Instant reaction: Seahawks take Penny, 49ers spoil trade?

There’s lots to get into so here we go…

Did the 49ers spoil Seattle’s trade plans?

A year ago Tony Pauline correctly forecast a first round trade between Seattle and Atlanta. This year he predicted the Seahawks would deal with Cleveland.

The package? The Browns trade up to #18 to get a left tackle. With Joe Thomas retiring it was a big need. The two obvious targets were Mike McGlinchey and Kolton Miller.

Seattle was reportedly set to receive #33 and #35 as part of the deal. An ideal, dream scenario for a team missing second and third round picks.

Then the San Francisco 49ers said… ‘not so fast‘.

The Niners snatched McGlinchey off the board at #9. With Joe Staley turning 34 in August, it’s an understandable move. San Francisco needs to protect Jimmy Garoppolo. Good offensive tackles are an endangered species. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan probably don’t plan on picking in the top-10 again any time soon. So they invested in their quarterback for the long term for the second time during this off-season.

In the process, they possibly scuppered Seattle’s plan.

Oakland immediately traded down from #10 once McGlinchey left the board. We paired the Raiders with the Notre Dame tackle in our ‘final’ mock draft. Oakland dropped down five spots and took Kolton Miller off the board.

Trade plans with Cleveland, over.

Had the Niners taken Tremaine Edmunds instead as many predicted, the Raiders probably take McGlinchey. It’s possible, in that scenario, Miller falls to #18 and the trade is consummated.

Instead the Seahawks had to look elsewhere. And you can tell they were looking elsewhere. Green Bay had only just moved down from #14 to #27, trading with the Saints. It’s hard to imagine this was all part of some long term plan pre-draft.

John Schneider relied on an old friend to get the move down he was looking for.

To go from #18 to #27 the Seahawks got a fair deal according to this trade chart:

#18 = 900 points

#27 = 680
#76 = 210
#186 = 16.6
Total = 906.6

It wasn’t #33 and #35 as speculated but it still helped the Seahawks pick twice in a more favourable range.

Seahawks make a statement — ‘we want to fix the run’

They did it again. Despite all the talk about Isaiah Oliver, Austin Corbett, the pass rush and anything else you want to throw in. They did exactly what they said they would do.

Try to fix the run.

That was the priority. This is a running team. They’ve not had their identity for two years now purely because they can’t run the ball. By taking Rashaad Penny with the #27 pick, they made a statement.

You might not think running the ball is important. The Seahawks disagree.

Every draft is a learning experience and with this one I should’ve stuck to my guns. We spent months talking about fixing the run. And then in the last couple of weeks we’ve mocked Christian Kirk and Isaiah Oliver to Seattle with their first pick.

That’s today’s lesson. They haven’t taken a cornerback early and unless they trade Earl Thomas in the next 24 hours, that will remain the case for another year. I even wrote a piece stating explicitly they wouldn’t take a corner early. Why didn’t I heed my own advice? They didn’t take a receiver first. They took a runner. As we thought they would for weeks. Until I flipped at the end.

So what do we know about Penny?

He’s a player we consistently ranked in our top-50 during the process. He was one of the first running backs we talked about on the blog during the season. And after the combine we noted his name as a possible physical fit based on Seattle’s drafting trend at the position.

Here’s what Bob McGinn’s sources had to say about Penny after projecting him to go in round two:

Played second fiddle to prolific Donnel Pumphrey for three seasons before exploding for 2,248 yards as a senior. “That little kid there last year (Pumphrey) ran for a billion yards and now he’s run for a bunch,” said one scout. “That system there is tremendous. Good size and straight-line burst. I don’t think he has good feel or a lot of niftiness.” Impressed in the Senior Bowl. Tremendous kickoff returner. “Runs primarily out of an I backfield but when he runs the spread option he’s got feet, got acceleration,” a second scout said. “Great hands. Makes guys miss. Got great contact balance.” Finished with 487 carries for 3,643 yards (7.5) and 38 TDs along with 42 receptions for 479 yards. “He runs high,” a third scout said. “I don’t like his pad level. He’s strong and he’s very fast.” From Norwalk, Calif.

He’s a solid second round running back taken at #27.

So what do we make of that?

It’ll surprise many just because his second name isn’t ‘Chubb’, ‘Jones II’, ‘Johnson’, ‘Guice’ or ‘Michel’. Yet the Seahawks had their pick of the bunch and took their guy. Had they taken Nick Chubb or Ronald Jones II, most would’ve applauded the move (unless your part of the anti-run movement). They clearly think Penny is a better option. So give them the benefit of the doubt and let’s see how he gets on.

Ideally they would’ve been able to move down a few more spots and take Penny. Clearly that deal wasn’t available.

Earlier today I called for the Seahawks to try to fix the run. For that reason, I think this was a positive move.

You’ve also got to love this reaction:

When do they next pick?

Unless they trade Earl Thomas, they’ll next be on the clock at pick #76 (Green Bay’s third round pick).

Today’s big winner?

Tampa Bay. They were able to get one of the best 5-6 players in the draft after trading down. Vita Vea is an exceptional player with Haloti Ngata potential. The Buccs’ D-line now consists of Vea, Gerald McCoy, Jason Pierre-Paul and Vinny Curry.

Not only did they get one of the best players in the class at #12, they also acquired two valuable second round picks from Buffalo in the process. Kudos to the Buccs. This was a fantastic move.

Head scratching move?

The Saints traded up to #14 from #27 to select Marcus Davenport. He’s a terrific prospect with major upside. He’s also incredibly raw. The move cost New Orleans their 2019 pick. It’s a bit of a gamble. The Saints are going all-in with Drew Brees and are not planning ahead at quarterback. Lamar Jackson would’ve been there at #27.

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560 Comments

  1. Ishmael

    Might have got a bit sucked in listening to Pauline/McGinn type insiders rather than sticking to your guns, but you’ve still provided another incredible year of draft coverage – wouldn’t beat yourself up over it.

    Still feels like a bit of a funny first round to me. Not a lot of team-player matches where I’m like damnnnn. Obvious exception of the Giants – Barkley, Beckham, Engram is wild.

    Darold will give the Jets dull competence. Mayfield will at least fire the Browns up. Rosen will be chippy and an interesting figure in the league, but he’s not scary. Allen is going to be the next Hackenburg.

    • Elmer

      Will be interested to see what happens with QB’s on day two. Will teams like the Patriots and Saints draft Rudolph, Lauletta, Falk? We know that sometimes it works out that the best NFL QB’s are not drafted on day 1.

      Allen being the next Hackenburg seems a bit harsh. Maybe the next Jay Curler.

  2. Sean-O

    It will be really interesting to see what happens (or doesn’t) tomorrow. Hard to believe that SEA will have just the one pick.

  3. Pedestrian

    For the second year in a row the niners mess our plans up… I’m really envious of the trade Green Bay had with the saints. Wow, what a haul for them and they got the guy they wanted… Penny seems like a reach in a big way. I like the guy, but thought he would go late second at the earliest.

    Just my opinion, but would rather us stick at #18 and take Wynn. Feels like our rivals got a lot better than we did today. But I’ll try to remain optimistic about Penny

  4. peter

    please shaquem griffin. please.

    • Mr. Offseason

      With an early 3rd round pick, they can get him if they want him. I’m sort of rooting for them to take Luke Falk as well. That would have to be with the third round pick as well, most likely.

      • Drew

        I could see the Pats trying to pick up Falk

  5. Ishmael

    V12, you were asking about Miller’s tweets? Looks like it wasn’t actually him, some fake account

    https://twitter.com/M_G0NZ/status/989696825975164929/photo/1

    • Volume12

      Thanks man

  6. Coleslaw

    I think GB is the real winner, they got a 1st round pick basically for trading down 4 spots. 2 first rounders next year. They have the ammo to build a real team around Rodgers finally. And they replaced Damarious Randall.

  7. Kenny Sloth

    Penny is the athletic power back they wanted.

    He has some upside, but I think he needs a Mike Rob to be his eyes.

    • Nick

      FB looks like a pick they will make. Penny lived in the i-formation.

    • peter

      Since I want the pick it won’t happen but jaylen samuels for me moving forward

    • C-Dog

      I definitely think they are going for a FB at this point now.

    • Morgan

      They spent some time with Khalid Hill. I think Samuels is more versatile but I wouldn’t be upset with either.

      • Tecmo Bowl

        A big part of Schotty’s offenses in NYJ was FB run blocking extrodiaire Tony Richardson. Jalston Fowler might be the guy. Hill or Bawden(Penny’s FB) would be good options. For as versatile as Samuels is I don’t think he’s a stud run blocker.

  8. Darth12er

    I was surprised. First that they actually picked, and second that they took Penny. After really reading up on him, I’m totally fine with the pick. PFF has him as RB2, and his production is insane. I would have liked to see 1 more day 2 pick out of it, but they got their guy, so can’t really complain.

  9. Misfit74

    Well stated. I’m very happy we addressed the running game and addressed it with one of the top RBs. If Penny can fix his pass protection issues (like most every rookie back must), he can be a workhorse with chunk play ability. He has many gears. I think he can catch. I’m excited for this pick even if I had him rated below some of the others at the position. Go Hawks!

  10. John_s

    These are awesome

    http://twitter.com/PaulGAllen/status/989714799633223680

    • KD

      I love listening to those

    • DavidinBellingham

      Paul Allen’s Twitter shows how cool a guy he is, helping find WW2 sunk vessels, promoting music events, the Stratolaucher…

  11. dunderhead9

    It makes sense. Chubb and Michel are injuries waiting to happen. Guice is a wierdo, Rojo is cute but not an every down back. Penny is the obvious second best back in this draft. Maybe the best, he breaks more tackles and runs between the tackles better than Saquen. I am surprised Rob did not talk more about Penny?
    And the NFL is racist as hell, Lamar Jackson taken 25 picks after all those guys? Seriously, Rosen is a spoiled rich kid who sat on the bench when he had his feeling hurt? Josh Allen is a big arm and a tiny brain. Sam Darnold is an interception machine. Mayfield at least plays with some passion, in between his 7th grade antics. I hope Lamar schools the NFL and their racist old white guy owners who think a white statue with an attitude is better than a Heisman trophy winner.

    • Ishmael

      Cha-ching. With you on all this.

      Still not totally sure about Penney, but I’m sure I’ll come around on him once I’ve watched a bit more. Not surprised he wasn’t talked about though, the Hawks have always taken guys from big boy programs early. Reckon they couldn’t get a trade and wanted him badly enough that they just went stuff it

      • Chris

        My prediction – mark the date and time – is that Penny’s preseason leaves Seahawks fans climbing the chandeliers and chewing the furniture. I think his rookie season will be better than okay, with the promise of more to come, but what he’ll do in those 4 August games will leave everyone drooling.

        • Mark Souza

          It didn’t really occur to me until this morning how smart Georgia was using a two back system. Both are top tier talents who carry damage with them, Michel a bone-on-bone condition in his knee, Chubb a shredded knee in his recent past. What better way to let both shine while reducing the physical stress on both by sharing RB duties?

    • Smitty1547

      Was the NFL racist when it to Jamarcus Russell, Michael Vick, or Winston #1, or is this a new thing? QB evaluations are definitely not an exact science.

  12. Coleslaw

    https://twitter.com/YahooDrSaturday/status/989702609979281408
    LOL

  13. KD

    A surprising pick to be sure, but I don’t see what there is to not like about Penny. Great size, speed, explosiveness, vision, production, and the list goes on. I saw a lot of boards that had Penny ranked as low as a 5th round prospect which I felt was absolute bollocks, but mid 2nd to 3rd round is a reasonable range that most analysts put him at. If the rumors about Cleveland targeting Penny early in round 2 are to be believed, then i absolutely see the logic in not trading back again.

    I may have preferred Nick Chubb, but I’m just a dopey fan on the internet. If Pete and the coaching staff are going to put their faith in Penny, I can absolutely see why judging from his tape, and I’m pleasantly surprised by this pick.

    Rashaad Penny is a baller. happy he’s a Seahawk

    • Mark Souza

      I don’t know that it was logic or more a case of not being able to find a partner to trade back with. I think if they could have traded back again and picked up another pick or two, they would have. Wanting it doesn’t make it so, you need a willing partner and no one was calling.

      • LLLOGOSSS

        I think this is partially true: if they could trade back and still get their guy, they would have. They had offers, but not an offer that would’ve kept them within range of Penny. They said they were prepared to take him at 18, so that’s all you need to know.

  14. Madmark

    All I know I’m pretty sure now that I don’t have to worry about Ballage

    • MyChestIsBeastMode

      Time will tell on that. If Ballage makes it to the 5th, I wouldn’t be overly surprised (as if anything the Seahawks do could surprise me at this point). Carson, Penny, Ballage battling for #’s 1 & 2 on the depth chart would be fun to watch.

      Outside of that hypothetical, obviously I hope the competition with the current group is fierce, but that one of those guys grab the lead spot by the horns and never let go. Get back to a 50-50 run/pass offense.

      • Chris

        I would LOVE to see this, and the Hawks have 5th-rounders to burn. I hope it happens, Ballage is a knife-fighter of a running back.

        • DCD2

          Ya, I’m not against taking a shot with Ballage. I just didn’t want us to take him in the 2nd or 3rd… Crazy to think the Hawks might buck the board, I know 🙂

          I would be surprised if we spend more draft capital on RB at this point though, unless it’s a FB.

          • peter

            Ballage in the fifth? I’ll take it. I’ve got zero faith in prosise as a player who wants to play. And if you are not going to play what’s your value to the team if they want to use you in situations but you’re riding the pine?

        • D-OZ

          They don’t have any picks to burn…:)

    • Hawltalker#1

      +1

  15. Volume12

    This is why. Look into a kids soul and it should tell ya everything. Passion man. Aka love for the game. Size, production, fits a ZBS, STs contributor

    https://mobile.twitter.com/realtimwilliams/status/989714038157262848/video/1

    • Volume12

      Maybe he needs a FB. Seattle has been attached to how many during this draft process? Foreshadowing?

      • peter

        I’m okay using a fullback. It’s time. The best eyes in the draft to me the way he sets blocks is Ryan nall.

        and dude will play anywhere. Let him be the fullback and run some freaking power scheme blocks time to time and it could get ugly for some teams trying to stop penny.

        • Volume12

          Pete said they’re gonna run outta the I. Gotta think a FB is coming from somewhere

          • Thomas Wells

            I would love to see an old school FB but I’d love to Saba a roster spot with a TE that can also line up at FB and lead block. I really like Dissly for that role

            • Thomas Wells

              *save a roster spot…derp

            • peter

              Jayle n Samuels is your guy. To block, run, catch.

      • Darth12er

        Swoopes anyone??

    • C-Dog

      Beautiful. This is why I love the draft so flipping much.

    • Troy

      cool video Vol

  16. Producehawk

    After doing a bit of research I am happy with the pick. Guy looks fantastic.

  17. Kenny Sloth

    SPOT RB AND ST SAYS PETE

    • Volume12

      Ease him in. They seem high on Carson as they should be.

      • peter

        Why? I really like Carson but he should be the change of pace.

        • Volume12

          And it’s possible he could end up as that. Unless Carson gets banned up again or Penny is just clearly superior through TC and the pre-season bring him along slowly until he gets right.

          • Kenny Sloth

            Gonna be slow goings.

            SDSU’s QB Ran.For.His.Life.gif every time Penny was supposed to block.

            How’s that for a draft clue

            • peter

              Dude you should stop bringing this up. It’s gonna give you night terrors. He was legit bad. But hopefully Seattle gets a te and a fullback and Carson and some of the dirty work is taken care of.

            • Volume12

              Shots fired. 😉

              • Kenny Sloth

                I’m just mad at how much sense it makes and how it’s like they looked in my heart and picked one of the guys I was the least comfortable with to start day 1

                • Volume12

                  I think had Seattle not missed on some key picks the least few years their RB board woulda been way different. Maybe,maybe not. Just a hunch.

                • peter

                  Dude I prayed on a wilson/irvin/Wagner mandala back when and I was on top of the world……

                  and every year my picks get farther and farther away.

                  I’m almost sad I picked shaquem. Because it’s going to be ballage in the third and it’s going to be my fault!!

                  • SheHawk

                    He’s all football. His character puts him on a short list = we want Griffin the real question is will buffalo take him???. Hope they used all their middle picks moving up for QB

                  • neil

                    I am sorry but I just cannot see the enjoyment in never being able to predict a Seahawk pick.

          • peter

            I get The slowly thing but on a practical note it’s basically carson…..coming back from a very real injury and penny. You cant hold him back much in that situation. I almost imagine even splits for different reasons for both of them

            • Volume12

              Carson isn’t a 25 carry guy anyways so Penny will get plenty of looks and opportunities I just think it’s likely that it’ll be more 60/40 before 50/50.

    • Volume12

      Kenny and Sea Mode Old but slow nailed the 1st draft clue. As the old saying goes ‘In for a penny, in for a pound’ as the monkey risked it to steal that hubcap

      • Kenny Sloth

        ….. I’m a Bears fan, f*** Pete

    • Kenny Sloth

      Wish I would’ve watched more interviews than his nervous presser predraft. He is definitely all football. Good set of moves and loves to be physical.

      BUT he doesn’t switch hands, not especially creative at the second level

      He is absolutely one of the worst blockers in this draft at RB.

      Very fluid mover. Changes gear at an elite level. NFL bloodlines. Very young. Good attitude big smile.

