Mock Draft Wednesday’s: 19th December

A few different looks in this week’s updated mock. We’re still miles away from the draft so please, please, please don’t take this as anything other than a conversation starter. I do think, however, we are getting a better idea of the areas of need for the Seahawks.

Defensive tackle – An upgrade at the three technique is absolutely paramount. If they want to rush four most of the time in base – and they do – then they need some who can collapse the pocket from the inside. Alan Branch has qualities, but he doesn’t create any interior pressure. This mock perhaps shows how difficult it might be to solve this issue in round one. The top prospects (Richardson, Lotulelei) will be long gone. It could push the Seahawks towards free agency where the likes of Randy Starks are expected to hit the market. He could be a real game-changer for this defense.

Wide receiver/tight end – The Seahawks absolutely have to get more depth here. Imagine the situation where Sidney Rice or Golden Tate picked up an injury? The pre-season try-outs for Braylon Edwards and Terrell Owens said a lot – there was a little desperation in the air, especially with Doug Baldwin’s injury in pre-season. This has to be an off-season priority and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a receiver. There’s nothing to stop the team picking up another tight end, especially one with experience lining up out wide and in the slot. A player like Zach Ertz – Stanford’s leading receiver this year – would also fit the bill (see video above). I suspect Pete Carroll would like to run even more 2TE sets, so it’s not such a ridiculous prospect if the value isn’t there at receiver.

Linebacker – The WILL position could still use an upgrade or at least further competition. Malcolm Smith has a chance to nail down the starting job if he keeps performing to a high standard. It appears we’re witnessing the final throws of Leroy Hill’s solid career in Seattle. Even if Smith doesn’t win the gig permanently, he’s always going to provide special teams value and good depth. A rangy player such as Alec Ogletree or Arthur Brown would make a lot of sense if available in round one. And while linebacker falls behind DT and WR/TE as a pure need, it could provide the best value at the end of round one.

Some of the changes this week include Barkevious Mingo dropping a bit (not had a great year), Cordarrelle Patterson moving into the top-15 (X-factor type with ideal size) and now that Kyle Long won’t be returning to Oregon, he makes the second round.

A quick note on Patterson by the way – and he’s a player to keep an eye on for the Seahawks. New Tennessee coach Butch Jones said today he “definitely” expects him to declare for the 2013 draft. Per Evan Woodbery, Jones is quoted as saying, “He’s a special player with a great skill set. I wish him well.”

First round

#1 Matt Barkley (QB, USC)
The Chiefs need a quarterback. They don’t have a terrible roster. And even if the value isn’t quite there, this solves their biggest problem.
#2 Bjoern Werner (DE, Florida State)
The Jaguars need a pass rusher and Werner could steadily move up the boards after a 13.5 sack season.
#3 Manti Te’o (LB, Notre Dame)
The Raiders need to start drafting good football players. This will be a long rebuild.
#4 Luke Joeckel (T, Texas A&M)
This is the starting point for whoever starts Philly’s new era. They have to repair the offensive line.
#5 Dion Jordan (DE, Oregon)
He’s a physical freak. He could blow up the combine. If he does… then hello to the top five.
#6 Jake Mathews (T, Texas A&M)
Although he’s playing at right tackle for the Aggies, he’s good enough to move across and play the blind side.
#7 Damontre Moore (DE, Texas A&M)
He’s having a great year and looks the part of a NFL rusher. He has 12.5 sacks in the SEC. That isn’t easy.
#8 Tyler Wilson (QB, Arkansas)
They need to draft a quarterback. And then they need to give that quarterback better receivers.
#9 Sheldon Richardson (DT, Missouri)
Sheldon Richardson is Darnell Dockett.
#10 Brandon Coleman (WR, Rutgers)
Stunning prospect. 6-6 receiver who out-runs defensive backs. Hands catcher.
#11 Geno Smith (QB, West Virginia)
All the messing around at quarterback cannot happen again next year. The madness has to stop.
#12 Dee Milliner (CB, Alabama)
Elite potential. Vastly underrated. The complete cornerback.
#13 Cordarrelle Patterson (WR, Tennessee)
The Dolphins need playmakers for Ryan Tannehill. Patterson is the X-factor player of 2013.
#14 Star Lotulelei (DT, Utah)
Enormous ceiling but he just blows too hot and cold. Inconsistent.
#15 Chance Warmack (G, Alabama)
He’s good enough to go in the top ten. So is Jonathan Cooper.
#16 Alec Ogletree (LB, Georgia)
I want to find a way to get him in the top ten. Incredible potential.
#17 Matt Elam (S, Florida)
Elam’s a dynamic defensive back who will make plays at the next level.
#18 Jonathan Cooper (G, North Carolina)
Athletic guard who could even switch to tackle. He will start for 10+ years.
#19 Ezekiel Ansah (DE, BYU)
Another player who could really boost his stock with a great combine. A Giants type of pass rusher.
#20 Eric Fisher (T, Central Michigan)
He’s good enough to go earlier. Underrated, probably because he plays at a smaller school. He’s the next Joe Staley.
#21 Arthur Brown Jr (LB, Kansas State)
Don’t under-estimate this guy. He’s legit.
#22 DeAndre Hopkins (WR, Clemson)
Minnesota needs more options at receiver. Hopkins could have an instant impact.
#23 Taylor Lewan (T, Michigan)
The next best tackle and the Rams need to fill this position long term.
#24 Zach Ertz (TE, Stanford)
The Seahawks need another pass-catcher. Ertz can line up at WR or TE, providing much needed depth to both positions.
#25 Jonathan Jenkins (DT, Georgia)
They’re building a 3-4 defense. That means they need a nose tackle.
#26 Jarvis Jones (DE, Georgia)
Baltimore are good enough to take a chance on Jones, whose spinal stenosis issue will put off some teams.
#27 Jesse Williams (DT, Alabama)
His best position could be the five technique in a 3-4 defense.
#28 Markus Wheaton (WR, Oregon State)
A smart team will draft this guy early. He’s the second coming of Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace.
#29 John Simon (DE, Ohio State)
Just a solid, blue-collar pass rusher.
#30 Sylvester Williams (DT, North Carolina)
Terrific pass-rushing defensive tackle who can line up at the one or three technique.
#31 Dallas Thomas (G, Tennessee)
He had an excellent 2012 season. Thomas can play guard or tackle.
#32 Tavon Austin (WR, West Virginia)
When you have a roster like Atlanta’s, why not go for another playmaker?

