How the Seahawks can justify the Jamal Adams trade

Before getting into today’s article, if you missed my podcast with Brandan discussing the Jamal Adams trade — check it out here…

The reaction to the deal has been two-fold. There’s a flurry of excitement having acquired one of the NFL’s best defenders. Serious questions also need to be asked about the cost, what it says about the direction of the franchise and whether this is a desperation move to make up for what has been mostly a lousy off-season.

I made a lot of the arguments questioning the deal yesterday, so check out the article if you missed it. Jason Fitzgerald at Overthecap.com also raised some concerns:

I think you can make a case for this being a reasonable use of financial resources as it’s the cheapest way to get a star player if money is the bottom line.

Does that mean I would have done this if I was Seattle? Absolutely not because I can not believe the Jets had any market like this. It is no secret the Jets shopped Adams last year and it is no secret that the highest the bidding went is a 1 and a 3. How do you go from a 1 and a 3 to two 1’s and a pick swap? Especially after the player criticized every single person in the organization in the local newspaper. Not only that but he had a $2.8M roster bonus coming up in a few days (again assuming the Jets are not paying this) which means time was on Seattle’s side.

Seattle has been down this road before with Percy Harvin and Jimmy Graham neither of whom lived up to the billing in Seattle and maybe they just can’t help themselves.

It feels a lot like the Seahawks felt they had to do something and Adams was the player who happened to be available. They lost the negotiating battle because they were desperate. They’ve now paid a quarterback, left tackle or pass rusher price for a safety when the position wasn’t even a pressing need.

The move virtually renders the Marquise Blair pick a waste. It was highly unlikely the play of Quandre Diggs, Bradley McDougald and Blair was going to cost the Seahawks a legitimate tilt at a Super Bowl. The issue in Seattle is clear — the D-line, pass rush and what on earth they’ll do at nickel corner. None of those areas were adequately addressed in an off-season that saw the team spend $60m in free agency.

Trading the house for Adams does not solve the problems the Seahawks had.

Many people have argued Seattle hasn’t made best use of its first round picks recently so the compensation doesn’t matter. It’s not an unfair point to make. Yet the broader problem here is what it says about the franchise.

They appear reactionary and a little directionless. Had they completed this trade at the start of free agency in March, it would’ve been a statement of their desire to land Adams. ‘We’ve planned and prepared for this moment, with all of our resources, and this is the player we need’. Instead, the trade has come at great expense days before training camp begins, despite Adams seemingly having been available since the 2019 trade deadline.

Instead of a well thought out plan it smacks of panic. The cost, the timing, the position. It all seems a bit knee-jerk.

None of this is a review of Jamal Adams either. He’s an extremely talented, quality player. Yet to me his addition this late in the process, especially given the cost, just further suggests the Seahawks are making this up as they go along. They had no serious plan to fix the pass rush in free agency. Their draft plan saw them select a linebacker in round one despite already paying $25m for two other linebackers on the roster, having traded up for Cody Barton only a year ago. Now they’ve given up an incredible haul to land a safety.

As Fitzgerald at OTC notes:

Under no circumstance should two 1s be traded for a safety especially an unhappy one.

So how can they justify it? How can they make things right and get this team back on track?

Purely and simply — they have to do something to finally fix the pass rush and defensive line.

You cannot spend two first rounders plus change on a safety and then ask that player to defend the second level behind Rasheem Green and Benson Mayowa. You can’t. For all the talk of the importance of Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor in 2013 — they also benefitted from a stacked defensive line.

The current group has more holes than Swiss cheese.

If this really is an attempt to double-down on what worked before and have a quality defense, you can’t make that happen with the current pass rush and D-line. There’s a distinct lack of quality and depth.

Bryan Mone can’t be your primary backup to Jarran Reed and Poona Ford. They need to add someone to replace Al Woods who can legitimately take snaps and be effective. Whether that’s Snacks Harrison, Brandon Mebane or both. They need more at defensive tackle, pronto.

That’s the absolute bare minimum in terms of action. I fear that they’ve made their bed at defensive end. At defensive tackle there’s a numbers shortage. That isn’t the case at end. Mayowa, Green, Collier, Taylor and Robinson with Irvin complimenting is depth. It looks like a problem waiting to happen and the distinct lack of proven ability to create consistent pressure in Seattle’s preferred four-man fronts could be a season-ender. Yet there are numbers there and, unfortunately, they could simply proceed with what they have.

They need more though. We can all see that.

The Jadeveon Clowney ship has probably sailed. The Adams trade actually created cap room for Seattle — about $600-800,000 in extra spending money. Yet they’re still only at about $5-7m when you account for the fact most of the rookies are not signed and they need to save space for injured reserve and the practise squad.

Clowney has surely not held out deep into July and possibly August or September to suddenly take a paltry $5-6m one-year contract. In reality, he’s possibly more likely to sit out the start of the season than do that.

People have touted asking Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett to help create money by turning some of their salaries into bonuses. How much can that create though? Nobody really knows. And if Clowney is intent on landing a deal worth the franchise tag in 2020, they’d need to create millions.

They could, of course, sign him to a longer term deal with a low year-one cap hit. Yet if that was on the table, it’d probably be done by now. The Seahawks, like the rest of the league, appear suspicious of Clowney’s longevity.

The other option is Everson Griffen. It’s unclear what kind of salary he will ask for. Yet this is a player who delivered 35 pressures, 13 knockdowns and 13 hurries last season. He has 74.5 sacks since entering the league. He might be in the latter stages of a fine career but at least he would provide a realistic chance to get after the quarterback in a four-man rush.

Ideally the Seahawks would have landed both months ago, providing a mouth-watering duo and making a serious statement about the need to fix the pass rush. Throw in Darrell Taylor in the draft and this would start to look like the old Bennett/Avril/Clark combo.

They don’t have the money to do that now, having frittered away $60m by giving Bruce Irvin a 32% pay increase, bumping Cedric Ogbuehi’s pay from $895,000 to $2.237m, spending $3.259m on Jacob Hollister despite investing $7m in Greg Olsen then drafting two tight ends, using a first round pick on a position where you’ve already committed $25m to two players, collecting offensive linemen projects and spending $11.796m on David Moore, Branden Jackson, Joey Hunt, Cedric Ogbuehi and Jacob Hollister.

I’ve seen it suggested they could do undo most of this by simply cutting the likes of Moore, Jackson, Hunt and Hollister to create room. This is unrealistic. Hacking away at the depth — including slicing away the backup (or maybe even starting) center or a tight end they committed a second round tender to is just not going to happen.

Neither are they going to cut K.J. Wright. They would’ve saved $7.5m at the start of the off-season and it would cost them $1m to do it now instead. Plus — if he was going to depart it would’ve been at the same time as Justin Britt and D.J. Fluker (days after they’d spent a first rounder on a linebacker). They are not doing it now, to a team legend, limiting his chances of catching on somewhere else.

Jackson could depart to save $2.1m. Cutting Lano Hill and Ethan Pocic creates just shy of another $2m. It’s hardly major surgery though to create the kind of space needed to be bold.

Theoretically they can put themselves in a position to have about $10-13m to spend. That might be enough to get Everson Griffen and a defensive tackle — perhaps even another receiver (Josh Gordon or Antonio Brown).

Something needs to be done though, especially to the pass rush. Otherwise the Adams trade will just be tinsel on an unkempt, sparse Christmas tree.

I’ve criticised this off-season a lot. If they make the moves to fix the problems they have, I’ll be rushing to write a very different article.

Aggressively land the players to fix the D-line and suddenly the entire complexion of the season changes. Suddenly the Seahawks can look like contenders. Suddenly the Adams trade can be shone in a different light.

Otherwise it’ll just seem like a panic move designed to mask what has been a poor off-season.

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175 Comments

  1. Spireite_Seahawk

    Having had chance to weigh this up a little, I’m still very much of the opinion of love the player hate the cost. That said if we win division and do well in the play offs it looks like a potential steal and all the hand wringing is long forgotten. The Percy Harvin trade was expensive and a total fail what with his hip issues but we won the SB so noone cares or remembers. Ask hawks fans about Harvin and they think of the SB HT kick off return. Success masks poor decisions.

    My suspicion is that the FO is not as down on the pass rush as much as the average fan is. This is the only thing that makes sense to me. I think at some point we have to trust them.

    I still think the majority of teams out there would want our FO and coaching team. It does feel like we are getting to a point where PC and JS are pushing all their chips into the middle. You cant say its dull.

    • Rob Staton

      Why do we have to trust them?

      Why can’t we critique what they’ve done and see what happens?

      We’re not duty bound to accept what they’ve done is right based on faith.

