Don’t spend big on a tight end — get back in the draft

Brevin Jordan could be a fantastic addition and a true #3 target

It’s fair to say this is one of the most complex off-seasons the NFL has ever witnessed.

With no combine and 12 teams currently over the cap for 2021, the global pandemic continues to have a long-lasting effect on elite level sport.

For the Seahawks it’s especially tricky — given their long list of needs, minimal available cap space ($1.7m), small number of draft picks (four) and the fact the quarterback is making it very clear he’s not happy.

If Russell Wilson moves on, Seattle’s world changes completely. Finding a replacement quarterback suddenly becomes a massive priority. Unless one is included in a trade, you’re probably looking at a stop-gap option such as Alex Smith (who, it was revealed today, is leaving Washington) and then drafting to develop.

What a time to be alive.

If they somehow manage to work out a truce with Wilson, then there’s serious work to be done on the roster.

Not only will they need to fill a big hole at cornerback, they’ll also need to bolster their offensive arsenal and pass protection.

As I’ve noted a few times, at the moment the Seahawks don’t even have the cap space to offer Poona Ford a second round tender as a restricted free agent.

Something’s got to give.

Brady Henderson recently reported/speculated on the possibility of Carlos Dunlap being cut. This would free up $14m immediately, providing some wiggle room for the Seahawks to do business.

In terms of freeing up money, it makes sense. Combined with a couple of restructures, the Seahawks would have the room to get a lot done.

There are a couple of significant consequences though.

Cutting Dunlap would mean, for the third year in a row, the Seahawks parting with their best pass rusher.

They struggled to replace Frank Clark in 2019 and they struggled to replace Jadeveon Clowney in 2020.

The Seahawks can’t carry on this way.

Even if the aim would be to bring Dunlap back at a cheaper cost, there’s no guarantee he’ll return. What then? Another mad scramble to find a replacement? Starting the 2021 season, as they did in 2020, with an inadequate D-line? Hope that a last-gasp solution presents itself before the trade deadline again?

It’s a huge gamble — but one the Seahawks almost are obliged to consider, given the situation they find themselves in.

The other issue is that while cutting Dunlap creates cap space, it doesn’t necessarily provide a pathway to filling a lot of holes.

It’s certainly true that the market this year could be full of bargains. With the cap lowering, the expectation is many players will take ‘prove-it’ deals to get back into free agency next year, when hopefully the NFL economy has improved.

However, this hasn’t exactly provided options for the Seahawks in recent years. When’s the last time they pulled off a coup in free agency? 2013?

My fear is they’ll see his $14m salary as an opportunity to sign 5-7 cheaper veteran players. This is not a strategy that has paid dividends in recent years. Look at how much they spent last year on average, below average or ageing players.

A lot of people will tell you this is a draft to avoid. The lack of testing numbers, proper medical checks and meetings create a lot of mystery.

However, the simple fact is the draft provides a unique opportunity to acquire cheap talent.

Damien Lewis cost the Seahawks $800,000 in 2020. Being able to get a quality starter at that price only happens through the draft.

When you have a whole bunch of holes, you need young players like Lewis to come in and contribute.

The Seahawks, realistically, only have a second and fourth round pick this year in which to find possible cheap starters.

Corbin Smith recently reported Seattle’s interest in Jonnu Smith. He suggests they’re set to make ‘an aggressive run’ at the Tennessee tight end.

That kind of move will be expensive.

And while Smith is talented and very athletic — he’s never had more than 448 yards in a season. In four years with the Titans, he has 1,302 total receiving yards.

I can’t help but think — what’s the best move here? Be aggressive to sign someone like Smith? Or get back in the draft and target someone else?

Miami’s Brevin Jordan is an outstanding athlete. As noted in another article recently, the Seahawks pay a lot of attention to agility testing at tight end.

Jonnu Smith ran a 4.18 short shuttle at 248lbs at the 2017 combine.

At SPARQ, Jordan ran a 4.21 short shuttle at 250lbs. So he’s right in Seattle’s wheelhouse.

The difference between Smith and Jordan is one player will cost millions per year, while the other — if drafted in the top-50 — will cost an average salary of about $1.6m for the next four seasons.

I would argue that given the Seahawks have struggled to truly incorporate the tight end position into their passing game, a lower-salary arrangement would be best. There’d be nothing worse than investing millions (as they did with Greg Olsen) for another mediocre stat-line.

Sure, using a high pick on the position could also be a waste of resources. Yet the difference between a $7m salary and a $1.6m salary is more significant than ever this year. If you want to prioritise the position, the draft provides the solution.

This is why I think it’s vital the Seahawks acquire extra draft stock in the coming weeks. Having three picks between rounds 1-3 instead of only one pick can be the difference between three cheap starters and having to rely on what you can get on the veteran market.

In this draft class you should be able to get a tight end, left guard and a receiver in the first three rounds that you really like. There’s a lot of depth at cornerback too.

Here’s a reminder of the horizontal board I published recently, showing some of the potential options:

I don’t want to sound like I’m beating a dead horse but I still think the best way to acquire more draft stock is to trade Jamal Adams.

I won’t rehash all my old arguments about his scheme fit and expected salary. I wrote a lengthy argument here, so if you missed it the first time I’d recommend checking out why I think moving Adams is the best decision.

Start Marquise Blair at strong safety (you did draft him in round two, after all) and see what you can get. Will the Dolphins give you #36 and #50 for Adams, for example? Can you get a first and a third off the Browns?

Yes, it’s a discounted price. I think it’s necessary though. And with the $18-20m you’re saving by not paying Adams in 2020, you’re in a far better position to lend from the future cap to provide short-term relief.

It’d mean being able to offer a structured, competitive contract to Corey Linsley. You could bring back Richard Sherman and possibly K.J. Wright.

You can talk about blue-chip players all you want. You’re basically deciding between one player (Adams) versus having three cheap rookies (R1, R1, R3) and about $15m in available cap space to spend elsewhere. That’s 4-6 players.

With the Seahawks in their current state — and with the NFL economy in its current state — Adams is a luxury. He’s good enough to make some eye-catching plays but he’s not a difference maker, capable of elevating this team to greatness and justifying the massive outlay spent on him.

Give me Linsley at center instead, with one of the quality interior offensive linemen in this draft at #56. Give me one of the top young tight ends — Brevin Jordan or Pat Freiermuth. Give me a dynamic #3 receiver from this terrific class at the position or an exciting young corner such as Benjamin St. Juste. Have the resource to bring Sherman home and make sure you cling on to Carlos Dunlap (or replace him properly).

That’s a much better package than possessing a blitzing safety, taking up $18-20m of your salary. If it’s an either/or — for me it’s a no-brainer.

Of course if you end up having to trade your franchise quarterback — money and draft stock isn’t going to be a problem.

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!

236 Comments

  1. Rob Staton

    JJ Watt in the NFC West. Oh Good.

    https://twitter.com/JJWatt/status/1366444807258845184

    Potentially across from Chandler Jones.

    • dcd2

      Ya, about that Alex Smith idea… That’s gonna be a no from me Dawg.

    • Robert

      Offensive line just became #1 priority this offseason behind the Russell Situation.

    • Jlemere

      Now you got to wonder if they need to upgrade from Brandon Shell.

      • Mick

        Not that I’m a big expert, but I was watching a footage of Tyler Lockett’s TDs and it really stood out to me that Shell is doing a great job in protecting Wilson. I think he and Lewis are also going to play better after a year together.

    • cha

      I’m not crazy upset by this.

      $23m for 2 seasons? Big overpay. Feels like Arizona is getting their version of 2020 Greg Olsen.

      The Cardinals had $11m of cap room before signing Watt, so they have already spent their allowance money for 2021, and the best way to recoup some cap is to ask Chandler Jones to restructure or eat a $5m dead cap hit for getting rid of him.

      2021 Watt stats: 16 games, 1013 snaps, 29 pressures, 5 sacks, 14 TFL, 17 QB hits

      2021 Mystery Player stats: 16 games, 925 snaps, 29 pressures, 5 sacks, 6 TFL, 13 QB hits

      Any guesses on Mystery Player?

      Arizona is betting on Watt getting only singled and bouncing back in a big, big way. For the money, that’s not a fantastic bet.

      They have 2 seasons of Kyler Murray on a cheap rookie contract and they just blew $23m on a player who has one impactful season in the past 5 years.

      That’s not your shot. Go get Judon, Ngakoue, Barrett, Dupree or Williams. All younger. All more productive. All will cost you $23m of cap in 2021-22 if you structure them right.

      Swing and a miss.

      • no frickin clue

        I will guess Mystery Player is either Jarran Reed or Arik Armstead.

        • cha

          Good guesses but no.

          Actually I mislead a little bit. It’s two players.

          The combo platter of Collier and Green.

      • dcd2

        I’d guess Mayowa or Dunlap.

      • AlaskaHawk

        Wait a minute. JJ Watt is a great player, if he strings together two more years it will make Arizona that much harder to beat. No comparison to experience and productivity. I think the Seahawks would have signed this same deal in a heartbeat. Think how well the defense would have played. JJ Watt is a future hall of famer for the same price as a wounded Clowney.

