Seahawks draft needs, what a difference a year makes

[Tical21]

I'm spending at least 5, picks on the OL/DL, probably more. I'm not convinced we have anybody outside of Avril/Bennett/Mebane that can rush the passer at all, and Williams is a band-aid. We probably need a LT and LG. I'm of the mindset that they bring Lynch back, and I think Gurley is one of those every handful of year backs that goes in the top-10. I don't see a need at WR or DB, besides corner depth, unless you have identified a WR that you think can be a true #1. I don't draft LB's early.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

I'm spending at least 5, picks on the OL/DL, probably more. I'm not convinced we have anybody outside of Avril/Bennett/Mebane that can rush the passer at all, and Williams is a band-aid. We probably need a LT and LG. I'm of the mindset that they bring Lynch back, and I think Gurley is one of those every handful of year backs that goes in the top-10. I don't see a need at WR or DB, besides corner depth, unless you have identified a WR that you think can be a true #1. I don't draft LB's early.

I think we can safely say Lynch aint coming back.

 

[Scottemojo]

Every year DT is a need, and every year they get a body in free agency. Branch, McDaniel, Williams. It has been a developmental hole for us, but not a free agent flop.

I think TE has been a need for 3 years. I covet a guy with awesome hands. Pete has shown signs of wanting a basketball type TE, but the way we use them doesn't feel like it will ever be anything but a luxury dream.

RB is a definite need for 2015, but LT and LG, barring a signing of Carp, takes precedence. Even if Carp signs long term, a LT is big need. Thinking Gilliam is anything but a swing guy would be a big error.

In fact, unless Okung is signed (I won't discount it, but I think it is either/or with Okung/Carp) I would call LT in the first a certainty. The only way I see this not being the case is if a pass rusher is there to be had. Pete would go DE over LT, I think.

 

[hawkfan68]

Danny Shelton is flying under the radar. Williams at USC is ranked the #1 DT but I believe Shelton is better. Reason being is that he has made the guys around him better. That's a special talent. One of those rare attributes. Reggie White had that and so did Albert Haynesworth (before he became a head case). Kikaha is having a record season because of it, Evan and Andrew Hudson are playing well because of Shelton. Depending on where the Seahawk pick falls, if it's one of the late 1st picks and Shelton is still available, then he's probably the BPA. Got to choose him. Heck, if Shaq Thompson drops then I could see Shaq as a Hawk pick too. Easily a replacement for KJ Wright at OLB or help could help out (as insurance) for Kam at strong safety.

 

[CPHawk]

Danny Shelton is flying under the radar. Williams at USC is ranked the #1 DT but I believe Shelton is better. Reason being is that he has made the guys around him better. That's a special talent. One of those rare attributes. Reggie White had that and so did Albert Haynesworth (before he became a head case). Kikaha is having a record season because of it, Evan and Andrew Hudson are playing well because of Shelton. Depending on where the Seahawk pick falls, if it's one of the late 1st picks and Shelton is still available, then he's probably the BPA. Got to choose him. Heck, if Shaq Thompson drops then I could see Shaq as a Hawk pick too. Easily a replacement for KJ Wright at OLB or help could help out (as insurance) for Kam at strong safety.

Easily a replacement? You think way to little of KJ, or way to highly of Shaq. I think Shaq will be a stud in the NFL, but at 220 he seems more like a safety rather than a replacement for a guy who's 250 and athletic as hell.

 

[hawkfan68]

Danny Shelton is flying under the radar. Williams at USC is ranked the #1 DT but I believe Shelton is better. Reason being is that he has made the guys around him better. That's a special talent. One of those rare attributes. Reggie White had that and so did Albert Haynesworth (before he became a head case). Kikaha is having a record season because of it, Evan and Andrew Hudson are playing well because of Shelton. Depending on where the Seahawk pick falls, if it's one of the late 1st picks and Shelton is still available, then he's probably the BPA. Got to choose him. Heck, if Shaq Thompson drops then I could see Shaq as a Hawk pick too. Easily a replacement for KJ Wright at OLB or help could help out (as insurance) for Kam at strong safety.

Easily a replacement? You think way to little of KJ, or way to highly of Shaq. I think Shaq will be a stud in the NFL, but at 220 he seems more like a safety rather than a replacement for a guy who's 250 and athletic as hell.

First of all, his size doesn't make a difference. Malcolm Smith is in 220s and was the SB MVP. KJ Wright is too slow to play OLB. So maybe he needs to shed his weight. Shaq can gain weight if need be..that's not out of the realm of possibility.