      • Spireite_Seahawk

        Well apart from the fact anyones opinion on here counts for nothing, it’s mostly due to the fact we are the most successful nfc team over the last decade. They have earned the right to mess up and to be honest they get it right more than they get wrong.

        • Rob Staton

          So never challenge anything.

          Never ask questions.

          Assume those in power know best.

          I know a few countries like this.

          • Big Mike

            I do agree that the FO thinks the pass rush is in better shape than we do. Been saying that for a while now. My attitude is “show me”. Sign Griffen and a quality DT or 2 and like Rob, I’ll be a lot more comfortable with the D going into the season.
            I actually still believe they’re going to do both.

            • Mike

              It would be nice to have Griffen, Griffen, and Griffen on defense.

          • Spireite_Seahawk

            I’m not sure how pointing out fan discussion isnt going to change anything and saying a successful FO have earned my benefit of the doubt is equitable to a dictatorial nations behaviour. Rather over egging the pudding there Rob.

            Theres an irony that it feels that if you aren’t unhappy with the Seahawks currently then you are not welcome here. You have to be up in arms over the state of the off season. Differing arguments seem to get torn into rather than saying, well agree to disagree etc.

            It doesnt help that in our division we have strong teams but it’s worth noting it’s never the same rival. Over teh last decade the Seahawks have always been in the mix, the rest do well and then drop away. I think it’s much easier to rebuild from weakness than retool from relative strength as your established players dont allow for much cap freedom.

            I’ve not been particularly happy with this off season for the same salient points made on this blog but I’m not ready to chuck in the towel just yet. I still maintain that most other fans would swap our set up for theirs.

            • Rob Staton

              You see this is the problem. The real crux of the matter.

              There’s no issue with people not ‘being unhappy’ with the Seahawks (although what there was to be happy about this off-season prior to this trade, god only knows).

              What I have a problem with is this unchallengeable retort that is an appeal to authority. You yourself have basically said don’t challenge because we have to trust them. The blind faith based argument. You’ve said our opinions don’t count. It implies you might as well just shut up and accept they know what they’re doing and you don’t.

              And then you end by implying that we should just be grateful for what we have.

              This is anti-debate and much worse than me simply not being enamoured with their off-season decision making.

              • Spireite_Seahawk

                How is a decade of being the best team in the nfc blind faith? Their success is demonstrable. It’s about perspective surely? The seahawks strive for sustained success, boom and bust is easy in the nfl. The other nfc west teams show us that.

                • Rob Staton

                  When you say… ‘don’t criticise anything and just trust them’ that is blind faith.

                  You’re using former glories from 6-7 years ago to end any criticism of this off-season.

                  Like I said, it’s anti-debate.

                  • Spireite_Seahawk

                    How am I ending criticism, I literally said I agree with some of the well argued points made on the blog? Where we differ is that I believe the FO and coaches know what they are doing. Just because you dont agree with the plan doesnt mean there isnt one.

                    Casting envious eyes at teams with great QBs on rookie or newly signed back loaded deals is pointless. Despite ridiculous injuries we were half a yard and an uncalled away from winning the West. To listen to some of the rhetoric here we are are worse than the Bengals. It’s wrong / unfair and ultimately not true.

                    • Rob Staton

                      You’re saying our opinions don’t matter and we should just trust them.

                      That’s ending debate.

                  • HawksTicketHolder

                    Gotta be honest Rob- I completely disagree with your retorts to Spirerite and even more do disagree with your repetitive and unending negativity toward the Hawks. One of the beautiful things for me is to read about potential and possibilities with our glorious team. One can either see the glass half full or not. In the case of SDB, the glass seems to be thrown against the concrete floor with the strong majority of your work. I’ll be honest, I gave up on your blog a few months back after not being able to handle it any more.

                    Give the fans a breath of fresh air and try to veer back toward the uplifting and exciting rather than the doom and gloom. Just some feedback from a fan who will check back in a month or so to see if this has changed. In any case, JSPC have earned the trust of myself and Spirerite that they have and will do a hell of a lot better job than all of us )yourself included), also including the Strong majority (90%) of the league. Cheers

                    • Rob Staton

                      How entitled do you have to be to think that I have to cater my free blog that I do in my spare time at the expense of time with my family to provide you with the exact content you prefer?

                      Or that I’m not allowed to be honest about the Seahawks? Or have my own opinions?

                      Check back in a months time and you’ll get the same thing you’ve had for 12 years for free. Honest, thought out opinions.

          • God of Thunder

            There’s no reason to bring Sweden into this😂

        • Trevor

          Could the Hawks use Diggs and Adams at Safety then move Diggs down into the slot in Nickel and Blair at FS. I know Diggs played some Nickel with the Lions. There would certainly be some Boom with those 3 in the secondary.

          The slot / nickel CB spot is the only real concern in the back 7 now as long as Dunbar can play.

  2. Largent80

    Great to have the player, but DANG, what a huge price to pay and here we are with this D-line still getting no help. This off season head scratching has been bad enough to start a few grooves in our heads.

    Evidently the have lost their draft confidence or are simply trying to go all in for this year, but to me that D line definately isn’t going to cut it. It right now is worse than last years and that is hard to top. What about Blair??? Do they trade him or keep “developing” him?

  3. DancingBuddha

    The currently have the best secondary, the best LB corps and a shoddy D line. Interesting strategy. I think DT is inevitable as is Gordon. But what seems missing rom a lot of the nFL media assessments is how covid hs devalued the 2021 and even 2022 picks. What kind of player were they getting in ’21 with no season or tape thats less than 2 years removed? This may have been a better use of capital.

    • Rob Staton

      Well in fairness, I’ve been saying for weeks on here that it’s the best time ever to use a future first round pick on a veteran. No issues with them doing that. I do have issues with the way the pass rush is a mess.

  4. DancingBuddha

    So glad to hear you talk about the BAMF factor he brings, Rob, I do think thts sorely undervalued aspect- this D and team are now in the mould of WIlson- nice, cheery and welcoming. We needed an influx of tough and nasty. We finally have a true BAMF at SS again. This is also a culture move imo

  5. Ghost Mutt

    I don’t think this buries Blair, there’s a ton of ways to move Adams around. He’s been a productive rusher, certainly registered more sacks than anyone on the Hawks last year.

    They could play him up on the likes of kittle, pressing him and offsetting his run blocking. And use him at the line to stop all of the Rams sweeps and stretches. Kyler is so mobile too, Adams gives him something to think about. It all still leaves room to play Blair in behind, though not as a full time starter.

    I hate the price too but I’ll get over it, because Adams is a phenomenal player. We’ve been killed by lateral movement and intermediate passes over the middle for the last two years, this is a big move to remedy that. The d line wasn’t going to get fixed at this point, we were bad with clowney last year. This was the best move they could make towards being a contender.

    I just hope we pay him soon. Need to make the most of the two years on his rookie deal so he can reset the safety market without straining the cap.

    • Rob Staton

      He was an effective rusher because he played in Gregg Williams’ attacking defense and blitzed 90 times in 2019… ninth most among players in the entire league last season, with only one other safety (Clark in Baltimore, a similar scheme) getting anywhere close to his level of blitzing.

      In Seattle, they hardly ever blitz. McDougald blitzed 21 times last year. Kam and Earl combined for TWO sacks in their Seattle careers.

      People need to recognise what the Carroll Seahawks do schematically. They are not going to use him in the way ‘Doctor sack’ did.

    • Tree

      The saints traded two 1sts for Davenport and he is just ok (and injured). We paid two firsts for a sure thing who is not a DE but will make a huge impact (and may have more sacks) plus intangibles such as being an alpha/leader. Yeah, we had an amazing Dline from 13-16, but there are different ways to be good on D just like there are different ways to be good on O. The hawks are going against the grain in terms of philosophy, but so does N.E. who drafted a RB in the first round the same year we did, pays secondary players (not pass rushers), etc. The panthers and jags had great pass rush last year but were just ok on D since they couldn’t stop the run. We now have chess guys to beat a power running team in SF and two other teams that try to stretch you out (NE beat the Rams by playing 3 safeties). We are clearly going for it and will continue to add (no sense in cutting players until you have a better options to make the team better). Who would you rather be right now? The Hawks who have at least a two year SB window or the Jets who will suck again with only two low firsts and a leaderless coach and owner. And build me a team that makes more sense in light of COVID with the same resources and without overpaying old, injured, or good/not great d-lineman.

      • mishima

        What makes you think we ‘have at least a two year SB window?’

        2020: Rebuilt OL and questionable DL.

        2021: Potentially losing Dunbar, Griffin, Wright, Mayowa, Irvin, Olsen, Carson and maybe Brown.

        You could argue we traded away 2 firsts, 1 third and a solid safety at the start of a rebuild when picks and cap flexibility are most important.