    • Sea Mode

      ♛Chandler Jones
      @chanjones55
      ·39m

      Also feel bad for my guy RW3 lol

    • Pran

      Dark days up on us…..we all should flee along with Russ i guess.

    • BruceN

      That was my first thought. Watt (as long as he stays healthy) and Jones will be a nightmare for the rest of NFCW.

      On the TE topic, I agree Jonny Smith may be too expensive. What about Everett at around $5M a year. He’s 26 years young, athletic and is familiar with Waldron’s system.

      My guess is the thoughts of trading Adams and Russell for a bunch of picks are not going to happen. Pete is not going to trade Adams (I wish he would). And he’s smart enough to realize trading Wilson is going to set him back a few years. Unless he is so arrogant that thinks he can easily replace Wilson with a rookie and draft a few players and be fine. But I doubt it.

      • Rob Staton

        On the TE topic, I agree Jonny Smith may be too expensive. What about Everett at around $5M a year. He’s 26 years young, athletic and is familiar with Waldron’s system.

        Or… just draft Brevin Jordan for $1.6m a year.

        My guess is the thoughts of trading Adams and Russell for a bunch of picks are not going to happen.

        And a few weeks ago nobody would’ve said Mark Rodgers would be telling Adam Schefter the four teams Wilson is willing to go to.

        Pete is not going to trade Adams

        Why?

        Or are you just assuming like everyone seems to on this topic?

        The Seahawks don’t have to pay him what he wants. They can trade him. I hope they will and wouldn’t rule anything out.

        • BruceN

          “Or… just draft Brevin Jordan for $1.6m a year.”

          I would agree with you if we had 7 picks this year. But with so few picks I thought this is a position that can be easily addressed with reasonable money.

          “Pete is not going to trade Adams, Why?”

          Pete is enamored with Adams and will try to extend him. Call it a hunch or signals I get from the team. Frankly, the rest of the league and pundits also think he should be one of our top priorities. We, on this blog, are either geniuses or totally missing the boat. For the record, I agree we shouldn’t and for the $18-$19M it would take to extend him I would sign Neal plus either Schreff or Linsely.

          “And a few weeks ago nobody would’ve said Mark Rodgers would be telling Adam Schefter the four teams Wilson is willing to go to.”

          Again, my hunch, is that like 2 years ago this is the way Russell is applying pressure on the Hawks and Pete. Remember when everybody thought he was going to NY and the blogsphere in Seattle was freaking out. I don’t think they’re past the point of no return in this relationship yet, but are very close. BTW, as a side note, how do you think Carr feels about Russell’s mention of the Raiders when they already have a #1 QB on the roster who just had a pretty good year?

          • Rob Staton

            I would agree with you if we had 7 picks this year. But with so few picks I thought this is a position that can be easily addressed with reasonable money.

            The piece clearly outlines a preference to get more picks (and how to do it).

            Pete is enamored with Adams and will try to extend him. Call it a hunch or signals I get from the team.

            I’d call it an assumption.

            Frankly, the rest of the league and pundits also think he should be one of our top priorities. We, on this blog, are either geniuses or totally missing the boat.

            They don’t spend 1/100th of the time studying the Seahawks.

            For the record, I agree we shouldn’t and for the $18-$19M it would take to extend him I would sign Neal plus either Schreff or Linsely.

            The team could easily feel the same way.

            • Robert

              A year ago, a lot of people thought we should/would sign Clowney for $20m per year, and he was known to be the team’s top free agent priority. So … ?

              • Rob Staton

                Why’s that relevant to what I said?

                • Robert

                  Sorry, more of a response to BruceN and the notion that we “know” what the front office is going to do.

    • Ashish

      I was not in favor of signing JJ Watt because of his injury history but hate to play him twice a year. PC listen to Russ, sign some good OL it will be win -win situation.

      • Rob Staton

        I wasn’t fussed either really.

        But I equally didn’t want him to sign with Arizona. I was hoping Tennessee.

  2. Rob Staton

    JJ Watt signing in Arizona doesn’t matter though because the Seahawks defense is going to make sure he never sees the field.

    • Big Mike

      Jamal Adams babeeeee!

      • Scot04

        Dunlap extension and Adams trade should go together. Like Rob said, the last few years we let a DE go and try to replace them cheap. Time to keep one.

  3. SonGoku

    Rob, I mentioned it a few weeks ago, what do you think will happen with Clowney this off-season? What kind of contract will he get? Could Hawks try to bring him back?

    • Mick

      I wouldn’t want him back, I think he falls in the Jamal Adams category: too expensive for what he delivers.

    • Poli

      Could be way off, but can’t imagine teams giving Clowney more than like a 1 year $7M deal at this point.

      If they trade Wagner, Adams and possibly Reed, they should go for Clowney at 5T opposite of Dunlap.

      Best duo since Bennett/Avril.

    • MyChestisBeastMode

      Clowney will be cheaper this year than he was last year. I’d imagine after coming off of another injury plagued year that Clowney will consider another cheap one year “prove-it” contract or MAYBE a 2-3 year contract in the $12-14mil APY (that’s only if Seahawks or other team is willing to take on his injury risk).

      If I were GM (and had the cap space), I’d think it a reasonable risk/reward to offer a 3 year contract with the final two years low on guarantees i.e. Y1: $8-10 mil guaranteed, Y2 & Y3 low guarantee of $14-16mil each. So, essentially a one year trial and if he shites the bed then cut him after with no penalty, but if he hits and stays healthy then have him for another couple years at a team friendly value for a quality DE.

  4. Scot04

    Saw many asking about consecutive 1st round picks on trades.
    Here’s a write up by Florio back in 2015. Seems to explain it pretty well.
    Looks like we would be able to get the 3 consecutive years of 1sts.
    https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/04/eagles-can-trade-picks-into-2018-draft-once-the-2015-draft-opens/

  5. Scot04

    Nice write up Rob. So on point, we definitely don’t need to be spending on a TE with so many other needs. Why some are so fixated with keeping Adams I just don’t get. Another article about extending the whole bloody team, yet no one wants to entertain Adams or Wagner trades. Dugar posted it today.
    It’s definitely refreshing to come here and see some realistic ways to upgrade the roster and build draft capital. Some may not like the hard choices, but I believe Adams should be a starting point. Get capital and cap space to brig in O-line help. The Az acquisition of Watt just adds another team improving their 4 man rush. If we continue to go cheap on the O-line and spend big on a Safety It’s pathetic. The trade was bad enough, they need to realize it, not double down.

    • Rob Staton

      We’ve got to be serious and honest about the situation.

      Borrowing and borrowing might be convenient to avoid difficult conversations.

      But it’s not realistic.

      • Scot04

        100% agree, but it sure seems no one outside of SDB wants to believe it’s the way to go. I also don’t get why cutting Dunlap and trading Reed seems to be a local writers preference over trading Adams.
        It’s like no one watched the playoffs and especially the Superbowl. The games won in the trenches. An Adams trade just seems like it should be the most obvious way to go.

      • Happy Hawk

        Except for the Saints, Eagles, and Steelers.

  6. Hoggs41

    Completely agree its Adams that needs to be traded. We all know $16m isnt going to get it done for him as he will want more. Its the best way to open up $10m in space and to get some picks back. Teams can start signing players in two weeks so whatever they do it better happen fast.

  7. pdway

    question re the Adams deal – – if we did extend him (hopefully not at the high end of $18-20M, but assuming $15M+) – would it not be possible to structure his ’21 cap hit at a much lower number?

    Reading some notes in other articles about the expectation for the ’22 cap to be significantly higher, and perhaps we’ll have more flexibility then?

    Re the JJ signing – a 2 yr deal feels pretty smart/reasonable to me. Compensation a little on the risky side given his injury history, but still, a dynamic signinf for them.

    • Rob Staton

      question re the Adams deal – – if we did extend him (hopefully not at the high end of $18-20M, but assuming $15M+) – would it not be possible to structure his ’21 cap hit at a much lower number?

      Unless you want to pay him an obscene amount in the future with no wiggle room, no.

  8. Denver Hawker

    Every NFC West team knows a key to beating Seattle is pressure on Russ. Watt, Jones, Donald, Bosa, it’s a whose who of DPOY/DROY. Not to mention continuing to stack defensive talent and run games to keep Seattle offense off the field.

    What’s Seattle’s counter move? If it’s not too LG/C acquisitions, might as well fold and rebuild.

    • Jordan

      Teams will keep coming and coming, with talent and pressure – such is the nature of competing.

      But nah, you don’t fold and rebuild after winning 12 games and the division title. You stay in the fight and tell them to bring it.

      • Denver Hawker

        A division title where we lost 3 games to division opponents including a beating in the playoffs, 12 wins against a cupcake schedule and the 49ners infirmary.

        I asked what’s the counter? The division is getting better, while the Hawks rely increasingly on QB play. If the counter is another Iupati/Pocic/Hyde combo, this team is not improved and will not smell home field advantage much less a super bowl.

        • Jordan

          I understand having that mentality. All good.

          I’m just of a different mindset – one that doesn’t involve folding.

          But by no means am I saying that you’re wrong. Just that I disagree. Cheers.