Second round

#33 Jacksonville – Robert Woods (WR, USC)
#34 Kansas City – Barkevious Mingo (DE, LSU)
#35 Philadelphia – Barrett Jones (C, Alabama)
#36 Detroit – Jonathan Banks (CB, Mississippi State)
#37 Cincinnati – Giovani Bernard (RB, North Carolina)
#38 Buffalo – C.J. Mosley (LB, Alabama)
#39 Carolina – Shawn Williams (S, Georgia)
#40 Tennessee – Kyle Long (G, Oregon)
#41 Arizona – Justin Pugh (T, Syracuse)
#42 San Diego – Justin Hunter (WR, Tennessee)
#43 Miami – Brennan Williams (T, North Carolina)
#44 New York Jets – Mike Glennon (QB, NC State)
#45 Tampa Bay – Tyler Eifert (TE, Notre Dame)
#46 St. Louis – Kenny Vaccaro (S, Texas)
#47 Pittsburgh – Stepfan Taylor (RB, Stanford)
#48 Chicago – D.J. Fluker (T, Alabama)
#49 New York Giants – Oday Aboushi (T, Virginia)
#50 Dallas – Jonathan Hankins (DT, Ohio State)
#51 Washington – Kevin Minter (LB, LSU)
#52 Minnesota – Bennie Logan (DT, LSU)
#53 Cincinnati – Alex Okafor (DE, Texas)
#54 Miami – Corey Lemonier (DE, Auburn)
#55 Seattle – Khaseem Greene (LB, Rutgers)
#56 Baltimore – Sharrif Floyd (DT, Florida)
#57 New England – Blidi Wreh-Wilson (CB, Connecticut)
#58 Green Bay – Montee Ball (RB, Wisconsin)
#59 San Francisco – Jordan Poyer (CB, Oregon State)
#60 Denver – Jonathan Franklin (RB, UCLA)
#61 Atlanta – Gavin Escobar (TE, San Diego State)
#62 Houston – Keenan Allen (WR, California)

59 Comments

  1. dave crockett

    Ertz would likely be good value for Seattle, though I do wonder how Seattle will prioritize if our dreams of Randy Starks don’t materialize. Even if Starks hits the market he should be a sizzling hot commodity.

    • Turp

      I wonder if they would prefer Sylvester Williams instead of Ertz if they don’t acquire Starks.

      • Rob Staton

        Possibly. And I’m a big fan of Williams. I just wonder if his long term best position is similar to Brandon Mebane’s at the one technique.

        • Turp

          Good point on the 1tech. He may even be more desirable for his depth if he can play both positions. Starter at the 3, can switch to the 1 if needed. Hawks FO has definitely shown an affinity to players that can lineup at multiple positions.

        • Attyla the Hawk

          Williams looks very comfortable at the 3. He has excellent agility and displays a range of pass rush techniques.