        • Rob Staton

          One of the underrated aspects of this trade is… how the hell do the Seahawks replace Duane Brown between now and 2022?

          • mishima

            My cynical take:

            They won’t and we’ll suffer through a few more years of triall/error/failure along the OL before trading for a veteran stopgap.

            Same thing at CB. There is absolutely nothing in development behind Griffin (overrated) and Dunbar (knucklehead). Flowers? Come on.

            Picks could have been converted into 4-5 good players. If Blair doesn’t work out, replace him in free agency or the draft.

            This move smacks of Pete getting a new toy instead of having a plan to ‘always compete.’

  6. Cysco

    If I judge this move in a vacuum I’m not a fan. If I judge it in conjunction with the rest of this offseason, I dislike it even more. Luckily, the season hasn’t started yet. It’s possible the the Seahawks plan all along was to wait to this point in the offseason to and find value and make their splash.

    JS has always struck me as one of the smartest GMs in the game. I have a hard time believing that he would just roll into this offseason with no plan. I’ll reserve my final judgement of this move and the offseason once I see what team takes the field on week one.

  7. Trevor

    I absolutely love Adams as a player and think he is a perfect fit for the Hawks D. I think he and Diggs together will be the best duo in the league,

    That being said I agree completely Rob unless they add at least one quality DT and Edge rusher I don’t think it will matter how good the back 7 are now.

    If they can somehow add Harrison or Mebane at DT/ Griffen or CLowney at Edge and then Gordon at WR then the outlook for this season looks very very different. Going to be an interesting couple of weeks to see what the next steps are,

    • millhouse-serbia

      We all know how close is Jim Nagy with Schneider…and today via Twitter he said twice (he anticipate) that Blair will be starter at FS…

      • Rob Staton

        He offered an opinion.

        He wasn’t ‘breaking news’ on Seattle’s plans.

  8. cha

    I’m also concerned about his attitude and mouth. He trashed the owner, head coach, and had a little twitter snit with leveon bell. Is this a guy you make a major investment in? The hawks spent a couple seasons and cap room ridding themselves of talented loudmouths who had no issue taking public shots at the team. It appears we are back to ‘PC can manage a tough personality to get results.’ Problem is the hawks paid dearly for the privilege.

  9. Ghost Mutt

    Absolutely, he won’t be blitzing as much. But I do expect him to play in the box a lot, and create a ton of confusion up there.

    He can rush, he’s excellent at stopping the run, and can drop in coverage. He’s broken up 18 passes over the last two years, and allows .31 yards per coverage snap. I’m sick of the Rams and Niners destroying us with runs to the outside, Adams gives us a chance to punish those plays.

    The cost really does sting, I’m not arguing that we got value. But I do like the win-now move, and think it has the potential to change the attitude on D. Home games were so quiet last year because there wasn’t any ‘wow’ plays to get offences off the field, here’s hoping Adams brings the bully back and gets everyone pumped.

    • Ghost Mutt

      Derp, this was obviously supposed to be a reply to Rob, not a new comment.

  10. Kevin Mullen

    Maybe the thinking of fixing the backend of the defense could help an under-performing / under-developed front line that could surprise? Like in baseball, if you have a phenomenal defensive outfield, you could help the deficiencies of your infield, likewise an awesome infield don’t mean shit if your outfield sucks ass.

    • Rob Staton

      If that’s the plan, it warrants an entire article itself highlight how bad it is.

      You cannot… cannot… manufacture a consistent pass rush in Seattle’s scheme with ‘coverage’.

      • Hawkmonkey

        PFF disagrees. If your opponent doesn’t have a running QB who can work magic when coverage eliminates all options, blanket coverage can create sacks. I’m interested to see if coverage let’s our rushers get home more often. Jamal Adams will definitely help on run defense too. I don’t like the price of the move, but I’m not doom and gloom on it yet.

        • Rob Staton

          Hang on… when did I say coverage sacks don’t exist?

          If you think it’s realistic to cover up the worst pass rush in the NFL with never-ending great coverage for a full season though, you’re going to be massively disappointed.

          • LLLOGOSSS

            Even the very best coverage guys can only be expected to cover for a few seconds. If the QB has all day people will be open, simple as that.

    • Hawktalker#1

      Nice thought, but only wishful thinking . . .

  11. Group captain mandrake

    I love the trade, but not the cost. 3 high picks and a player for someone who doesn’t play a position of need? I just don’t get it unless they are desperate like you suggested. I’m hoping this is all part of some grand plan, but it sure doesn’t seem like it at this point.

  12. mishima

    Surprised they didn’t trade for CJ Mosely.

    /sarcasm

  13. BruceN

    OMG! Great player for sure. But 2 #1s plus McD who is a decent player on a decent contract. I thought Safety was actually one of our strengths. Seattle (like NE) emphasizes their defense from backend forward and he gives us some flexibility too. Still don’t the draft and player capital considering we still have to pay him a TON.
    I think this sadly nails the JC door shut. But now they will sign a couple of less expensive players like Snacks and Gordon (and maybe Griffens if they can squeeze a few millions more elsewhere) and call it a day. Sigh…

  14. pdway

    I’m going to agree to disagree w you on the panic/desperate POV on the move – – I look at in the way that many of their moves have been over the years – opportunistic. When they feel they have a ‘Seahawks’ type player – that can influence the way they play, and (even better) move the culture in the direction they want it – they jump in. You can make good arguments that the cost of the trade is too high – but I also think it’s very speculative on the part of some to say a version of ‘they could’ve traded less for Adams’ – because nobody knows the real dynamics, and I don’t view our side as foolish.

    Your bigger point re the pass rush – remains a fair one. I’m also pretty surprised that they appear satisfied with what they have. Maybe they view Clowney’s injury in a diff light than we all know, or some other reason. Like others, I’m hoping they have one more move left. But, in any regard, adding a young playmaker/leader/hitter to the defense, makes me feel good – shakes off some of the blahs of a very low-key off-season.

    But, more importantly, Rob – Leicester or Man U. today?

    • mishima

      Same FO that dropped 7 on Olsen and 6 on Irvin won’t overpay?

      The Jets had to sell. We got rooked.

      • pdway

        I don’t agree w the Jets having to sell. And I don’t hate the Irvin deal – 8.5 sacks gets you that level of salary these days. Esp since it’s a one year deal.

        With you on Olsen. That deal feels pretty useless to me. I guess we got sick of all the injuries/uncertainty at the position.

    • Rob Staton

      I think my point on the desperation of the move is a fair one too.

      You say it’s opportunistic. What’s opportunistic about spending the absolute house on a player who has been widely available for nearly a whole year??

      As Jason Fitzgerald notes in his piece, the compensation was never discussed in these terms. Many reports from the top national journalists had the Jets aiming for a high pick and then a contributing player or another high-ish pick. There was talk of a first and a third. Tony Pauline reported the Jets wanted La’el Collins in a straight swap for Adams from Dallas.

      To go from that to two first round picks, a third round pick and a player is incredible. That’s not ‘striking while the irons hot’. Not days before camp begins. Surely you acknowledge this is a trade that could’ve been done months ago if the Seahawks really wanted Jamal Adams? Do you really think the Jets would’ve turned this down in March? Everything about it smacks of desperation. They know as well as we do that this has been a crappy off-season that has not tilted the Seahawks towards contention. Adams is available and they’ve caved to the demands of the Jets to do something… anything. The only way to justify it will be to finally find a way to fix the pass rush in the coming days.

      As for Leicester or Man Utd — I can’t call it. Both wildly inconsistent. I would lean towards Man Utd.

      • pdway

        OK – but as we know – reports from journalists are not always based on anything real, and not always reliable at all. Why would the Jets trade the #6 pick in the draft (who had, if anything, surpassed his draft position), for the #25 pick in the 2020 draft? Or, for the #25 pick and our 3rd round pick? That doesn’t make sense either. For all of Adams harping, the Jets did not have to trade him. Yes, he could have not shown up, but plenty of teams choose to play that out – w 2 (or 3) years left with him, they had the leverage, he wasn’t going to sit out for 2 years. I just think it’s always easy to say a team could have done better in a deal – but you have to look at it from both sides, if you’re being objective.

        Your point about them likely being able to do this in March, is a fair one. And is the best argument to make your case that they were acting out of desperation at the lack of accomplishment this off-season. I don’t have a counter to that.

        • Rob Staton

          1. So the top journalists don’t report facts? I think we need to give the top reporters in the sport their due.

          2. Why would the Dolphins trade the #11 pick in the draft for a single first rounder? The fact is they did. Adams wanted out. The Jets had depth at safety. Both parties were clearly open to a trade. The position isn’t a premium.