          • DancingBuddha

            Except he is literally wrong, for starters, Seattle was 4-2 in the division for the title, they didn’t lose 3 games.

            • dcd2

              Who did we play in the playoffs?

            • Rob Staton

              He clearly included the playoff loss

  9. Volume12

    Figured I’d check back in. See how SDB is doing. Just taking a break before the off-season heats up. Not that there hasn’t been a bunch of drama already, but I digress.

    • Rob Staton

      Good to hear from you V12

    • Sea Mode

      Hey, was thinking of you and Kenny Sloth just yesterday. Glad to see you check in.

    • Trevor

      Nice to hear from you Vol and I hope all is well. You have been missed.

    • dcd2

      Hey Vol. Not much going on indeed. Quiet off-season for us.

  10. GoHawksDani

    We’ll face 3 of the most brutal DLs for 6games.
    Not sure if Seattle will have the resources to combat that. If I’d be Russ, I’ll immediately ask for a trade. Watt is not the same he was a couple of years back but that signing shows that all NFCW teams willing to put resources where they need it and bring in big names…and most importantly to Russ, willing to pressure the QB.
    I think the Hawks might be #4 in the NFCW

  11. Switch

    I heard earlier on a youtube video from a guy who seemed in the know that just recently the NFL has set a rule that teams can’t trade more two straight years of 1st round picks away. Can anybody confirm this?

    This would make a huge difference in whether or not a Russ trade would be feasible.

    • Switch

      So basically Miami could trade their two 1st rounders this year and their 1st next year. However say the Raiders can only trade two firsts because that’s all they have in next two years.

      • Rob Staton

        No, the Raiders can trade 2021, 2022, 2023

    • Rob Staton

      It’s two future drafts and this one

      • Switch

        Rob, can you tell me an official source for this? I would like to know for sure, not just somebody spouting only 2 or 3 years worth of picks.

        • TomLPDX

          I spent some time this morning looking for it too and couldn’t find anything. I do remember seeing that two futures plus this year as the limit in one of the articles I’ve read over the past few weeks but can’t find that either.

        • Rob Staton

          You don’t need a source. I’m telling you the rules are next three drafts.

  12. Mike

    I think Rob you’ve got the right of it this offseason. My gut says the logic will get largely ignored and we will see another big headline grabbing move that makes layman fans jump in excitement and those that think about the team management cringe. Maybe I’m just jaded from recent years.

    Accepting imperfection this season and looking forward to future growth and development would be to me the right course. I can see no way of fielding a complete and dominant team next year with our resources. As scary as it is, i think you need to gut the roster for the sake of building a few position groups for the next 4 years. Build the o-line of the team’s future. Add to the D-line.

    Let inexperienced DBs and linebackers try to rise. They’ll fail to be elite, but give them room to grow. Let those areas be appealing to rookies and fringe starters who want an opportunity.

    Its ok if we have a bad season next year, so long as we can look at the lines and say: we can build around these for the next few years. In that scenario, any good players that rise out of the other positions we can sign. But let competition dictate those position groups.

  13. RWIII

    I don’t think the Saints are an option. According to John Clayton. The Saints are 64mil over the cap and have three draft choices. BTW: John Clayton was NOT impressed with Mark Rogers. Seattle is not going to trade Russell Wilson to the Saints. You can forget that. Cowboys have their own salary cap issues. And what can they offer Seattle in a trade. Does anyone really believe that Russell Wilson has a better of chance of winning a Super Bowl with the Raiders, Bears or the Cowboys.

    • Switch

      Honestly I’m getting the sense that Russ just wants to go to a big market with an offensive minded coach at this point. Russ seems like the kind of guy that wants to please his wife at any cost anyway so this whole thing might be a foregone conclusion.

      • Rob Staton

        It’s nothing to do with his wife. Not sure why she keeps coming up.

        You were right the first time. It’s about offensive vision, philosophy and control.

        • Switch

          I don’t know anybody can say his wife ‘has nothing’ to do with this. I think she keeps getting brought up because all the cities he mentioned are entertainment cities. Dallas not so much but Ciara is from Dallas where her family lives and Russ would make huge money in extras there.

          Russ isn’t just looking at how many SB’s he can win. He wants to have a mass amount of money to be a part owner after football apparently. I think it’s more than just ‘offensive vision, philosophy and control’. I suppose it doesn’t matter why he wants to leave at this though.

    • Rob Staton

      John Clayton doesn’t know what he’s talking about I’m afraid. And I don’t take any pleasure in saying that — but he’s been wrong on this whole topic from day one because he refuses to look beyond structured numbers on a database.

      The Saints can trade for Wilson. And they can get their money down.

      Just like the Seahawks can absorb a $39m dead hit — another thing Clayton insists is impossible.

      So no, there’s no reason to rule out the Saints. Doesn’t mean it’ll happen but they’re on Wilson’s list.

      The four teams are all perfectly capable of making a great offer. That is not the topic here. It’s whether they will and whether the Seahawks will listen/accept.

      • Rad_man

        I have enjoyed Clayton the writer for a long time but I just can’t listen to him on the radio anymore.

    • Dingbatman

      Does anyone really believe that Russell Wilson has a better of chance of winning a Super Bowl with the Raiders, Bears or the Cowboys?

      Absolutely. Or at least a better chance of getting there. How many games you think the Seahawks would have won last year without Russell Wilson? I think you’re looking at a bottom 10 maybe bottom 5 team. That’s a lot of teams with a better supporting cast.

      • IHeartTacoma

        Those teams are as mediocre as Seattle, and Wilson hasn’t sniffed the Super Bowl here since a previous era. He’s not going to take the Raiders, Bears, or Cowboys there either.
        However, they think he will, so now is the time to make a deal. Best for everyone.

        • Rob Staton

          I wouldn’t rule out him taking another team to a SB.

  14. GerryG

    This is such a pivotal moment in the 5 year year outlook of this franchise. It just seems way too logical smart and to focus on the draft in this time of financial crisis. If you were to look at the pure dollars and cents reality of the business, and remove any emotional (Wagner) or pre-sunk costs (Adams) Rob’s plan just makes the most sense. The financial reality of the team’s cap, the number of holes on the roster, simply begs you to acquire picks, and accrue young cost controlled talent.

    Also, the financial crunch isnt just this year. Big $ being due to Wagner and Adams the following year when you have basically no roster under contract is only going to continue to hamstring you, oh, and you STILL dont have a rd1 next year either. This is such a catastrophic blunder of team resources, that thus far looks like it is just going to continue.

    Dumping Dunlap, extending Adams, keeping Wagner, signing a TE, and trading back in Rd2 to acquire an additional pick is not going to look like an improved, contending roster to Wilson, or any reasonable person.

    • Big Mike

      Spot on post.
      They’re paying the price for shitty drafts (outside of DK) as we speak. It lead to panicking and drafting Adams one year after drafting the position (Blair). It lead to drafting a LB with their first pick last year after drafting TWO the year before. That doesn’t even address the drafting of Green and Collier on the d-line, both of whom have underwhelmed. And so on and so forth……….

  15. Trevor

    Going into last offseason I really thought the Hawks had the cap space and draft capital to turn the roster into a legit contender and it was a massive flop.

    This year with no draft capital or cap space and a ton of holes and veterans to sign I really don’t see any way JS can turn this roster into a contender so maybe this offseason will be the exact opposite and he will pull a rabbit out of his ass.

  16. cha

    Passive Aggressive Compliment/Shot Alert

    Rob, two thanks.

    First, Thanks for keeping your podcasts on point and focused.

    Digging around for RW news I just cannot listen to half of these podcasts out there. Wandering way off topic is so distracting.

    Jason Fitzergald put out one with “Russell Wilson” in the subject line so I listened. He opened a 2 hour podcast with a handful of minutes where he talked about beers he likes and beers he doesn’t like, taking his wife out to dinner and working out at the gym. I just can’t.

    Also thanks for continuing to write longform articles. We need them now more than ever to make sense of things.

    For some reason Mike Florio has decided to reference how long the Athletic RW piece is on his youtube videos and slag them for just being soooo long. Also similarly complained about a brilliant piece on the NFLPA. When you could actually read them in less time than it takes to listen to his videos.

    At one point he chastised the Athletic for not chopping the RW into 5 or more pieces. C’mon man.

    • GerryG

      Florio, the “master” of awful, 3 paragraph news articles that morph into his own personal armchair GM/commissioner soapbox to close every one, taking shots at a quality outfit like the Athletic is quite humorous to me.

  17. uptop

    I would absolutely take Brevin Jordan with our first pick. He is a stud and a great fit for a Waldron offense. I recently took him in a mock at 56. It would be a good way to appease RW and go best player available.

  18. Switch

    If we trade Russ and don’t get a QB in return than we are in full rebuild mode. There would be no point in keeping older expensive players like Wagner or Wright. I think Pete’s best quality is getting young players to compete hard. However I do think we need young players who are dogs and team leaders if we can find them. If we start over and get rid of the old guys we need guys like Adams. I know it’s not popular on the blog but IF we do a major rebuild and Adams is willing stay and build with Pete we may want to pay him. He hasn’t had much time in the system but he fits the dog/BAMF competition type that we need on defense.