      • STTBM

        Largent said blocking is 90% effort. It can be taught. He will learn, because they will teach him you don’t get to carry the ball unless you pass pro like a boss:

  18. Misfit74

    For what it’s worth, Profootballfocus had Penny as their 2nd-rated RB and 29th overall prospect. Breaks down the deal and player pretty well – and it’s very encouraging:

    https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/draft-seahawks-select-rashaad-penny-27th-overall

    • DCD2

      Great Gatsby! These guys like Mo Hurst even more than I do! They have him at #3 in the entire draft :0

      https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/draft-top-50-remaining-prospects-for-the-2018-nfl-draft-live-updates

      Good thing I didn’t find this earlier. I would have been touting his PFF grade as yet another reason to take him.

      It does trouble me that they have Harold Landry ranked at #12 as well.

      • Mark Souza

        “There has been a trade. The Dallas Cowboys have traded pick #50 to the Seattle Seahawks for Earl Thomas, and the Seahawks select, Maurice Hurst, defensive tackle from Michigan.” How nice would that be to hear?

  19. Perrin

    Don’t think the 18 for 33/35 scenario was realistic. On the draft value chart, that’s 900 points for 1130 points. That 230 point difference is a high 3rd rounder.

    • Hawltalker#1

      Come on, it was the Browns.

    • Beanhawk

      Yeah, my guess is someone heard that the trade was for two seconds from the Browns and just grabbed the first two seconds that the Browns had. Given the relatively low return on trades throughout the night, it would have been a shocking overpay by the Browns.

  20. Forty20

    If I just heard properly Schneider just said someone called them after they had selected Penny (but before it was announced) asking to trade up for him.

    • DCD2

      Heard that too. He also said they were going to take him at #18.

      • Volume12

        God the internet would be melted down had that happened. Some of them days need to take their own advice and not just tweet into a void.

        We heard for weeks how the talent was all the same from a certain point on. That’s why IS said his board was smaller than usual

        • Volume12

          * dudes and JS

      • peter

        I like the pick so I’m making jokes here but maybe is should have picked him last year since they were so high on.

        God.

        I love I’d work but he’s insufferable post draft

        • peter

          What the f kindle!

          Seriously though I’d taken johns words with a grain of salt

          • Volume12

            Kindle is the worst. Does it to me on the daily. If I had the money right now for a new one Is throw this rain thing against the wall

            • Volume12

              See what I mean?!? Rain? The f*** is that trash? Was supposed to be damn

              • peter

                To be fair I’m always homesick for Seattle and ballage is always Ballard so that’s not the worst….dear Jeff bezos, fix yo sh…!

                • Mark Souza

                  Commetator: “And with the first pick in the Personal Tablet Draft, Peter selects, the MicroSoft Surface Pro.”

                  Analyst: “Seems like the obvious choice.”

                  Commentator: “What do you think that means for the old Kindle?”

                  Analyst: “Whew, it looked like a great deal when he first picked the Kindle, but he hasn’t been happy with it lately. I’m pretty sure its days are numbered.”

                  • peter

                    pen and paper dude. pen and paper. I’m going to start snail mailing in my comments to Rob and have him type them in for me.

                    Or an old telegraph…just dots and lines….

    • peter

      Js should get a cardboard cut out of himself and a tape recording saying this after every draft.

  21. Patrick Toler

    It’s always a bit disconcerting when the team’s evaluation is so different than your own. It’s a good thing I have much more faith in their abilities to grade these guys than my own.

    I’m lukewarm with Penny compared to Jones II and Chubb, but he very has a chance to be a good back. I’ll look forward to going back and watching a bunch of his games again.

    • Mark Souza

      I think Jones II and Chubb can be special backs in the right situation. They need to be behind dominant lines, for different reasons. Jones II because of his size, or more accurately, lack of size. A very good line will reduce the beating he’s going to take, and he’ll last longer.

      Chubb needs a dominant line so he can get rolling. He’s a powerful back, and that’s the strength of his game. He’s not very elusive in tight spaces, and in Seattle, that’s all he’s get. He would have been frequently met in the backfield before he could get up a head of steam, would have had trouble finding the small seams and cracks our line would provide, and doesn’t have the wiggle to make people miss in those tight spaces. Once Chubb breaks the line and is into the secondary, Katy bar the door. But with the Seattle line, that wouldn’t happen much.

      My perfect match for Chubb would be the Titans with that line. What a one-two punch. That line moves D-lines backward off the ball. Follow that up with a battering ram like Chubb. I’m hoping the Seattle line can get there one day, but it’s going to take time. In Tennessee, Chubb would be a highlight reel. In Seattle he would have been a disappointment, and it wouldn’t have been his fault. It would have just been a bad match.

  22. Misfit74

    Has anyone figured out the draft clues and how they relate to the Penny pick (or a RB pick)?

  23. Troy

    BIG NEWS (if you believe JS), he said that after taking Penny, he got his first ever call from a team that wanted to offer a trade for Penny! So at least one other team really liked him…wonder who. I doubt he would lie about that but makes you think

    • vrtkolman

      Really starting to love this pick. Him and Carson is going to be a nightmare for defenses.

    • C-Dog

      I doubt he was lying about that.

    • AlaskaHawk

      They always say that some other team was going to take him after a controversial first round pick. Its general managers covering each others assets. Even if you believed there was a conversation it could have been a joke.

  24. John_s

    Schneider just said that after picking Penny, a team called trying to acquire Penny from the Seahawks (Browns maybe?)

    • Chris

      That’s crazy! Too cool. The more I see tape and evaluations, the more I like him. Never wantedGuice. He’s a headcase. Penny just seems like a good dude, super high character. Well spoken. Big time gamer. Doesn’t bother me he came from a small school. Tore up the senior bowl and Stanford. Of course I wanted to trade back, but it seems they got their guy. Can’t argue with that. Let’s go!

      • FresnoHawk

        They say 2,000 yards is never a mistake

        • Volume12

          And 29 TDS along with 46 red and a couple STs teeders too.

          • Volume12

            * I’m about to break this thing. 46 receptions

            • JimQ

              Penney had a great 2017 season, 2248-yds rushing, 135-yds receiving & 571-yds in returns.
              That totals 2954-yds, an average of 227-yds a game. His career 81 for 2449-yds in KO returns
              with an average of 30.2-yds per return is #4 in the NCAA since 1976 (42-years)
              Among other accomplishments…..

            • DCD2

              Hate it when I’m driving over the pass and lose cell red and a couple STs teeder.

              • SheHawk

                Here you drove to Boise yesterday and had lots of areas all we could get was radio. Boise state folks thrilled about LVE going to cowboys

          • JimQ

            A “couple of ST – TD’s” indeed. Penney’s 7 KO return TD’s is #1 in NCAA, since 1976 (42-years)
            Reference: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/rashaad-penny-1.html

  25. LouieLouie

    The pick makes perfect sense. They could choose almost any back in the draft, and they choose Penny. Obviously they liked him a lot. They’ve done OK with 7th round / UDFA running backs like Carson and Ralls, but maybe they can cement the position for a few years with Penny. Maybe they’re just being Penny wise and pound foolish.

    • Hawltalker#1

      On the other hand, in for a Penny in for a pound.

  26. Kenny Sloth

    1.58 ten yard split shows on film

    • Misfit74

      Saquon’s was 1.54 I believe. 1.58 is great burst.

  27. FresnoHawk

    If he does what he did in college in the NFL he’s a great pick, folks said he wouldn’t do it in the NFL for some reason I got sidetracked and devalued him. I trust Pete & John next season Penny will blow it up.

  28. Millhouse-serbia

    What do you think, did JS try to go back once.again? I didn’t.sleep.at all.and.now.i.am going.to.work.

    Go Hawks!

    • Kenny Sloth

      True fan. See you tomorrow

      • Millhouse-serbia

        For me , it is tonight. 😀

    • Volume12

      They probably could’ve drafted him sometime in the 2nd but if no one calls, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

      • LLLOGOSSS

        Apparently not. Reputedly he was CLE’s target at #33, and another team called and asked to trade for him even AFTER we drafted him.

  29. Coleslaw

    27. Rashaad Penny RB
    76. Shaquem Griffin LB
    120. Braden Smith OG
    141. Michael Gallup WR
    146. Tony Brown CB
    156. Leon Jacobs LB
    168. Will Dissly TE
    226. Ryan Nall FB

    • Coleslaw

      Running game: Penny, Smith, Nall, Dissly
      Air Coryell: Michael Gallup, Dissly
      Defensive talent: Griffin, Brown, Jacobs

    • peter

      That’ll do coleslaw, that’ll do.

      For real I’d love them to round out the draft like that.! Love Braden Smith and flukers a one year rental. Griffin is obvious. Brown makes too much sense so that’ll be sweat when he skydives to the ground without a parachute. Jacobs, yes sir. Dissly…I’m into it. though i think Thomas may fall to about there or maybe gallups spot.

      Nall. Yes please. for the doubters watch the way he slows down his blockers and lines them up for runs its a thing of beauty.

      • McZ

        Braden Smith is a player that can turn this OL around.
        Come to the impression, the will take St. Brown instead.

        • peter

          i love, love, love st. brown

    • Jason

      Missing a 5th?

    • DC

      You nailed the first one! 😉

    • Drew

      Love Quem, but I think 76 is a bit rich. Early 4th is where I’d take him.

      • SheHawk

        He’s getting picked today by some team or wouldn’t be in Dallas. Hope it’s hawks!

  30. Chris

    Months ago, in my first – and only! – comment on this blog, I mentioned being fixated on Rashaad Penny. Link: https://seahawksdraftblog.com/breaking-down-lance-zierleins-mock-draft-2#comment-359462

    Seriously, y’all, how far over the moon do you think I am right now?

    • Volume12

      Awesome man. Always stoked when fans get their guy.

    • DC

      👏🏼
      Good call on Penny. Honor is due!

      • Chris

        My poor wife got treated to the full Trimphant Butt Dance when the pick was announced. Honor her for not divorcing me on the spot.

    • D-OZ

      In December I stated: I may be going out on a limb here but to me Penny is the 2nd best back in this draft. Boy the neg. feedback I got over that. Penny has always been my guy for the Hawks…
      Ballage will not be selected by the Hawks. He was always a Smokescreen.

  31. jdk

    Still the binary ‘if you think drafting a rb in the first round is a huge mistake, then you are anti-run’. The ability to run the ball effectively is hugely important. Some of us just happen to believe that you fix the run game schematically, not with high draft picks. I hope Penny is everything you all wish for because Wilson needs the help. But there was a nearly 1000 yard rusher on the team in training camp last year. Sesttle’s inability to run the ball well the last two years wasn’t on the talent at RB but on the the coaching talent. Let us hope the new guys are better.

    • Rob Staton

      Can you show me where anyone has connected ‘if you think drafting a rb in the first round is a huge mistake, then you are anti-run’?

      I personally don’t think that.

      There are prominent members of ‘Seahawks Twitter’ that are anti-run. There are others who don’t believe in drafting a running back in round one.

      I disagree with both stances but the two are not being confused as one entity.

      • LLLOGOSSS

        Not that you’re wrong — they aren’t mutually exclusive stances — but Danny O’Neil just penned an article arguing that a RB should never be drafted in the 1st round. In the article he supports (unconvincingly) the argument by claiming statistics show that the running game is a much lesser determinant for winning than the passing game.

        • Rob Staton

          All that showed was Danny’s unfortunate timing in misguidedly opting to side with the anti running back early crew.

          Whatever we think of the pick, we should all take solace in how much it will irritate that bunch.

          • STTBM

            Nice!

          • STTBM

            Nice! Cracks me up Rob!

        • jdk

          I am not sure how he could have failed to be convincing. Passing efficiency is undeniably more correlated with winning than any other factor. It is really difficult to find any non-anecdotal evidence that the running game contributes to winning in any substantive way.

          However, I believe there is nuance here that neither side of the debate is really capturing. I believe there is a symbiotic link between running and passing and that if a team cannot rush well, its passing efficiency will suffer, which is exactly what we saw last season in Seattle. Wilson was a legitimate MVP candidate until the wheels came off precisely because the offense couldn’t do a damn thing without him. Despite his heroics, his efficiency was at the lowest of his career. Why? I think it is a fairly easy deduction that the complete lack of run game crippled the passing offense.

          Over at FG, Ben Baldwin authored an article that ranked QBs and he factored in OL and receiving options as criteria for his rankings but refused to consider the effect of the run game, because there is no statistical evidence that the run game contributes to the passing game. I believe this is a mistake but the problem is the statistical smoking gun doesn’t seem to exist.

          • Mark Souza

            What a good run game gives you – these are the things that don’t show up on stat sheets, but do show up as wins.

            A good run game helps you control time of possession. You keep the ball out of your opponents hands and they can’t score without the ball. And it keeps your defense off the field and fresh when they do come in. If you want proof of what this looks like, rewatch the Hawks-Titans game and see what happens when the the D is on the field all day because the offense can’t hold the ball.

            A good run game means a defense has to expend more resources at the line to stop it. It leaves them more vulnerable to the pass, a situation made worse with play action when the defense charges forward because it has to honor the run, only to find themselves woefully out of position when they realize it’s actually a pass.

            A good run game means you can’t sell out on pass rush, so on first and second down, the QB gets more time.

            Those were all the things we were missing last year. It’s one of the reasons our defensive ranking dropped and so many of our defenders got hurt – they were on the field all day because the offense couldn’t hold the ball. It’s the biggest reason we were 9-7 and out of the playoffs.

            A good run game not only improves your offense, it improves your defense.

            • Mark D Miller

              All great points and I FWIW concur.

              Also to consider (which has been addressed hopefully) is we lost 2 games almost certainly that we should have won and been tied in a third to extra time if we hadn’t gone cheap on a Kicker.

              11-5 and possibly 12-4 for lack of competence in kicking the ball through the uprights.

              I’ll never forget that personally. For all the other faults and injuries we had last year we should have been 11-5, and possibly 12-4 and feeling much different about this offseason.

            • jdk

              Preaching to the choir. Did you not see that I said:

              “I believe there is a symbiotic link between running and passing and that if a team cannot rush well, its passing efficiency will suffer, which is exactly what we saw last season in Seattle.”

              All of the benefits you mention about an effective run game are equally true about the pass game. At the end of the day, getting first downs is what keeps the offense on the field and the defense off.

              If a good run game showed up as wins, then wins and effective running would be correlated, but the truth is that passing efficiency and defense are more highly correlated with wins than running.

              Advising someone to watch one game and draw a conclusion would fall under the purview of anecdotal evidence and even that one game would simply tell me that Seattle needed to get more first downs, not that they necessarily needed to run to do it.

              A good pass game means that a defense has to expend fewer resources to stop the run. It leaves them more vulnerable to the run, a situation made worse by draw plays and screen passes to RBs that take advantage of overly aggressive pass rushers and deep lying pass defenders.

              I don’t think you read what I wrote. You saw that I said the statistical evidence for the run game correlating to wins is hard to find and you assumed that I didn’t think rushing was important, despite the fact that I devoted the entire middle paragraph outlining why the inability to run the ball last year was so detrimental to Seattle’s season and specifically said it was responsible for Wilson’s lower efficiency.

              “I think it is a fairly easy deduction that the complete lack of run game crippled the passing offense.”

              The passing game is king, but the rushing game plays a crucial supporting role, as you (and I) have taken considerable pain to point out.

              The spiraling debate between the anti-run community and the rushing is important community is really based on two sets of intelligent people who have dug their heels in.

              One set wants to see it quantified and that is an important process. The failure to find the smoking gun has led to some curious analysis. Instead of digging deeper, that side has dismissed the idea that the run has any value, a position that I believe is a massive mistake.

              The other side rightly reasons that if rushing really weren’t important, somebody would have figured it out. Really, really smart coaches continue to run the ball and do it effectively. But they weaken their argument by refusing to respond to the valid points the stats guys throw at them and by continuing to insist that we ‘watch the game’. I know it is exasperating exactly because a quantifiable argument is not available.

              For what it is worth, I believe that there is a strong correlation between effective rushing and team success and that it will eventually be quantified. The analysis is muddied by much statistical noise, but I believe there is a strong signal in there that is as of yet undiscovered.

      • jdk

        “Had they taken Nick Chubb or Ronald Jones II, most would’ve applauded the move (unless your part of the anti-run movement).”

        I read that as ‘most people would have been happy with a different back and those that wouldn’t have been are just anti-run’.

        If that is not how you meant it, then apologies. But that seems to be the overall tone.

        • Rob Staton

          No, that was a reference to anyone displeased with the specific choice of RB they took (those who would’ve preferred one of the bigger names).

  32. Tyler Jorgensen

    We’re going to be so boring.
    I formation? Fullback? Blocking TE.

    Run-first play calling.

    Run-Run-Run-Punt.

    Ugh.

    • Hawltalker#1

      Wow ouch

      • Tyler Jorgensen

        Sorry, I’m pretty bummed. I think we’re in for a rude awakening. There’s a reason teams don’t run I formation much. It isn’t successful. We have small WR’s, and are going to face 10 men in the box frequently when we roll out with dual TE I formation type sets.

        We’re going to be conservative, boring, and playing from behind a lot; this type of offense needs to play from ahead, and we’re going to both struggle to move the ball to get ahead, and we’re going to struggle to stop teams without as strong a defense as in years past, and with a defense that is “simplistic” and a defensive coordinator that isn’t a mid-game adjuster.

        I don’t think our offseason moves have been smart ones, and this is just the latest extension of that.