      • GerryG

        I’m not going to argue that Seattle didn’t over pay (par for the course for JS on big trades) but the value of a 2021 first rd pick today is not what it was last year at the deadline when the Jets wanted a 1 and a 3.

        Considering your point that now is the time to invest picks into a vet, there was probably a few other teams interested and driving up the price.

        Seattle still got fleeced though.

        My instant reaction was the same as yours, better figure out how to get some horses on DL or this is a worthless move.

  15. The Ghost of Ken Behring

    PC\JS are stale. It happens. In fact they have been quite mediocre for a long time.

    • Bradhawk

      Ok setting aside the Patriots if PC & JS are stale what does that say about the rest of the teams? You certainly cannot suggest KC has been better than Seattle over the last 10 years.

  16. Gaux Hawks

    wow, somehow squeezing in griffen, mebane and gordon. mmmm… that’s some tasty cheese!

  17. cha

    I’m left to wonder, if Hawks felt like splurging so bad, why not give Jacksonville a call and see what they can work out for Yannick Ngakoue? You’d still be getting a disgruntled loudmouth who has publicly feuded with ownership, but you’d just be getting a guy in an area of sore need.

    You say the Hawks couldn’t afford Ngakoue’s 2020 cap hit? 2 firsts, McDougald and a swap of rounds in years would have been more than enough to get Jacksonville to eat enough cap space to make it happen. In fact you could probably leverage that deal down to even half that given Ngakoue is a FA next year and you can’t negotiate an extension.

    We’d still be howling about the high price and the apparent desperation but we’d be able to give the FO major props for identifying and addressing a real need rather than enduring another PC statement where he says he thinks Irvin and Mayowa can replicate their career-best seasons and the pass rush is fine.

    • Rob Staton

      I think Adams is a much better player, albeit at a less premium position. I’m not sure I could trust Ngakoue to be a difference maker. So even though he plays the position of Seattle’s defining clear need, I think it’s a hard to sell to make this offer for Ngakoue. Plus the investment in Taylor kind of addresses that need for the future. What they really need is a dynamic compliment on the other side — preferably someone who used to be a #1 overall pick and has dreads.

      • cha

        Adams>Ngakoue for sure. And I’d rather have Clowney on the other side for sure.

        This is just my latest creative way of saying the DL so sorely needs help I can’t believe they’ve gone this route.

        But they’re benching or severely limiting a 2nd rounder (Blair) for Adams, so it’s not like they’re not already going the route of filing a spot they drafted for with a more immediate impact. They could bring Taylor along and rotate them.

  18. SeahawkeyezSubj80

    I have faith we beef up the defensive line and very much look forward to Rob’s change of tune article. Not that I disagree with your take on this offseason and admittedly felt you are right on. As a fan and believer in Carroll and Schnieder will get it right, hated hearing your take. But respected it nonetheless. Its alot to give up in draft capital, but Seahawks have not had a decent first round pick since ET. So I’m okay with it. Got the best safety in the league and will excel in this defense

  19. Happy Hawk

    Thanks Rob you continue to be “Can’t wait to log on everyday” delight during these tough times. Adams:
    * 24 years old
    * On rookie deal
    * ranked #42 on the NFL top 100 list
    * All Pro Safety
    * BAMF attitude and sets the tone with his play every game
    * Seems like Pete’s kind of player/leader and qb of the defense

    Adding Adams makes the Hawks better today – can’t argue that. They need to add Clowney to the mix and they will have an elite player on all 3 levels of the defense. The trade and lost capital will not be able to be scored fully until after the 2022 draft/season. In 2022 we may regret it big time but we will most likely still have a 26 years old All Pro. Right now we have the #42 ranked player in the entire league at 24 and no on else does. Love Adams enthusiasm for the game and bad ass hitters mentality! My opinion.

  20. Ryan purcell

    Makes them a better team than they were yesterday. That is clear. Smart aggressive player who will make everyone better. They gave up a lot but he’s still playing on his rookie deal. I’m looking forward to seeing him wreck some games.

    • Rob Staton

      Sure, they’re a better team with Adams. But what’s also clear are all the concerns raised as a consequence of this trade too.

  21. MountainGump

    I am a long time reader of this site, and believe it is the best coverage of all things Seahawks. This is my first time writing a reply because I think most of the world and football fans are missing the foresight of JS/PC in roster construction for an economic environment that may include prolonged salary cap decreases for the next several years. Possibly the market uncertainty (salary caps, NFL TV contracts, stocks, Healthcare, bonds, gold, etc.) are rightly driving Seattle FO to create maximum financial flexibility for 2021 and beyond. Maybe they are bearish on prices for talent, while most of the other teams have loaded their rosters with long term contracts assuming salary caps will go up indefinitely. If NFL revenues do not suddenly recover to pre-COVID levels in 2021-2024, then teams will need to shed some of their most expensive talent quickly. Just like opportunistic investors that shifted intoT-Bills in February to avoid the stock market crash so they could buy at the bottom, maybe the Seahawks waited until after the 2020-2021 salary caps became known to buy Mr. Adams. Maybe they will leverage all the short term non-guaranteed contracts to shed their recent mediocre FA additions after this season. And maybe they will address their 2020 defensive line shortcomings in the next 2 weeks. I’m withholding judgment until the season begins as to whether the off-season was productive and wise. There is a financial strategy that works really well to position portfolios for maximum profits during black swan events, and I strongly believe the Seahawks have positioned their roster/portfolio for a potential windfall during a “right tail risk” event that most others have assumed away.

    • Rob Staton

      Well we certainly haven’t ignored the impact of coronavirus on the next draft. I’ve written multiple articles and made numerous comments this summer discussing why it would be a good time to trade a 2021 first rounder.

      But this trade — and the impact of Covid-19 — still isn’t a cover for the total failure to fix the pass rush. And big trades like this, global pandemic impacting 2021 or not, will be undermined and take on the status of expensive indulgence if the defense can’t create any pressure.

    • Bradhawk

      +1

  22. Paul G

    Rob, if the Hawks do re-sign Clowney, get a vet DT, how would that change your outlook on this offseason as well as our chances this upcoming season? “If” Dunbar plays, our defense on paper would seem to be quite a bit better. Bring back Josh Gordon on the cheap. I think we have to be close to be considered a Super Bowl contender. Maybe right outside the top handful of upper echelon (SF, KC, NO, BAL), but we’ve closed the gap.

    • Rob Staton

      Well as I suggested in the piece, it would change the outlook for the season completely.

      • Big Mike

        How would you feel about Griffen and a DT (because imo that’s what’s going to happen)?

        • Rob Staton

          We’ll see what happens.

  23. DougM

    Two questions

    1. Concerning the timing of trading for Jamal Adams now and not earlier, is it possible that Adams was always a consideration but further down the board so to speak and when higher priorities were off the board then trade for Adams became the priority?

    2. Someone brought up a point yesterday about the poor run defense allowing a lot of short yardage situations and how that affects the ability of the d-line to reach the quarterback. Are there any statistics that can back that up?

    • Rob Staton

      1. Maybe. But you generally don’t spend this much on a trade for someone ‘further down the board’.

      2. None that I’m aware of but there might be somewhere.

  24. Ben

    Draft Budda Baker instead of headcase McDowell or Taylor Rapp instead of Collier OR Blair and you don’t have to make this trade.

  25. Ben

    Should’ve noted that while the price was steep, I like the player in Adams. Just concerned with how effective he will be with zero pass rush…..just like everyone else on here.

  26. Gaux Hawks

    rob, i’d love an article discussing our current situation at nickel…

    ugo, blair, flowers/dunbar, chris miller, etc.

    similar to a pre-draft board; size, physical attributes, etc.

    just a thought!

    • Rob Staton

      I’ll give you a review of the nickel position with one emoji…

      💩

      • Ashish

        😅😅 didn’t expect that from you Rob. Seriously please do an article with positive outlook as best case scenario.

      • Gaux Hawks

        😂😂😂😂

  27. pdway

    Off this topic – – but someone made a point in a different article that I hadn’t thought of yet re the upcoming season.

    Crowd energy and noise has been a pretty decent advantage for the Hawks during all of this run – – with no fans in the stands, that becomes a big non-factor in ’20. Hurts every team the same of course – but always felt we had an advantage over most teams in this area . . .

  28. Pugs1

    The way I see it is if the linebackers and secondary live up to their potential it should help what’s a below average DL at least be average and if the defense can move into the upper half of the league in defense. No reason to believe they can’t make a run. Now I selfishly don’t like giving up that many draft picks because the next couple of drafts won’t be as exciting.