    We need to be the bully again. Don’t trade away our bullies.

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t think people really understand what a BAMF is.

      Kam and Marshawn were BAMF’s

      Jamal ain’t a BAMF

      • Big Mike

        Pete thinks he is though.
        #52 Safety last year.
        Guessing if PFF existed and did these things back then, Marshawn and Kam would never have been ranked worse than say, oh #7 or 8 let alone #52.

        • Switch

          I wonder if you took a poll around the league if Adams would get a higher than 50% BAMF vote. Also wasn’t he like in the 20’s on the top 100 list? Doesn’t seem like the 52nd safety to me, but what do I know. I wonder if you took a poll around the league if Adams would get a higher rating than 52nd safety from the actual players in the league playing against him? hmm.

          I wonder if it was because he went to a new team with a new system AND was injured for some games.

          Why even talk about trading the 52nd worst safety in the league? We should only get like a 7th rounder…right?

          I’ll stop the whole Adams talk because I know it’s not popular on here but I’ll just say I like him a bunch and you should probably get on the bandwagon because he’s going to be here for years.

          • Rob Staton

            He’s not a great scheme fit.

            We’ve talked about this a lot already.

            I don’t think he’s the 52nd best safety in the league. But I don’t think he’s a great fit in Seattle and I don’t think he’s worth $18-20m a year.

            And it’s nothing to do with being unpopular or not to discuss this. Conversation about Adams is welcome. I do think, however, that a lot of the debate has been fleshed out already.

            As for being a BAMF or him being here for years… I don’t think people really get what a BAMF is. They are the players who scare the F out of opponents. Not players who try hard or play well or fly around. I’m talking about scary, violent MF’s. That’s not Adams. And whether he’s here or not for years will depend on his price. I don’t see the Seahawks paying two defenders a combined $40m from next year and three players $80m of their entire cap.

            • Switch

              Fair enough.

              I think as a safety he scares QB’s and crossing WR’s as much as any safety’s in the league but I guess that’s just my opinion.

              Do you really think we would pay two 1st rounders and not give him a huge extension? It just seems ludicrous on the surface.

              • Rob Staton

                Are you in the Seattle media?

                Because your unwillingness to embrace any of the arguments made against keeping Jamal Adams are very familiar.

                And he didn’t scare anybody in 2020. What receiver did he pummel on a crossing route?

                Nobody.

                At least Marquise Blair will smack you about.

                • Switch

                  Yes, I work for KJR radio and I’m spying on your blog…..really?

                  So Adams broke the sack record for any DB in league history but every opposing team in preparation to playing the Hawks didn’t even consider accounting for him blitzing and hurrying the QB…right? Zero QB’s were scared/worried about Adams last year right?

                  You just said ‘Conversation about Adams is welcome’ so I took you at your word and said what I thought about the situation and you come back with unfounded anger.

                  Thanks

                  • Rob Staton

                    Yes, I work for KJR radio and I’m spying on your blog…..really?

                    For the second time today, you’ve not really mastered the art of sarcasm have you?

                    So Adams broke the sack record for any DB in league history

                    Been over this a million times. Read the article.

                    Zero QB’s were scared/worried about Adams last year right?

                    Correct. Nobody was scared.

                    Kam and Marshawn created a fear factor. There is no evidence Adams created any of that last year.

                    Blitzing eight times a game does not create fear for QB’s. It creates opportunities.

                    You just said ‘Conversation about Adams is welcome’ so I took you at your word and said what I thought about the situation and you come back with unfounded anger.

                    A word of advice. Disagreement is not ‘unfounded anger’. It’s just someone disagreeing with you.

                    I know people have lost the concept of disagreement these days and seem to take it as a personal affront — but there was no ‘anger’ in my last reply.

                  • Chase

                    He scares no one in our scheme. If you want to pay 20 million a year for those 9.5 sacks than get a premier edge rusher. Just because you made a bad trade last year doesn’t mean you have to commit to him long term.

                  • GerryG

                    Yeah I dont think he scared anyone from an intimidation factor, or even from the sack #s factor. The blitzes were so obvious and telegraphed that there was no uncertainty that made QBs nervous that they potentially didnt know where the pressure was coming from. He didnt make OL nervous, maybe the RBs were on notice to pick him up.

                • Switch

                  Wow.

                  Yeah, nobody would ever read the replies you’ve made and thought you were defensive or angry.

                  Just because somebody reads your articles and doesn’t agree with you doesn’t mean they are wrong or trying to cause you to get upset…and yes I’ve read your article and comments about Jamal. I just don’t agree.

                  You can insult me about not getting sarcasm if you want but that just shows your immaturity and anger.

                  • Rob Staton

                    You’re the only one who sounds angry here, buddy.

                    If you can’t debate properly then I’ll move this along for you.

                  • Big Mike

                    I’ll agree with you on one thing Switch, I also sadly believe Jamal Adams will be here for years to come as you have said will be the case. Rob does not necessarily agree with that opinion and I badly want him to be correct.

                    I also think in about 2 years you’re going to feel like re-signing him to say 17 per was a rather large mistake. If I’m wrong, I’ll happily eat the crow because first and foremost I want the Seahawks to win games and Super Bowls.

                    • Rob Staton

                      I’m merely not assuming they will sign Adams.

                      They may well do.

                      But a lot of people act like it’s a foregone conclusion. It isn’t.

          • Scot04

            @switch, I too like Adams and think he’s a great player. However, not here in our scheme. In Baltimore, Miami, or Tampa he would fit in perfectly. The Seahawks made an attempt at adding an impact player. I can appreciate that, however not at the cost. They overpaid.
            They j
            Had to scheme blitzes specifically for him, he wasn’t winning 1vrs1. Is he worth top Safety money, probably; is that the best use of resources for Seattle, No…
            They need to focus on the trenches. Adams would get the Seahawks some much needed draft capital and $ for upgrades to the O-line.
            Still just because I think he’s a great football player doesn’t change the fact I thought it was a horrible trade from day one.
            I hoped to be proven wrong. Unfortunately some things don’t work out. Seattle needs to move on. Luckily Adams is still a valued player, which is why we can and should trade him. Does it mean the Seahawks will trade him; Possibly not. Still there is a very good argument to trade him. It’s difficult for me to see many reasons to give him a large extension with too many greater needs.

          • Andy Muhs - Hawks4Ever

            Jamal can’t catch balls period. Not a good trait of a safety

  19. Moritz

    Assuming RW is traded and the Seahawks get a good haul of draft picks back:

    How confident are you, they will pick good talent with the picks? (Recent drafts… puh)

    How confident are you, they will pick at all because they could trade them for proven players? (reasons: past behavior (Adams trade), no incentive for tanking since Jets own our first round pick, prickly PC who wants to demonstrate he can have success without RW)

    How confident are you, that in case they don t get a QB in the Russ trade straight away that they don t have to overpay for one (analogy to European football: when Barcelona sold Neymar everyone knew they had the cash and urgency to do something so Barca had to overpay for Coutinho & Dembele)

    So my overall question is: Are you confident the FO is able to get something meaningful (when all is said and done, i.e. after the picks are spent) for the ransom they will hopefully get for RW?

  20. Denver Hawker

    Mina on point again: https://twitter.com/minakimes/status/1366449030792814592?s=21

    • GerryG

      I am so in love with Mina Kimes.

      • TomLPDX

        She’s fun, love her enthusiasm for the hawks.

        • Big Mike

          Mina is the female media person Josina thinks she is.

  21. Scot04

    Won’t happen, but atleast it’s creative.
    https://mobile.twitter.com/Slickhawk12/status/1366483522681114625?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

    • Simo

      It’s complicated and has quite a few moving parts, but I think its great value for Seattle if they get to the point Russ has to be traded.

      Two very high picks, one of which can either be used on a top college QB, or traded back several times to acquire more picks. They would have lots of options anyway!

    • Dingbatman

      Imagine how many consecutive division titles the Cowboys would win with Russell Wilson.

  22. hawkfanforetenity

    Does a Watson to Arizona for Murray and 2-3 firsts seem reasonable? I’ve got this sinking feeling about it. When Houston eventually caves to the inevitable and trades Watson, Arizona can offer a package far more enticing then anyone else.

    If it happened, and things continue to go south between Carroll and Russell, we could go from having the best QB in the NFC west to the worst in an offseason.

    • Scot04

      If I’m Az I’d stick with Murray

    • Chase

      Deandre Hopkins + JJ Watt + Murray for Watson

      • Hoggs41

        Yeah we dont want Watson coming the the NFC West whether it be the Cards of Niners.

