HH's brief, three quarter mark Seahawks mock draft

Don't have a huge amount of time to write one up unfortunately this time so I'm just copying the details from my twitter account @AlbaSeahawks.

Assumptions... WT3, BB and McQuistan won't be back. Good chance Clemons and Rice are cut (cap casualties).

Round 1 Pick 32: Lael Collins, OT/G, LSU - 6-5 315
Versataile and solid, can play Guard and Tackle and holds up well very well in both the run and passing game.

Round 2 Pick 32: Daniel McCullers, DT, Tennessee - 6-6 351
Absolute goliath of a man. Can rotate with big Red and McDaniel (if we re sign him) and can eventually be a replacement for Red the year after (or McDaniel...)

Round 4 Pick 32: Xavier Grimble, TE, Southern California - 6-5 250
Solid if unspectacular player. Good run blocker and decent enough in the pass game. More complete than Willson at this time.

Round 5 Pick 8: L'Damian Washington, WR, Missouri - 6-4 205
Perfect size for Pete. Not afraid to get stuck in (gunner on special teams) and get difficult catches. Decent enough in the run game but likely won't see the field in year one as he works on his routes.

Round 5 Pick 32: Ross Cockrell, CB, Duke - 6-0 190
4 year starter. Doesn't show a huge ceiling but has great production in the ACC. Can let him learn the ropes with a view to putting him on the field as the season progresses and one of our DB's inevitably get's suspended again.

Round 6 Pick 32: Chris McAllister, DE, Baylor - 6-2 255
Strong, quick and underrated. May not post 10 sacks a year but will get 5 or 6 solidly.

Round 7 Pick 32: Antwan Lowery, OG, Rutgers - 6-4 310
Not spectacular and most likely a depth player if anything. Technically sound with long arms

Previous mocks...

Mock 2: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=78576
Round 1: Jordan Matthews, WR, Vanderbilt
Round 2: Morgan Moses, OT, Virginia
Round 4: Weston Richburg, C, Colorado State
Round 5: Boseko Lokombo, OLB, Oregon
Round 5: Caraun Reid, DT, Princeton
Round 6: John Urschel, OG, Penn State
Round 7: Keith McGill, CB, Utah

Mock 1: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=76096
Round 1 Pick 27: Ra'Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota
Round 2 Pick 27: C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Iowa
Round 4 Pick 27: JaWuan James, OT, Tennessee
Round 5 Pick 11: Cody Hoffman, WR, Brigham Young
Round 5 Pick 27: Gabe Ikard, C, Oklahoma
Round 6 Pick 27: Bennett Jackson, CB, Notre Dame
Round 7 Pick 27: Josh Mauro, DE, Stanford

Couple things:

1. McCuller's stock is pretty much in free fall at this point. He is consistently not impressive on tape. His measurables get people interested, and usually that kind of gets him on mocks -- they just kind of keep him up on the boards. It's when they look at his tape that they go 'Ewwww'.

2. Washington is getting some good traction. He could be a R3/R4 candidate. It's hard to say because of the relative strength of the WR group, particularly of the day 2 candidates. There are really around a dozen WRs that could figure in the 2nd through 4th receivers on an active roster in this years' crop. Unusually strong. With good size too.

Absolutely fair points. McCullers is someone I had an eye on at the start of the year and let it slip only to rediscover him. Is he worth a 2nd round pick? Nope, probably not even a 3rd round pick but I doubt he'd be there in the 4th at pick 32 where he would be worth the pickup. In the end I couldn't settle on anyone in the 2nd round that I thought would be there so just pulled him forward. Likely won't ever appear that high again in a mock as it gets closer.

Washington is a bit of a "not likely to be there" the more I think about it but I hold out. Move him into the 4th round and hope we can trade back in the 1st and 2nd to pickup multiple picks there

I don't see the need for Oline. English has one in his mock and i just don't see it. I think everyone is placing too much emphasis on Okung and Breno being out. Bailey and Bowie are very good and can probably give any first round Olineman a run for his money.

Instead i see need for a wide receiver, possibly a TE but we get McCoy back next year and Willson had been a revelation. A 6' plus wide receiver would be a big help but if Sidney takes a pay cut, even that might not be a huge need.

But as always,applicable with this team, and this front office, you never know where they will in the draft.

ivotuk":2vpjoa6b said:

I don't see the need for Oline. English has one in his mock and i just don't see it. I think everyone is placing too much emphasis on Okung and Breno being out. Bailey and Bowie are very good and can probably give any first round Olineman a run for his money.