  29. Rob Staton

    Thorough breakdown of the pro’s and con’s (with some similar and fair reservations raised) from ESPN’s Bill Barnwell on the Jamal Adams trade: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29538280/jamal-adams-trade-grades-seahawks-jets-safety-really-worth-much

    • Rashi

      Its crazy that Jamal Adams lined up at DL/LB more than at safety.

      • Rob Staton

        In Gregg Williams’ scheme, not really.

    • Rob Staton

      This is a pertinent quote:

      Adams obviously improves the Seahawks at safety, which helps, but they also downgraded on the edge by replacing Clowney with Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa. L.J. Collier, a first-round pick last year, deserves more time, but he was a total nonfactor as a rookie. Adams will help the pass rush, but Seattle has less edge-rushing talent on paper than it did last season, when it ranked 30th in both sack rate and pressure rate. I don’t think the Seahawks are in great position to win a Super Bowl, even after adding Adams.

      • cha

        There’s the rub

  30. Hoggs41

    It will be interesting to see if the Jets paid his roster bonus or we did? Spotrac had the Seahawks paying it originally and now the Jets paying it. Not sure how we gained $600-$800k though? If we pay the roster bonus I think we lost $800k. A positive way to look at this is I cant name one defensive lineman for the Patriots and they played pretty good defense building from the back. Was the price to much to pay? Maybe? We just dont know how serious the market was for Adams unless we were in the Jets front office. I know Jason is a Jets fan but not sure he is qualified to discuss his market. Just some thoughts.

    • Rob Staton

      Come on people.

      We’ve already had someone saying ‘the top reporters in the NFL don’t know anything’. Now a respected cap expert and Jets fan ‘isn’t qualified’ to discuss his market — based on reported offers, interest and various other trades over the last two years.

      Let’s not try too hard to diminish others to prop up the team.

      • Hoggs41

        A cap expert and a Jets fan is qualified to talk about his team. Ok my bad.

  31. Ukhawk

    I like the trade and the price. Basically a 1st rounder for an all pro, BAMF on a reasonable contract.

    In a few years he is anticipated to be a cornerstone player and why not build around him. Safety’s are affordable and can be kept clean to make an impact game in and out.

    Happy to now have one position group on defense that we can focus on – albeit the most challenging one to fill. That said it’s been done before with vets, castoffs and free agents.

    Wondering what the likelihood is seeing 3 safeties in the field at once, can Diggs play nickel ??

    • Ukhawk

      * equivalent high 1st

    • Rob Staton

      But how much of a cornerstone can a safety be?

      I loved Kam and Earl as much as anyone. Put them behind Mayowa, Green etc and let’s see if that defense is the same.

      I have no issue with acquiring Jamal Adams the player. But they can’t justify this move with the pass rush in its current state (thus the article). And we’ll need to see how they plan to address positions like left tackle going forward now that they won’t have a R1 pick until 2023.

      • Ukhawk

        Hey rob. I’m with you here. Don’t think I disagreed the DL was still an issue? But you need to play well on all 3 levels and In fairness they built the DL last previously.

        Yes I would’ve preferred DL first but happy whatever order it comes… just as long as it does!!!

        I think an elite safety can be a cornerstone but it’s not in isolation. Lott, Reed, Kam, Earl, Troy – these guys all played their role in championships …

        • Ukhawk

          And let’s be real here, they are a ways away from the SB years. Still rebuilding

          Not lost on me how hard it will be to replicate previous success on the DL. The pass rush cupboard has been pretty bear

  32. VegasHawkFan

    “For all the talk of the importance of Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor in 2013 — they also benefited from a stacked defensive line.”

    Lazy statement right there, Rob. People speak to their importance because they WERE important. They didn’t benefit from a stacked line in 2012 when they were the #1 Overall Defense, #1 Scoring Defense and #6 Passing Defense in the entire NFL, without Bennett and Avril. People act like those two came in and saved this defense. Bullshit. It was a great defense as it was, those two were good rushers who came in and contributed to the success of the team.

    That defense, which IMO was the greatest defense in NFL history, was built from the outside in. Guys like Avril, Bennett and Clemons were good rushers who capitalized on the elite coverage afforded them by the LOB. You don’t have to agree that Irvin, Mayowa, Green, and Reed are good rushers, but I think the front office plan is very clear, and it surprises me that you don’t see it.

    They want to get back to the LOB – a defense built around elite coverage that can generate pressure (not even necessarily sacks) with a rotation of good guys. Get the QB holding onto the ball a little longer, give those rushers a little more time, create more offensive mistakes and try to capitalize.

    • Rob Staton

      Lazy? Bullshit?

      Do you know what, that is so irritating. The passive aggressive use of the word ‘lazy’ to try and diminish someone you don’t agree with. Coupled with “I’m surprised you can’t see it”.

      Passive aggressive nonsense like that will not be tolerated. Act like an adult or don’t. Your call.

      As for your points, in 2012 they had Chris Clemons and had just used a top-15 pick on Bruce Irvin, not to mention having Mebane, Big Red etc. too. So let’s no act like that’s an equivalent to the current collection on the D-line. And while you might think it’s lazy for me to make the point about the benefit of a great D-line in 2013, EVERY ONE acknowledged they needed to upgrade the pass rush going into 2013 and that it was a flaw that must be addressed. And they did address it.

      The only lazy, bullshit stuff I can see here is your unwillingness to either accept or remember how vital Bennett and Avril were to the elevation of that team.

    • James Z

      The notion of recreating the past as in ‘they want to get back to the LOB’ is at best a fantasyland and at worst a facile way to say a team, or political party, or whatever has no idea as to how to improve in a present climate or toward a future.

    • mishima

      That DL was incredibly disruptive.

  33. James Z

    The mindset of desperation rings true in this trade. I don’t understand how else they would give up so much for Adams. The moves to acquire Harvin and Graham were moves to add to already strong teams with few holes and thus not made out of desperation. Why the SH’s saw the Jets as having leverage is a real head scratcher unless the ‘desperation’ mentality overrode any real confidence in using the leverage that the SH’s should have had here to give up less for Adams. They were a soft target, too soft. Play hard ball or go home…

  34. betaparticle

    I think if we take the 1 and the 3 offer that was discussed by FItzgerald, and we discount the value of draft picks for time and COVID, the two first the Seahawks are giving up are a discount to the original asking price.

    The Jets ask of a 1 and a 3 was prior to this years draft, and was draft picks in this year for Adams’ service in the 2020 season and beyond. Typically, when trades occur on draft day for future picks, the picks are discounted by one round. The Seahawks gave up a 2nd round pick in 2009 to get a 1st round pick in 2010 (Earl Thomas). The Seahawks have given up future 6th round picks to pick again in the 7th round each of the last 2 years.

    Given this widely accepted time delay discount of 1 round per year, we basically got Jamal Adams for a the equivalent of a 2nd (2021 1st round discounted 1 year), a 3rd (2022 1st round pick discounted 2 years), and a 4th (2021 3rd round pick discounted 1 year) round picks, while receiving back a 6th round pick (2022 4th round pick discounted 2 years.

    If on draft day, we had traded our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th for Jamal Adams and a 6th, it would look like a reasonable deal, or even a steal, for the Seahawks.

    If we consider the effects of COVID on the draft, depeleting 2021 draft talent and enriching 2022 draft talent, then the trade looks even better for the Seahawks, getting Jamal Adams for a 3rd (2021 1st knocked down a round for COVD and another round for time discount), a 5th (2021 3rd round knocked down a year each for COVID and time), a 2nd (2022 1st knocked down 2 years for time, bumped up 1 year for COVID talent rebound), and receiving a 5th (2022 4th round pick bumped a round for COVID and knocked 2 rounds for time).

    With COVID effects, the equivalent draft day deal would’ve been a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 5th for Jamal Adams and a 5th, A very good trade compared to the 1 and 3 the Jets were asking on draft day.

    Just another way to look at the draft value. It’s absolutely not perfect, but I don’t think the trade looks as bad as the headline makes it sound.

    That, and while I think McDougald was an adequate performer (certainly better than TT or Hill), he was not particularly outstanding in anything other than knowing where he was supposed to be (unfortunately he was never particularly fast, and at an age where he was bound to get slower).

    That said, I am quite reticent about the lack of 1st round picks in the next two years and the return the team has had by trading down each year. I am less concerned about the DL than you are Rob (mostly because I like the age distribution and quality of talent far better than last season, and think they will present a below average to middling rush on base downs but an above average situational pass rush), but I’m having a hard time seeing how the team puts together a quality OL after the 2021 season without the draft capital they just traded away.

    • Rob Staton

      About a month ago Tony Pauline reported the Jets were willing to deal Adams straight up for La’el Collins and the talk of a high pick and a player or mid-round pick didn’t just stop after the draft — that is the compensation that was being discussed right up until the point this deal was announced.