        • Mark Souza

          How boring was a Super Bowl win? How boring was 2012, 2013, and 2014?

        • David

          Actually agree 100%. The reason why college teams went to the spread is because they had inferior line personnel which rendered the pro-style heavy formation sets useless. The spread allowed them to play with inferior lines and instead of lining up and forcefully jamming it down their opponents throats, they played the space and pace game. The only teams that were successful in running a heavy set pro offense were teams with the best lines in college (Stanford and Wisconsin, etc).

          Last year it was clear what happens when the Seahawks line up heavy and try to submit their will. One of the OL misses his assignment and the play gets blown up in the backfield. It happened over and over and over and over again. A new RB isn’t going to change that.

          • Mark Souza

            Totally agree. The best way to improve your run game is to improve your line. I think they’re hoping Solari does that. But I’m not sure how much of what we’ve been seeing is coaching or personnel. We traded Unger (they though his injury was going to become a chronic thing, like an older car that’s a;lways in the shop – wrong), and we let Sweezy, Carpenter, and Okung walk, and voila, Russell Wilson has been running for his life for two years, and we’ve been 2 years without a running game. Coincidence, not likely.

            Two things led to this. One, the front office chose to invest in an aging defense and saw those stars as the cornerstone of the team, and discounted the value of paying for offensive line. BIG MISTAKE. And second, they were helped in feeling this way by the hubris master, Tom Cable, who probably told them “No big deal, I can coach up replacements in no time.” And here we are, hoping Solari can turn what we have into a functioning NFL line.

            Realizing where we currently are, Penny was the best choice we could have made, considering how bad the blocking will be in front of him – something he’s kind of used to, and considering his skill set to offset that.

            • Rob Staton

              It’s about so much more than merely ‘improving the line’.

              There are a lot of things that go into creating an effective run game. Communication, discipline, execution, personnel, the QB, RB, TE, WR’s. It’s a team effort as much as any other part of the game.

              Too often people just assume it’s always about the line, or more specifically the personnel on the line.

    • Aaron

      Running football is my kind of football. It’s not for everyone, and it’s okay if you feel that way. For me Penny is a guy who comes from a pro style running offense, I-formation, fullback, power man running scheme. He fits perfectly into Solari’s o line philosophy. I’m excited if they continue to double, triple, and quadruple down on this run first mentality. Get me some RBs, blocking TEs, fullbacks, and nasty road graders on the o line. Let’s go!!!

      • Tyler Jorgensen

        Then we should have traded Russell Wilson. There’s zero reason to carry an expensive QB if you’re just going to run the football. Use the savings on the defenders you’re going to need in order to win 16-10 football games.

        • vrtkolman

          Umm what? The Eagles are a run first team. The Falcons two years ago had a historic offense because of two of the top running backs in the league. The Rams offense doesn’t work without Gurley. The Saints went from average to Superbowl contender because they developed a runnig game.

          • Tyler Jorgensen

            The Falcons have Julio and Sanu and Matt Ryan threw for 5000 yards. Pete wants to “establish the run” and we are going to go with the I formation, the return of Ground Chuck. We’re going to lean hard on a predictable boring offense. Instead of utilizing RW and building the offense around him, we’re going the other direction.

            I merely suggest keep going the other direction further.

            • Mark Souza

              That’s his point. Run game and passing aren’t mutually exclusive. A good run game makes your passing game better. The defense can’t sell out on the pass. They have to bring people forward to defend the run, giving more operating room to receivers.

              The D-line can’t tee off rushing the QB and sell out the run – which most teams were doing to us last year because they knew we couldn’t run.

              And if you can run, play action really screws up a defense.

              You watch, if we can run, Wilson will have a great year. And maybe for once won’t be running for his life all the time.

              • Lewis

                This.

            • Michigan 12th

              I don’t think they picked Penny just to run, he is a three down back. He has great hands and decent receiver skills. Give him and the coaching staff a chance. I think you will be surprised at how much they utilize Penny assuming he stays healthy:)

          • jdk

            Not disagreeing with your point about not trading Wilson, but Philly was a balanced attack (passing 54+% of the time) and they were far more efficient passing than rushing (DVOA 5th versus 17th).

            Two years ago the Falcons were a stunningly good offensive team and the running game greatly contributed to that, but they were a passing team that used the run game brilliantly as a complementary force (56% passing, #1 passing DVOA, #6 rushing DVOA).

            The Rams offense doesn’t work without Gurley, but they still passed the ball more than they ran it (53%), were more efficient passing than running (7th versus 9th DVOA) and Gurley was extremely important to their passing game (788 yards, second on the team).

            The Saints went from average to contender when the drafted a defense. They were already a great running team (#3 by DVOA in 2016 when they were 7-9).

            Just clarifying the facts, but I think your point is still well taken. Great offensive teams generally have good to great running games. The problem is that a great running game alone is often coupled with a really poor quarterback, thus creating statistical noise that is hard to parse.

            Great passing games are more robust to poor running games, meaning that a great passing game without a decent running game is more likely to lead to success than a great running game without a decent passing game.

        • Aaron

          Russ works best in an offense that’s play action oriented. He can drop back pass but a healthy running game makes him better. In fact it makes most QBs better, even Brady.

          • Tyler Jorgensen

            And a healthy running game isn’t going to be able to thrive without a healthy passing game. And right now, we’re not at all healthy passing-wise. Lockett might be the worst WR2 in the league, and we have zero proven depth behind him. Teams are going to load up to stop the run and we won’t be able to play action because they’ll be all over us at the line and our lack of pass catching threats is going to kill us.

            • Edgar

              That’s it, I’m taking 2018 off. If we aren’t going to be able to run, because we don’t have anyone to pass to, what’s the point of even investing time to watch?;) prepare to be pleasantly surprised~*~

              • DCD2

                When we trade Earl for #50 and a 4th, we can take Christian Kirk/Anthony Miller and the problem will be less.

                • Tyler Jorgensen

                  Robbing Peter to pay Paul isn’t the answer. We’ll be without Earl. Weaker on defense. Less able to hold leads, less able to keep the other team from scoring. While utilizing an offense and philosophy predicated on having and maintaining a lead.

                  It’s a vicious circle that’s been growing into a larger problem for years. Next year it finally tears wide open.

                  • Rob Staton

                    They gave up plenty of points with earl Thomas last season

        • D-OZ

          What!!! Russ is a pretty good runner in his own rite…

    • Drew

      2012-2013. I Formation, Mike Robinson, Marshawn Lynch, Zach Miller, record offensive output, superbowl win.

      • peter

        nailed it!

      • jdk

        What offensive record did they break either of those years? Also, you really figure Seattle is going back to a strong dose of read-option in 2018?

    • Jim Kelly

      Tyler, you need more whiskey, and less chainsaw.

      Go Hawks.

  33. Volume12

    JS mentioned they had different analytics on Penny that had him as their #1. It was totally the fact he was ranked as #1 in not tackled after 1st contact with their O-line right?

    • Kenny Sloth

      Ever since I heard pff say that….

      • Volume12

        They come up with some wild ish. How the he’ll do you even track some of that stuff?

    • Sea Mode

      and durability grade.

      • Jake

        That’s probably why he was their choice. My only concern is that he was only a one year starter, so of course he hasn’t had a lot of injuries.

  34. McZ

    Solid second rounder, with some saying first, and some say third. Drafted as “their guy”, otherwise they wouldn’t have turned down trade offers.

    He will have a lot to learn in the NFL, not sure can; smells a little bit like the Lacy move last year, where they take a halfway decent back, and then nothing clicks.

    Definitely would have taken one of those SEC guys without a question.

    Anyway, welcome to Seattle, Rashad!

    • Hawltalker#1

      Penny is like Lacey, seriously? Both halfway decent? Lacey never reached that ceiling and Penney will never drop to that floor. The same? Maybe if you drop off a semi full of donuts at Penny’s house and he eats them all in a single sitting . . .

      • McZ

        I don’t compare the players, I compare the stories.

        Now, they have their guy, once again. And most 12s are saying, problem solved. Let’s go, roll from week 1.

        He will need hell of a lot of work and polish. My guts tell me, that he will be up to a slower start, than most here think. He will be more Kamara than Hunt, but that will need half a season. Which is a good thing, but 12s have become impassionate.

        I like this pick.

        • Mark Souza

          I think it’s funny because I was going to compare Chubb to Lacy and why I didn’t think Chubb would be a good fit in Seattle. Both are big bruising backs (yes, Chubb has a lot more top end speed, so if he breaks one, can go all the way – much more explosive than Lacy, but not stronger). Both do well if they get to the line clean with a head of steam, especially if the O-line has the D-line teetering backward. Then they hit the line and if they don’t get a clean hole, their momentum added to the line’s momentum equals 4 or 5 yards. If they clear the line with a head of steam it’s a big run.

          Unfortunately, as Eddie Lacy discovered, that’s not the Seattle O-line. He was frequently met in the backfield before he got going. Often if he got to the line, there’d be a defender in the gap, clean, not being pushed on by our line. The result, negative yards, zero yards, a lot of 1 and 2 yards gains.

          Chubb would have been much better than Lacy, but would have run into the same problems, and it wouldn’t have been his fault. It’s the current reality of our O-line. We need a back who can make people miss in the backfield and make people miss in the hole. There weren’t a lot of those in this draft. Penny was one of them, and of those guys, the biggest and strongest.

        • D-OZ

          Your wrong he is a bright kid. He will be ready to go by season start. He will also have better coaching in the NFL also. GO HAWKS!!!!!

        • Group Captain Mandrake

          Lacey was never “their guy”. He was the best option of what was available.

      • Ocotillo25

        …this is after the helicopter drops off dozens of trays of lasagna

      • McZ

        Just watched his Stanford tape. If he develops a bit, he will be a one man stampede.

        • Logan Lynch

          Glad to see you watched some tape and made your own conclusions based on it. IMO Penny is nothing like the Lacy situation. I hated that one from the start. No lateral quickness or burst whatsoever.

  35. AndrewP

    I think Penny can be ‘our’ Kamara…

    But, who gets the ball on the 1?

    Do they dare double-dip and get Scarborough in the 6th?

    • Hawltalker#1

      At 220 lbs and fast a lightning, why wouldn’t he get it, or even Carson for that matter?

      • Mark Souza

        And we’ll be getting a full back – one more option for 3rd and goal at the one.

    • Eburgz

      i’d like to hope he can be like Hunt.

    • Chris

      One of Penny’s underappreciated skills is the ability to ‘get small’ and squeeze through very tight holes. Watch his tape and you’ll see it more than once. He can find a crease, he can be patient and let a block develop a hole (this is the biggest part of his game), and he can pinball off of defenders in a small space to find the end zone.

      I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what he can do from the 1.

      • DCD2

        He’s definitely got that going for him Chris. He’s also got really great vision. In the Stanford game, there were quite a few times that there didn’t look to be anything there and he picked up nice yardage. He also seems to get the most out of a run. If he can only get 3, that’s what he gets, rather than trying to break outside and lose yardage going for a home run.

        That pass pro though… ooooBoy, that needs some work.

    • JB

      We should always throw the ball from the 1, as no one would suspect us of doing so

  36. DCD2

    Ok, I’ve calmed down a bit. I mentioned how much impact 1st year RB’s can have in the NFL a few weeks ago. If we just landed a Kamara or Hunt then I’m not all that upset that it cost us a 1st rounder instead of a 3rd. Christian McCaffery went #8 overall last year. Dalvin Cook went at #41.

    If our F.O. thinks that Penny is the best RB outside of Saquon, I’ll get on board. From what I saw of Penny, I really liked him.

    This is why we here at SDB have dug deep in preparation though. These plebs with their Twitter’s and top 50 prospect lists will rightfully be crying in their beers. We know better. There are DOZENS of good prospects out there. When I started watching film, I didn’t even focus on anyone who was supposed to go in the first 3 rounds.

    Time to focus on the positives. We got the guy our team thinks is the #2 RB in an exceptionally strong RB class. We have the same number of picks that we started the night with AND our RB. JimQ and Saxon (probably some others) get their guy!

    It wasn’t exactly how I would have drawn it up, but here we are. Let’s get some of those targets we are hoping for. Go Hawks!

  37. Volume12

    Last comment for the night.

    Penny joins Curt Warner and Shaun Alexander as the only RBs taken by the Hawks in round 1. Good company.

    • Volume12

      OK one more.

      Thought it was interesting what Pete said about guys from outside the P5 conferences. If they show out at the SR bowl, level of comp don’t bother them.

      • Sea Mode

        yup. and he did rock the Sr. Bowl.

    • Shadow

      Don’t forget John L. Williams. 15th overall pick in the 1986 draft.

  38. Bob Johnston

    Rob – A few weeks ago we had a good-natured discussion about an early round RB pick by the Hawks. You said it was a definite possibility, I thought it was nuts. You were right and I was wrong. And after watching some tape on Penny I’m actually pretty pleased with the pick. What burst he has! I have no idea how nimble he is because his line opened up gaping holes but he’s definitely got the speed and vision you want to see.

    Go Hawks!

    • DCD2

      Watch Stanford and ASU tape. That SDSU line was getting beat pretty consistently, but he still looked really good. Well, except for the passing plays. His blitz pick up and pass protection is frankly atrocious.

  39. Rad_man

    MEH

  40. C-Dog

    I am so completely good with this Rashaad Penny pick.

    Seattle was arguably the most RB hungry team in the league and they got their guy. Good on them. I’m actually pretty happy they didn’t go with another position, even though, every year I think the first pick should always go DL, or alternatively OL.

    Before today, I would have said Sam Darnold was destined to be the first overall pick, and I had Baker Mayfield going eleventh overall to Miami. Darold, Allen, and Rosen going 1, 2, and 3 overall. To me Darnold was the best prospect, but Cleveland begged to differ.

    From the early points of the offseason, I was convinced Nick Chubb would be Seattle’s preference at RB. I thought alternatively they might really like RoJo2 as a change of pace to Carson, maybe they’d go Penny if they collected a mid R2 pick, and wanted to go another position earlier. Low and behold it was Penny they wanted most.

    Is that really any crazier than Mayfield going first overall to the QB needy Browns?

    Mock Draft Post Day 1; No Earl Thomas trade

    76: R3P12
    DL ANDREW BROWN
    VIRGINIA

    Seattle probably has to look at pass rushers next. Perhaps the best potential one at this point is a raw inside rusher with high character and grit.

    120: R4P20
    CB TONY BROWN
    ALABAMA

    If Shaquem Griffin is off the board, I like them taking Tony Brown here.

    141: R5P4
    EDGE DORANCE ARMSTRONG JR.
    KANSAS

    i think there is some kind of Cassius Marsh about Armstrong. That’s why I think he might last this long.

    146: R5P9
    CB NICK NELSON
    WISCONSIN

    Seattle grabs their Badger

    156: R5P19
    OT COLE MADISON
    WASHINGTON STATE

    Seattle grabs their Coug.

    168: R5P31
    TE WILL DISSLY
    WASHINGTON

    Seattle drabs their Husky.

    186: R6P12
    FB NICK BAWDEN
    SAN DIEGO ST

    Seems to make sense at this point to match Penny with his college lead blocker.

    226: R7P8
    LB MATTHEW THOMAS
    FLORIDA STATE

    Seattle grabs an athletic LB

    No WR or QB taken. The TE taken is primarily a blocker. Seattle fully commits to running the ball

    • Chris

      Someone else above mentioned Ryan Nall as a FB out of OSU in the 6th or 7th round. I like this even more than Bawden. Nall is 6’2″, 237, and was a quality RB on a bad team. How much fun d’you think it would be to see Seattle ditch the ZBS, go straight-up power with Nall leading for Penny, Carson, and maybe even Ballage (be still, my heart!), while still having the option of the early give to Nall in short-yardage situations?

      Seriously, I’d be the happiest 12 on earth if the Hawks would just spend four years as the most face-pounding I-formation run-first team in the league.

      • Ocotillo25

        That’d be great. In a pass-happy league, you’d think defenses would counter by focusing on building smaller, quicker, coverage-based rosters with stronger nickel and dime packages. Maybe this is happening league-wide, I don’t know. But how better to counter THAT by going to back to full smashmouth?

        Ebbs and flows. Be the outlier.

      • peter

        I’m the conductor of the Nall train.

        Nall is a baller. in interviews, he is always saying and doing the right things. OSU used him basically any time they could. He previously was recruited as a TE in HS so he has blocking concepts and would assume he has at least basic passing routes down.

        A total grown up all last year in a brutal season when they lost their coach. Plus like a great FB he offers not just blocking skills but can actually run pretty well with the rock in his hands.

        • C-Dog

          I would be totally happy with Nall. I love seeing a little playmaker at the FB position.

          • Mark Souza

            The dude has 10.5″ hands – should be great as a receiver out of the backfield. 6.95 3-cone, and 4.16 20 yard shuttle so he’s quick too.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onPWdt58lvE

  41. SEAhemoth82

    I didn’t watch any highlight compilations of Rashaad Penny until I watched the highlight video Rob posted with his analysis concerning the Penny selection by the Seahawks. To be honest, I didn’t know much about Penny until I heard Mike Salk pound the proverbial table on how the Seahawks should consider picking him in regards to selecting a running back in the 2018 draft. Penny, to my untrained eye, looks the part of a running back the Seahawks sorely need in regards to patience and vision. He seems like he makes great reads as the blocks of the offensive line unfold, it’s almost Le’Veon Bell-esque, but differing more in footwork, but vision seems similar. Most importantly, for me at least, is that he is durable, his total carries (2017, 289) is borderline ridiculous, and he won’t carry the wear and tear of an SEC running back (or the possible baggage of entitlement). As some have said, Penny was the 2nd best back in this entire draft behind Mr. Barkley. Rob, thank you for your tireless work and passionate analysis, I read your posts every day. Looking forward to your posts rounding out the 2018 draft, cheers!

