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| Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider holding their cards close to the vest as NFL draft approaches. |
The Seattle Seahawks are one of the teams that have the roster, coaching staff and team owner that has placed itself in a position to compete, not only for an NFC West division title, but a berth in Super Bowl XLVIII.
As the NFL draft approaches (April 25) each team analyzes their current roster and any weaknesses that need to be remedied either through free agent acquisitions or by drafting players specifically to fill a void. This will be one of the deepest drafts in recent history loaded with defensive lineman, corners and in particular, some of the best offensive lineman ever. The first pick in the draft has been one of the most difficult to predict, primarily because there is no consensus standout in this draft. Kansas City will select first unless they trade their pick, but no one knows just exactly what direction the Chiefs will go. Quarterback was there most glaring weakness in 2012, but now Chiefs QB Matt Cassel will likely be released after the San Francisco 49ers traded their backup quarterback, Alex Smith, to Kansas City for what looks like a pair of 2nd round draft choices, one this year and another similar selection in 2014. Now, new coach Andy Reid will have to reevaluate exactly what's best for the Chiefs organization. Star Lotulelei, University of Utah outstanding defensive end, looks to be worthy of the number one selection now that his health status has been stabilized by doctors. During the scouting combine in Indianapolis last month, Lotulelei had a preliminary diagnosis of a possible heart condition. After meeting with physicians back in Utah, it was determined that he had a clean bill of health. It will be interesting to see if the preliminary worries will scare some GM's away from using an early around selection on a player that might have other health concerns. Recently, in a report broadcast on the NFL network, the Kansas City Chiefs could possibly draft for another area of need, corner, by selecting the best in the country, Dee Millerner from Alabama. There is no clear-cut quarterback available in this draft, though some teams still covet USC QB Matt Barkley. Barkley didn't throw or run at the Indianapolis combine, but plans to work out at the USC proday later this month. That work out will likely determine just how high in the draft Barkley will be projected. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals are all suffering from a lack of quarterback security, but reaching for team need might be a foolish way to approach this draft. There simply are no standout athletes in this draft at the QB position. West Virginia's Genio Smith, USC's Matt Barkley, NC State's Mike Glennon, Oklahoma's Landry Jones and Arkansas's Tyler Wilson are all decent athletes, but there is general doubt that any of these quarterbacks are destined to become franchise quarterbacks in the NFL. It is possible that the Kansas City Chiefs made deal their first selection to the highest bidder. The depth of the draft favors teams rebuilding and needing to do so in the mid-and later round selections.
The Seahawks had 10 selections last year and several positions to fill on the roster. Head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider had what was considered by many to be the most successful draft class in the league. In fact, all 10 players from the 2012 draft are still on the roster in some capacity. In this year's 7 round draft, the Seahawks have 12 selections and very few areas that are in need of filling. Actually, the positions that Seattle will draft for are not areas of need, but more areas to improve. Most draft analysts believe that the Seahawks will draft for; wide receiver, defensive end and linebacker. I happen to agree and believe that they could draft any of those positions with their 25 pick in the first round and 56 pick overall in the 2nd round. This is a draft that would be difficult for the Seahawks to bungle up, although it's still difficult to predict exactly which player they covet to become a Seattle Seahawk. Pete Carroll and John Schneider are keeping their poker-face, as per usual. I've tried to predict the players that Seattle would select in all 3 of Pete Carroll's draft classes with Seattle and have hit on exactly zero of them. However, I don't feel too badly… Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay, Charly Casserly, Mike Mayock and John Clayton missed completely on Seattle's first 3 rounds and every selection after that.
Aside from the draft, free agency is another direction Seattle can go to fill positions they want to with veteran leadership and the kind of physical presence that Seattle players are known for. There are several names floating around the league of players that could contribute to Seattle's present roster, but usually those players come with a large price tag to go with their big name. Since the NFL Players Association negotiated the new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL owners committee, there is now a control on rookie salaries for the first 3-4 years in the NFL. This now makes it advantageous to build a team through the draft rather than stockpiling a collection of high paid free agents in an attempt to build a dream team. In the past, rookies selected higher in the draft would sign huge contracts with large signing bonuses and guaranteed money that would hamstring the losing teams with players that didn't pan out and adding too much money to the salary cap limitation. The poor teams were just getting poorer, in talent as well as monetarily. The NFL prides itself on its ability to create parity among the 32 franchises giving each team a chance to succeed both financially as well as on the field. This is exactly how John Schneider and Pete Carroll have put together the Seattle Seahawks.