      I’ve just watched a video with a Jets fan discussing the trade and he said he couldn’t have dreamed of a haul like this.

      There’s no justification for the compensation paid and as the article highlights, they better fix their pass rush otherwise it’ll be a pure panic indulgence.

      • BruceN

        Rob, do you think Colin’s recent rant about PC/JS not giving Russell enough help may have had a little bit in pushing for this trade and over pay? Did Russell try to send a message to the team thru Colin?

        • Rob Staton

          I think he tried to send a message but doubt it influenced this trade.

  35. Hawkhomer1

    So I like most have struggled with this off-season. This trade compounds that. In my struggle to understand and looking at the personnel we have I wonder if we might actually see a scheme change. I know that is not what Pete has been about but maybe he finally gets that other teams have figured him out. So the scheme that seems to fit the personnel is one similar to Iowa States 3-3-3 look. Given the offenses in our division this may make some sense and then Blair, Diggs and Adams also make more sense. Just grasping at straws here.

  36. Adog

    I like the move. To me Adams will be the eventual replacement of Bobby Wagner as the leader of the defense. The hawks saw an opportunity to get a great player and a leader. As for the cost. .. it’s interesting to contemplate the value of first round picks in the current pandemic and also in the Seahawks draft philosophy… that late first round picks have same value as maybe an early third. So to Carrol and his gm…they feel great about this trade.

    • Ukhawk

      Boom

  37. Josh emmett

    So I read an article the niners were offering the jets a 1st and 4th in in 2021 and a conditional 3rd rounder in 2022 on Thursday for Adams. The offer got leaked and Hawks came over the top Friday. It’s an arms race in the best division in football

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t know how you get from that offer to two firsts, a third and a player.

      • mishima

        Pete Carroll.

    • LLLOGOSSS

      Can you link that article? I would appreciate having that context to work with…

  38. WALL UP

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCeQFVtog7w

  39. Ashish

    I get it, Hawks paid lot to get Adams and will pay hefty contract. I will like to read article just what Adams can bring to Hawks. Will he help to stop George Kittle, Kyler, Debo, etc just positive side.
    I personally have good feelings about trade and may be one more transaction before season starts will improve pass rush.

  40. Rob Staton

    Seahawks release Branden Jackson: https://www.oregonlive.com/nfl/2020/07/breaking-seattle-seahawks-release-defensive-end-brenden-jackson.html

    They had to release someone to accommodate Jamal Adams so it’s not indicative of anything other than Jackson being an easy cut who saves $2m. But it’s happened nonetheless.

    • Sea Mode

      Good. At least a step in the right direction.

      One thought that did come to me: if this trade is indeed a sign of desperation mode, are we about to cave and sign Clowney to a long term deal?

      • Rob Staton

        I think they would’ve done that by now if they were willing.

        But we’ll see. Nobody seems to actually know what Seattle offered.

      • Henry Taylor

        I hope so, dont care if it seems desperate. Right now the addition of Clowney changes the entire complexion of this offseason.

  41. Bradhawk

    I always hoped Blair was our future FS target because I was always sick & tired of being worried ET was going to get hurt, definitely bummed when ET got run over at times. Hopefully Blair is on track for FS I like Pete’s statements suggesting Blair will play some slot, now we have the little guy Ugo to cover those quick shifty WR’s & Blair to cover those tall fast TE’s. Delano Hill can now focus on SS as Adam’s back up. 2022 safeties will be FS Blair backed up with Amadi & SS Adams backed up with Delano Hill. Don’t forget the Jets D-line was far worse than Seattle’s last year when Adams got all those sacks. So we added a bunch of sacks if Bruce Irvin doesn’t stay home due to Corona Virus because the Panthers D Line also sucked. As for Mayowa I always hoped he would come back to Seattle because in my mind if he did it would mean Pete knows he’s going to produce, hopefully it will be a situation similar to Michael Bennett when Bennett came back to us. I believe it’s a good sign when players come back to us coming off their best year especially when we traded up round 2 for a great Leo prospect.

    • Hawk Scott

      Blair won’t start over Diggs at FS. He’ll play nickel, and back up Diggs.

      • Hawk Scott

        My bad… I just saw you were referencing the 2022 season for that lineup.

        • Bradhawk

          No worries, ya it takes time to learn the safety position & if Diggs is successful he’s going to be to expensive to resign. If things go really really well this year we could Trade Diggs in 2021 for maximum value as a FS with 1 year left on his contract. If Diggs has a great year as a FS this year it’s plausible we could get more than what we paid for him after using him for 2 years. I truly believe Schneider decided to hand out $2.1 contracts to WR Moore, DE Jackson, C Hunt, & TE Hollister as a temporary security blanket vs spending the $$ in FA. Once Schneider has a clearer picture on the rookie WR’s he can decide what to do with Moore. Once Schneider has a clearer picture on Pocic he can decide what to do with Hunt, where’s Hunt gonna go anyways? Hunt is to small to get a multi year with another team by signing these undrafted & 7th round picks its shows other players on the team & around the league they have a real shot at playing in Seattle. We have a few undrafted TE’s that may show up in camp don’t forget we let Swoopes go instead we decided to invest time in these new TE’s & our Stanford TE freak should be ready to go at the start of the season.

  42. Bradhawk

    Jackson has been released! Clearing cap space for an inbound player & giving Jackson time to find another team. Brandon Jackson was one of the best dudes/gentlemen Seahawks had on their team. It sucks to see him go & I hope he settles in with another team.

  43. Sea Mode

    Imagine if we had this guy mentoring our young DLers… 😢

    Calais Campbell Breaks Down How to Play the Run, Using Leverage, & Pass Rushing | NFL Film Session
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prLKLw2LTNU

    • Rob Staton

      The dream that wasn’t to be

    • Mexican Hawk

      Crazy how cheap he went for, one of the misses.

  44. Mexican Hawk

    There’s many different angles to this, we can even go back to that Frank Clark trade. What came about with that, starting with Russell’s extension.

    Point I want to make here is the timeline of this. As is being stated why now? This is not an excuse and I think it’s justifiable to ask why not in early March.

    To me the why now is twofold (after all that has happened from March to now):
    1) Because of the certainty that there will be a season (that happened this week after NFL and NFLPA agreed on those parameters).
    2) Previously mentioned evolving Covid scenario as per scouting, draft evaluation, value of draft capital and moves made by others.

    Bygones can’t bygones, but you have to adapt and move forward. Even if it wasn’t the master plan from the start, I am on board. It’s not perfect, to me it does seem a tad desperate, but not ill advised. Adams could have been had before (prior to Covid), and we can argue until we are blue in the face as per compensation then and Jets willingness to move him at that time.

    Two things changed. Compensation might have increased (tough to swallow), but those assets given in return are much less valuable now. On the Jets side their willingness increased no doubt as per overall tenor of Adams relationship with them.

    It has been said that parameters were in place prior to Jamal’s comments on Gase but more importantly Johnson. However you can’t underestimate how owner felt in this regard.

    I much prefer the Seahawks of today than of yesterday morning. Pete won’t change his philosophy all of a sudden, as per Jamal being the type of blitzer that he was with the Jets, but I think we will be pleasantly surprised as to how they use him. I see us going back to stopping those 3rd and 1’s that we were so good at in the past.

    I realize for this to happen a few more pieces need to be added to the puzzle as per depth at the DTackle spot and so forth, nickel (Diggs as Nagy mentioned?) and the elephant in the room (pass rush). We’ll see if Brooks and Adams provide a boost here, from previously unseen spots. Just as we talked about with Clowney, it’s not all about sacks, it’s about pressure. It’s the same scenario on both lines, going with depth instead of talent. We’ll see.

    I agree on need to scrutinize, that is how we all get better. Also feel there are many layers and angles, lot’s we are unfamiliar with. Nevertheless, this blog lead by Rob but with the input of many members does a good job of going knee deep into the why and how of the Seahawks world from the outside looking in.

    Seahawks twitter I love as well, don’t agree with all, but very knowledgeable if you look well and discard the rest.

    FINALLY as has been stated by many on the net, I don’t think it’s fair to compare Mack, Ramsey and Tunsil trades. Seattle is not one player away and neither were them, but none of them especially the Bears or the Rams had a QB the caliber of Wilson. Tunsil trade I can see as per protecting the most valuable team commodity in DeShaun. Ramsey is a class player at a key position, but it was still a very risky deal. Chiefs acquiring Clark is the best comparison.

    I can see the argument of how Chiefs paying less for a more important position (DE vs. Safety) justifies that trade, but as I had mentioned it’s all about timing. Can’t compare apples to oranges. Hawks dealing with other factors then, I would argue we got a lot out of that deal though did lose a blue chipper.