  42. Josh Emmett

    Interesting! Fun and all of that. Penny seems a little like Leon Washington to me. We will see what he does in the pro’s. I figured they would go trenches early but I was wrong. Wasn’t the popular pick for the second running back taken. Scotty ran multiple backs every other series with the jets when they were winning games and going to conference championship. Makes sense and I wish him the best health wise! The hawks are due for a good string of health in RB room. Can’t wait to see the offense!

    • Dave

      Leon Washington wasn’t 220 lbs

      • Josh Emmett

        He was behind Pumphrey at San Diego state his whole career. Pumphrey isn’t doing much of anything in the league. Small school and weak competition. Not bashing the guy, it’s just a very risky play in my opinion. Besides if he just stays healthy and runs for 700 yards it will an improvement over anything they have had in the last 3 years. Don’t see him as a starter. Compliment back with special teams upside in a time share running back rotation. Any one of the New England RB’s=Penny

  43. 12th chuck

    Wow, was not expecting Penny. It is hard not to feel optimistic after watching his highlight video, one thing I noticed was not too much yac. It was all blowing by people, which could be a good thing. Another thing to think about, he is in the nfl, and will be playing against the best of the best. Does it make more sense to try Procise more at wr now? one thing is almost certain, our special teams just improved, and I hope that is an understatement . Thanks Rob!!

  44. DC

    Next big question for Day 2 is with Earl Thomas. I see 2 potential suitors with the desire for and ammo to acquire ET from us at this point. First is obviously Dallas. The R2 #50 pick would be the centerpiece but there should be another pick involved, R4 #116 at minimum. Next is New England. They have the R2 #43 pick which would have to be involved. They also have R2 #63 & R3 #95 this year in addition to 2 projected R3 comp picks in 2019. They’ve traded one 2019 R3 pick to Cleveland for Danny Shelton. NE’s advantage is that they don’t give a rip about re-signing Earl. They go for a ring and then Earl walks & earns them a comp pick. For Earl it might be the best of both worlds. He gets another legitimate title shot to cement his legacy and then signs with Dallas in 2019 anyways. Another coup for the Patriots.

    • McZ

      Dallas needs a WR more, than another S. Don’t expect them to trade.

    • McZ

      Thinking about that NE trade, it makes more and more sense. Competition will certainly help to push prices.

      Say, #43 and #95.
      Then we could wait, if our R2 target (Kirk?) is available. If not, Rams and Chiefs may inclined to trade up, because of having no R2 picks. Maybe chiefs, #86 + #124?

      This would provide us with another solid R3 and R4 options.

  45. McZ

    Winners:
    – Green Bay (add another hotspot mid round pick, still take your guy)
    – Baltimore (take the best TE, one of the best QB, and still sit pretty with 4 picks in the 75-150 hotspot)
    – Tampa Bay (start with few picks, then trade to have three R2 and five hotspot picks)
    – New England (just pick the best Georgia has to offer, just straight)
    – Seattle (start with nothing for day 2, get your plan A trade crushed, then still get your guy, cash in a third rounder and another late round option, elevate pressure to make Dallas pay for ET)
    – Arizona (take the best QB available at #10)

    Loosers:
    – Oakland (being forced to massively overpay on Kolton Miller)
    – San Francisco (desperation pick)
    – Cleveland (Denzel Ward at #4 is overpaid, the next CB was presumed and did go at #18, that was just lazy)
    – Detroit (massive OL overpay)
    – Cincinnati (ditto, but not nearly as bad due to Billy Price)
    – Minnesota (headscratching decision, a R1 pick for a complimentary guy?)
    – New Orleans (I mean, WTF?)

    Simply nailed it:
    – Los Angeles (took a disruptive orce for their backfield)
    – Dallas (told you so, LVE could only go to one if the Bills)

    • Del tre

      Seattle is a major winner. Penny is going to be great. Love the pick looking back it should have been obvious he fit the profile so well. Even though he struggled against Boise state he still fought on. I mean comparing him to every other SDSU back he blows them out of the water. Should be a fun pairing with Russell. Seems to be an all football guy too.

      • McZ

        Well, Mayock likes it.
        Reuter gives it a D-grade, because he thinks Seattle overpaid for what he and a couple of others deemed to be a third rounder.

        • DCD2

          Odds of Tom Cable developing Kolton Miller in Oakland?

          • Mancunian Dave

            All the analysts bleating about reaching for Penney. There are strong rumours Cleveland were after him, the Pats took an RB after the Hawks in R1. He might not have lasted till later rounds. The Hawks got the guy they wanted, full stop. I like the pick, it’s a clear need so let’s hope he has a great career.

          • McZ

            Haha, didn’t thought about that. He will push him to G, then to C, left, right, then WR, finally he finds a nice place on T, after Cable bites the dust.

            • hawkster

              oops, I should have kept reading

          • hawkster

            First they need to move him to Center

        • Group Captain Mandrake

          There are sites out there that had him rated as the second best back in the draft. If this draft is so deep and he is the second best, I don’t see it as much of an overpay. Particularly since at pick 27, he’s basically a really high second round pick. I guess it all depends on who you want to get information from. Reuters has never really been known for their football analytics.

    • peter

      Hows Detroit an overpay? It’s only an overpay because your bias is with Price which is fine, but no one actually knows if price comes back 100% it’s just an assumption that he will.

      Ragnow was a top 25 pick at the start of the year over blog favorite Price prior to the injury.

      And unlike Price has confirmed he’s well and truly back to 100%

      So the 20th pick for a guy who is credited for not giving up a sack in 41 starts, preseason top 25 pick, TEF machine (number 5 amongst all O-linemen)

      Midwestern dude who is a vocal leader

      Going to a team in the midwest.

      • McZ

        Of the analysts I follow, one had him R2, and the others two R3, lately. Only Martz had him R1. Rob I dunno. Maybe it’s draft fatigue.

        I think, they are currently both a stretch at 20 and 21. Could easily happened 10-15 spots later.

        Especially, with Hernandez and Corbett still on the board, and a lot of talent to call.

        • D-OZ

          Most Analysts are just that. They are not scouts coaches or GM’s. Hell a lot of them probably don’t even self scout, they go off of others information, rumor mill and Mock’s.

  46. All I see is 12s

    To all my fellow loyal Seahawks fans, tonight should only serve as a reminder that the Bay Area is horrible. These are horrible cities with horrible living conditions too expensive and in general just awful. Both of these teams totally screwed us over last night. John Lynch is not a good guy, he is a snake in the grass. This, he has shown us on numerous occasions. While I don’t necessarily blame Reggie McKenzie, for doing the best thing for his team. It still feels like bay area shenanigans. Never ever ever think that the Bay Area teams have anything to do with Seattle and that we are like kindred or anything else. these people are horrible. They deserve every bit of their losing teams and we should laugh at them when they constantly lose. By the way let’s all be prepared to laugh thoroughly not only at the failure of of the Rueben foster pick but the what will soon to be seen as his oft injured career and overhyped nonsense of Jimmy G.
    Phew… I feel better

    • All I see is 12s

      OK, the truth is I’ve had some very good coffee in San Francisco,. Also I’ve had some good beers there. Also I had a great bleu cheese bacon burger there once. It’s not all bad.… However there is still no reason not to hate their football teams with everything that we have. I’ll always get happy knowing that we ruined their championship run in 2013. Did I mention, the bay area sucks

      • McZ

        It was not even THEIR coffee, it was a Starbucks. So, it was OUR coffee.

        • Mark Souza

          Hey. i don’t ascribe anything nefarious to their pick. They had a need for a LT and picked the best one available knowing he would be gone before they picked again. It’s exactly what we did when we picked Penny.

    • H

      Hasnt Foster’s accusser admit she made it up? And he’ll therefore be back on the field next year?

      • All I see is 12s

        Not sure how he gets past the weapons charge

        • peter

          I think fosters got too many problems at this point.

    • vrtkolman

      I mean, if John Lynch wants to screw over Seattle by picking just an average tackle at 9, well then that is ok with me.

  47. H

    Well as usual Im floored by Seattle’s pick. I dont hate it and i always thought RB early was a good choice. Penny just wouldnt have been my choice of the backs.
    They’re all so good i cant really complain, Im just glad it wasnt Guice or Michel.

    What do we reckon for tonight then? Earl trade or no?

    • Sea Mode

      Absolutely, yes on Earl trade.

      See comments above on Jerry’s slip up in presser:

      https://seahawksdraftblog.com/instant-reaction-seahawks-take-penny-49ers-spoil-trade#comment-380701

      • H

        That does sound like there may be a deal.
        Im gonna be really sad to see Earl go, if it happens, but really happy to have this saga done with.
        Pretty annoying as fans if theres been a deal in place but they left it so long.

        • Sea Mode

          I imagine quite annoying for the player and his family as well.

          • FuzzyLogic

            The Earl trade ain’t gonna happen. Mark my words.

  48. Sea Mode

    This seems pertinent to the piece:

    Michael Silver
    @MikeSilver

    Browns LOVED Penny. Would have probably taken him at 33. But now he’s a Seahawk.

    8:07 PM – 26 Apr 2018

    https://twitter.com/MikeSilver/status/989702462599659521

    First thought could be that it is a smokescreen to appease fans who didn’t see the pick coming, but after Schneider revealed in the press conference that a team called him to try and acquire Penny after the pick was announced, the report makes sense.

    • Drew

      He would of been great to pair with Mayfield

      • Simo

        Browns still have their choice of Guice, Jones, Chubb, and Johnson. They’ll be okay!!

    • LLLOGOSSS

      Wow. Okay, so we weren’t the only ones.

      • House

        I also read something that Penny was a potential pick for NE as well. We got THE GUY we wanted… I could give 2 sh*ts less about all these “experts” saying he was a 3rd rd guy…

        • JimQ

          I’ll go on record here, I think Penney is a better all around RB than Barkley. Not that Barkley is a bad player at all, just IMO Penney is just a little bit better. Penney has been my guy for months and I am overjoyed with this pick. That’s my personal opinion, flame on……

          • Thy Hawk is Howling

            Was it you JimQ I had a conversation about Penny earlier this week?
            I attempted to find that post and paste it so people could see, and you or whoever could get due credit for liking Rashaad.

          • JimQ

            I’m on record as the dumb guy that thinks Penney may be a superior RB to Barkley, want some
            reasons? If you “click on the headers” on the below link: Of all RB draft prospects………………..

            Reference: http://www.cfbstats.com/2017/leader/national/player/situational01/category01/sort01.html

            –Attempts: Penney #2 with 289 rushes. (Barkley #31 with 217)
            –Yards: Penney #1 with 2248-yds (Barkley #28 with 1271-yds)
            –Rushing TD’s: Penney #1 with 23-TD’s (Barkley #5 with 18-TD’s)
            –Longest Rush: Penney #1 with a 99-yard gain. (Barkley #2 with 82-yard gain)
            –1-st downs rushing: Penney #3 with 81 (Behind Bradshaw & L. Jackson) (Barkley #50 at 49)
            –10+ yard rushes: Penney #2 with 58, (behind only L. Jackson) (Barkley #49 with 29)
            –20+ yard rushes: Penney #1 with 29. (Barkley is #10 with 14)
            –Total offense in all 2017 games (see link below) Penney is #89 on this last, AFTER 88 QB’s.
            (and, Barkley doesn’t make the top 100 list for total offense).
            Reference: http://www.cfbstats.com/2017/leader/national/player/split01/category10/sort01.html

            + Add in Penney’s KO returns for career: 81/2449-yds/7-TD’s & 2/70-yds/1-TD punt returns.
            on and on, IMO- as a RB he’s a LOT better than given credit for.

  49. CharlieTheUnicorn

    A very under rated move imo

    “Steelers trade WR Martavis Bryant to Raiders for third-round pick”

    A move that look very good so far

    Bucs swiping picks… and getting 2x 2nds and Vea in the process.

    Headscratcher

    Browns taking Mayfield at #1…. could have likely drafted him at #4

    Best Moment

    Ryan Shazier presenting a pick for Steelers.

    • Drew

      The trade to Bryant is too rich. 1 more strike and he’s banned for life from the NFL.

  50. Ulsterman

    Recorded the draft and watched it this morning, expecting seahawks to trade out of 1st round (I live in Belfast so am 8 hours ahead of you on the west coast).
    I thought they’d trade back into the 30s and pick Ronald Jones. If there’s one thing PC and JS have shown it’s that they’re aggressive at correcting a problem area and the running game was a massive problem last year.
    This draft was set up for them to trade back a bit and pick their number 1 running back. All the noise that penny could have been had much later is just that – noise – no-one can possibly know, the indications are the browns loved him and would have taken him within the next few picks.
    I’m happy they addressed their biggest need, with hindsight penny seems perfect.
    Didn’t agree with your last couple of mocks Rob but once again this site has been awesome the last few weeks.
    Can’t wait to see who else they take.

  51. Sea Mode

    So, after further thought, reading the comments here, and watching the press conference, interviews, and tape: why Penny and why in R1?

    If you haven’t watched already, definitely do so to help understand the pick. Agree or not with the decision, at least you will understand the thought process behind it:

    General Manager John Schneider & Head Coach Pete Carroll Draft Day 1 Press Conference
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuqdBt8tevE

    12 of my personal takeaways to help out the 12’s struggling to get behind this pick:

    1. Fixing the run game was always going to be the priority, and they said it was with a RB, not OL.

    2. JS said they would have taken him at 18 if they hadn’t been able to trade down. Said multiple teams walked out on deals and was grateful that GB stuck with it. They managed to fill the voids in R3 and R6. Now only R2 is left, and it’s not hard to imagine they will get something done with Earl to fill that too.

    3. They had multiple offers to move down into R2, but apparently none were worth missing out on Penny, since apparently the Browns were ready to snatch him up at 33. (per Mike Silver)

    3. No excuses. Having decided to pick at 27, they had their choice of this deep RB class not named Saquon, and he was their guy. Why him over the others?

    4. He was one of the only ones that fit their size profile perfectly and didn’t come with any personality question marks or medical flags. With the RB injuries leaving them without a run game for the past two years, the medical/durability grade was going to be a deal breaker.

    5. Over Chubb specifically (my favorite), who is the other perfect fit for the Seahawks.

    a. First, the medical history, even if Chubb has apparently overcome it.

    b. Second, they mentioned Penny has less wear and tear as compared to others. Over 4 years, Penny had 488 carries vs. 758 carries for Chubb. (vs. SEC defenses no less)

    c. Lastly, and perhaps just as important, they mentioned Penny’s ability to run both inside and outside. Now all 3 of Carson, Penny, and Prosise can play on all 3 downs, so you are not tipping your hand by sending any of them out there. PC said that big-play ability on the outside is huge when trying to defend against us.

    d. Pass-catching ability is paramount, as I think was easy to see that the first two off the board after Barkley were perhaps not necessarily the best pure runners, but rather the most complete: the guys who can both run inside, outside, and contribute in the passing game. Can score from anywhere on the field, great hands.

    6. Analytics checked out on him. JS mentioned specifically that he was #1 in both durability grade and run after contact grade.

    7. Return ability was a huge factor and highly increases his value. JS mentioned amazing eyes and outstanding spacial awareness. They are really happy to have someone who can take some of that burden off of Lockett and compete with him for the job.

    8. Level of competition was a concern (and that was a huge reason many, including myself, here on SDB had graded him a bit lower), but was answered by his outstanding performance at the Senior Bowl.

    9. JS mentioned that when they studied Pumphrey last year, Penny jumped off the tape in the opportunities he was given.

    10. He has run in I-formation, zone, and even some shotgun. They feel he will fit right in and at the Senior bowl he showed he is a good learner who knows his game and what he needs to work on.

    11. They were attracted by his humble, down to earth character who knows his game and is ready to come in, work hard, and do whatever they ask of him. Doesn’t come in expecting to be “the guy”, as many early round RBs might. I liked his interviews.

    12. Going back over the combine numbers, he is not only explosive, but also ran a 4.46, which is even better than most of the 220+ lbs. guys we have drafted who run in the 4.5s.

    All in all, I was surprised by the pick, but now I do get the idea behind it. And I hope they are right in their assessment of how special Penny truly is. I do think I missed a lot of these details when scouting him and may have put too much stock into the level of competition concern, cause at the beginning of the draft season, I was pounding the table for him, as were many others.

    • Trevor

      Thanks for this and some great points. I was shocked by the pick but upon further review it makes a ton of sense. I think they placed huge value on durability at the RB position this draft an he never missed a game in college. As they say the most important thing for any NFL player is being available.

      • Producehawk

        Very nice post. I still would have liked to see another drop down but if this guy is the reincarnation of Lynch I will be over the moon. I hope to say in several years that I was on board with this pick from the get go. Lol.

        • JimQ

          Penney isn’t Lynch, Penney uses subtle moves and goes more around defenders where Lynch (and Rawls) just try and run through them. Penney can do that too, but more yards may be gained by running past and around defenders. Lynch, when he first arrived from Buffalo, had to be coached up significantly to not hesitate, not dance around, just one cut and go. Penney is the exact guy they need at RB. All he needs is a little crease to run through & his speed through the LOS is exceptional.

