Peter King’s first (and only) 2023 mock draft has the Seahawks doing the unthinkable

Whatever your personal feelings are on Peter King, Football Morning in America is one of the more entertaining / informative NFL-focused offerings in existence.

This week’s version is no different.

That said . . . Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!?

I’m not going to draw this out with my usual semi-long-winded intro or play-by-play approach to reviewing a mock draft.

At #5, the Seahawks have their choice of Florida QB Anthony Richardson, Alabama EDGE Will Anderson Jr., and Georgia DT Jalen Carter.

Ideal situation, right?

To be fair, King could have screwed it up worse than he did. Thankfully, Tyree Wilson and Will Levis were already off the board.

So King took Carter.

In and of itself, that’s not a horrible choice.

IF Will Anderson isn’t on the board.

And IF Anthony Richardson is similarly unavailable.

Assuming, of course, that Jalen Carter is even on the Seahawks’ board - which is not a given with all that has been reported about Carter over the past couple months.

SIGH.

The Detroit Lions celebrate Seattle’s pick by giving Aidan Hutchinson the best running mate imaginable when they select Will Anderson Jr. at #6 (!!!)

Believe it or not though . . .

King isn’t done making the 12s question whether or not “In John and Pete we trust” is still going to be a thing.

Note: In a recent Seaside Joe poll, 82% of respondents agreed with the statement: “In Pete and John, we trust”.

In that same poll, 48% said they would not be upset if Seattle used the #5 pick on Anthony Richardson (5% said they didn’t know), and 54% said the Seahawks should not select Jalen Carter at #5.

Fast forward to Seattle’s native pick at #20.

The Seahawks select Boston College WR Zay Flowers.

Again, in and of itself, this isn’t a horrible choice. In fact, it’s the same choice that I made in my fifth and final 2023 mock draft.

But . . .

ANTHONY RICHARDSON IS STILL ON THE BOARD !!!!!!

Words cannot adequately express how upset I and many of my fellow 12s would be if John and Pete passed on Anthony Richardson twice and then watched him blossom into a franchise player in Minnesota.

(yeah, the Vikings get him at #23)

Amusingly, despite my complete exasperation at passing on Will Anderson Jr. at #5 and passing on Anthony Richardson twice, there is much about King’s mock draft that I agree with.

Or, more accurately, that my final mock draft agrees with:

• Bryce Young goes #1 (shocking!)
• The Titans trade up to select Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud
• Jalen Carter went #5 in both mock drafts (only he went to the Eagles at #5 in mine)
• The Raiders take Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon at #7 in both mock drafts
• We both have Texas RB Bijan Robinson going to Atlanta at #8
• Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr. is the #9 selection (different teams - King sends him to the Bears; I sent him to the Jets)
• Both mocks have Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez at #11 (Colts for me; Cardinals for King)
• Green Bay takes Utah TE Dalton Kincaid in both mocks
• King and I both have Maryland CB Deonta Banks coming off the board at #18 (Detroit)
• Zay Flowers at #20
• We both have the Chargers taking a WR (Quentin Johnston for me; Jordan Addison for King)
• Clemson EDGE Myles Murphy goes to the Saints at #29
• Neither of us have the Rams or 49ers making any picks in Round 1 :)

I would say, “Great minds think alike,” if I weren’t so absolutely mortified by what King did to the Seahawks.

For those that are interested, here are King’s comments regarding the picks he made on behalf of John Schneider and Pete Carroll:

No. 5: Seattle selects Jalen Carter

If it falls this way, I think it’d be a tough call—Jalen Carter or Will Anderson, the cleanest player in the draft, or long-term QB prospect Anthony Richardson, or the best cornerback in the draft, Devon Witherspoon. They’re all cleaner than Carter. But one of the things I like about the way Seattle does business is the Seahawks view their business model as being designed to handle all kinds of players, the model citizens and those with checkered pasts. They don’t shy away from very talented players because of sketchy resumes; they figure their coaching staff and behind-the-scenes player-development staff will find a way to put players in the best position to win. This is GM John Schneider’s 14^th draft in Seattle, and he’s never had a top-five pick. The bonus for Schneider is he also picks at 20—and only four times has he had a top-20 pick. Such is the reign of success for Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll. I don’t discount the impact of the last problem defensive tackle the Seahawks drafted—Malik McDowell early in the second round of 2017. He never played a down for the Seahawks after having a host of off-field problems. And the red flags around Carter certainly are notable. Two other things, as a person with a team that’s done a lot of work on Carter told me: Seattle defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt will be firm and demanding with Carter; he’s an old-school coach who won’t take passive effort. And Seattle is the franchise that gets Carter furthest away from his comfort zones—Athens, Ga., and his hometown of Apopka, Fla. Apopka to Seattle: 3,073 miles. This is a bit of a roll of the dice. If it happens, you know Schneider’s done a ton of homework on Carter.

To be fair, King makes a lot of good points (and he spends more words expressing those points than he does on all but one other pick - Bryce Young at #1 is +20 on the word count).

And I actually agree with most of what he says.

I just don’t like taking Carter over Anderson and Richardson (and I really, really, REALLY hate passing on Richardson twice).

No. 20: Seattle selects Zay Flowers

Flowers is a popular player on the pre-draft circuit. His 200 catches for a toothless offensive team at BC, and the fact that he stayed at the program for four years despite having options elsewhere in the portal makes Flowers even more desirable. Position versatility helps too.

The actual 2023 NFL Draft is in T-minus (however many hours).

I, for one, can’t wait.

Go Hawks!