    Not saying PCJS are without fault and not saying Russ doesn’t save us from going back to barely above .500, but I will live and die with them. While scrutinizing them at the same time.

    • Bradhawk

      Pete will definitely let Adams blitz he got 11 sacks last year! Pets coaching philosophy is to always get better that includes Pete, Pete’s coaching philosophy is always be open to new things & in this case Adams has proven he can get to the QB before the QB cab distribute the ball. Bobby Wagner is the best coverage LB in the league & Cody Barton is also a great pass coverage LB in fact the entire LB core is good enough to handle coverage duties when Adams is blitzing. Don’t forget Ugo Amadi, Diggs, Blair, and both Quill & Queem are All great blitzers. We will blitz a lot this year if we don’t it would be the equivalent of drafting RB’s & spending $$ on FA RB’s then never running the ball. Kinda like SF in the Super Bowl when they kicked KC’s butt running the ball 1st half then lost the game passing the ball in the second half, Pete Carroll is no rookie head coach.

      • John_s

        Yep they blitzed I’m the Big Play Babs package then with Milloy

  45. Denver Hawker

    Hunt was just released as well to get roster down to 80.

    • Bradhawk

      Hunt wow! Something is definitely brewing in Seattle they must have a sure thing back up at Center & they need the cap space for something.

      • Nick

        Maybe Pocic? Ugh.

      • Rob Staton

        They might bring back Britt if he’s cheap.

    • cha

      Wow, look at that. $4m trimmed off the cap in one day.

    • Rob Staton

      Surprising.

      But they have now cleared over $4m in cap space today so now I’m willing to think something is brewing.

      • Adog

        Maybe clowney was one who wanted the stars…before he signs?

      • Sea Mode

        RW restructure and Clowney signing incoming, if I’m trying to call it now.

        • millhouse-serbia

          Russells restructure is much less possible after this corona salary cap problems imo…

        • John_s

          It’s cap suicide to kick the can and restructure Russ’s contract. Similar to the Cowboys and Romo

      • pdway

        Would this kind of money be for a new Adams deal, or not needed yet?

        Because if it’s not for that – got to figure it’s for D-line help. They have until Aug 16th to get down to 80 players.

  46. Mike

    My take? PC is so gung-ho on his personality factor for “His guys”, that now the athletes they target are based primarily on this. Its like he is trying to prove something to the league. Its WHY he sold the house for Adams.

    Its a bit baffling to sell the house, cabin, garage, and timeshare all for one guy.. but the drafting and acquisitions of late have been trending towards culture fits first, second, and third. Actual skill level and physical traits be damned.

    Luckily, Adams has all those things in one package. With a supportive coaching staff, the guy can really set the tone and culture. We also now have LoB2.. But it wont work like last time. Last time it worked cause QBs were still being pressured.

    But there better be some magic scheme wizardry evolution to take place this year. Having no d-line breaks any conventional defensive scheme. So, now that we have too many LBs to field and some great safeties, a good CB, and another one that may not be behind bars this season.. the backfield is loaded. Are we now to develop some special blitzing scheme with our LBs and SS doing most of the pass rush? Certainly using the same defensive formula we all know WONT WORK..so my only optimism is the PC will release a new scheme the league wont see coming..

    That or next year we are gonna wish we had the first round pick for the next FO.

  47. GoHawksDani

    Not a fan of this trade but I won’t write it off completely.
    For it to be good it needs to be one of the following scenarios:
    They know something we don’t (like Blair or Diggs wanna sit out the season or one of them have some health issue). Or they wanna utilize a lot more big nickel using Blair also or they’re willing to shift philosophy and blitz a lot more with Adams.
    If they do that and Adams get 4-5 sacks then it helps the passrush too.
    As for compensation it seems steep. But if next year’s picks are devalued and later picks are usually valued less it’s not that horrible. Major risk and gambling. And I’m more on the no please side, but this at least makes me interested in the following Hawks’ games

  48. Schleems18

    Could Bobby and KJ take on more pass rush duties? As long as the new and second year players improve their understanding it would be less robbing peter to pay paul. Robbing pete to pay hurrt, maybe?

    • Rob Staton

      The Seahawks are a rush with four type of team. Bobby blitzes but they’re not a Todd Bowles or Gregg Williams team. The pressure has to come from the front four.

      • GoHawksDani

        We didn’t think they’d get Adams, that they’d not re-sign Clowney or make moves for the DL, that they’d get an LB R1. I think blitzing more is a completely acceptable possibility. With Brooks switching in for KJ, with Irvin at SAM, with Bobby some, with Adams a lot more, with Diggs or Blair using big nickel and even some from the CBs. Not saying they’ll be a crazy blitzing team, but I think they’ll do that a LOT more often than they did (like going from the bottom 5-10 blitzing team to the top 10-15)

        • Rob Staton

          There’s a difference between personnel moves though and projecting scheme with a coach who has stuck to his way of doing things religiously.

          • schleems18

            True, they have for a long time now been searching for the players that fit the scheme. just havent found the right players and probably why there seem to be so many repeat position picks. This draft/undrafted class seems to at least have fall back traits of either a clear defined role and hard down hill tackling on defense, that way even if they cant meet the expectations the legion of boom set. Offensive players were still missing pieces just more on the luxury side. On defense, they have to change scheme to get players on the field. If they do happen to find even 1 diamond, I do really think the whole formula becomes much simpler.

  49. hawks31

    Hawks are clearing cap space. Hunt and Jackson. Moore and Hollister next they are saying, with no dead money. Clowney? Maybe the money spent that everyone thought was wasteful was a hedge on him signing or not.

    • Rob Staton

      Who is saying?

      The fact that they cut them as part of ten cuts suggests these are the cuts they are making. Hollister is safe. Moore less so if they sign another WR but that has to happen first.

      And even if Moore goes… they still spent $54m on not a lot.

      • Trevor

        Having Hollister on the roster at $3.5 mil make zero sense to me if Dissly is healthy. With Olsen and Dissly on board Hollister is TE3 at best and will get limited snaps. Why not just sign Luke Willson as TE 3 on a vet min deal and develop the two rookie TE you drafted?

        • Rob Staton

          “If Dissly is healthy”

          (After back to back years ended by serious injuries)

  50. TomLPDX

    Not sure what the FO is up to but we now have $17.2M in cap space. Can’t believe they released Joey. Hollister will be an additional savings of $3.259M and Moore would be $2.133M for an additional $5.492M if those moves come to pass. (from https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/seattle-seahawks/)

  51. pdway

    good article by robert mays on rationales from both sides on the Adams trade – – https://www.theringer.com/2020/7/26/21339180/jamal-adams-trade-seahawks-jets

    • TomLPDX

      Good article, pdway. Thanks.

  52. charlietheunicorn

    Clearing a little cap space….. clearing out guys commonly thought of as fringe players to make the roster…. Hollister being the only exception.

    I can see RW pulling a TB12 and pushing his cap number down these next 2 seasons, and loading up the deal on the backend. They would have plenty of space to add Clowney, Griffin and/or quality DT.

    …… this offseason might end up being much more intriguing after all 😀

  53. mishima

    Joey’s going to be a Colt, isn’t he?

  54. dcd2

    I know we’ve been pretty critical (fairly) of the FO this off-season. I am starting to see some reasons to be optimistic though.

    Since we drafted Blair after “possibly” missing on Abrahms last year, I’ve had a sense that Pete thinks that FS is as important as any position on the D. Blair may grow into a pro-bowler, but he’s not there yet. Adams is, and the fact that we’ve added a top 10 NFL defender with two years on his rookie deal, is awesome.

    Now we’ve cut some depth (Hunt/Jackson) and reserve the right to create more space as well… Something is brewing on the DL. DT is an absolute must, and with $17M+ now free, there are visions of Clowney or EG coming back into focus.

    Honestly if we somehow add Adams, Clowney/EG and a DT my outlook on the off-season has changed almost completely. I still don’t agree with the path taken to get there, but I could see a defense like that making us a contender, and I didn’t think I’d be saying that two days ago.

  55. cha

    Chris Carson lands at #96 on this years’ top 100 players.

    Fun video – multiple defensive coaches screaming at their players “you have to have a tackling plan for #32!”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSdhSBMKiiA

    • cha

      DK Metcalf checks in at 81.

      • cha

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6amrfLYRmgY

        • Jordan

          That’s insane. Other players must really respect his game and perhaps potential they see in him.

        • Sea Mode

          Great stuff. Glad they are respected/feared around the league.

  56. Hebegbs

    This trade sure has generated a lot of emotion. I love this blog and mostly just read without much comment, many of the posts and perspectives. Rob’s work over the years is incredible and great to read. Love the community, so many educated Hawks fans.

