Seahawks have a lot of contingency at No. 9

The Seattle Seahawks have safeties. They’ve got receivers. They’ve got so many tight ends they got rid of some. They have probably two running backs maybe, and a heck of a punter.

Yet.

They currently do not have a known quantity at:

• Quarterback
• Left Tackle
• Cornerback
• Pass Rusher, outside Darrell Taylor

Obviously consensus will vary wildly with the following, and good teams necessarily mask weaknesses in some area on the field, but in general those four are considered the most important positions in the NFL.

Seattle only has one #9 pick, and has four significant needs. The biggest problem - yet in equal measure, fascination - with mock drafts leading up to this Thursday are that you can pencil in any one of those positions as a good move with their top pick.

Is it CB Sauce Gardner, should he be available?

Is it QB Malik Willis, should he be available?

Is it DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, should he be available for some reason, or Jermaine Johnson if not?

Is it OT Charles Cross or any of the other quality left tackle candidates?

The SB Nation fan poll this week was interesting, and 40% of fans giving faith to the current direction of the organization actually feels high. Primarily because following the Russell Wilson trade, the team did little to address any of the other three areas of concern.

Some of the position the Seahawks find themselves in is to be expected. Much, but not all. If a team finishes under .500, and has a top-10 pick, one can reasonably expect that player to be better than much of what the team currently has on the roster.

The problem, however, is that - apart from Wilson - the team could have and did not address any of this ahead of time.

It is good to have quality options in the draft.

It is decidedly less good to have seemingly unlimited possibilities because the holes have been left as holes.

Instead of shoring up cornerback, the team allowed D.J. Reed to go to the New York Jets. Instead of retaining Duane Brown, he remains a free agent. Instead of signing one of the veteran pass rushers, they have once again targeted a mid-level outside rusher with upside.

For weeks, it felt as though the next thing the Seahawks did in the offseason would greatly inform the draft. Especially and primarily where quarterback and the Baker Mayfield / Matt Ryan type rumors and opportunities were concerned. Now, pending a splash move in the next few days, it appears that the draft is going to inform the rest of the offseason and future of the organization.

That’s an odd place to be for this team.