Burton. I feel it’s kind of odd to be hearing some fans complain about the team’s picks and give low grades, while Prisco is handing out solid B grades for all four of these selections. What is going on?

Moving on, the Hawks also got solid grades for their moves from NFL.com Draft Analyst Chad Reuter in a breakdown giving grades to all teams through the first two days. For the Seahawks his comments were:

Seattle Seahawks

Draft picks: TCU DE L.J. Collier (No. 29 overall); Utah DB Marquise Blair (No. 47); Mississippi WR D.K. Metcalf (No. 64); Utah LB Cody Barton (No. 88)

Day 1 grade: A-
Day 2 grade: B
Overall grade: B+

Draft analysis: It was shocking to no one that the Seahawks moved down from the 21st overall selection to get more picks later in the draft (two fourth-rounders from Green Bay). With the extra pick they gained by trading edge rusher Frank Clark to the Chiefs, the Seahawks selected Collier, who is a very similar player. Forget about his 4.91 40 time -- he’ll be a stout run defender and powerful pass rusher. Then, GM John Schneider acquired even more draft capital by trading the 30th overall selection to the Giants for a second-, a fourth- and a fifth-round pick.

The Seahawks apparently did not want to pick early as they moved down again to gain additional picks before selecting their guy at safety (Blair). Metcalf could be an Alshon Jeffery-type bargain for the Seahawks if he reaches his potential as a big-time downfield playmaker. Teams loved the intelligence and athleticism of Barton, and it’s not surprising the Seahawks found him intriguing. Loading up at tight end, cornerback and offensive line with the various fourth- and fifth-round picks GM John Schneider accumulated would cap off a strong draft.

Over at Sports Illustrated, Andy Benoit gave the Seahawks grades that covered a wider range, but overall were not as high. The breakdown by pick at SI.com was as follows

• Collier: C+
• Blair: C+
• Metcalf: A+
• Burton: C

Obviously, it’s impossible to accurately grade a draft class until years after the draft, but it’s always interesting to see what the “experts” have to say about the players added through the draft. With the Seahawks set to more than double their haul of players on Day 3, we’ll check back in on the grades in the coming days and see what the thoughts are regarding the final additions in the draft.