Coach Carroll has had 3 years to build the Seahawks into a contender and he has done just that and very little money has been wasted in the process. The duo of Schneider and Carroll did attempt to bring in a few free agents, but they were unfortunately a disappointment more than anything. T.J. Houshmandzadeh was a disappointing experiment that looked good at first, but he became a divisive force in the locker room and locked horns with the coaching staff as his statistics plummeted as a Seahawk. Next, Carroll and Schneider brought in free agent wide receiver Sidney Rice formerly with the Minnesota Vikings. His first year was a disaster as rice sustained a variety of injuries including both shoulders, ankle, and concussions that kept him off the field for the majority of the 2011 season. In the off-season, rice had a double surgical procedure done on both the right and left shoulders. He entered training camp wearing the red jersey making him off-limits for contact throughout the preseason camp until the final week before the first preseason game. Rice redeemed himself having a decent 2012 season and helping rookie quarterback Russell Wilson to have one of the best rookie seasons in the history of the NFL. In addition to signing Sidney Rice as a free agent, other notable players brought in to help Seattle were; DE Jason Jones, DT Clinton McDonald, DT Alan Branch and most notably, DE Chris Clemons acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles in Carroll's first year with Seattle.
However, Pete Carroll has built this football team by shrewd drafting, player development and finding players with unique skill sets that no one else seemingly wanted. Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner and Doug Baldwin have all been players slighted by other GM's and recruiters who have thrived under the coaching of the Seattle Seahawks. Attempting to predict which players Seattle will sign this season is almost futile unless you have some kind of inside information that is harder to get than a pair of Jordan sneakers under $300. Carroll and Schneider have been extremely tightlipped about their plans in the upcoming draft and even the draft gurus haven't really attempting to predict what this drafting duo will do this year. In the previous seasons draft, all of the so-called experts criticized the Seahawks draft class and even went so far as to say that the Seahawks' number one pick (DE Bruce Irvin) was a wasted selection and that their third-round selection (QB Russell Wilson) would never be a starter in the NFL because he was too short. Bleacher Report gave the Seahawks a draft grade of a C- only sending them from a failing grade because of the 2nd round selection (Bobby Wagner) who some believed would be a decent linebacker someday. Obviously, we now know that all of that gibberish and nonsense meant absolutely nothing to the Seahawks or the players they drafted.
One of the more interesting possibilities for the Seahawks is what they will do if an extremely talented player slides to the 25th pick and it turns out the Seahawks don't have a need for the player available? Names that fall into that category could be; QB Matt Barkley, CB Desmond Trufant, ILB Manti T'eo, or S Kenny Vaccaro. These are all outstanding players, but because of the depth in the draft these athletes could possibly slide to the backside of the first round. Matt Flynn continues to be a QB name that floats around the media as a player that could be sought after by teams without a franchise quarterback. The New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns are all teams said to be searching for a solution at the most important position in football. Flynn doesn't have a long history to look back at and evaluate his value, but he does have the intangibles and the short pedigree that might pique the interest in some general managers around the NFL.
One of the more interesting possibilities for the Seahawks "War Room" is if one of the highly ranked prospects slips to the number 25 position in the draft but turns out to be a position player with the Seahawks don't necessarily need in the first round? Players that fall into this category include; QB Matt Barkley, CB Desmond Trufant and ILB Manti T'eo. One caveat that is worthy of consideration includes the possibility of the Seahawks moving Matt Flynn in one way or another. Seattle's front office intimated that they are looking at options for Flynn in case offers come before or during the draft. Several teams in the NFL are still struggling to find a franchise quarterback and could come calling for Seattle's backup. This is a year with very few impact players in the first round of the draft, and even fewer impact signal callers. If Seattle were to trade Flynn, they would be in a position to find a backup quarterback for starter Russell Wilson. It will be necessary to find a backup first, before dealing with anyone considering Matt Flynn. There are only a few free-agent quarterbacks available and they're going quickly. The top of the QB free-agent list is Matt Moore of the Miami Dolphins, with San Francisco, Kansas City, and Cleveland already considering signing him. The Seahawks could join that list if they are to trade Flynn before the draft.
Things for the Seahawks look exciting and everyone in Seattle is hopeful that the team can not only match the great season last year, but build on that and ultimately overtake the 49ers in the NFC West and play deep into the playoffs. However, there is a lot of work to be done and the Seahawks need to identify the areas of improvement and draft appropriately. I also believe that Seattle must be very aggressive in the free-agent market and go after the player or players that will help push the Seahawks over the hump making them the team to beat in 2013. It is still 49 days until the NFL draft, but it's only 6 days away from the opening of free agency. March 12 will hopefully come in like a lion and go out like a bigger lion for the Seahawks.
Players that are reportedly on the Seattle Seahawks radar:
- Dwight Freeney, DE, Indianapolis Colts
- Cliff Avril, DE, Detroit Lions
- Wes Welker, WR, New England Patriots
- Greg Jennings, WR, Green Bay Packers
- Mike Wallace, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Glenn Dorsey, DE, Kansas City Chiefs
- Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota Vikings
- Jared Cook, TE, Tennessee Titans
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