My feeling on this draft

I honestly think JS and PC will approach this draft how they've always done. Unconventional. While a huge need is interior OL (mainly C, LG) I don't believe they will reach. I follow the Hawks on FB and I see a lot of people commenting on different articles stating "They need to draft OL with their first 3 picks" or something along those lines. While I do agree that OL should be addressed early I do believe that our first pick wont be OL. The way this draft is set up is that its a deep interior Oline draft. so why spend on it early? a lot of people are also clamoring for a OT with the first pick.. Would you spend the 26th pick on a 3rd round Tackle? it goes completely against what JS stated after the season was over that they wouldn't reach or force a pick.

With all that being said. I am making a dumb prediction and this board is chock full of them so I guess I don't feel so bad.

I believe the Hawks will take DT/DE Jonathan Bullard from Florida. Watch this guys tape. shows lots of potential. The knock on him and from what I can tell the only knock is he is a bit of a tweener. Not really a 3-4 DE or a 4-3 DT..kind of a Michael Bennett type. JS said they would not reach but instead would do as they've done and go BPA and I believe at 26 Mr. Bullard would be in play.

I think in the 2nd round the hawks will trade up and snag an Oline they like. You could easily PKG your 2nd and a 3rd and move up quite a bit (early to mid 40s) I wonder if Coleman stock might drop as he hadn't participated in the combine or pro day. every year players drop and its a total surprise. This draft will be interesting and one I think im the most excited for.

Hope I didn't step on anyones toes with posting this. I do hope you all had a good weekend (I work weekends so I know I didn't haha)

GO HAWKS!

There are soooo many OT's that are considered 1st round prospects or borderline 1st round prospects, which is why I there are so many Seahawks fans have them taking a OT in the 1st. It all depends on how many OT's do the Seahawks actually have 1st round grades on this years OT's. Maybe they have a 1st round grade on a guy like Texas Tech Le'Raven Clark, whom a vast majority of us consider him as 2nd - 3rd round guy. We all know they tend to grade prospects a bit different than other teams, they love their freak athletes. Anyway, that's just my two cents as to why there are a lot of o-line prospects being mocked to the Seahawks with the 1st round pick.

If they don't take a o-lineman in the 1st round I would want either the big dancing bear Louisiana Tech (DT) Vernon Butler or "The Freak" Emmanuel Ogbah.

I think they should trade the first round pick to get single digit second and third round picks. With the five picks in rounds 2 and 3 I would love to see them targeting their preferred C (mine is Kelly) and OG and the best blocking TE (mine is Henry) which IMO would help protecting RW more than going for OT in round 1. That leaves them with two other picks to use on the best players available on any position.

The OT likely available at 26th won't be considered 3rd round picks though. If you look at most draft boards they have 5-6 Tackles rated in the top 50. Pick 26 is effectively in the 2nd rd talentwise so grabbing a guy ranked 40th isn't a horrible idea if that player also provides the biggest upgrade to your roster. The tackle depth this year is one of those every 5 or 6 years kind of drafts. In other words the caliber of Tackle available at 26 wouldn't be possible most years without a pick in the mid teens. IMO grab the best tackle and solidify the competition there for the next 4 years.

I could see them really liking Bullard and taking him in the first. It would be a very JSPC thing to do. I could see the same thing with Leonard Floyd. Those are the two players that I could really see them passing over line talents for.

The first round pick should be either a pass rusher (as you can never have enough good pass rushers) or an offensive lineman.

EverydayImRusselin":pk3snsb3 said:

The OT likely available at 26th won't be considered 3rd round picks though. If you look at most draft boards they have 5-6 Tackles rated in the top 50. Pick 26 is effectively in the 2nd rd talentwise so grabbing a guy ranked 40th isn't a horrible idea if that player also provides the biggest upgrade to your roster. The tackle depth this year is one of those every 5 or 6 years kind of drafts. In other words the caliber of Tackle available at 26 wouldn't be possible most years without a pick in the mid teens. IMO grab the best tackle and solidify the competition there for the next 4 years.