        • Chase

          My comment was in jest about the state of the Texans franchise

  23. Strategicdust

    Due to the constraints of money and draft picks and improvement from the. division rivals, this year could easily see the Hawks finish last in the division, even with keeping Russ.
    If Pete gets stubborn about things like fourth down calls and challenges, it seems likely he’ll also be stubborn about his coaching philosophies being challenged.
    Don’t take a chance on losing Dunlap, he’s too critical to this defense to lose. Take your chances restructuring or trading Wagner and Adams. I’d rather rebuild those positions instead of the Dline again.
    As much as the idea of Sherman sounds good, the practical reality is you’d be spending a good amount of money for a player who’s injury prone and on the decline.
    As passive aggressive as Russ tends to be, I think this is the closest he gets to a “Trade me” demand. Russ doesn’t want to be perceived as a bad guy but he wants out and to head to a team with a better offensive philosophy. Make your deal, move on and hope this front office doesn’t screw up that opportunity. Otherwise you’re looking at a bad, long stretch of Seahawks football.

  24. Robert Las Vegas

    Rob with watt deal to arizona does reddick and patrick peterson are basically gone ? I am guessing that arizona believes larry fitzgerald isn’t coming back either.

    • Rob Staton

      Peterson seems to be heading that way.

      Reddick, not sure. They seem to want to protect him.

  25. Paul Cook

    Hell effing no to a TE with our top pick. We wouldn’t know what to do with this guy if we picked him. How about better using and developing the ones we have? What a waste of a pick that would be.

    • Rob Staton

      I think for the right player it could be great. Especially if Waldron works out a way to use them. Jordan, for me, has got the vibe of a future star and we all wonder how he didn’t go earlier.

      What I don’t want to do is spend somewhere between $7-11m a year on Jonnu Smith for five touchdowns and 500 yards. Or worse, the classic 250 yards, two touchdown stat-line.

      • Bankhawk

        Great piece Rob! The path you’ve outlined here is definitely the way I’m leaning here. At all costs, we need to find a way to supply John Schneider with an ammo re-supply for this off-season.
        I can like Adam’s the player, and Adam’s the person as much as I want, yet still see no better way to give JS what he’s going to need.
        Spot on, that’s what you are here!

  26. Paul Cook

    Pardon me, I just got a brain hemorrhage at the thought of making a TE our top pick. LOL I can think of 3-4 positions screaming for talent infusion in the draft other than TE. OL, OL, RB, #3 WR, CB, etc…

    But I get where you’re coming from about picking up another oldster off the shelf and over paying him.

    • Rob Staton

      I’m not for a second banging the drum for a high pick at tight end.

      The point being made really is if they’re so determined to add one, the draft — rather than a free agent splurge — is the way to go IMO, because the cost difference is enormous.

      But I will say that Brevin Jordan has an opportunity to be really, really good. And that’s what they need — really good players.

      • Paul Cook

        I get you.

        Everything’s SO up in the air now with the Hawks it’s hard for me to even think straight about the off season now. I do know this, as you’ve already stressed. No longer is the Adams thing the first order of business, as it was with Clowney last year. It’s the PC and RW thing that needs to be settled first and foremost. PC doing his Tony Robbins power of positive thinking thing on RW ain’t going to cut it. This has got to be worked out, or it’s going to become a full blown cancer.

        Anyway…you’re on top of your game.

      • dcd2

        Wouldn’t the cost difference argue for spending the draft pick on a G instead? Scherff/Thuney is going to cost an additional $12-14M VS Smith/Everett costing an additional $4-5M (compared to the rookie contract)

        TE’s are notoriously slow to get up to speed in the NFL too. Brevin might take 2-3 years to get to where Jonnu and Everett are today. I think Cole Kmet led rookie TE’s with 243 yards and 2 TD last year.

        • Rob Staton

          Wouldn’t the cost difference argue for spending the draft pick on a G instead?

          As I said in the piece, they should acquire extra draft stock so they can do both.

          TE’s are notoriously slow to get up to speed in the NFL too. Brevin might take 2-3 years to get to where Jonnu and Everett are today.

          I wouldn’t say they are notoriously slow. It’s a difficult position to draft for. Kelce and Henry were both statistically strong as rookies. Waller switched to TE and suddenly had a +1000 yard season. George Kittle had a decent rookie season.

          Good players can start early.

          • dcd2

            I agree it’s an incredibly difficult position to draft for. That’s part of why taking another TE, when we drafted 2 last year is a scary proposition to me.

            Kittle for example was the 9th TE taken in his own draft class (ironically behind Jonnu and Everett). Waller was a 6th round WR who was suspended twice, waived, switched positions and then found success in his 4th season.

            Kelce might be the best TE in the history of the NFL when he hangs them up and he was the 5th TE taken in his class.

            • Rob Staton

              Sure but that also happens at a lot of positions.

  27. Chase

    They should really look at getting a dangerous WR if they are talking about getting a 3rd weapon IMO.

    • Rob Staton

      They can do both with the picks.

      And they should try and get both a good TE and a good WR3.

      • Trevor

        We need to come out if this draft with a quality G/C, WR3, TE, developmental CB and OT as well as some DL depth. How do we get that with 4 picks?

        • Trevor

          All the more reason to trade Adams.

        • Rob Staton

          It’s ok Trevor…

          The new plan is to cut Carlos Dunlap and spend his $14m on seven $2m players to fill those needs

          • Mike

            Who needs Carlos Dunlap when future practice squader LJ Collier is more motivated than ever?

            • Chase

              Especially when second rounder Darrell Taylor finally started moving laterally!

              • Big Mike

                I started to laugh at you guys’ posts but suddenly found myself crying instead.

      • Pugs1

        Not saying they don’t need TE & WR depth but could the TE (Parkinson) and 3rd WR (Swain) already be on the roster? It seems like they had a lot of trust in Swain for a 6th round rookie and I know Parkinson was injured but they talked him up quite a bit.

        • Rob Staton

          They need better than that

  28. Michael P Matherne

    Rob, you’ve done a great job covering the ongoing RW/PC drama from every possible angle. I’m curious about one thing that no one has really talked about, that I’ve seen. You’ve acknowledged that it’s still possible (even probable) RW wants to stay in Seattle, so I’m wondering what that might look like?

    Do you think that would require some public gesture by Carroll that shows the world he’s capitulated to Russell’s demands? Would he have to give Russ the keys to the draft room essentially putting him on equal footing with JS and himself in terms of personnel decisions? Long story short, what does a hypothetical reconciliation look like in your mind’s eye?

    Personally I can’t think of any example of a QB/Coach relationship coming back from being on the ropes so publicly. Does anyone else recall a precedent for this ending the way most of us hope it does?

    • Rob Staton

      Do you think that would require some public gesture by Carroll that shows the world he’s capitulated to Russell’s demands?

      No — I think it could be done privately. Wilson’s camp will no doubt make it public anyway.

      Would he have to give Russ the keys to the draft room essentially putting him on equal footing with JS and himself in terms of personnel decisions?

      No — and I don’t think Wilson wants or expects that. I think he wants communication on personnel. That’s all.

      Long story short, what does a hypothetical reconciliation look like in your mind’s eye?

      A willingness to let Waldron and Wilson get on with the offense and do things how they want, investment in the O-line, communication on the direction of the team.

      • TomLPDX

        Your final statement, “A willingness to let Waldron and Wilson get on with the offense” is what needs to happen to keep Russ here and productive. This is what I hope for.

      • Trevor

        Rob if that really is the case and that was all it would take to make Russ happy it should have been done already. I personally think Russ looks at the roster and the cap room / draft capital like we do and knows there is no way they can field a Super Bowl contender. Pete hurt his feelings last year by pulling back on the offence at the first sign of trouble and now he just wants out.

        He may be a Hawk next year but I put the odds on him ever signing a new deal with Seattle at 5% or less and him playing out this contract at 15% or less.

  29. Rob Staton

    Arizona adds JJ Watt to partner Chandler Jones

    The Rams have Aaron Donald

    The Niners have Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead, not to mention the recent investment in Javon Kinlaw and Dee Ford

    The Seahawks? They’re about to cut Carlos Dunlap, their top pass rusher, because they need to save money and they need to keep their really expensive LB and S groups.

    But it’s OK because second-year breakout star LJ Collier who took over the NFC West in 2020 told GMFB he’s going to go crazy in year three.

    • cha

      Barkevious Mingo is a free agent.

      Just saying.

      • Rob Staton

        Fuel up the private jet

        • cha

          Or Bruce Irvin. Of course, he’d need a raise.

      • Big Mike

        championship

        Oh, and watch AZ, LA or SF sign Dunlap. 🙁

        • Rob Staton

          Dunlap to the Niners or Rams…

          Hadn’t thought of that

          • Big Mike

            LA would be the more likely imo

            • TomLPDX

              Stop! You’re depressing the hell out of me!

          • Sea Mode

            Sigh… You just know it’s coming of we let him go…

            • RugbyLock

              I’m like BigMike… I first started to laugh at all these one-liners and then started to cry as it will probably become true… Oh, well. At least I’ll have more time on Sundays (after fast-forwarding through our butt whippings) and weekends free in January and February!!

    • James Kupihea

      Arizona defining a need, making a move, and not pussyfooting around with it.

      • IHeartTacoma

        I was in Phoenix a couple months ago and tuned into the sports channel in my rental car. They were not happy with their GM and roster management at that point. Maybe this’ll make them feel better.
        Unfortunately I’m headed back down so maybe I’ll find out….. At least no matter how shitty the Seahawks are I don’t have to live in Phoenix.