 

[SeatownJay]

Draft needs, in order.

Left Tackle
Center
Left Guard
Defensive Tackle
Backup Left Tackle
Backup Center
Backup Left Guard

 

[kearly]

Don't agree at all there Kip. The USC DB's just stood off the ball and he nipped in and caught it. Terrible, terrible coverage. That play was completely on the USC secondary. It's not like he went up and plucked the ball out of the air above them or anything. He just caught it in stride, unchallenged.

Talking about megatron, I think C3PO would've caught that.

I agree that USC screwed up, but Strong caught them by surprise by using his speed and size to swoop in and make that catch so suddenly, seemingly coming out of nowhere. He has a ton of wingspan and speed and used both to his advantage on that play. That play was very unique to his skillset. Which is why I think it surprised those USC DBs so much.

Even if I agreed with the C3PO comment, I see that as no reason to hold anything against Strong. Take that play away and he's still their best player in their biggest games. When things get tough and the margin for error shrinks, teams tend to get predictable and lean on their best matchup. Like what San Diego did to us with Antonio Gates, or what Dalton used to do in his toughest games with AJ Green, etc.

Strong's been pretty consistent too. He's only had two games with fewer than 5 catches, and one of those was the one against UW where both QBs where throwing into 40 mph winds. Strong has scored a TD in six of his eight games so far this season.

I'm spending at least 5, picks on the OL/DL, probably more. I'm not convinced we have anybody outside of Avril/Bennett/Mebane that can rush the passer at all, and Williams is a band-aid. We probably need a LT and LG. I'm of the mindset that they bring Lynch back, and I think Gurley is one of those every handful of year backs that goes in the top-10. I don't see a need at WR or DB, besides corner depth, unless you have identified a WR that you think can be a true #1. I don't draft LB's early.

I almost agree 100%, but I do think Seattle is looking for big targets. They didn't get one last offseason because they trusted Rice to play, and are regretting it right now. And we've heard the trade rumors which back this up too.

Danny Shelton is flying under the radar.

That Husky defense is loaded with future NFL players. The insane thing is that a lot of them were recruited by Nick Holt (!).

 

[kearly]

Way too early to evaluate Richardson.

I don't know why anyone would be down on Richardson. He's basically been Seattle's version of Emmanuel Sanders. Now they just need to get him the damn ball like Denver has for Sanders.

 

[davidonmi]

I would love to get Todd gurley but I doubt RB can be addressed this year with all the other needs we have. Pass rush is probably where I'd look first

 

[CPHawk]

Danny Shelton is flying under the radar. Williams at USC is ranked the #1 DT but I believe Shelton is better. Reason being is that he has made the guys around him better. That's a special talent. One of those rare attributes. Reggie White had that and so did Albert Haynesworth (before he became a head case). Kikaha is having a record season because of it, Evan and Andrew Hudson are playing well because of Shelton. Depending on where the Seahawk pick falls, if it's one of the late 1st picks and Shelton is still available, then he's probably the BPA. Got to choose him. Heck, if Shaq Thompson drops then I could see Shaq as a Hawk pick too. Easily a replacement for KJ Wright at OLB or help could help out (as insurance) for Kam at strong safety.

Easily a replacement? You think way to little of KJ, or way to highly of Shaq. I think Shaq will be a stud in the NFL, but at 220 he seems more like a safety rather than a replacement for a guy who's 250 and athletic as hell.

First of all, his size doesn't make a difference. Malcolm Smith is in 220s and was the SB MVP. KJ Wright is too slow to play OLB. So maybe he needs to shed his weight. Shaq can gain weight if need be..that's not out of the realm of possibility.

Most inside UW think Shaqs as big as he's going to get while maintaining his athleticism. He's a safety, and I'm not sure we need a safety. As for Smith, he was the MVP, but he's not one of our top 7 players on D.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

.......I think TE has been a need for 3 years. I covet a guy with awesome hands. Pete has shown signs of wanting a basketball type TE, but the way we use them doesn't feel like it will ever be anything but a luxury dream...........

After watching Luke Willson struggle all season just to make NFL caliber catches, it sure would be nice to have a TE like you describe. Maybe they'll go for it if Britt improves enough to be trusted without help from the TE. His performance yesterday was not promising however.

 

[Hasselbeck]

the way he caught that hail mary against USC he looked Megatron-esque. Good enough for me.

Don't agree at all there Kip. The USC DB's just stood off the ball and he nipped in and caught it. Terrible, terrible coverage. That play was completely on the USC secondary. It's not like he went up and plucked the ball out of the air above them or anything. He just caught it in stride, unchallenged.