Instead i see need for a wide receiver, possibly a TE but we get McCoy back next year and Willson had been a revelation. A 6' plus wide receiver would be a big help but if Sidney takes a pay cut, even that might not be a huge need.

But as always,applicable with this team, and this front office, you never know where they will in the draft.

Click to expand...

I don't know how you can justify that statement. When Okung and Breno were out of the lineup Russell Wilson was taking way too many hits, he was running for his life because of our poor pass protection from the OT's. Wilson's scrambling ability and his ability to keep his eyes down field while running away from pressure was our saving grace. Put any other QB in this league behind our poor pass blocking offensive line during that stretch of games and we probably would have lost a lot of those games and that QB would have taken a ton of sacks.

This year we were lucky that Russell Wilson was able to take all those hits and escape the constant pressure. Wilson is young and can take those hits now. Over time if he continues to take those hits they are going to eventually catch up to him, be it missing a half a season or full season due to injury or even shorten his career by a few years.

IMO we need to draft an OT somewhere in the first few rounds. Wilson is an NFL MVP caliber type player and we need to protect him so he can lead this team to multiple runs at the Super Bowl.

Round 1 Pick 32: Lael Collins, OT/G, LSU - 6-5 315
Versataile and solid, can play Guard and Tackle and holds up well very well in both the run and passing game.

Round 2 Pick 32: Daniel McCullers, DT, Tennessee - 6-6 351
Absolute goliath of a man. Can rotate with big Red and McDaniel (if we re sign him) and can eventually be a replacement for Red the year after (or McDaniel...)

Round 4 Pick 32: Xavier Grimble, TE, Southern California - 6-5 250
Solid if unspectacular player. Good run blocker and decent enough in the pass game. More complete than Willson at this time.

Round 5 Pick 8: L'Damian Washington, WR, Missouri - 6-4 205
Perfect size for Pete. Not afraid to get stuck in (gunner on special teams) and get difficult catches. Decent enough in the run game but likely won't see the field in year one as he works on his routes.

Round 5 Pick 32: Ross Cockrell, CB, Duke - 6-0 190
4 year starter. Doesn't show a huge ceiling but has great production in the ACC. Can let him learn the ropes with a view to putting him on the field as the season progresses and one of our DB's inevitably get's suspended again.

Round 6 Pick 32: Chris McAllister, DE, Baylor - 6-2 255
Strong, quick and underrated. May not post 10 sacks a year but will get 5 or 6 solidly.

Round 7 Pick 32: Antwan Lowery, OG, Rutgers - 6-4 310
Not spectacular and most likely a depth player if anything. Technically sound with long arms

Click to expand...

I like OT Collins, he looks light on his feet, good awareness to pick up stunts, and he has long arms. He is listed at 6'5" but looks he looks shorter than that, I wouldn't be surprised to see him measure in at 6'4" or 6'3" at the NFL combine.

I'm not a fan of McCullers and I personally wouldn't want him in the first four rounds of the draft. Yeah he is a giant amongst giants, but he doesn't make plays outside his immediate area. Also, you would think a DT that is 6'8" would have a fair number of knocked down passes, but he only has 2 the last two years.

I haven't seen Grimble, but I agree that we should get a TE that is well rounded as a blocker & receiver. We need to find an eventual replacement for Zach Miller, who I think will be a cap casualty this year or next year. I think Luke Wilson so far has shown flashes that he could be that Joker TE that most of us want on our team.

I like Washington size and speed, he looks like a body catcher as opposed to catching it with his hands (at least from the one game I watched on him). High upside and good value in the 5th round.

Cockrell I hadn't seen before your mock, so I looked at one of his games and I was impressed. He looks quick and fluid enough to play in the slot. I also like his ball skill, he is not afraid to make a play on the ball. He could possibly be the steal of your mock draft. 8 interceptions and 24 PBU's the last two years + he looks like a good athlete.

Here is one of Cockrell's games.
[youtube]Jp1RxKdTP7E[/youtube]

I agree with the assessment that Bowie and Bailey got much better as they had time in game and it's not a critical need. Really how often do you lose or have to rotate 4 out of 5 of your starters such as we have this season.

cover-2":1eq5b1ul said:

ivotuk":1eq5b1ul said:

I don't see the need for Oline. English has one in his mock and i just don't see it. I think everyone is placing too much emphasis on Okung and Breno being out. Bailey and Bowie are very good and can probably give any first round Olineman a run for his money.

Instead i see need for a wide receiver, possibly a TE but we get McCoy back next year and Willson had been a revelation. A 6' plus wide receiver would be a big help but if Sidney takes a pay cut, even that might not be a huge need.