          I soured on Marshawn Lynch when he gave the finger to his coaches. When I played, over 50-years ago, such disrespect of any coach or player would have had him escorted off the field and off the team. Penney isn’t like that and I doubt he’ll be out at 2:00-AM at clubs and getting into trouble, like so many “entitled” players have in the past. Character really counts. + Penney said he wants to be RW’s best friend, I hope RW takes him under his wing. Maybe when Penney gets to Seattle, he can sleep on RW’s coach at his mansion, showing Penney what is ahead for him? I’m totally pumped!

    • peter

      Well organized points. Thanks for breaking this down this way.

      At its core, there is no reach. Teams get the player they value the most. the economics of the draft is one of the funniest most arbitrary things imaginable. a one-weekend marketplace.

      I think the big issue is the lack of that elusive second round and maybe another third or fourth.

      I know there was a bit of an argument yesterday about it but “logically,” as in if a=b, etc, style logic….JS never needed to trade for Mcdowell an unproven player after the injury. That’s a fallacy and that trade creates uncertainty today.

    • C-Dog

      Thanks for this, Sea Mode. Getting more excited about this pick every minute.

  52. Trevor

    I think Penny was a classic Hawks pick but in a good way. They set up thier board, identified the player they wanted based on their biggest need, then traded back to a range where they would be certain to get him. Sounds exactly like Bruce Irvin to me.

    Why Penny?

    1)Well he is the prototype size and speed guy Pete wants.
    2)He was ultra productive in college.
    3)Led the nation in YAC and YAC when being hit behind line of scrimmage
    4)He can catch the ball out of the backfield
    5)Home Run hitter who can get to the end zone
    6) Has tremendous value in the Return game
    7) No injury history and never missed a game in his colleg career
    8) Good character guy with no off feild red flags

    I hindsight he should have been someone we discussed more as he ticks all the boxes. National media will say it is a reach but not for PC/JS they got the guy they wanted to help jump start the run game and if he runs for 800+ yards next year with 6-8 TD his impact will be worth the pick.

    On paper an RB group of Penny, Carson and Prosise looks like a pretty dynamic group to me.

    • Logan Lynch

      Reading the comments from the bottom up and I completely echo this statement. Brings the Bruce situation to mind for me as well. The proof will be in the pudding, but I respect the way PCJS went about this. Identify your guy and make sure you get him. Don’t get too cute. The analytics comments make me wonder if this will be more of a focus for them this year. They mentioned analytics in the pre-draft press conference as well. Something about the analytics guys bringing the fact that their board had gotten too big to their attention. Smaller board that’s more focused on analytics and character now?

    • AlaskaHawk

      I think this just shows the difference between picking who you want versus trading down until you are picking whoever is left over. Since the Seahawks usually keep trading down – I have learned not to fall in love with any players.

      I graded the next 4-5 backs as being roughly similar. We have all analyzed and argued about backs, and had our favorites (I liked Sony). But they are all roughly similar in abilities. So if a team does have a strong favorite, why not pick him? Because three backs are now off the board, and the other 3 backs will be gone in the next 16 picks. So it just makes sense. Would Patriots or Browns have picked him? Who knows, but the odds are at least 50% that he would have been chosen. Chubb will be the consolation prize, and he will make some team feel better.

      • Mark Souza

        Pretty sure the Browns did since they tried to pull off a trade for him right after the pick was made. I think JS would have traded down into the mid-second if he could have found a partner. He had no idea other teams would have taken him so early. As it turned out, what looked like a reach was the only way we were going to get him, and all because no one would trade with us to let us move down into the sweet spot.

        Turns out the sweet spot was right where we were.

  53. UKAlex6674

    I am happy with this. They wanted him, but had no picks in R2 to get him.

  54. Sea Mode

    Right, but might not have mattered if Cleveland was going to take him at 33 as reported by Mike Silver.

    • Morgan

      JS said that he got a call from a team that wanted to trade for Penny after he was selected, which he had never experienced before. Wonder if it was Cleveland.

      • Sea Mode

        Seems quite obvious to me by the way Silver reported, putting in all caps how much the Browns “LOVED” Penny.

  55. Millhouse-serbia

    I was shocked with this pick in first couple minutes. After 45min shock has passed. After JS and PC press I am satisfied.

    Now, I cant wait tonight.

    Trade ET and draft Kirk and Green.

    Go Hawks.

    ps I am so so so sorry that Rob gave up on his “principles”.

    Man, yu were right from the beginning. This is big school for you, always believe in yourself. This is the proof that you are the best seahawks media scout (draft analyst).

    • hawktalker#1

      Don’t think he did that. There were an increasing number of signals that they were interested in Ballage and he would have been a later round pick, which made the rest of his mock reasonable and one viable option for sure (especially as unpredictable as the Seahawks can be).

      • Mark Souza

        If they are truly interested in Ballage, he’ll be there when they pick again (and maybe again in the 4th). We’ll see.

  56. swisshawk

    Day 2 and 3 mock:
    Earl to Dallas for 50 and 4th
    50 DL (drop off after round 2 is massiv, inside-out guy, Green? Ekjofor?)
    76 LG (nasty run blocker, all about that ground game and competition, Teller? Smith?)
    4 LB Griffin (NO. OTHER. WAY.)
    4 LB (good depth options available, traditional LB, Jacobs?)
    5 CB (depth or even starter, Hill?)
    5 TE (some more blocking help, Smythe? Dissly? Schultz?)
    5 WR (some additional weapons are needed, redzone weapon?, good run blocker?, Ateman?)
    5 FS (depth and competition for McDougald and Thompson, Jamerson?))
    6 FB (some more blocking help, Hill? Bawden?)
    7 K (bring on the hate ;), but a 40 year old and a nobody don’t inspire faith, my 5 cents)

    I could really see the seahawks doing something like that.
    Run game fixed (hopefully)? RB, LG, TE, WR, FB
    Depth for D? DL, Shaq, LB, CB, FS

  57. drewdawg11

    If the rumors about trading Earl for a second are true, I would be all over a trade UP to secure one if the guys we have talked about here. Will Hernandez, maybe even Corbett. One of the receivers, Dallas goedert. Make a bold move today. However, they would need to actually announce the trade early on so that they could actually move the pick. I can’t help it. I want the big mauler from UTEP.

    • Trevor

      +1 Hernandez would be ideal to round out the the run game overhaul!

      • Largent80

        I have to agree with that logic. Getting the mauling Hernandez is really going to help vs. Suh and Donald.

        • lil'stink

          Building the running game should start with the OL. Picking a RB in this instance seems like putting the cart before the horse. Hernandez made total sense, he was the player I wanted them to take the most with that pick, so I knew it wouldn’t happen.

          I think everyone here can agree that Penny is a nice player. But at that pick, with who was still available, and with all our needs?

          • Rob Staton

            After trading for Duane Brown and drafting Ifedi and Pocic, it did start with the OL

            • Greg Haugsven

              We need a pass rusher, whether it be inside or outside IMO.

              • peter

                Okoronkwo?

  58. Drew

    After watching Penny’s highlights above a few things I noticed:

    He has a elite vision and footwork, to set up angles for his cuts. His burst is phenomenal. Only thing that I didn’t see (could just not be on the tape), he runs away from people rather than through them. I’d like to see him initiate contact more, but thats just being nit picky.

    • Sea Mode

      I actually think that is a positive trait to have. Try to make the defender miss if you can, then when there’s no way out, lower the shoulder and punish.

      I love how smoothly he changes directions without losing speed. Makes just a subtle head fake very effective instead of needing to full on jump cut to juke.

      • Kenny Sloth

        Super fluid and amazing acceleration

      • Lewis

        I think it has a lot to do with (in addition to low center of gravity) being a short, quick strider compared to most of the other backs. To me, he looks much more fluid changing directions than someone like Ronald Jones.

    • hawktalker#1

      Well I’ve seen him truck several defenders and move right on past them, so he’s not shy about contact. just a smart runner i think. Seeking out contact isn’t always the wisest thing.

      • JimQ

        +1

      • Mark Souza

        He also is looking for the home run, a much harder task if you hit someone head-on and get tangled up with them. He will definitely blast the pile for what he can get if that’s all there is. He’s not shy about contact and sheds tacklers pretty well, but he’s also smart and not looking for contact when its not necessary.

  59. Rad_man

    Count me as one who finds this as a dumb move.

    And I don’t find solace in the frigging Browns wanting to do the same thing.

    Open to being proven wrong but it’ll have to be once play starts.

    • House

      Reports also state the Patriots had interest in him and it was him/Michel as their pick…

      • Mark Souza

        Talk to me mid-season. Maybe I’ll agree with you. Or maybe we’ll both smiling about our awesome running back.

  60. Morgan

    So, I wanted Oliver – my biggest draft crush, and I figured positional value meant a RB later. But JS addressed this pretty well in the presser, that he knew it was a great class and there was RB talent throughout, and that a lot of teams will go ‘need A’ first and target RB later, so the question was, when do you start taking the RBs? And since they had a specific target in mind, they thought it was a good place to get their guy despite potential trade activity.

    I’m satisfied now, I think it was a decent process. (Which I’m sure the FO would be gratified to hear, lol).

  61. Georgia Hawk

    Can we add the perceived “bad value” of the Penny pick to the Malik tab? JS mentioned getting burned in multiple trade downs last year, maybe they got trigger shy of doing another trade and missing their guy? Had they not missed out last year I’m betting they would’ve traded down again. I think Oakland taking Miller (bwahahahahaha, how do you like Cable now???) affected the potential trade with Cleveland. Not being able to get 33 and ensuring they were in front of Cleveland before they picked again was likely the tipping factor in using the pick. They couldn’t get anybody else in the lower first to come up, so they just took what they wanted. Such is the draft though…

    I definitely don’t think it was a great pick at that spot in the draft, but I’m not upset with getting the player at all. Durable, fast, strong. Penny is an instant upgrade at RB in my mind.

  62. Kenny Sloth

    Slept on it. Still not happy

    • McZ

      Yeah, if the Cleveland story is true, we snuffed about a lot of compensation.
      Hope, that guy is worth it.

      • Saxon

        I hear crow isn’t bad with a little garlic butter. Prepare to chow down, Kenny.

        • Kenny Sloth

          Oh, you’ve tried it much?

      • Kenny Sloth

        Well apparently they’d decided to take him at 33 if we’d traded down again

        • Greg Haugsven

          Im good with the pick. Always good to sleep on it and see where you stand. It would have been nice to get him later and get another pick but you never know if they didnt want to wait or they just didnt get a good enough trade down offer.

      • Mark Souza

        There was no other compensation coming, which is why we had to pick then or lose him because out next pick is #76. If someone would have traded with us to drop another ten spots and pick up additional picks I think JS would have jumped on it. There was no offer.

        Also pretty sure JS didn’t know about Cleveland’s interest until after the pick. Ironic serendipity. We wanted to trade down to acquire more picks and select Penny where we thought he would still be available (not knowing he wouldn’t have been). Cleveland didn’t call about a trade because they didn’t think Seattle would take him that early and they could just wait without giving up anything.

        Funny stuff. It happened to work out in our favor this time.

  63. Saxon

    Pro Football Focus on Penny:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM4xLIZybeM

    They said: “Might be a better RB prospect than Saquon Barkley “.

    -Led NCAA in breaking tackles.
    -Led NCAA in yards after contact.
    -Led NCAA in yards gained when hit at or behind LOS.
    -Led NCAA in rushing
    -Ranked 3rd in breakaway percentage with 35 runs over 15 yards. Ahead of Barkley.
    -Ran in pro set offense, often behind a fullback. Not a product of gimmicky system like Oregon’s.

    I’ve been enamored with this guy for a while and have been very confused why SDB community wasn’t higher on him considering Marshawn is such a close comp. Absolutely thrilled we hot him!

    • Saxon

      Also, Penny is super durable. 54/54 games played and finished despite being a workhorse. Many of the other backs in this draft had durability issues. Penny is tough.

      • Rad_man

        I don’t trust that any RB is durable. I consider that a factor of luck and just a matter of time. I’d never draft a RB on the belief that he will be “durable”. he’s either a good RB or not. No running back is more valuable than another because he’s durable.

        • Trevor

          So guys like Prosise it is just bad luck?

          • House

            The problem was Prosise was a WR that moved to RB. He played WR for all of HS, 2 years and college and moved to RB because of other injuries to the team. He wasn’t made to be a RB. Turn him into a Golden Tate/Percy Harvin/Tavon Austin type of chess piece and I think his durability changes.

            • Mark Souza

              You’re right Rad_man. Any back is one bad scrum from the IR on any play. It does help if you don’t carry a significant injury history (like the news that Michel is already bone-on-bone), and his college stats might provide proof that he knows how to protect himself. But that is no guarantee.

      • Trevor

        I think that was a huge factor. Durability has been a huge issue at RB since Beast Mode left. Does not matter how good an Rb like Prosise is if he is not available.

    • peter

      Hear ye, hear ye……

      From this day forward no back shall be comped to Marshawn Lynch.

      ————————————————————————————————————–

      Seriously I like Penny quite a bit but not one back in about 7 years who either self-glosses themselves “baby beast mode,” or “beast mode 2.0,” or “beast ala mode,” or anything like that, nor has any back that has been comped to Marshawn Lynch, not young less manic Rawls, not jay Ajayi, not anyone has ever had the lateral cuts, the ankle-breaking moves, the sheer strength, and deadly stiff arms all rolled into one player……

      please for the love of all that is reasonable in the world lets stop.

      Penny has some electric moments but in about five games I’ve watched of his he never once cuts the way Lynch did.

      • C-Dog

        Thank you.

      • Lewis

        Except Damien Harris

  64. Georgia Hawk

    Regarding trading Earl: while I understand the viewpoint, Im personally not on team Trade Earl. At this point, trading Earl creates a larger hole that netting a single 2nd or even a 2 and 4 can cover and address other needs. We saw how vital Earl was to the D last year when he went out for several weeks. The Pass D fell apart. That isn’t something easily replaced. I don’t know that Kirk/Green/Landry/whoever improves the team more than or equal to not having Earl lessens it. It is a negative net in my opinion.

    That being said, today’s draft is huge. Could make or break the trajectory of the team for a couple years going forward. Can’t afford anymore Malik type picks.

    • peter

      Georgia-

      If they don’t trade Earl today’s draft basically doesn’t exist. They have one pick in two rounds until tomorrow.

      I get fans concern about Earl. I really do. And his highlights and memorable plays are amazing. But everything is working against Seattle and Earl right now.

      He’s got two years of injuries. He’s getting into new contract territory but the problem is that he and Eric Berry are already the highest paid safeties followed closely by Kam. Meaning his contract is not nearly going to be worth what he wants it to be if he is the reference point for a raise. Which I think could cause strife moving forward if Seattle paid him based on an ice cold safety market when he would want a high paying contract.

      Seattle has already lost enough talent for basically no gain, Bennett, Sherman, Avril if he has to retire, Kam if he cant play, Graham and Paul Richardson will maybe equal a 4th round comp next year…..Sheldon Richardson for nothing….possible another fourth rounder but more likely a fifth rounder, at some point Seattle needs to be in the black on draft picks not continually in the red.

      • SheHawk

        Couldn’t we package a bunch of later rounds to get a 2nd round pick?. Or a player and some late round picks ? There are more ways to get into round 2 than trading earl

  65. Kenny Sloth

    There’s an instant reaction pod at field gulls fyi.

  66. Kenny Sloth

    We go skill positions and pass rushers early. I had a RB early. Had Chubb at 33 for weeks.

    • Sea Mode

      As did we. Somehow we knew they were just going to identify “their guy” at RB and go get him. We just had the wrong guy.

  67. Logan Lynch

    Haven’t read through all the comments yet, but will do so all day. Wanted to get my thoughts down. Personally, I would have liked them to trade down into the 2nd and still end up with Penny or a similar back. Then again, seems like Penny may have been scooped up by CLE. If he’s the guy they really wanted, then kudos to them for trading back a bit and still picking their man even if it was a bit early. They admitted that they got too cute in past years and probably missed their top targets by trading back too many times. They identified their guy and they got him. Reminds me of 2012 with Bruce. Initial shock is turning into understanding. Just excited to see what they do with the rest of this draft! I would not be surprised at all to see them get Shaquem before the end of the day today unless someone else already grabs him.

    • Kenny Sloth

      Yeah, I’d expect a tradeup, but I think we just got to 10 picks

      • Logan Lynch

        Earl will be the key. If they ship him off, they may trade some of the later picks and move up. If not, they might have to keep what they have. Unless they trade another player for picks, but not sure who that would be.

        • Kenny Sloth

          You’re right we don’t have 10 because we swapped our seventh for a sixth

  68. EP

    Take Kameron Kelly on day 3 as well as Shaq? Team of twins

  69. HawksGal

    I too am thrilled with the pick, you have to think the Hawks weren’t taking a chance in losing their guy!
    I’ve spent hours researching and feel excited for the future, we got our guy. I was able to gleam many experts feel strongly that Penny is actually the 2nd ranked RB, several suggests he has the ability to be number one; plus every time he touches the ball he flashes the ability to take it to the house.
    4.5 plus yards per carry after first contact, led in forced missed tackles. Yes please and thank you, game changing running back – check!

  70. SheHawk

    My sister is big hate fan living in San Diego LOVES Penny. Today is big – perhaps even more important than yesterday. Full back please and a tight end who can block and catch!🙌🏈 well get our husky = dissley

  71. Kenny Sloth

    Every single juke in Penny’s toolbox is pro ready.