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This is kind of what I see. If you want one of that next tier of OT, you're going to have to grab him at the end of the 1st, as they'll all be gone by the middle of the 2nd.

If you grab a guy you really like, it's better to get one of the top of the tier 2 Tackles a dozen picks early than wait and get the bottom end of that tier or have to reach on a 3rd round guy for fear of missing out on someone who can actually contribute this year.

As McGruff says, I think Floyd and Bullard are two players to watch at #26 if Seattle decides to go pass rusher that early. Pete said in a presser that he will draft a pass rusher this year, and he probably doesn't mean drafting the next Obum Gwacham with a late round flier. It's probably going to be an early pick.

That said, I think the odds strongly favor Seattle going OL at #26 based on how we understand their grade process. The Seahawks assign a grade for every player on the team and then for every prospect in the draft. Their draft board is then arranged by grade differential. Obviously, the Seahawks OL members would all carry low grades, while the OL prospects in this draft carry relatively high grades (IMO).

Basically, they tend to make picks that they feel are the biggest immediate roster upgrades. And since the DL is currently very good, that makes the OL more likely to dominate the top of Seattle's big board. The only way it wouldn't be is if they have an insanely high grade on a pass rusher who reaches their pick.

kearly":3tyrfmcn said:

As McGruff says, I think Floyd and Bullard are two players to watch at #26 if Seattle decides to go pass rusher that early. Pete said in a presser that he will draft a pass rusher this year, and he probably doesn't mean drafting the next Obum Gwacham with a late round flier. It's probably going to be an early pick.

That said, I think the odds strongly favor Seattle going OL at #26 based on how we understand their grade process. The Seahawks assign a grade for every player on the team and then for every prospect in the draft. Their draft board is then arranged by grade differential. Obviously, the Seahawks OL members would all carry low grades, while the OL prospects in this draft carry relatively high grades (IMO).

Basically, they tend to make picks that they feel are the biggest immediate roster upgrades. And since the DL is currently very good, that makes the OL more likely to dominate the top of Seattle's big board. The only way it wouldn't be is if they have an insanely high grade on a pass rusher who reaches their pick.

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Agreed and I'll add to that. The reason that nearly every one of my own personal mock drafts has been dominated by Offensive Lineman is obvious -- it's the Seahawks #1 Need IMO by a long shot. Specifically, I'm projecting that the #26 pick will be a Left Tackle.

I firmly believe that because while it's true that this draft appears to have quite a bit of Offensive Line depth deep in to the draft ... that's NOT true in terms of Left Tackles. Defensive Tackles and Centers can be found deep in to this draft as well ... not LT's.

The very real possibility exists that if Seattle DOESN'T select one at #26, it's highly likely that they will be out of luck in terms of LT's, as nearly every projection I've need and every simulation I've run has Ifedi, Spriggs, and Coleman all long gone by #56 ... and IMO it gets real dicey to gamble that Le'Raven Clark will be there ... and even if he is, all indications are he's far from a plug and play LT. It's not looking good on the FA or trade front in terms of LT's at this point, so until that changes, I'm firmly of the mindset that a LT (if that player meets Seattle's standards) will be the pick at #26. JMHO.

I wonder who in the list of the group of OT's that might be available at 26 is a LT day 1? Most project them as RT'S to start with the potentential to move to left down the road and some maybe better kicked inside to G. Just wondering everyones take on that?

My guess as that since we're all convinced that OL is where the 26th pick will go, Schneider will take a DB.

I think they will take the BPA, with the exception being Safety, TE, RB and QB. I know OL is a priority to fans, but I'm not sure Pete and John feel the same.

getnasty":3e8ahe3k said:

I think they will take the BPA, with the exception being Safety, TE, RB and QB. I know OL is a priority to fans, but I'm not sure Pete and John feel the same.