But as always,applicable with this team, and this front office, you never know where they will in the draft.

Click to expand...

I don't know how you can justify that statement. When Okung and Breno were out of the lineup Russell Wilson was taking way too many hits, he was running for his life because of our poor pass protection from the OT's. Wilson's scrambling ability and his ability to keep his eyes down field while running away from pressure was our saving grace. Put any other QB in this league behind our poor pass blocking offensive line during that stretch of games and we probably would have lost a lot of those games and that QB would have taken a ton of sacks.

This year we were lucky that Russell Wilson was able to take all those hits and escape the constant pressure. Wilson is young and can take those hits now. Over time if he continues to take those hits they are going to eventually catch up to him, be it missing a half a season or full season due to injury or even shorten his career by a few years.

IMO we need to draft an OT somewhere in the first few rounds. Wilson is an NFL MVP caliber type player and we need to protect him so he can lead this team to multiple runs at the Super Bowl.

Click to expand...

I don't disagree with your evaluation of this year, but it sounds like reactionary drafting which is what Jerry Jones does. (Please don't take that as an insult it's just an observation).

I don't expect that to happen again, but if it does, Bailey and Bowie should up to speed then. Pete and John already planned for this by drafting those two. We don't need to add more because who would you cut?

ivotuk":1errn4qn said:

cover-2":1errn4qn said:

ivotuk":1errn4qn said:

I don't see the need for Oline. English has one in his mock and i just don't see it. I think everyone is placing too much emphasis on Okung and Breno being out. Bailey and Bowie are very good and can probably give any first round Olineman a run for his money.

Instead i see need for a wide receiver, possibly a TE but we get McCoy back next year and Willson had been a revelation. A 6' plus wide receiver would be a big help but if Sidney takes a pay cut, even that might not be a huge need.

But as always,applicable with this team, and this front office, you never know where they will in the draft.

Click to expand...

I don't know how you can justify that statement. When Okung and Breno were out of the lineup Russell Wilson was taking way too many hits, he was running for his life because of our poor pass protection from the OT's. Wilson's scrambling ability and his ability to keep his eyes down field while running away from pressure was our saving grace. Put any other QB in this league behind our poor pass blocking offensive line during that stretch of games and we probably would have lost a lot of those games and that QB would have taken a ton of sacks.

This year we were lucky that Russell Wilson was able to take all those hits and escape the constant pressure. Wilson is young and can take those hits now. Over time if he continues to take those hits they are going to eventually catch up to him, be it missing a half a season or full season due to injury or even shorten his career by a few years.

IMO we need to draft an OT somewhere in the first few rounds. Wilson is an NFL MVP caliber type player and we need to protect him so he can lead this team to multiple runs at the Super Bowl.

Click to expand...

I don't disagree with your evaluation of this year, but it sounds like reactionary drafting which is what Jerry Jones does. (Please don't take that as an insult it's just an observation).

I don't expect that to happen again, but if it does, Bailey and Bowie should up to speed then. Pete and John already planned for this by drafting those two. We don't need to add more because who would you cut?

Click to expand...

I'm assuming when you say "reactionary drafting" you mean drafting for need or perceived need. I believe in drafting for best player available. But I am for the following; if the best player available is not at a position of need (if that player is a QB or RB then move down a few spots) and there is a trade on the table to where we could trade down a bit then draft an OT or TE or DT that we are high on & get a couple of extra picks.



There seems to be two different camps as far as our outlook at the OT position...
-One camp is of the opinion that Bowie & Bailey were draftable players that got starting experience under their belt, we won games they started in, so they are only going to get better and the offensive line does not need to be addressed early in the draft.
-The other camp is of the opinion Bowie and Bailey only got to start games this year because of the injuries or poor play of our veteran offensive lineman and when Bowie was starting Wilson was getting physically assaulted game in and game out, and the only reason our offense was effective during that stretch was because of Wilson's uncanny ability to escape pressure.

chris98251":1uujfgrd said:

I agree with the assessment that Bowie and Bailey got much better as they had time in game and it's not a critical need. Really how often do you lose or have to rotate 4 out of 5 of your starters such as we have this season.

Click to expand...

Not often.

Although, if we want to really compare accurately we'd start with our OL as is, compared to what it may look like come May:

If you assume we don't resign McQuistan and Giacomini due to salary cap restructuring (a real possibility), then we are facing losing one of our starters out of the gate, and a player that plays starter number of snaps in McQuistan.