    His head-fake, shoulder shimmy, stiff arm, spin move, I think even his shoulder is strong enough to use consistently against the best defenses. He has a really good jump cut. Maybe the third or fourth best in the class.

    He also may be the worst blocker in the draft. Luckily that’s a regular thing for rookie RBs and is consistently coachable.
    He also has a problem where he walks around a lot during live plays. Maybe the dude is just tired, but he just starts walking when his QB is under pressure, or in the middle of his routes. Doesn’t always play to the whistle, even letting a live ball, fumbled right in front of him, sit for several seconds before being scooped and scored, after they gave up the strip sack.

    Has a certain lack of polish and game awareness off-the-ball. I would like to see his zone running snaps cut up together in order to identify how he works when his line changes the lanes from the snap. I would also like to look more into how he runs out of single back formations.

    He had one play in the offset I lined up heels about 12 yards deep (really far behind the qb under center) took the snap, exploded into the fray, two quick juke steps to avoid tackles and ran for about 8. So he can accelerate, he can break tackles behind the line, he definitely picks his runs and sets up holes.

    7.78 ypc against p5 schools.

    Fact is we’ve had the pick of the litter and we have to produce now. Because no other running back can really have a better rookie season.

    76 looks perfect for Shaquem, at least.

    • Greg Haugsven

      That just seems to early for me. If they traded Earl then maybe. That pick at 120 just looks prime but he may not make it that far.

      • Kenny Sloth

        They once drafted a guy they knew would never play and cut him a few weeks later.

        • Mark Souza

          Kenny, the good news is you can’t teach what Penny already brings to the table, but you can teach pass protection if he’s willing – and it sounds like he is.

      • Logan Lynch

        If they really want him, they’ll get him. I think that’s going to be their M.O. this draft.

      • Drew

        Get 50 & 81 from the Cowboys for Earl, trade up from 114 or whatever the pick was we got from GB to 90, same pick we got Quill, and take Quem.

    • DC

      I’d take him in R3 if he’s there. Pairing these Griffin brothers up is way too cool to pass up. It’d have a multiplier effect across the team.

    • Lewis

      On the blocking, I think that might be a coaching thing. I’ve seen multiple RBs in games dive at opponent’s feet to try and tackle them. I legit think that is what they were taught. Did anyone see plays where he flat-missed an assignment?

      I’m thinking they will be able to coach him up and this won’t be a problem.

      • Kenny Sloth

        No, not missing assignments very often. Certainly doesnt look confident tho

        He just gets bullied at the point of attack

    • D-OZ

      Your stuck on worst blocker in this draft: which he is NOT!!!!

  72. john_s

    Brock is saying this morning that Harold Landry has orthopedic issues (knee and back). Wonder how far he falls?

    • Kenny Sloth

      Be funny if he fell past Josh Sweat

      • john_s

        Yep, wouldn’t that be ironic?

        • Mark Souza

          When our pick came up, my wife asked who it would be. I said, Harold Landry. When they announce Penny, she looked over at me and asked, “is this a good thing, or a bad thing?” It was a very good thing, but totally unexpected.

  73. Kenny Sloth

    Josh Rosen on being drafted 10th: “There were nine mistakes ahead of me.”

    I’m shaking /s

    • Shadow

      There is just something about Rosen that screams, “bust” to me. I don’t wish the kid ill but if it sets Arizona back a couple of years I’ll certainly enjoy watching it.

      • Kenny Sloth

        Oh for sure as soon as he held up that f****** red……

        • FuzzyLogic

          My brother and I have been calling him “The Weasel” for awhile now. Dude just seems untrustworthy.

        • Dave

          I can’t wait until Frank Clark hits him and he doesn’t feel like playing anymore that day. Dude’s got no heart. I don’t even think his team mates like him. He’s the opposite of a leader.

        • Mark Souza

          And did you see the pouting and head wagging as he was passed by – I just wanted to slap him. Bad attitude and born to blame others. Good luck AZ.

  74. Sea Mode

    If we trade Earl for pick 50, I would use a pick to move up a bit if necessary and be happy with any of:

    – Christian Kirk
    – Isaiah Oliver
    – Will Hernandez

    Perhaps now that we have Penny to share/hedge KR duties, Kirk becomes less of a need?
    How much do they trust themselves to find Sherm’s replacement in R5 as opposed to Oliver?
    Will they double down on fixing the running game with Hernandez or roll with Fluker/Odhiambo/Roos competing for a Guard spot?

    Which of those 3 (or anyone else) would you guys take with our hypothetical R2 pick?

    • Kenny Sloth

      Oliver. Great athlete, great character, great production, solid tape, fits every parameter. Fills a need.

      Probably gonna go with Dallas Goedert. Much better than Hayden Hurst’s old a**

      • Sea Mode

        I did consider Goedert looking over Gil Brandt’s “best players left” list.

        http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000928854/article/2018-nfl-draft-best-players-available

      • Sea Mode

        Agree on Oliver’s talent, just not sure if I saw enough fire in him. (though I’ll admit I only watched a couple games since CB early seemed unlikely.

        Maybe Justin Reid is the target to “replace” Earl if they do trade him.

        • Kenny Sloth

          I just don’t have all 22 to scout a true center fielder

          I canNot remember any of the safeties I liked. I saw a few guys who played deep and crashed on the run with crazy speed, but maybe it’s Tony Brown for FS?? He’s played all 6 DB spots

        • Rob Staton

          I think if they trade Earl it’s Bradley McDougald’s gig

          • Kenny Sloth

            And there’s a competition beside him already on the roster.

        • drewdawg11

          Oliver is really a solid player and he’s only going to get better if Pete Carroll is his coach. Long arms and likes to press. He’s athletic enough to make plays and he’s not afraid to tackle. Solid player and would be a starter for years. What’s the issue with Sutton at WR? I may have watched him less than
          Anyone. Good size. Does he drop passes? I know what Kirk and Miller can do.

          • FuzzyLogic

            Why do we keep bringing up Earl trade talks? Getting old at this point and highly unlikely to happen. It was like last night when my bro insisted that we were going to stick at #18 and finally get a legit first rounder. I kept telling him we were trading back but HE JUST WOULDN”T LET IT GO.

            • Kenny Sloth

              If you listen to pcjs they almost did stay there at 18 to take him

  75. Rad_man

    what’s interesting is Walter football said Penny’s Senior bowl basically sucked. I don’t know how much I trust that, but it’s certainly a different view than PC/JS

    • Sea Mode

      Whaat? That’s crazy! See for yourself:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73RLuFRZuMM

      • C-Dog

        I’m going to enjoy hating on the Cardinals during the Rosen era. Bring. It. On.

    • j

      He didn’t look good in the practices.

    • vrtkolman

      That’s a bad take, his Senior Bowl was quite good.

    • AlaskaHawk

      To add to that, they said it takes him time to learn plays. Hence the bad practice.

      • drewdawg11

        They said he couldn’t catch and he had a really long reception and run on one play. He looked capable to me.

        • Lewis

          That catch down the sideline was gorgeous.

          Dude was named co-mvp for the South team.

          Pete says he rocked the whole week. Walter football says he sucked. Who are you going to believe?

          • drewdawg11

            I don’t even follow Walter football. That site is complete trash. Some in scouting circles don’t love him. There has been talk here about him. I haven’t scouted him. I wanted a take from people who knew about him. We good?

            • D-OZ

              Walter Football = Penn State connection. I think Walt went to school there . Said to have inside connections there. 😉

            • Lewis

              I replied to you wrt the catch. The rest was more general, not directed at you. Apologies.

  76. HawkfaninMT

    On the ET trade discussion:

    Let’s say he is traded for a 2nd and 4th, which would also result in opening 8.5M in cap space iirc.

    For that they could conceivably draft one of Oliver, Corbett, or (almost Kirk) based on the round two mock by SI (https://www.google.com/amp/amp.si.com/nfl/2018/04/27/draft-round-2-two-mock-draft-mason-rudolph-josh-jackson-derrius-guice). Along with the 4th that could be Shaw Griffin perhaps. Use the free space to sign eric Reid for say 2M apy, and have 6.5 left to use as they please.

    Feel like people get hung up on the idea that ET is better than whomever in the 2nd, but the Hawks get more than just that. Look deeper!

    All that said, would be sad to see him traded.

    • hawktalker#1

      Yep – will be sad. But his end in Seattle appears to be coming one way or another and we might as well do what we can to improve the team knowing that he isn’t going to be a long term player.

    • Drew

      We don’t need Eric Reid. We have McDougald and Mo Alexander and the rookies from last year. Reid isn’t a center fielder, he’s more of a SS. Not a need.

  77. FuzzyLogic

    I posted this yesterday morning:

    FuzzyLogic says:
    April 26, 2018 at 12:01 pm
    My top 10 favorite players that I hope the Seahawks get. At least one of them. Which never happens, but…

    1. Rojo
    2. Taven Bryan
    3. DJ Moore
    4. Will Hernandez
    5. Lorenzo Carter
    6. Rashaad Penny
    7. Shaquem Griffin
    8. Kemoko Turay
    9. Antonio Callaway
    10.Rashaan Evans

    Finally after 10 years of doing top 10 favorite lists I actually got one right. lol.

    • Kenny Sloth

      At least even you had RoJo above him! Just very surprised by the unconventionality and lack of groupthink with this pick

    • Trevor

      I really like your top 8. Nice call I liked Penny but he was #3 for me behind Rojo and Michel.

    • Simo

      Yep, you got one “right”, but they could have taken any of the five players you have listed higher than Penny!! It’s tough to hate the pick, just think he could have been had later, despite the reports Cleveland was going to take him in the second!

  78. Trevor

    I had a WTF moment when I hear the pick called because I was not a big fan of going RB first and loved Rojo if we did. But the more I dig not Penney the more I like the pick. He ticks all the boxes of what PC/ JS wanted to accomplish early in fixing the run game.

    He is a dynamic runner with great YAC #s, never missed a game in his career and can play all 3 downs. I think the combination of Penny, Carson and Prosise has off the charts potential and if the OL can evolve into a respectable unit as expected then the run game should see massive improvement in 2018/2019.

    I love that he is a great returner as well. With our lack of depth and talent at WR we need Locket healthy and locked in on being a dominant #2 WR. Ideally Penny takes the kickoffs and Locket the punt returning.

    • Kenny Sloth

      He can’t play all three downs right now.

      He’s awful blocking and inconsistent in his routes and with his hands.

      He can play 1st 2nd and 4th down.

      • Trevor

        You are right about the blocking. I guess my point is he can be a 3 down RB because he has decent hands from what I have seen on tape and Senior bowl.

        • Kenny Sloth

          He has upside as a receiving back. Flashed hands, but had concentration drops, for a tough guy I think I saw him hearing footsteps once or twice. Dropped it with no contact from a nearby defender closing in.

          One time he was flexed out wide and got a free release and just ate up that side of the field.

          I don’t want people to think I’m hating. But this pick wasn’t because he was pro-ready.

          In fact, I think they prefer the raw guy to compete and be humble.

          Instead of Nick Chubb just backing everyone down lmao

          • Trevor

            I think Pete admitted as much. Rotational guy and ST year #1 while he learns how to block and the nuances of the pro game. That is fine with me. I would take 600-800 yds 4-6 rushing TD and 2 ST TD.

  79. Trevor

    If we don’t trade Earl is Shaq Griffin the pick in Rd #3? Will he still be there?

    • DC

      Yes & maybe

    • Logan Lynch

      Shaquem only had one official meeting at the combine I believe and it was SEA. I’m sure other teams are intrigued, but I wonder if they’re thinking “Ok, we like the kid, but let SEA take that risk”? When you come down to it, as much as we love him he is a risky pick. Set aside the fact that he has one hand. He’s undersized for an Edge guy. Probably the same for LB. Has the speed and tackling ability for SS, but hasn’t really played there. Besides ST, where do you put him in the NFL? Maybe other teams will just sit back and let SEA take the risk, knowing that PCJS would love to have him. Crazier things have happened.

  80. Trevor

    Still bummed the Pats got Wynn. I don’t think he was ever a consideration for us but they took my ideal fix for the run game in Wynn and Michel.

    I firmly believe with the legendary NE OL coach that Wynn is an 8-10 x pro bowler by the end of his career. I hate the Pats more than any team in pro sports but also respect them more than any organization along with the Spurs in NBA.

    Those two organizations have great coaching staffs / leaders who know how to identify and develop talent, create a culture that puts team above all and finally know how to move on form aging star players without seeing the devastating impact most organizations.

    I really hope PC/ JS continue to focus on character this draft and going forward as re-creating and maintaining the Hawks culture without all the drama and turmoil is critical IMO.

    Shaq Griffin, Tony Brown and Quenton Meeks please. These are guys who can start out as role players and develop into true team leaders.

    • DC

      That one hurt. Wynn was my fav and having the Pats take him was a big kick in the ballzac. John said they would have taken Penny at #18 so at least we don’t have to wonder ‘what if’ but I will be watching Wynn’s career from here on out with interest in what could have been.

  81. Logan Lynch

    If you believe Davis Hsu, he just said on Twitter that his contact said the trade offer for Penny was NOT from CLE. I bet it was the Pats.

    • Brett

      Good guess since they took Michel a few picks after us and we have been known to deal with NE.

    • mishima

      Agree.

    • HawksGal

      +1 Had to be the Pats. John Schneider states they were asked to trade him immediately after he was drafted.

      Derek Lewis writes,

      But for anyone who thinks the Seahawks could have simply moved down again and Penny would have been waiting, the Patriots taking a running back suggests that may not have been the case. In addition to that, the organization got another compelling piece of evidence from another team looking to relieve them of their newest running back mere seconds after he landed with the Seahawks.

      “And really a true rarity is that we had a team call us after we selected him to try to acquire him, which I’ve never experienced that. We feel very blessed tonight,” Schneider said of Penny.

      It’s clear another team used the strategy many, including me, thought the Seahawks should have employed and had remorse after the Seahawks snatched up Penny. As Schneider said trading down is no easy task and getting the player you want while doing so is even harder. Organizations are tasked with making truly tough calls and praying they work out based on the information they can attain.

      In this case, the Seahawks played it right. And if they’d listened to conventional wisdom, it could have gone very differently for them. But rest assured. They got their man.

      • FresnoHawk

        That fact makes me feel better too, while all the players mocked to Seattle remain on the board today, how can anyone be upset at this point. It’s all good! Go Hawks!! Get Em Schneider Get Em!!

        • HawksGal

          +12 Go Hawks!

          • Mark Souza

            That strategy (whether CLE or NE) is pretty smart. Don’t trade up and wait for your man to fall to you without giving up any picks, and only if he doesn’t, work out a trade with the team who took him. The downside is if the team who takes your guy covets him the way Seattle did, your chance is gone.

  82. Coleslaw

    1 day later, I’m happy with our draft so far. Obviously would have liked to trade down again, but if it meant missing out on Penny, I’m happy with their decision.
    It could be very possible that Barkley, Penny, Chubb and Guice are the only true 3 down backs from this class.

    • Ground_Hawk

      +1

  83. Richard aka

    I think they should put out a message to the Texans that they would trade Earl for the Texans 3rd this year (the Hawks old 3rd) and Houston’s 2-2nds in 2019. That would give Houston Earl and Tyrann Mathieu in same backfield.

  84. Kenny Sloth

    We’re drafting guys that either play with a smile or play pissed off this year

  85. Shady_Hawkster

    Michael Silver (@MikeSilver)
    8:35 AM – 27 Apr 2018

    “The Seahawks have listened to trade offers for star S Earl Thomas from at least 2 teams, and a deal could still go down today or tonight. However, Seattle has enough cap room to make it work in 2018 and is preparing to have him on the roster this season. Final year of his deal.”

    Might just be smoke on the multiple partners thing, but the trade certainly isn’t dead yet. Bring on the king’s ransom, because I’m just as happy to see #29 retire a seahawk.

    • Kenny Sloth

      Thanks for sharing

    • vrtkolman

      Sounds like Seattle is trying to drive up the price for Dallas. I would laugh out loud if some other team swooped in and stole Earl from Dallas.

      • Drew

        Let’s see Cleveland offer up 33 & 35.

      • Logan Lynch

        TB has 3 2nd rounders and they missed out on both Derwin and Minkah… Could go Reid though.

        • Trevor

          That makes a ton of sense!

          • Sea Mode

            As far as draft capital and need, it makes sense. But are they really in contention to the point where it’s worth it to take on aging veteran contracts?

  86. Greg Haugsven

    My gut tells me that it will either be Rasheem Green (most likely gone) or Kemoko Turay at pick #76. Who you guys got?

    • Kenny Sloth

      So many guys dropping for injury concerns, not sure they last

    • DC

      We are gonna get Rasheem Green in R2.

      • STTBM

        Yes!

    • Simo

      One thing last night should have taught us all, is that very few of us fans evaluate and value talent the same as John and Pete.

      I for one freely admit I have no clue what they will do today! They might trade Earl, but maybe not, they might pick a solid defender, or maybe an offensive player. Chances are that it won’t be who most of us think!

  87. FuzzyLogic

    Don’t know if someone already mentioned this but in the press conference JS said “we would have take him at #18” and “a team called us after we picked him and tried to trade for him”.

    • FuzzyLogic

      Also JS said he had lots of offers at #27 to move down again.

      • Mark Souza

        That’s not what I heard. The offers pretty much dried up when the tackles came off the board. Of all the teams they had previous discussions with, only Green Bay didn’t back out.