        • Big Mike

          To me it seems like a great place to live Nov. thru Mar if you like actual sunshine

  30. Hoggs41

    Imagine the numbers Russ could put up if he got go play against us.

    • James Kupihea

      Career highs for sure. Don’t even bother watching tape, you know where the holes are gonna be.

      • James Kupihea

        ** Just throw at Adams

        • Big Mike

          Bingo

  31. Chase

    I could see the Hawks signing Marlon Mack to a short term deal if they are unable to address the position in the draft.

  32. WALL UP

    I agree with you about the TE expenditures when their are other needs on the OL for FA options. But, there is one thing that is certain, move and blocking TEs are a must have for this new offense.

    If their only FA investment for the OL is center (Linsley), then to get a quality starter that 2nd rd pick would have to come in to play. Perhaps to garner a trade down with NYJ to 66 could lead to a 4th rd pick @ 108.

    OPTION 1
    TRADE: SEA (56) for NYJ (66 & 108)

    66) Dillon Radunz OG/OT or Ben Cleveland OG or Trey Smith OG
    108) Tre McKitty TE or Hunter Long TE
    130) Keith Taylor CB
    165) Sage Suratt WR or Frank Darby WR
    201) Landon Young OT/TE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep1V8oruBu4

    OPTION 2
    TRADE: SEA (56) for NYJ (66 & 108)
    TRADE: SEA (66) for PHI (70 & 175)

    70) Ben Cleveland OG or Jackson Carman OG
    108) Tre McKitty TE or Hunter Long TE
    130) Keith Taylor CB
    165) Sage Suratt WR or Frank Darby WR
    175) Janarius Robinson DE
    201) Landon Young OT/TE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep1V8oruBu4

    OPTION 3
    No trade available

    56) Dillon Radunz OG/OT
    108) Tre McKitty TE or Hunter Long TE
    130) Benjamin St-Juste CB or Keith Taylor CB
    165) Sage Suratt WR or Frank Darby WR
    201) Landon Young OT/TE

    RADUNZ would work well in the zone blocking scheme @ LG, with added strength and maturity playing @ 315lbs, that could be his new home in the NFL.

    McKITTY may take time to develop to the pro level. LONG might be more pro ready but lacking the athleticism that McKitty would offer. However, Long may have a longer career for his steady play in both blocking and catching the ball. Either way it would be prudent to add an additional TE FA.

    TAYLOR has the desired length for a Hawk CB. Taylor may not go before St-Juste.

    SURATT & DARBY are both physical receivers that would be the ideal #3 receiver for the group.

    YOUNG is an interesting prospect with good mobility for his size. He could back up both tackle positions and be used as a big TE that Ogbuehi held last year, but with more mobility in space than Ogbuehi.

    Outside FA acquisitions:

    1) UFA Corey Linsley OC 3yr/$30 mil contract $20mil guaranteed $10mil signing bonus.
    2) RFA Anthony Firkser TE 3yr/$10 mil contract. He was 1 of 9 players who caught 80% of their targets and he had a 10.7 percent TAY(Targeted Air Yard)%. Gerald Everett had 6.6 TAY% with 80+ catch%.
    3) Vet DT

    This is with the intent there would be no trades of Wilson nor Adams this year.

  33. Trevor

    I am expecting news that Darrel Taylor had another surgery and they are hoping for him to be ready for the start of camp any day now. Only partly joking.

    • Rory

      so on point. *sigh

  34. Dingbatman

    Hey Rob. Is this another example of failure to develop future players? The Seahawks spent a 4 round pick on Colby Parkinson last year. Then spent 8 million on Olsen and brought back Willson. If they spend another 2nd round pick on a Tight End and/or spend big on another FA that is a lot of resources
    going to that position.

  35. JJ

    Saints only have 2 picks in the draft?

    • Scot04

      They have
      28,60,98,105, & 133 this year

      • JJ

        I was doing a pfn mock and they only showed 2 picks. Weird.

  36. RWIII

    Rob: I hate the idea of trading Jamal Adams. But you might be right. Now that Arizona just signed J.J. Watt. Seattle has to really beef up the offensive line. Playing six divisional games against the Rams, 49ers and Cardinals. Now its not the fearsome foursome, purple people eaters, and the steel curtain but it’s close. It’s almost down right scary. John Schneider has to put a premium on the O-line.

  37. SD37

    The more I read your articles the more convinced I am that trading Adams is the way to go, particularly if we can get a 1st and a 3rd back.

    What kind of compensation do you think we could get for Lockett? For me it would be difficult to see him go, and his chemistry with RW2 is obviously special. However, DK will soon command a huge sum of cash, and it might be time to head in a younger direction for the rest of our WRs behind him. With a haul of draft picks from Adams and Lockett, we could easily target 2 WRs and infuse that position group with youth and speed, or target 1 and try to get a veteran to play WR2. John Ross, Keelan Cole, Demarcus Robinson or even Tyrell Williams are all guys who could thrive playing with Russ (assuming him and PC mend their relationship).

    • Rob Staton

      If you trade Lockett you might as well stay on the phone to deal Wilson

      • SD37

        Fair enough, I just am a little tantalized by the prospect of more picks.

  38. Scot04

    You wouldn’t get the value we have in Lockett, better to trade Wagner and extend Lockett. Value wouldn’t be any higher for Lockett. Brooks would fill in for Wagner; we have no one to take Locketts spot or replace his chemistry with Russ. Plus if we want any chance at keeping Russ trading Lockett would be a step in the wrong direction

  39. Scot04

    Meant as reply to SD37

  40. Jace

    Rob I’ve seen you mention Alex Smith a few times now if Russ were to move on. What do you like about him? He has a great story, but that signing would not excite me at all. The thought of going from Russ to Alex Smith is a tough pill to swallow..

    • Rob Staton

      Well, I didn’t say the signing should excite anyone.

      But if they move on from Wilson someone has to start at QB

    • Mick

      Think of it that way, if we get Alex Smith and 49ers get Bridgewater, we’d still have a better QB.

      • UkAlex6674

        I think I’d prefer Teddy. Not sure Smith has the arm to fed DK on a regular basis downfield.

        • Rob Staton

          Personally, I’d rather have an ageing Smith.

          Bridgewater just isn’t very good. Hasn’t ever been very good.

          Smith is a better bridge for me.

          • Tomas

            37 TD’s, 11 interceptions while playing on and off for a lousy team, including bad OL, over the course of first two pro season’s. Cool in the pocket, executes the occasional scramble with aplomb, accurate with adequate arm strength. Led 4 comebacks, four game-winning drives. Benched much of year 2 to ensure team’s tanking. Football smart. Cheap to obtain. Good sense of humor. GARDNER MINSHEW.

  41. Rob Staton

    Darius Stills interview on the blog later, Benjamin St. Juste later this week.

    I’m afraid Tommy Togaiai didn’t happen. Arranged a time. He didn’t show. He then asked to reschedule. Hasn’t done so. Which is disappointing.

    But I’ve got a replacement defensive lineman lined up.

    • Trevor

      Rob if we just drafted from the pool of players you have interviewed the last two years the Hawks would be a much better team.

  42. SeattleLifer

    There’s just zero doubt we need to both gain draft picks and dump salary. Unless we end up with more picks from trades than expected(hoped for)I would prefer the veteran route at TE. Not saying it has to be a higher priced free agent but give me someone who knows the ropes and has some proven production. Looking at you Rams TE’s….. I could actually see John trading for a TE at some point.

    Use our higher draft picks to get the best available studs at RB(always needed in Pete ball), WR(number 3 WR for now and future Lockett replacement), CB(for once draft a non-project high ceiling cb!), and of course o-liner(s).

    Even though LG and Center are stealing the spotlight of late to me we have to do something to address the LT spot. Brown looked solid this year but as we know he’s definitely getting long in the tooth and I see this past season as an outlier for him on the injury front. He’s been a guy that for a number of years has played through injuries robbing him of effectiveness and missing 2-3 games a year. We really need to draft a LT of the future. And frankly I’m not yet sold on Shell on the other side either. He seemed pretty good against teams with bad d-lines/DE’s lined up across from him but as the year wore on and he faced some more typical nfl competition he seemed to drop off a bit. Will he step up next year or will that regression be what we can expect on a more regular basis?

    This is indeed quite a moment to be a Seahawk fan. From the a week or two from now up close to the season opener should be pretty intense stuff because so much needs to be figured out and done – all with the specter of the Wilson Pandora’s box looming over it all. There will be plenty to talk about on this the best Seahawk’s site on the internet!

  43. Sea Mode

    I might post again once the new interview article is up, but interesting perspective from Cowherd: RW naming 4 “entertainment” destinations, perhaps influenced by his wife’s marketing team. Sees Dak making $50m in endorsements while Russ has relatively little in comparison.

    The Herd | Colin Cowherd “What?” Michael Irvin says “Russell Wilson wants Dak’s chair”
    https://youtu.be/K_KCOKdlDqQ

    • Rob Staton

      I think there’s definitely something in that.

      I suspect Wilson wants to be super rich… billionaire rich.

      • UkAlex6674

        Well he did say he wants to be an owner someday, so he will need some cash on his pocket no doubt.