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I wouldn't rule out safety. They wanted to draft Mark Barron a few years ago. I don't think there is value at the position in this draft, but I wouldn't rule it out.

JS has been very predictable in terms of the positions he drafts in rounds 1-3. The unpredictable part has been the player himself, it is often a guy who was not on anyone's radar and dubbed a huge reach by pundits.

Okung - I called this pick before the draft.
Thomas - Seattle was hot and heavy after Eric Berry so we should have seen this one coming.
Tate - Seattle was known to be looking at WR help.
Carp - Seattle said OL was their top priority that offseason.
Moffitt - Seattle said OL was their top priority that offseason.
Irvin - Everyone knew Seattle was going to go pass rusher in round 1.
Wagner - A fast LB was one of the team's highest priorities that year.
Wilson - Seattle needed a QB.
Michael - I called this pick before the draft. A RB to succeed Lynch was a top priority at the time.
Hill - Seattle had a need at DT. Most people expected a DT early.
Richardson - Everyone expected Seattle to draft WR and OL early.
Britt - Everyone expected Seattle to draft WR and OL early.
Clark - This was a surprise. WR and OL were considered bigger priorities.
Lockett - This was an obvious pick. Seattle needed WR help and they desperately needed KR help.

In almost all of these cases, the positions Seattle drafted predictably aligned with Seattle's top needs.

And in 2016, Seattle's top needs are at OL and DL. I'm expecting at least three of Seattle's first four picks will be in the trenches.

I'm beginning to think the team will once again trade out the 1st Rd., unless a very highly rated OT drops to them.

For their needs the value is unlikely to be there at #26, and another team may have a player they covet. JS avoids the 1st Rd. contract for a likely developmental OT and gains draft picks which he can move around with to snag targeted players. I could see the team picking a predominant run stuffing DT early. The team will pick at least 3 OLinemen and at least one DT.

In terms of conventional value most of the conventional draft analysts will once again be disappointed in his haul but the key pieces will improve the team. The team has different approach to value as has been well stated above.

Toughness on the OLine will be valued and of course pure raw athleticism will predominate.

jammerhawk":h2nhhuhy said:

I'm beginning to think the team will once again trade out the 1st Rd., unless a very highly rated OT drops to them.

For their needs the value is unlikely to be there at #26, and another team may have a player they covet. JS avoids the 1st Rd. contract for a likely developmental OT and gains draft picks which he can move around with to snag targeted players. I could see the team picking a predominant run stuffing DT early. The team will pick at least 3 OLinemen and at least one DT.

In terms of conventional value most of the conventional draft analysts will once again be disappointed in his haul but the key pieces will improve the team. The team has different approach to value as has been well stated above.

Toughness on the OLine will be valued and of course pure raw athleticism will predominate.

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Well, maybe, but that 1st Rd pick carries an added bonus in the 5th year option it provides. If you're going to get some one who's 'developmental,' that extra available year might be a consideration. Just part of the trade off.

That 5th year comes at a price that John seems unwilling to pay. Carpenter and Irvin were path passed.

McGruff":uuipgphm said:

That 5th year comes at a price that John seems unwilling to pay. Carpenter and Irvin were path passed.

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Yeah, but just because they haven't used it before doesn't mean it isn't part of the equation. I think many here would argue that those two guys weren't worth that. Maybe Irvin, but Carp drew cheers when he left IIRC. (Are you sure Carp was eligible for that? I thought he was drafted before the new CBA.)

:229031_shrug:

If you can get 5 years out of a player these days you are doing well.

Pass rush DT is a huge need. Center and LB are the next biggest needs. I also see RB as a weakness with Rawls more likely to get injured than have a full healthy season.

LB is the wildcard for me. KPL, Pinkins, Clark, Morgan, Marsh can compete and we could Produce a quality starter, I could also see a 2nd or 3rd rd LB plugging in at a high level.