Bowie and Bailey would need to assume those snaps. We would have in effect lost a significant portion of our OL before the draft even begins. In addition, considering the natural attrition along the line that every team is bound to face during the course of the season -- it's a strong need.

Jeanpierre is also a UFA. He certainly could be resigned, but should he leave, that leaves a void there too.

We are in a position to reload possible starter defections. But in doing so, we are left without depth there. Depth that we've had to rely on for significant number of games in the last two years. In the best case scenario, we'd need to draft more than one OL just to reload the depth we'd be elevating to starter roles. And in addition to that, Carpenter will be in the final year of his deal in 2014. Is he going to be extended? That is also in question. What are the chances that Okung has an injury free campaign? I think it's only prudent that we come to accept some level of unavailability during the season considering the track record. He's a great talent. But he has shown a knack for getting fluke injuries. We should plan for that better than having a backup guard be the contingency.

To avoid all that, we'd have to commit cap dollars to Giacomini and/or McQuistan again. Which would necessarily mean we'd be letting other guys go. These two players will likely command similar dollar figures to what we're paying now.

If we're looking at the roster as is, then yeah we don't see much need. But I really don't think this OL corps is going to look similar once the free agent signing period is done. It's something to monitor in March -- but it's also a strong forecast that we'll have defections in this unit. There is no harm in accounting for this likelihood, and in fact I think it's merely accepting something that we should each probably assume will come to pass.

Either way, we should know well before the draft what guys will leave and see our needs adjust as a result.

Seattle was looking at OL early last year. Was that because of a need at OL, or because of a historically good OL class in the first couple rounds? I kinda lean toward the latter.

Though from what I hear, this year's OL group is pretty good too.

We seem to look at guys with a skill set thats off the normal charts as well, Cable likes a certain type of athlete, LT being an exception you need to be really athletic and have size and an all around game there. The rest are a compliment of skills working as a unit. The ability to plug guys in most other spots speaks to this.

kearly":3bhvda9n said:

Seattle was looking at OL early last year. Was that because of a need at OL, or because of a historically good OL class in the first couple rounds? I kinda lean toward the latter.

Though from what I hear, this year's OL group is pretty good too.

Click to expand...

I believe it was both. I don't think the depth part played into it too much, as realistically, there were only a handful of OL prospects that went earlier than predicted. I believe we clearly targeted one -- at most 2 players for #56 overall and they were snatched up. There were still other prospects available that were available that they didn't pull the trigger on even after trading back in round 2.

Recall, that they grade relative to what they have. Knowing that, I expect there weren't many players they could have hoped to select in round 2 that would have prompted Cable to admit that. I also expect we'll be more aggressive getting OL talent this year, simply because it's likely we will have open positions of competition heading into the draft. We will know probably before the end of March if Giacomini and/or McQuistan are in the picture. If they aren't, then our relative grade will be based on Bailey and Bowie. I would expect that grade to be ok, but not as high as it was heading into the draft in 2013 when those grades were for 2 productive vets.

Our relative grade of on roster talent should be lower heading into the draft. We will also have a first round pick available which we didn't last year. It is another good year and if an OT drops that we grade high, I'd expect us to pull the trigger. I'm not sure there are special talents we could forecast at the end of round 1 that would lead us away from addressing the line.

The question will be not unlike last year: Will guys we have targeted reach us? We have shown we won't overdraft. Even if we determine a position is strong for upgrading. I actually like the OT prospects likely to be in the 20-32 range better than last year's.

Ultimately, we may have 2 open spots on the line as it stands now. If we don't go early, we'll go late. Probably more than once.

my seahawks 5 round mock draft:

Rd 1) Xavier SU'A Filo- Xavier gives the hawks an athletic mauler the hawks need next to Okung that can get defenders off the line, get to the second level of the defense and handle his own in pass protection. SU'A filo also has experience at the position starting in 38 career games. I think this guy would do well in Cable's zone blocking scheme i think of him as a more polished Sweezy.

RD 2) Kelcy Quarles- A DT with good size/speed combination and good production in the SEC to help his resume. Quarles also has pass rushing ability from the DT positon he has 9.5 sacks right now which is what the seahawks are looking for in DT's.

RD 4) L'Damian Washington- a Tall WR with strait line speed that can be an outside threat. needs to work on route running but he has the potential seattle is looking for in a big play WR.

RD 5) Justin Britt- A developmental OT with some athletic ability that needs to add more power to his game but could do well in a zone blocking scheme. I anticipate Giacomini being let go so depth could be an issue for the hawks next year.