    • Big Mike

      Yeah I Herd this yesterday too. See what I did there?…….I’m so clever, almost as clever as Pete Carroll on draft day.

  44. Rob Staton

    Whenever I hear a radio segment or interview where people say anything like…

    “I don’t think he’s going anywhere”

    or

    “I can’t see him going anywhere until next year”

    It’s lazy and not the point.

    Why is he unhappy? What’s the resolution? How serious is it, that his agent is making passive aggressive trade demands through the #1 NFL insider?

    Debate whether this relationship can continue if Wilson isn’t entirely happy.

    There are so many strands to this that warrant a proper discussion. Just glibly dismissing everything because ‘ah shucks you don’t trade a player like Wilson’ or ‘well it’s impossible to trade because meh dead cap hit’ is so restrictive and prevents a proper serious discussion ever breaking out.

    It also eliminates the possibility that Wilson is just done in Seattle and as Brandon Marshall suggested, is seeking the classiest way possible to get out.

    The discourse on this topic has been so disappointing locally. Nobody is getting to the meat and bones of this massive story.

    • Denver Hawker

      Indeed. There are real questions to be asked regardless of the outcome:
      – why have the Hawks been so silent addressing his comments?
      – what’s the free agency plan to improve the O-line and cap room to appease him?
      – why name trade destinations? Why those 4 teams?

      The longer these questions remain unanswered, the higher the probability he gets traded. Yet many are content to believe the opposite that no news is good news here.

      • Rob Staton

        I’ve listened to so many debates on this that flirt with being interesting.

        Then someone says they can’t see him being moved, or they say it won’t be until next year, or they say ‘it doesn’t make any sense’ and immediately the conversation stops being interesting.

        Or you get Danny O’Neil booing Mike Florio on the radio.

        • Denver Hawker

          Even the politics of the issue should implore the media to pursue these answers and have discussions.

          What would be left of Danny and Greg’s (and others) credibility if he’s traded. Why would anyone bother to listen to them anymore. What harm is there in exploring the topic as a possibility?

          I can only speculate they’re (arrogantly) trying to control any hysteria among the fans. Calm the masses that only read the Times and team statements. Or perhaps I’m giving them more credit than they deserve.

          • Rad_Man

            What day/show was that segment to which you refer, Rob? I gotta hear that.

            • Rob Staton

              Blue 42 yesterday

        • GerryG

          I cant stomach a single moment of Danny and Gallant

          • Rob Staton

            I listen to Brock’s segment

            • Rad_Man

              Wow. That was indeed horrible.

              I’ve known Brock since he was in Junior High. That had to have bothered him.

  45. STTBM

    So what gets less than 12 million, but Dunlap is so valuable were gonna cough up 14 guaranteed for one year? Seattle getting bent over a barrel unless they cut him and negotiate a market rate.

    Seattle often undervalues players markets, but this time I hope they get it right. I’d like to see Dunlap return, just not for a good bit more than Watt….

    • Big Mike

      You may well see him return next year…….in a Rams uniform

      • STTBM

        Is he the best we can get for the money? Maybe so, he fit our system and opened up things for others, like Reed. It’s complicated.

    • Sea Mode

      I guess I don’t see why we shouldn’t just try to extend him rather than cut and re-sign. I’m not feeling particularly bright today; am I missing something?

      • Simo

        Agreed! A short extension, maybe 2 years, with Dunlap is the way to go. He added a real pass rush element to the defense last year, and it may be no surprise the entire defense started playing much better after he was acquired! As others have said, cutting him can save over $14m, but then there’s no guarantee he comes back.

      • STTBM

        Because right now he’s guaranteed 3 million in March, 14 if on the roster Game 1. So his camp will want more than that guaranteed to sign a multi-year extension: but in the open market, I highly doubt he gets offers from good teams for that amount.

    • Scot04

      I don’t know why they can’t already have a hand shake deal on a 3 year deal. With the idea of tearing up the old one. (Hopefully they already do)
      I really hope they don’t let him become a Free-agent. To me Him and Reed must be kept. Build up the front 4, repeat the last 3 offseasons for passrush.

  46. STTBM

    49 million for two offensive players, 42 million for two linebackers and a DE. And that doesn’t count JA…93 million, half your cap, for 5 players…

    Add Jarran Reed at 13 million and JA at 9 if they stick with status quo…that’s (engages abacus) 115 million (62%) for 7 players. Add Locket, that’s 10 million more….8 starters cost you nearly 70% of your cap!

    Rob’s right, Seattle MUST trade JA and reduce salary in the LBs and either sign Dunlap to an extension or cut and negotiate, which is risky. And they’ve got to slam dunk their top 3 or 4 picks this year.

    And that’s if they placate Wilson. Otherwise, they’re the Texans. A junk outfit busy digging their own graves…

    • Big Mike

      Houston north

    • dcd2

      ‘Engaging Abacus’ would be a great name for a YouTube channel devoted to the salary cap.

      It is incredible that we laymen can see this and rightfully ask WTF are they doing? Yet, the guys controlling the ship seem as oblivious to cap management as the crew of the Titanic.

      My fear is that we are going to cut Dunlap, while letting KJ and Shaq go in FA… only to sign some inferior versions of them all that off-set any comp picks and effectively put us back at square one regarding the cap.

      • cha

        We are in an interesting age where the veil is being pulled back.

        Everyday fans can

        -watch every press conference
        -understand the salary cap
        -get All-22 tape
        -access all kinds of stats beyond the basic counting stats

        It blows my mind sometimes that a group of us laymen can come up with things that seem beyond the grasp of people in the media and coaches.

        Doing my Watch Points research this year, with an internet connection and about an hours’ research I figured out that the Rams lose when Jared Goff is blitzed heavily. Yet for a couple seasons he was one of the least blitzed quarterbacks in the NFL!

        Jamal Adams and his play aside from blitzing is another example.

  47. Trevor

    Russ to the Raiders for
    -2021 1st
    -2021 3rd
    -2022 1st
    -Marriota
    -Jacobs

    -Trade Bobby to the Jets for a 2nd he knows Saleh’s defense and can help change the culture
    -Trade Adam’s to the Dolphins for a 1st this year and 3rd next year.

    Use the cap space and draft capital to build a dominant OL / DL and take it from there. If Trey Lane or Zach Wilson is there at #10 draft QB of the future if not wait till later rounds or till next year.

    • Dingbatman

      I would add the following to that plan.

      Raiders trade Carr for same package as Stafford. 2 1sts a 3rd and a quality player. Add that to the above and Hawks get 4 1st round, 2 3rd round, Mariotta and one other player for Russell

      2nd for BW
      1 and a 3 for JA

    • dcd2

      I mentioned this in another thread. Mariota has a crazy contract (I guess he could restructure in theory) where he can make almost $10M additional via incentives.

      I like Mariota, but not to the tune of almost $20M. Particularly if we’re paying RW $39M to play against us.

      He can make $625k for each start or $10M. Another $1M or so if he gets around 7 wins.

      https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/raiders/why-marcus-mariotas-contract-could-make-trade-difficult-raiders

      • Hoggs41

        That trade idea only had two first round picks though. The base of any deal as reported would need to start at three.

  48. Rob Staton

    Brady Henderson: “Cutting Dunlap seems likely”

    https://www.espn.com/blog/seattle-seahawks/post/_/id/34851/seattle-seahawks-free-agency-overview-russell-wilsons-weapons-blockers-could-change

    So there you go folks. Either Brady Henderson is wrong — or the Seahawks are going to part with their best pass rusher for the third year in a row, with no obvious replacement. And for the second year in a row, they’re going to hope they can bring him back at a cheaper cost.

    Meanwhile, with those savings, they’ll be able to avoid making any necessary and/or difficult decisions regarding Wagner or Adams. And they’ll have just enough room to sign a bunch of crap depth to fill holes on the cheap.

    Been there, seen that, got the T-shirt.

    This team is a mile away from contending. And they’re going to stay there because the way they are constructing this roster isn’t good enough.

    And Wilson knows it, which is one of the reasons why we’ve had the last three weeks.

    • Denver Hawker

      But Rob, we need to trust the continued development of the players we’ve drafted.

      Said no SB contender ever.

      • Hawkhomer

        Actually I disagree Denver Hawker. We need to start trusting in our youth movement. We need to live by our draft decisions to an extent. There simply is not enough money available to buy our roster to victory. When Pete came in and declared that nobody was sacred and everyone would compete the Hawks got better. I don’t know if he has become sentimental in his dotage but he needs to let the young guys play and we need to accept the mistakes. Hopefully they continue to grow and get better. That being said I take exception to that philosophy with both lines. Vets rule in the trenches and that is where the vet dollars should go. As many have pointed out.

        • Denver Hawker

          I agree with what you’ve said here, but it misses my point.

          “Hopefully they can continue to grow and get better” is not a statement that a team contending for a Super Bowl championship should say. That is a plight of a fringe playoff contender.

    • swedenhawk

      a comedy of errors

    • Henry Taylor

      What they’ll need to do if this is the plan is avoid the mistakes of last year.