    Seems to me there are two camps. Love the trade or hate the trade. Maybe a third that “could live the trade” if the Hawks address the D line-which I think most of us here would agree they have not done enough of yet. I think it is fair to criticize them thus far on this point. It was a glaring weakness WITH Clowney last year. Adams makes us better today vs yesterday though. I think we really need to reserve too much judgment until we see what the final roster and play looks like. But that is just me. They have spent a lot of their capital and used just about all their draft capital to make further moves so if this is it I think it’s really fair to wonder what they did this summer, what their plan was?

    Maybe Pete’s glaring optimism has him enamored with the guys he already has on the roster. Maybe he sees improvement that we don’t see. We will know soon. On paper this doesn’t look brilliant without fixing the pass rush.

    One note on the draft compensation. We have no idea what other teams the Jets said were in the mix for Adams. The Jets obviously (truthfully or not) used that angle. If SF had got him instead of the Hawks, I don’t think we’d have too many happy Hawks fans today. He looks to me like a defensive weapon needed in the modern day NFC West. And a proven commodity. Call me intrigued at this point and hopeful the Hawks still can find a way to add another key price to the D line in the coming weeks.

  57. Hoggs41

    If you could have only one which would it be?

    Clowney

    Griffen and Snacks

    • Davido

      Clowney

  58. charlietheunicorn

    There was an ESPN piece that stated that over the cap currently has the Seahawks 17M under the cap. This seems to line up a little too nicely with Clowney sized deal. If you structure his deal in such a way, then the first year or two could be low cap hit numbers. This leaves room for a guy such as snacks to be brought in for DT… and have a bit left for other goodies (such as Gordon).

    I’m more optimistic right now about a Clowney resigning than I have been for maybe 3 months.

    The stars are aligning….

    • Rob Staton

      They don’t have $17m because they haven’t signed all their rookies or accounted for IR and the practise squad.

      I need to get this reply on a hot key.

  59. John_s

    Clowney is going to Tennessee. It makes too much sense for him. He goes back to a 3-4 defense which will allow him to go back to playing stand up and rush. Vrabel was his coach in Houston and Tennessee is $23 mil under the cap

    • Darnell

      Did he like Vrabel or playing olb in the 3-4?

      “Quite a bit,” Clowney answered when asked about how often he was used in coverage. “It was really on tight ends man, and coming out of college it was very, very different for me. Coming from a 4-3 to a 3-4 was different. Now that I’m here [I] just know, for a fact, that I’m going forward. I can put on as much weight as I want and get going.”

      Clowney excelled in college as a 4-3 base defensive end, so much so that Houston made him the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.

      https://seahawkswire.usatoday.com/2019/09/02/jadeveon-clowney-excited-to-play-in-4-3-defense-with-seahawks/

  60. Donovan

    My two cents:

    Yes, relative to other trades, this feels like an overpay.

    But, the salary for the productivity is a great deal. And I tend to buy into the Patriots’ notion that a stud secondary (which we may have now, assuming Dunbar can play) is both more economical and can in fact tremendously help a D Line be better than its talent level.

    A gamble, but I think it very well may pay off.

  61. steele

    If they had made this kind of move and landed a top PASS RUSHER, it still would have been desperate but at least they would have addressed THE PROBLEM. Now they’ve created new problems, and long term ones at that, by compromising their future drafts.

    How does going all-in for Jamal Adams ?!? get them to a Super Bowl in any reasonable time frame with Russell Wilson?

  62. Max

    Hunt gone.Brenden Jackson gone.really promising.cut d Moore,hollister,add flash,snacks,clown…best team in NFC

  63. Davido

    Let’s talk Blair since he was mentioned by Rob a bit when talking about the trade. Here are my points on it:
    – He is not a SS for the Seahawks. Just looking at the body types Pete Carroll has been going for at that position. Blair doesn’t fit that.
    – We could still see him in Nickel formations. No, he is not a nickel corner type. Still, Diggs has experience playing that position. Adams could line up at the LOS and Diggs+Blair play the left and right safety. With the versatility of both Diggs and Adams there should be a way to get Blair on the field if his perfomance justifies it.
    (The Seahawks not doing anything at the slot corner position during the offseason might mean that they have something different in mind)
    – Diggs was a bit injury prone recently. Having a hungry young backup ready to take over when opportunities arise is better than relying on someone that didn’t understand the playbook last year.
    – Diggs’ contract lasts two more seasons. It’s not only good to have leverage in such negotations it’s also good to have someone ready to step in if negotations don’t work out.
    – “Always compete” while both Diggs and Adams are high quality players in the NFL, competition makes every roster better.

    So, I don’t read the Adams trade as that they have given up on Blair. He still has the chance to become a contributor in our next superbowl run 😉

  64. McZ

    Having read about the trade at ESPN, who also offered nearly identical assignment heatmaps for both Adams and Kam, I come to think, the obsession of this franchise to find “another Kam” was a strong driver.

    Having thought a couple of hours about it, it makes a lot of sense. It allows them to return to a true and unbreakable cover 3 secondary, playing the SS nearer to the LOS, completely taking out the TE and adding pressure through consistent blitzes.

    So, where are we standing.

    – A concensus bottom 5 DL, who may have no other way but to sink or prove their critics guilty. I cannot really see, who can be the lead dawg of the unit
    – A concensus bottom 5 OL, with questionmarks on every single position, including growing injury bugs at LT.
    – A supreme LB corps, with lots of development in depth
    – A top-notch secondary with a questionmark at one CB spot and at nickel.
    – An offense featuring a concensus top 5 QB, having questionmarks after WR2, having a room of injured and questionmark RBs, having a room full of TEs competing for up to four roster spots.

    What should they do?

    – Pick up a lead dawg at DT; Snacks Harrison should do just fine, but I could also envision and prefer them to bring Mebane back at NT.
    – If there is still some cap space, bring in one of Everson Griffen or Vinny Curry. Especially Curry can make the occasional push inside, which I think is not really part of Mayowas feature set.
    – Routinely rotate and play the young guys at DL and OL; it cannot grow worse, and at least we get some development and experience. Competition also needs more space than a couple of preseason ventures. Plus, the more garbage game time we take from Duane Brown at LT, the more he is available in the playoffs.
    – Pick up cheap CB talent not making it elsewhere. Nick Nelson comes to mind.
    – Sort out the WR3 and WR4 spots; I don’t think, Dorsett is our man.

    What is still hard to stomach is the idea, that this franchise seems to have given up on developing through the draft. We are not only losing the picks, we loose a lot of control of whom we are able to pick.

    • Rob Staton

      I have two thoughts in reponse here:

      1. “consistent blitzes” just hasn’t been a part of Carroll’s Seattle. They do blitz, like all teams. But this scheme is not a blitzing scheme. It’s a ‘do your job’ scheme based on discipline and responsibility. This is why they have to do more to fix the D-line otherwise their moves at linebacker and safety will be seriously undermined.

      2. My biggest concern for the future is how they find their next left tackle with no first round pick until 2023. They don’t have the trade ammunition to target a veteran or the draft stock to get a good one for over two years. So unless Duane Brown can stay healthy and play for another 3-4 years… I have no idea what they intend to do there. Because ‘really good left tackles’ don’t tend to hit the market. It makes it all the more surprising they didn’t draft one to develop this year.

      • McZ

        Okay, “consistent” may be over the top. Let’s agree on “slighly more than sporadic”.
        https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/defense-101-understanding-how-the-seahawks-play/

        “Our strong safety is one who, more often than not, when we play our three deep, he is the one that’s down (near the line). So we blitz him some … he takes the flat, he plays the tight end man-to-man a lot.”

        They had ample reason, opportunity and firepower for picking a LT in the 2020 draft, and something tells me, Isaiah Wilson, Ezra Cleveland and Lucas Niang will make their respective teams very happy.

        Plus, 2021 will be okay at OT, too. But without a season, or with only a shortened and geographically isolated season, it will be a crapshoot.

        You just don’t want to go into a crapshoot fest without being able to maneuver.

        • Rob Staton

          But I think that quote sums it up. The strong safety blitzes some among a variety of roles. That’s the case in all schemes. It’s not that the Seahawks never blitz. It’s just not very likely that they will blitz more consistently. They’ve always been a conservative ‘do your job’ defense that doesn’t catch anyone off guard. Execution is the key. That will always be the case under Carroll. He sticks to his way of doing things religiously.

          I was surprised they didn’t take any offensive tackle. Even if it was taking a shot on Saadiq Charles in round three. They’ve now left themselves with a major forthcoming dilemma when Duane Brown retires — without the stock to do much about it.

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