Talking about megatron, I think C3PO would've caught that.

It really was the worst Hail Mary coverage I have ever seen. Looked like a user catch on Madden

 

[kearly]

Most inside UW think Shaqs as big as he's going to get while maintaining his athleticism. He's a safety, and I'm not sure we need a safety. As for Smith, he was the MVP, but he's not one of our top 7 players on D.

I think Shaq compares very well to Lavonte David. But David, as good as he is, is a bit too undersized for a lot of NFL teams.

 

[kearly]

It really was the worst Hail Mary coverage I have ever seen. Looked like a user catch on Madden

They weren't expecting a hail Mary. There was roughly 10 seconds left on the game clock at the time and ASU only needed about a 15 yard gain to kick a game tying FG. It was an extremely ballsy call by ASU's coaching staff.

 

[lobohawk]

SI's latest projection has the Hawks taking KEVIN WHITE, WR (Senior, West Virginia) at the 22nd pick.

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/11/06/2015-nfl-mock-draft-randy-gregory-marcus-mariota

".....Enter White, a wholly impressive 6-3 dynamo in the midst of a huge season. White uses that size in traffic and can pull away after the catch."

 

[SomersetHawk]

SI's latest projection has the Hawks taking KEVIN WHITE, WR (Senior, West Virginia) at the 22nd pick.

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/11/06/2015-nfl-mock-draft-randy-gregory-marcus-mariota

".....Enter White, a wholly impressive 6-3 dynamo in the midst of a huge season. White uses that size in traffic and can pull away after the catch."

Wouldn't it be weird if we drafted two WVU #11's in a row in the first round.

I'd love the pick, I see some Larry Fitz. I just don't think he'd fall to us.

 

[SeatownJay]

I think defensive tackle has moved to the top of the list.

 

[CamanoIslandJQ]

Having 10-11 picks in the upcoming draft will provide the opportunity to fill a lot of holes of need. My concern is that PC/JS have had (in the past drafts) several mid to higher picks that involved high risk/high rewards due to current or past major injury concerns. I don't think the team needs any more redshirt, IR prospects drafted & they may want to revisit that part of their draft thinking, so far the risks have somewhat exceeded the rewards in that regard IMO. (So, I'd guess that RB-Gurley= ????)

As to draft needs, I'm thinking with the rankings as they currently stand today......
1----DE, -- (DE-Dupree, **DE-Nate Orchard, DE-Kekaha) - I really like Orchard here, but any of the three.....
2----OL, -- (OT-Erving, **OT-Drango, OT-Fisher, OG-Jackson) - ANY of these guys would be of help
3----DT, -- (**DT-Grady Jarrett, DT-Preston Brown, DT-Christian Covington) - ANY of these guys would be of help
4----WR, -- (**WR-Tony Lippett -or- WR-Vince Mayle, - take your pick, they are very closely ranked)
4----CB/FS,-- (**CB/FS-Eric Rowe, CB-Ladarius Gunter) - Rowe is one of my must haves from this draft
4----LB, -- (OLB-Paul Dawson, ILB-A. J. Johnson, OLB-Maurice Falls, **ILB-Zack Vigil, sleeper alert, has + stats)
5----RB, -- (**RB-Karlos Williams, RB-, RB-Zack Zenner, 6-0/220 = sleeper alert, did he really run a 4.34/40?)
5----OL,-- (OC-B J Finney, **OG-Adam Shead, OT-Tyrus Thompson, OT-Trenton Brown)
6-7=BPA
Later round (IMO) sleepers of note:
DE/OLB/TE-Lynden Trail (6-6/240, 4.65/40) - (Very Athletic former WR/TE, could convert back to TE, has size +)
TE-Eric Tomlinson, 6-7/265, - (Just have him run 10-15 yds downfield and stand there with his arms up?)
DT-Darius Kilgo, (6-2/310) - (love the name Kill Go and he seems to be a run stopper type.)
DE-Shaquille Riddick, 6-5/242 - (developmental prospect with good upside)
WR-Geremy Davis, 6-3/215 - worth a shot, pretty good at U Conn.

 

[brimsalabim]

Focus on the OL! Fix that and suddenly our running backs and Receivers won't look so bad. Even if they decide to continue with Okung and Unger they have to do it knowing that both will surely miss time again next season. Lines need to work together in order to develop good cohesion. Our group can't even practice together much less play together. We need to pick LT , C, then maybe get that inside rusher for the defense before going back to picking the OL prospects.