        And once they were at #27, the phones went dead. The choice then was get who you want, or kiss him goodbye because your next pick is #76.

  88. vrtkolman

    Some thoughts on other teams so far:

    Chicago screwed over SF by taking Roquan Smith. SF took McGlinchey not to be the heir apparent for Joe Staley, but to compete against Trenton Brown on the right side. Brown is a flawless pass blocker but he’s non existent in the run game. Like, he doesn’t even try to run block. That doesn’t work in Shannahan’s offense. McGlinchey is a nasty run blocker. Trenton Brown is going to be a highly sought after free agent when his rookie deal is up.

    Kolton Miller is such a perfect Cable pick that I have to think he has the same pull in Oakland that he did in Seattle.

    I was surprised how long Tremaine Edmunds and Derwin James lasted. I also think that if both were available at 18, Seattle still trades down.

    Does anyone watch The Mick? Josh Rosen is a freaking Pepperton!

    • vrtkolman

      https://twitter.com/VicTafur/status/989690310027431937

      You cannot make this up, LOL! The NFL really is the good ole boys club.

    • Kenny Sloth

      Posin’ Rosen. That gonzo-from-the-muppets-nose lookin a**

      (He’s a cardinal now so he’s fair game)

      • Kenny Sloth

        He got a nose like toucan sam got a beak

        • Kenny Sloth

          He got so much nose, he could give Voldemort half and they’d both look like Michael Jackson

          • Kenny Sloth

            Better hop in your hot tub time machine back to your “wealthy affluent well educated family”

            • Kenny Sloth

              Josh Rosen pays 35 a gram

              • Kenny Sloth

                Josh Nosin

                • Kenny Sloth

                  😁

                  • Kenny Sloth

                    👃

              • vrtkolman

                lol!

                • Kenny Sloth

                  So strange that the Cardinals drafted the seahawks logo come to life ¬

  89. Brett

    One thought that was raised previously but I haven’t read as part of the reaction to the pick. Schottenheimer was the OC at Georgia and spent a year with Chubb and Michel so he knows them very well. We also know from quotes from Pete that the coaching staff and scouting dept are intertwined during the draft process and they went ahead and picked Penny given all that. Says a ton about their evaluation of him.

    I for one am excited to see what we can do with an explosive talent at RB. We have been at our best working off play action. The challenge post Lynch has been finding guys durable enough that you can count on game after game. Hopefully they found that in Penny and Carson and Procise will stay healthier now that they dont need to be an every down guy.

    • vrtkolman

      SD State had 3 freshman starting on their O line. I have to think that played a role in their decision. Running behind Isaiah Wynn is easy.

      • Kenny Sloth

        Whoa whoa whoa… Sdsu is consistently one of the best running games in the country.

        It’s not a wisconsin level program OBVIOUSLY, but that is a powerhouse at that level and that OL was rated as one of the best in the country, even being selected for a midseason award for best OL unit in the country.

        Plus Dave Wells and Nick Bawden are exceptional blockers at TE and FB respectively

        • Trevor

          Wells blocks like a OL. He might be a Day #3 target for hawks

        • vrtkolman

          Fair enough. How much of that OL rating was a result of Penny’s 3+ yards after contact though?

          • Kenny Sloth

            Fair enough

            • Mark Souza

              If you watch his video, he is most often running through cracks, not holes. Frequently he’s making people miss in the backfield, and then making someone else miss at the line. These are skills he’ll need with our line until they get much better. It was on of the reasons I was sold on him. There aren’t a lot of easy yards in his stat line.

          • Brett

            Couple that with this from PFF… “Penny rushed for 1120 yards between the tackles – most among draft-eligible running backs and also forced the most missed tackles in the draft class (86).”

            SDSU had 4 new starters on the OL, including 2 Freshman to start the year and another freshman ended up getting a lot of playing time.

            http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/sd-sp-azfoot-updated-depth-chart-0825-story.html

            “As expected, the offensive line will include a pair of redshirt freshmen in left tackle Tyler Roemer and center Keith Ismael. They are among four new starters on the line.”

            • Kenny Sloth

              ? So. There’s no rule that says redshirt freshman can’t be good.

              I just don’t see how that is relevant to that system being a strong running game and nationally recognized as a dominant force on the ground year after year.

              In fact you could use the moving pieces as an argument that it is a pretty easy system to be thrown into and succeed

              • Kenny Sloth

                Not trying to argue he wasn’t the bellcow, but that scheme is designed for one

              • brett

                Generally speaking, freshman take their lumps, especially on the OL when playing against competition that is older, stronger and more developed physically.

                I watch the game against Stanford last year and I see a RB having to create because the OL isn’t getting much push.

                • brett

                  I watch this and I can see why the Hawks are so high on the guy.

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtt-qMVr_A4

                  • Kenny Sloth

                    Fair enough. I see a Stanford side getting gassed not gashed.

                    The dude has legit homerun potential. I was looking more at the elite jumps of Kerryon and Nick and didnt factor in his special teams and durability which are the real difference makers if you listen to PCJS

                  • hawkdawg

                    Now THAT tape is far more informative than the tapes I’ve seen of him running through truck sized holes and taking it to the house.

                    The kid has excellent patience and vision to and through the hole. Rarely misses a backside cut. Impressive acceleration and good top speed. Reads blocks very well. Finishes well, at least when he has some momentum going. Seems to have good ball security, for a guy who also doesn’t seem to switch hands.

                    Poor blocker, in both technique and effort, in the pocket or downfield. That shit is not going to cut it in the NFL. But I think he’ll learn that right quick.

                    Look forward to seeing him play. But the OL is going to have to give him some time to do what he does best–read blocks and go.

  90. Ground_Hawk

    Rob, and others, have been saying for weeks now that the talent available at 25 would be similar to that at around 45, and with RB hungry teams lurking after Seattle’s spot at 27 they felt that they had to get their guy then; JS/PC discussed this in their post draft-day 1 presser.

    I like the pick, and Penny is a player we discussed quite a bit leading up to last night, so I think that we should be patting ourselves on the back (some more than others lol!), for knowing quite a bit about the player Seattle is getting in Penny. We now know how serious they were when they meant “getting our guy,” and it feels like they are now in a position to let the draft come to them, because they already secured a player, who in their eyes, is a top-20 prospect.

    Being someone who wanted them to go RB early, I’m happy, but also biased, because they went in the direction that I had hoped for; albeit a different, yet promising, destination.

    • AlaskaHawk

      Like I said in an earlier thread, this is what it looks like when you pick the player you want instead of trading down until you pick whoever is left over.

      I’m all in on Penny now!!! Go Seahawks!!

    • Kenny Sloth

      Yeah I watched a ton of Penny based on so many contributors high opinion of him on here, but I looked at what he couldn’t do instead of what he could.

      Offered the most ST value from the top guys, the most durable/least mileage.

      I was looking for the pro ready guy like Chubb or Michel.
      I took one look at Penny’s blocking and knocked him down a half round.
      I forgot how much we trust our coaches to teach that.

      • vrtkolman

        Which Hawks running backs were terrible in pass protection in college and were successfully coached up? I’m trying to remember…

        • vrtkolman

          Turbin was awful in pass protection in college. I think he improved steadily in the NFL.

      • icb12

        I think the special teams aspect of it is huge.

        Personallly I really overlooked that.

      • FresnoHawk

        I did the same thing but now we know Hawks wont de value as much

      • Ground_Hawk

        Yeah, I think many of us here, myself included, saw the big school prospects (RoJo2, Chubb, Michel, and Guice) and put Penny after those guys. Not trying to speak for everyone, or anyone in particular, but the Penny pick is going to influence how I look at Seattle’s drafting tendencies. It’s the epitome of leaving no stone left unturned.

      • Sea Mode

        Running 4.46 @ 220 lbs. is nice too. And that’s with good burst and acceleration, not just once he gets moving.

        Also, the fact that he is a humble dude just grateful for the opportunity and willing to do whatever the coaches ask of him is huge.

    • Hawk Eye

      i have ignored most the comments, did not want to read any whining. I bet there are some good ones.
      Just went to the end and read this one and Brett above. Have to agree with both.
      They wanted a rb, they got the guy they wanted, he has measureables and production, no injury or character issues, got a couple extra pics, and their new OC knows the Georgia backs as well as anyone.
      Since the only team that has a better SB record in the last 10 years is NE, and none of us have won a SB, I am giving it all a chance.
      Biggest issue for me is JSPC looked back at past mistakes and have made adjustments. I don’t know if they will work, but they have earned the right for me to respect their decisions.
      Go Hawks!

      • Ground_Hawk

        It does feel like PC/JS have made changes in their philosophy, and I’m hoping that it works out. It has the vibe that it’s going to though, so I’m still optimistic.

  91. vrtkolman

    Well damn, I was right on my SF analysis. NE is trading for Trenton Brown. McGlinchey is starting at RT day 1. Great pickup for NE IMO. He’s the best pass blocking RT in football. Great fit for their offense.

    • vrtkolman

      The 49ers are trading OT Trent Brown and pick number 143 overall to the Patriots in exchange for pick number 95 overall, sources tell @AdamSchefter and me. The deal is pending a physical.

      That doesn’t seem like a great return for SF.

    • vrtkolman

      The Patriots are seriously upgrading their line. Brown and Wynn are huge additions.

      • DC

        Those damned Patriots just know how to do it. Will they now pull in ET for R2 #43 & change?

      • AlaskaHawk

        The team I look up to as the best in the NFL just got better. Ouch. I bet they start filling in the defense for the rest of their picks. They had some issues in the superbowl with defense.

  92. Natethegreat

    This was my thought as well. I think it would have to be N.E. that wanted Penny. With his receiving ability he would be outstanding in their offense.

  93. HawkfaninMT

    Saw that walterfootball gave Penny a David Johnson comparison. As I looked back, DJ was more explosive at bench and vertical, but broad 40 yd, 10 yd split, and weight are all just about identical. Both had special teams chops and ability to catch passes out the backfield. Penny had the explosive runs runs while DJ wasn’t graded down as heavily as a pass blocker. All in all the comp seems legit. Not saying the production will be the same, but I can see the comparison. Seems to that Penny and whomever they get to play FB will need to go to RW Academy to learn the play book and get in sync!

  94. Ashish

    Hawks as planned to fix the run game got the best running back they think will work. Rightly they consider injury & character concerns, 3 down back plus also good at ST. I like when draft pundit grade the hawks picks as “D” that gives me more confident that JS/PC has done their job. When we picked German Ifedi draft pundit gave better grade A or B all knows how that went, so don’t pay attention.
    Next, I can see trading ET to Dallas for 50th pick and something on top of it at the best. I will take 4th in a heart bit. Something i feel is already in place. Unless there is some dramatic happens and the draft board changes to cancel the deal.
    I see Hawks drafting OL – Austin C or Will H and 3rd Justin Reid or Jesse bates

    Super Happy with to get feature running back. Go Hawks

    @Rob, please don’t beat yourself, you did excellent job like you did in past years. We hawks fan trust your analysis. Thank you for your good work.

    • FresnoHawk

      +1 woke up this morning stoked and relieved we now have Penny.

  95. Brett

    Couple that with this from PFF… “Penny rushed for 1120 yards between the tackles – most among draft-eligible running backs and also forced the most missed tackles in the draft class (86).”

    SDSU had 4 new starters on the OL, including 2 Freshman to start the year and another freshman ended up getting a lot of playing time.

    http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/sd-sp-azfoot-updated-depth-chart-0825-story.html

    “As expected, the offensive line will include a pair of redshirt freshmen in left tackle Tyler Roemer and center Keith Ismael. They are among four new starters on the line.”

  96. House

    Jason Witten just announced his retirement. That could change our potential trade chances

    • vrtkolman

      Wow!

  97. hawkster

    On talent evaluation at RB and choosing Penny, this is certainly not the first RB they have chosen. Carson to me looked the part, on an NFL field, of being a quality NFL RB, unfortunately he couldn’t stay on the field.
    Rawls to me looked the part on an NFL field, of being a quality NFL RB, unfortunately he couldn’t stay on the field.
    Michael was a bust, Turbin a contributor, Collins and and Ware seem to be able runners at places other than the Clink.
    Is the front office the Oracle of finding gems on the OL or TE? On that I would say they are perhaps average in evaluation. But on running backs they seem to bat pretty well, and they did reclaim The Beast.
    So I’m going to trust them on this. It seems to me they traded down to the point where they thought RB was going to start coming off the table and they were not willing to trade back again and accept one from a basket of acceptable RBs, they wanted to actually pick theirs instead of having others pick theirs by default.
    I’ve re-watched the tape, the level of competition is always a concern, it seems like a lot of plays (notable some of the ST work) where he benefits from sub-par competition. His running looks smooth, so he may be being illusive in a deceptive way as oppose to the obvious juke-em-out of their cleats type of thing that jumps off tape.
    Bummer on the apparent SF collision with a CLE trade (which I think could have only been #33 and #64, not #35)… but for what it is worth, they might not have gotten THEIR guy at RB in that scenario. CLE or NE takes Penny at the end of R1, SEA takes e.g. Chubb and gets somebody else later.
    Time will tell whether the trade collapse may have been a blessing in disguise.

  98. cover-2

    With Witten retiring, that may change our Earl Thomas trade situation. The Cowboys may want to keep their 2nd rounder to get Dallas Goedert, Ian Thomas, or Mike Gesiki.

    Maybe we could ask for the Cowboys 3rd round pick and 1st round pick next year.

    • Rob Staton

      Alternatively they have even more cap room now to sign Earl — the real stumbling block here is his contract demands

      • House

        Great point Rob!

  99. icb12

    Even without an Earl Trade- will we see the Seahawks move up into the 2nd round today? using 76 and 2 fifths?

    76+146+168=266 pts
    64 (cle)=270

    of course that would leave them without a 3rd…

    • j

      Steep price to move up twelve spots.

      • icb12

        I guess that depends on who’s available and how much they want him, and how long they think he will last.

        Is getting your guy at 64 more valuable than your extra 2 fifth round picks?
        You got guys like Tim Settle, Ronnie Harrison, Christian Kirk, Anthony Miller, Rasheem Green, Jessie Bates, Uchena Nwosu. All guys who could potentially be there at 64 that may or may not at 76.

        If they want somebody in particular and don’t see him making it.. I think we’ve seen that the Seahawks are comfortable making that move. Especially if Earl doesn’t move.

        I’d be fine staying put and taking Shaquem. Just throwing it out there as a possibility.

    • Tecmo Bowl

      NYG have 66 and 69. A small move up with them could make a lot of sense, for the right player.
      #69=245
      #76+141=245

      Could be a pocket of WRs early 3rd, would love to get Anthony Miller!

    • Hawltalker#1

      What a waste

  100. Tecmo Bowl

    Thought Penny was a bit of a reach, but hearing he was wanted by other teams too eases that initial shock. Reminded of the Gil Brandt quote Rob highlighted-“Let me put it to you this way: My guy who I have 21st overall on my list could go 64th. The guy I rank 47th could go 19th.” Gil nailed it.

    Penny is definitely STR. Sure seems ‘all football’. Penny’s burst is legit, runs through arm tackles, can turn the corner, major production. Doesn’t have an explosive jump cut, my biggest knock on him, but had great after contact #s. Needs to work on pass pro and will.

    Lastly I’m pleasantly surprised that JS/PC stuck to their guns by getting their RB to fix the run game. Penny, Carson, Prosise. Hell yeah!

    • Kenny Sloth

      +1

    • Sea Mode

      +2

      Actually, now that you point that out, his what I would call “weaving” style could be compared a bit to the way RoJo slides through defenses.

      Once I listened to the press conference and re-watched the tape, I really like the pick as well and trust their evaluation.

      • Tecmo Bowl

        Weaving is a good description of his style. Runs to daylight. He often surprises defenders with his burst/speed, by out runnning the pursuit angle. Senior Bowl was huge in verifying his game breaking speed, solid hands too.

    • Nick

      +3

  101. drewdawg11

    So many decent players left in round two. I really hate Dallas… let’s please try to find a better trade partner if they are going to do this. I would insist on 2 seconds, even if one is next year. The cap savings doesn’t really matter that much because they aren’t signing anyone substantial this year anyway. Trade up today and get the best overall talent left on the board. I’m taking my mind off is this stuff for a few hours and going to watch “Avengers Infinitu War”. I’m a geek like that. Perhaps we can draft one of the Avengers to get us back on top. Knowing JS he would trade down when the Hulk fell into our laps, and end up with Hawkeye and ask him to try and improve our kicking game.

    • vrtkolman

      If it makes you feel better, Dallas isn’t going to be that good next year with or without Earl.

      • drewdawg11

        With Zeke back for a whole season they should be improved. They just need to figure out who is playing wideout. They may even go Dallas… Goedert if they don’t trade their pick. They could be closer to the previous season than this past one. However, I have never been a big fan of Prescott. I think he is somewhere in between his first year and second year.

  102. FresnoHawk

    If Dallas is only offering a 2nd & 4th how can teams like Cle, NE and 49ers etc.. let that happen?

    • House

      Contract… It all depends on if Earl will even want to play for whatever other team. Not many teams willing to give up draft stock on a 1-year rental

  103. AlaskaHawk

    The biggest surprise I have from the first round is how balanced the positions chosen were. Other than QB which is at a premium, all the other positions were well represented. Even guard and center had two picks each. The count was:

    QB: 5
    RB: 3
    WR: 2
    TE: 1
    OT: 2
    G: 2
    C: 2

    DE: 2
    DT: 3
    LB: 4
    CB: 4
    S: 2

    • Tecmo Bowl

      Interesting didn’t notice that. 17 O/15 D.