      If they can’t get him back at the price they’re after move on swiftly and secure other targets, Floyd, okwara, Ngakoue, Lawson, Hendrickson. Secure at least one of those younger guys with a smaller year 1 cap hit so you still have room for the oline. Id also be pretty keen on seeing what Clowney’s price is this year, pretty awful year but the impact he had on our defence was undeniable, if bridges aren’t burned maybe he’d welcome a return.

    • Ryan

      Hey maybe the Pete roster construction will work this time.

      Unlike all the other times.

    • cha

      Let’s hack the Seahawks website and change Dunlap’s position to LB.

      He’s sure to stay on the roster then.

    • Sea Mode

      *Insert Joker gif: “Here. We. Go.”

    • Big Mike

      But Rob, c’mon man. Hawks need to free up money to sig that “BAMF” 52nd ranked Safety dontcha know?

    • Scot04

      Almost feels like they want to have Russell demand a trade if they really do start with moves like this. Dunlap had far more impact on this team than Adams.

      • Matt

        That’s a great point. This move would feel like the first real domino to moving Russ.

    • Matt

      This Front Office is cooked. They are becoming the dude who buys a stock – that stock loses a little money and they sell for a loss and look for the next stock, only to do the same thing. Rinse and repeat.

      Before you know it; that $25K you had to invest is down to $10K.

      If Dunlap was average, sure – cut him. He’s not. He’s easily your best DL by a long shot and dramatically improved everyone else by merely being present.

      I’m getting really sick of this FO/PC, if this is the move they make.

    • SeattleLifer

      Unfortunately this is the proven course under Pete & John. It’s how they think and operate. Why would it change? We can hope that Russ shaking the tree gets some results but them apple’s don’t fall too far away. If anything the lure of easy pickings’ due to salary cap cuts this year will probably see them playing the game of waiting for trades/late cuts more than usual – I would venture to say they are banking on it heavily with thier lack of draft capitol and the fact that they’ve grown accustomed to it as an annual team building tool.

      They place too high of a priority on certain aspects for players (see Adams ‘energy’ etc) and they are too loyal/sensitive to the team’s psyche to cut vets when they should, they’ve drafted and traded poorly with first round picks(and not too good overall for a while), they over pay in house players and lesser to middling free agents, get fleeced in their higher value trades and just overall seem to lack the cold hard business sense required to build and manage an nfl team properly. Add the n they are run by an older coach that seems to be fully entrenched in ‘his’ ways and I just don’t see how they will do the things necessary to make the hard real changes needed for this team.

      And it all may cost us a franchise QB who is rightly questioning and thusly threatening management. Just a bummer all around.

    • line_hawk

      Since the market is going to be a bit deflated, $14M might be on the rich side for his age. Hope they can get a younger player for the same price or can get Dunlap back at a lower price. Doesn’t mean they should keep Wagner or Adams but they should do all three moves and then sign some younger d-linemen. If the Hawks were any normal franchise, all of the above would make sense. But, we are stuck with stubborn Carroll who will not learn from his mistakes.

      • Rob Staton

        Then extend him to lower the hit.

        I’d rather pay a bit more not to have to replace the best pass rusher for a third year in a row, than start the season with a crap pass rush again.

        This has the potential to be a mess. And if they lose Dunlap to further justify the crap Jamal Adams trade… sheesh.

  49. STTBM

    I’m all for letting Dunlap test the market. If Carrol uses that as a means to justify keeping and overpaying Wagner and Adams, that a separate deal and his own fault.

    I’d let Dunlap test the market. Signs point to Seattle being unable to get him to sign an extension for what they feel is fair, do letting him test the market is the only way to get both parties on the same page.

    They blew it last year not because they didn’t cough up what Clowney wanted, but because they never moved on to Plan B, and there was no way to replace him.

    But keeping Adams and Wagner at a ridiculous cost doesn’t have to be tied to Dunlap. I would either trade Wagner or get him to take less. Since I can’t see him doing that, I’d trade him. I’d trade Adams too, for a first or even a pair of seconds: I’m ready to take that money and match or beat any offer Dunlap gets, sign another pass rusher, and see what Blair and Neal can do.

    What we got to lose? First round playoff exit nothing to justify keeping the band together….

    • cha

      I’d be very curious to know if the Seahawks have a gentlemen’s agreement with Dunlap.

      He moved $2.5m of his 2020 salary money to a $3m roster bonus due March 22 (5 days into the league year) to facilitate the trade and help fit in the Seahawks’ 2020 cap.

      Besides the obvious blowing another hole in their DL, it makes me wonder if they have already lined up an arrangement to keep him.

      • Scot04

        @ Cha
        That’s what I’ve been hoping would be going on for awhile now. To me Dunlap is a must keep

        • Hoggs41

          The problem with letting him test the market is you have to release him. Just feels like they will get a deal done before free agency starts. 2y/$20m just makes to much sense in my eyes.

          • STTBM

            Yes, but he’s under contract for 14 guaranteed, with 3 coming this month. Why would his agent let him sign an extension for another year or two with only 6 more million guaranteed? His best option is to keep the pressure on Seattle, make them pay that 3 million at least: if they pay him that 3 million, they are more likely to either pay him his one year 14 million, or bump up their offer for a longer deal, since they’ll be even more invested.

            His agent may have heard the Market will give him more money than Seattle is offering on an extension. Even if not, it’s in his clients best interest to make Seattle think he wants to hit FA–again, to use leverage to squeeze more out of Seattle.

            Seattle keeps thinking they are gonna get great players to agree to below market deals, like Avril and Bennett: John said so before last off-season, which horrified me. They got lucky once, it’s not happening again: certainly not when we haven’t advanced to the Title game since 2014, and lost a wildcard game last year, to say nothing of the awful dynamic between Wilson and Carrol….

            • cha

              None of his 2021 salary is guaranteed.

              And the $3m roster money obviously isn’t guaranteed.

  50. Trevor

    Daniel Jerremiah Tweet

    2 intriguing QB’s outside the top 5 guys- Davis Mills (Stanford) & Kellen Mond (Texas A&M). Both guys have a lot to work with & showed improvement this past season. Mond made some huge throws against FL & Bama. Followed that up with SR Bowl MVP. Both could develop into starters.

    Seems like I just read a whole article on Seahawks draft blog by Rob Statin saying this but in a lot more detail 🙂

    • TomLPDX

      Probably because DJ finally read Rob’s article. As usual, Rob is ahead of the curve…again!

      • Trevor

        Yep

    • Rob Staton

      😂😂😂

      • Trevor

        I swear some of these supposed draft experts read your stuff and steal half the ideas.

        • Rob Staton

          I don’t think so… I think we just get there first

    • Volume12

      Big fan of Mills. Mond I’m on the fence about, but Mills man. Everything about him is picturesque. Has a little of Mahomes in him in terms of being able to change his arm angle which allows him to not need much of a platform

  51. cha

    Ian Rapoport
    @RapSheet
    Note on pending free agent former #Titans pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney: He should be fully cleared from surgery to repair his torn meniscus in April, source said. He’s close to be ready now, but it could delay his signing with a new team for a few weeks.
    8:17 AM · Mar 2, 2021

    • Sea Mode

      What does everyone think: will he only be a tease from here on out, injured half the time? Sure would like his impact back now with Dunlap across from him.

      • Hoggs41

        I wouldnt mind him back but only after other holes are filled. The scrilla would have to be low though and I dont think he will accept that so he is probably a no.

  52. Sea Mode

    DK Metcalf (unsurprisingly) tied for 5th most drops among WRs with 9.

    And this absolute gem 😂:

    Diontae Johnson’s “hands” rating in Madden is going to be so low that if you throw to him, the ball will bounce off him, fly out of your television screen, and hit you in the face.

    https://www.profootballnetwork.com/diontae-johnson-nfl-dropped-pass-leaders-stats-that-matter-2021/

    • cha

      Metcalf made huge progress in 2020 though. He only had one more drop than 2019 with 29% more targets.

      • Matt

        Vastly improved. And people need to think of him like a power hitter in baseball – there will be strikeouts; you just live with them.

        The hope, of course, is that the “strikeout rate” improves every year. DK will never have great hands but he can develop “better” hands.

        • SeattleLifer

          I’m not so sure I’d say vastly improved. There were a number of catches that he bobbled significantly before eventually hauling in. I think the area he needs to work on the most in this vein is high pointing the ball – the dude is flat out bad at catching the ball when both of his feet leave the ground.

          • Rob Staton

            I think he’s still got quite a lot of work to do.

            He can be the best in the league. But he’s got a way to go yet.

            • SeattleLifer

              Agreed, he has real room to grow and could become a great if he does.

  53. Mr. Bitter

    Hey, Rob. Great stuff as usual. I was thinking about potential compensation for Wilson if he’s traded to the Bears. Since Chicago can’t offer Seattle a reasonable option at QB, or draft capital that would provide a clear path to drafting one, I have to think the Seahawks would want some young starters at other positions as part of the deal. If the Bears offered their 1st-rounders in ’21 and ’22, their ’21 2nd-rounder, James Daniels, Cole Kmet and Jaylon Johnson, would you bite?

© 2024 Seahawks Draft Blog

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