      • Logan Lynch

        I still think SEA ends up more defense-heavy in this draft. They hit the skill position early.

        • Tecmo Bowl

          Want to see a double dip on offensive weapons-Penny+ Miller/Chark/Thomas. Hit defense hard in day 3. Agree we’ll end up with more players on defense than offense.

          • Rob Staton

            Defensive options on day three >>>> offensive options

            tight end could be their next pick

  104. House

    Predictions:
    018: Traded to GB. SEA gives GB #18 and #248 and receives #27, #76 and #186.
    027. Rashaad Penny (RB, SD St): SEA gets the RB that it covets… Let the fun begin…
    050. ET trade?
    076. Shaquem Griffin (LB, Central Florida)
    116. ET Trade?
    120. Holton Hill (CB, Texas)
    141. Durham Smythe (TE, Notre Dame)
    146. Foley Fatukasi (DL, Connecticut)
    156. Leon Jacobs (LB, Wisconsin) Not repeating the Boykin situation
    186. Cole Madison (OT, Washington St)
    226. Dimitri Flowers (FB, Oklahoma)

    • Tecmo Bowl

      Good haul. Id be happy with Griffin at 76 too. Keep forgetting about Flowers and TreQuan Smith- both would be good fits.

      • House

        Shaquem is in the greeb room and I don’t see him making it to 4th rd. We gotta take him tonight

        • House

          *green

        • Rob Staton

          Multiple league sources, according to Bob McGinn, see him as a fourth round pick.

          Quem has a LOT to like and would be a fine pick. But he has limitations too.

        • Tecmo Bowl

          Agreed think he goes today. I just really dont want the 9ers to get him. They’ve got that late 3rd from NE now.

  105. icb12

    I really like Lance Z. updated second rd mock.

    It makes a ton of sense in most cases.
    http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000929309/article/2018-nfl-rounds-23-mock-draft-bucs-stop-derrius-guices-slide

    • Sea Mode

      I agree, it looks pretty good.

      If we acquire pick #50, who would you take in that scenario?

      I like Christian Kirk myself, but Braden Smith, Maurice Hurst, maybe Dallas Goedert could be good options as well. (heck, Rojo is still available!)

      • icb12

        W/ #50 in that Scenario I think I take Hurst or Kirk.. Leaning Kirk I think.

        • icb12

          Thought about it another minute. Took another look.

          With that Scenario I take Kirk at 50, and MY MAN Harrison Phillips at 76!

          Harrison is my Don’t-leave-the-draft-without-him guy this year.

          • icb12

            Rashaad Penny, Christian Kirk, and Horrible Harry. That’s all football. That’s getting back to who we were. Running the ball and stopping the run.

        • Tecmo Bowl

          Kirk or Miller.

  106. pran

    Penny is a better pick than Ifedi and Malik…good that they did not swing for fences this time.

    • SeaHusky

      Agreed. If it came down to it, I would rather the FO take their guy a little earlier than expected than to trade back multiple times and just miss out on him. Penny is a solid player with good athleticism and great production; also no injury/off-field worries. He has a lot of potential, and I think pairing him with Carson will result in a rejuvenation of the run game.

  107. House

    We just re-signed Maxwell to 1-yr deal

    • Logan Lynch

      Allows us to punt CB in the draft if we want. Bring in UDFA and let them compete with Elliott, Thorpe, Tyson, etc.

    • Lewis

      Heh. Makes me think that maybe Oliver was their guy if Penny hadn’t been there.

      • House

        Oliver was probably a consulation prize

        • Tecmo Bowl

          +1

          Maxi back is great news! Quill, Maxi, Coleman is a solid CB unit.

    • STTBM

      Bout time they ended that little game of chicken!

      • Tecmo Bowl

        Waiting on Maxi kept CB looking like a major need. A ton of mocks had us taking Jackson, Oliver, Alexander. Kept quiet on the RB market sans Guice. JS doin his thing.

        • JimQ

          Exactly, either a smoke screen or a miss-direction move to not sign Maxwell until today? I really like it.

          I expect the next Seahawk pick will be either Lorenzo Carter or Green on defense, Goedert or Anthony Miller on offense assuming they get the ET trade done. If it pans out that way, then Griffin with the pick in the 70’s (or a little later with a trade down?) could be next, ’cause I don’t think they want to
          leave the draft without him. Then, – The big culture change is well underway. GO HAWKS.

    • Aaron

      Great news! Now we can focus on CB later in the draft or UDFA. Really hope they get a second pick at some point tonight.

      • Tecmo Bowl

        Speaking of getting another day 2 pick. Here’s something that may be a huge tell or may be a simple mistake by an intern. From the official seahawks twitter:

        Announcing our Day 2️⃣ #SeahawksDraft picks, none other than Seahawks Legend Mack Strong! 💪

        ‘Picks’ hmmm

        • House

          damn I miss Mack Strong… DEFINITELY an unsung hero

          • Mark Souza

            Mack Strong, John L Williams, Michael Robinson, Don Testerman… this team has had a great history of FBs.

  108. Kyle

    So, I may be in the minority here, but I love the dual RB sets that Atlanta uses. I would trade earl for what we can get and then draft RJ2 still…. Maybe I am just too sad we didnt take him…

    How I see it now. OL – we made our bed now we must sleep in it and hope Solari can tuck us in right. DL – I think we wait to the later rounds. CB still a need even with Bmax resigned. FS if earl leaves needs to be addressed.

    50 – Hurst (if available), Oliver (if available), Kirk-Miller-Gesicki (one of them)
    76 – Jessie Bates III or Braden Smith
    120 – Natrell Jamerson (If we dont get Bates), Holton Hill

    Then at this point I got tired. I would like to add Troy Apke because of pure measurable’s sometime in this draft. I think drafting Will Dissly would be an excellent choice. I also would think Nall or Bowden? for the FB position. I am not as high on the griffin bro as others, but it would be cool to have him. Just not in the 3rd or early 4th. I know Gesicki turns people off because of his lack of blocking, but for our scheme I think he would be awesome. Excellent hops. Super athletic. I would also like to see KEKE Coutee on this team as a gadget player in the mold of Tavon or Percy.

    • peter

      I hope Carson can live/heal up to his promise that he showed last year. could be a very nice combo

  109. Madmark

    I listen to coach of San Diego St talk to John Clayton this moring and he said that Seattle called him once but multiple other team call more. There coaching staff at the College really thought he would go to the Patriots at 31. The Coach had high praise for Penny saying he was a team player and that as far as his skill as a blocking back was their fault cause they wanted to have the ball more. They set him up in different situations to get those mismatches you look for and that’s more true in the NFL. He quiet yet highly competitive and h’s already been working on his blocking skills since college was over. It was just a top of the line report from a guy who knows the guy as good as anyone can.

    • Sea Mode

      Great info. Thanks for sharing!

      • House

        Patriots had Penny/Michel neck and neck for the 31st pick

        • McZ

          Yeah, and the more tape I revisit, the more I get the impression, that both teams made the right decisions. If Pats had taken Penny, and Hawks Michel, we would be equally happy.

          I mean, if you watch Michel making cuts, running with three guys on his hips, you get the idea, why he may ultimately be on a steeper trajectory with a higher floor than Chubb.

          Penny is little bit more raw, needs block coaching and sometimes has his pads too high, but thats coachable. Both great picks.

          Think, Ozzie Newsome hit it out of the ballpark. Outstanding picks.

    • FresnoHawk

      I’m sold!

  110. vrtkolman

    This ET/Dallas show is ridiculous. Now it’s been leaked that Dallas is going to take Courtland Sutton today. They are either complete morons to leak their draft target, or this is a weird smokescreen.

    • Rob Staton

      The whole saga has been unpalatable.

      • Trevor

        I just want it to end and I hope he does not go to the Cowboys the owner and fan base are unbearable.

        • mishima

          Jacksonville or Tampa.

    • Del tre

      Just screams of bad management to me. Seems weird to take Sutton as they are just getting more of the same! Having Sutton will be the exact same as having Dez, Dak has bad ball placement, Romo didn’t thats why Dez was great with Romo, Romo always put the ball in the right spot.
      Not that trading Earl is good management but i really dont like Sutton for the Boys doesn’t seem like a good fit.

  111. Volume12

    Man, listen to Penny talk. He almost sounds like RW and I don’t mean the sound of his voice. That had to be appealing to PC/JS.

    • House

      My thoughts on Penny:

      1. Humble
      2. Hard-working
      3. Team player
      4. Willing/able to improve
      5. Wants to win

    • Trevor

      I think that fit was very important when selecting an RB. Penny just seems like a nice kid.

  112. Trevor

    Really glad the Hawks signed Maxie. Now they can stick to a plan they know works. Take a long rangy CB in Rd #5 and let Pete develop him in Yr #1.

    • Volume12

      Good move and changes the board. Or at least what we as fans perceived to be the board.

  113. FuzzyLogic

    So far so good on drafting character/durability/competitiveness.

    • Sea Mode

      +1 well said.

      Also, smart, tough, reliable, fast.

      • Volume12

        But, he can’t pass block!

        There’s so many ways around that. Single back set, line him up out wide, send in Carson or Davis to do it as a 2 back look, a TE/FB/H-back. Could be that he never learned how to as well.

        • Sea Mode

          Someone posted above the interview with SDSU HC who said it was their fault they never really asked him to pass block.

          The biggest way around that along with what you mention, the kid is flat out humble and coachable.

          • Kenny Sloth

            +100£

            I was looking at what he can’t do not what he can

  114. Kyle

    I dont like waiting this long for the draft to start. I want my all weekend marathons back.

  115. Awsi Dooger

    I like Penny a lot but never considered him a first round prospect. That choice surprised me beyond any selection from Thursday.

    The key with running backs is quickness and yards after contact. I’ve mentioned that previously. Unfortunately the guy who does the related work does not post often and shows up only very late in the process. He released his findings just a few days ago.

    Only three running backs fit this year. They are:

    Darius Guice
    Ronald Jones
    Roc Thomas

    https://forums.footballsfuture.com/topic/9735-studying-traits-predictive-to-success-relative-to-draft-position/

    So it looks like Rob may have been astute with his long held tout of Ronald Jones. Guice has some character issues so that would have been risky, coming off the Malik McDowell failure. It looks like the pick should have been Ronald Jones, if Seattle wanted a running back.

    I’m not a fan of subjectivity but Kent Hullamania in that annual thread dominates the subjective types by using their own work in far superior fashion than they realize is possible. The tape guys treat every evaluation as separate and unique. That is the fatal ignorant flaw. There is no way to be that good. They never step back to see what is working and what is not. Instead they stubbornly march forward, happily repeating the same basic mistakes year after year, yet with no clue they are doing it.

    Hullamania brilliantly backtracked years worth of scouting reports and isolated which traits were identifying the success stories at each position. Then he merely uses the current batch of scouting reports to identify the guys who click this year. Fantastic combination of simplicity, creativity and logic. An approach like that will succeed year after year, yet without the second guessing and headaches.

    No kidding there will be mistakes. The idea is to find a mechanical approach that succeeds far more often than not. This is a wonderful supplement to analytics.

    BTW, nobody should care what Tony Pauline predicted. He was correct last year. Big deal. That hardly means this year’s projection was anything tight to 50/50 probability. And somebody grabbing a player at #9 while you’re sweating out a fall to #18 doesn’t exactly qualify as a bad beat.

    • Morgan

      But…didn’t Penny rack up a huge amount of YAC? It’s one of the analytics JS pointed out specifically during the presser. And he tested well for quickness. Did this dude forget about him during his calculations (like it seems a lot of us did? lol)

      But it is gratifying seeing so many of my late-round draft crushes on here. Michael Gallup, Wyatt Teller, PJ Hall, Darius Leonard, Javon Rolland-Jones.

    • Lewis

      That post provides zero data. PFF says Penny was better at yards after contact than all three of those guys and his quickness isn’t a question, so this doesn’t make much sense to me.

    • Rob Staton

      Tony has a consistent proven track record. He didn’t just get ‘one thing’ right.

      Have a bit of respect please.

      • FuzzyLogic

        Rashaad Penny logging a prolific 289/2,248/7.8/23 rushing line and graduating with a silly 7.49 YPC average and eight career return TDs, seven on kickoffs and one on a punt. In 2017, PFF College credited Penny with the most missed tackles forced (86) and runs of 15-plus yards (35) among draft-eligible backs. Penny ran 4.46 at the Combine for an exciting 92nd-percentile Speed Score.

  116. House

    5:00 mark… DAMN
    https://youtu.be/B2M42wL7E1o

    • Sea Mode

      The whole thing, man.

      • House

        I know… That catch though. I was reading something saying he had “below avg” hands. lol

        HOMERUN threat every play

    • john_s

      Reminds me of Arian Foster in how he can make cuts without slowing down and he gets up to speed in a couple steps

      • HawkfaninMT

        I had that same comp in min watching him!

  117. Sea Mode

    Wait, so did any of yesterday’s draft clues make sense for Penny? I get the “I’ll wait” and “It’s about to go down” to mean trading down, but the rest?

    https://twitter.com/PeteCarroll

    • Mark Souza

      To be honest, when the tackles went off the board, my thoughts were “What do they do now?” Now you’re stuck at 18 and have to make a pick. I was shocked they still managed a trade down, and had no clue the Penny pick was coming.

    • Volume12

      ‘In for a penny, in a for a pound’ which basically means you risk whatever your have to when a good opportunity comes your way. For example, the monkey stealing the hub cap.

  118. HawksGal

    Tampa Bay needs a Safety and have three second round picks, could we possibly make a trade here?
    Dallas is a freak show, i’d prefer it if we didn’t deal with them.

    • House

      TB is one of the teams looking at Earl. They’d have to do some restructuring cap wise. Not impossible though

      • Sea Mode

        Do you have a source you could please link?

        This is the second absolute affirmation you’ve made in the comments in the past hour and I’m wondering if you are just really sure of your opinions or if there is actually info out there on this.

        Thanks.

        • House

          Purely speculative stuff. I have a friend that messaged me about it this morning. Said local station in Tampa was talking about “they hear there is some interest in Earl Thomas” and then a few minutes later, we get word of a “2nd potential team making offers for Earl”. Saw on Twitter Greg Auman asked a question about the cap situation…
          https://twitter.com/gregauman/status/989953009022128129

      • HawksGal

        Hmmm.. TY

  119. Josh Emmett

    What are the thoughts on Penny being behind Pumphrey at San Diego state until Donnel was drafted? Also Pumphrey didn’t see the field last year with the eagles and was taken in the fourth round?

    • Volume12

      Pumphrey was productive and effective at SD St. the coaches had no reason to take him off the field.

      • Lewis

        Also, if you listen to the presser, JS said Penny jumped off the tape when they were scouting Pumphrey the year before.

    • icb12

      Non issue.

      He cranked out over 1k as the 2nd back, and was pretty widely viewed as a better pro prospect even last year.
      3x ST player of the year in his conference.

      It’s not like he wasn’t contributing..

    • House

      Pumphrey fit what they were doing.

      My personal belief in his draft position… Huge difference in size 5’9″/176 vs 5’11″/220. Not to mention Pumphrey burnt a lot of tread on his tires.

  120. Georgia Hawk

    With Maxie signing I think it is all but assured we take a front 7 guy next (wherever that ends up being). Lot of holes to fill on the DL and depth at LB needed. My money is on an inside out rusher. Some good options will be around for CB depth later in the draft (WARD!!!!) and I don’t know that we can get good vlaue anywhere else on the Offense in round 3.

    Waiting is the worst part of all this….

  121. Nick

    Great analysis per usual. I’m looking for Seattle to go WR honestly. The DL options later on are much better, as are the TE options. WR, on the other hand, continues to be a need for this team. We saw so many D picks last year—I think they knew what they were doing this draft…retool the offense.

  122. FuzzyLogic

    Next year I’m going to take the senior bowl a lot more serious. If there’s a guy from a smaller conference who had insane numbers like Penny that kills it at the Senior Bowl I’m paying attention.

    • Hawltalker#1

      That is exactly when the FO will start changing things up on you.

      Had a thought about Maxie. I think they waited to sign him is generate some additional perceived interest from the Hawks for a S or DB in order to get more trade value by trading down.

  123. FuzzyLogic

    Everyone should read this for a bit of hope and excitement.

    https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/draft-san-diego-state-rb-rashaad-penny-a-first-round-talent

  124. FuzzyLogic

    JSPC thinking Penny is the 2nd best back in the draft is no different than Rob thinking Anthony Miller is the best WR in the draft.

    • Hawltalker#1

      What is your point there?

      • FuzzyLogic

        My point is that basically nobody thought Penny was the second best back in the country and basically nobody thinks Miller is the best WR in the country. To each his own.

  125. FuzzyLogic

    Some pretty explosive plays by Penny in this game against Wyoming in 2016.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9f72WZm5Q0

  126. Jim Kelly

    Thanks for doing this, Rob.

    This was like a test question in school; You had the right answer, but too much time to re-think it. Eventually changing your correct answer.

    Don’t be too hard on yourself. If all you did was stick to one scenario, your site would be pretty boring, and we’d never be able get your in-depth knowledge on multiple players. Besides, the draft process is so drawn out now that one small thing could cause PCJS to fall in love with someone new late in the process.

    Go Hawks.

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