          He has the size to replace/back up Mebane. Although he really looks more suited to the 3 by my eye. He doesn’t look like he takes on multiple blockers particularly great despite his size. He looks like he has the quickness and savvy to really wreak havoc in a 1 on 1 matchup. He just has a way of worming his way through a single blocker. And it’s not as if he’s *bad* at taking on blockers. It’s just that he doesn’t distinguish himself in that area. He’s not a liability, but not an asset either in that scenario. I would not expect him to be as good as say Alan Branch in that regard. But he has excellent size and like Mebane, kind of carries his weight lower in the trunk and core. It’s not inconceivable at all that he couldn’t develop those skills. However at 25, he’s already basically 4 years younger than Mebane.

          If you want to see immovable objects, watch Jonathan Jenkins. It’s funny because he is basically going to be within half a yard of the line of scrimmage for the whole play. No matter how many or few blockers you throw at him. He’s Gilbert Brown without the leverage. Looks like if Akebono played DT.

          Williams doesn’t have Mebane’s ability to anchor/drop leverage and turn into just an immovable boulder. And he doesn’t have his ability to do that and also disengage and make plays on his own at the point of attack. Williams looks like a gap attacker, not a gap eater. But he looks like a good gap attacker who is skilled at attacking a shoulder of a blocker and gaining leverage as he passes through the gap using varied techniques to gain an advantage.

          Williams is a guy I like a lot. I think he has skills that would be very desirable for Seattle and skills that are missing. He could be an every down 3 his first year here, but given our desire for specialists, he may be a base 3 tech and a short yardage contributor too.

          Other than Richardson and Sutton, Williams looks like the 3rd best player at getting through a block and potentially recording a sack. He does provide consistent pressure as well and there are many many plays where he is working his way through the block as passes are delivered. In this regard I think he is superior to Richardson. Not amazingly so but it’s something I noted. He just doesn’t get stonewalled very frequently.

    • Rob Staton

      He should be… but he’ll also be 30 next season and he’s got a few off-field concerns. So the price might be more reasonable than we’d expect today. However – that would be my #1 priority free agent signing for the Seahawks if the price is right.

  2. Norm M

    Rob,

    Where do you see the best depth at the positions of need you listed? My thought is a WR first round and DL and LB 2nd and 3rd rounds. It seems that Carroll can find talent on the defensive side based on the teams specific needs. I would be ecstatic with the Ertz selection if they could pick up a speed guy in the later rounds. I still think we could use an over the top receiver to take advantage of the play action and RW’s touch on the long ball.

    • Rob Staton

      I think there’s a lot of depth at DT, WR, OL. And I agree about the speed at WR. I still think Wheaton deserves a look and Cordarrelle Patterson remains intriguing. One way or another they have to upgrade the interior pass rush.

  3. Kenny Sloth

    Wow, you’re really betting hard on us picking up Randy Starks, huh?

    • Rob Staton

      Not at all… I’m putting it forward a lot at the moment, but there’s no commitment on my part there.

    • Attyla the Hawk

      I think it correlates neatly with how we approached last season. We had 4 needs: Pass rusher, LB (speed),Touchdown maker and the position that shall not be named: QB.

      We looked to spread out the risk. Picked up Flynn in UFA to address QB. That freed up our needs list so we could focus on fewer players at the top. LB was deep last year and we obviously saw enough from Mychal Kendricks and Bobby Wagner to be comfortable addressing that need in R2.

      Reducing your search space by addressing need via UFA is a good thing. And like last year, it doesn’t preclude you from still addressing it via the draft. It just reduces the need to spend high draft stock in order to address the need. We still hit on a top 5 overall player and that was kind of by luck. But if we didn’t have that flexibility, maybe we end up taking Weeden instead of Irvin. Or Osweiler instead of Wagner. Having Flynn in house meant we could afford to let Wilson fall. And if Buffalo up and scooped him up our season wouldn’t have been destroyed. I think it’s questionable whether we end up with the draft we had, if we would have felt compelled to take Wilson in the second.

      Starks gives us the flexibility to focus our efforts elsewhere on the roster. Maybe we like the WRs. Maybe we would want to have the freedom to move up a lot and get Coleman. That’ll mean less picks later and presumably less ability to get a 3 tech via the draft.

      All getting a UFA does is really increase your flexibility. And when it comes to getting creative on draft day, I would put our brain trust up against any team in the NFL without reservation. Giving them options I’m all in favor of.

      • Kenny Sloth

        That’s a great explanation. I like Will Sutton in the 3-4 range. Great burst off the ball. I’d rate him an awful lot higher than Jaye Howard in terms of penetration and pass rush ability. I’d rate him higher than Sheldon Richardson in these areas. He’s really good.
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CgTpdpCymw
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDDdUFynMsY
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS3Ibe_SMFk

        Not a great tackler. Mostly due to poor technique. Doesn’t get much push in the running game, but doesn’t get driven back either, which happens to Jaye Howard and Sheldon Richardson, both. I give him an early second round grade. Great potential.

        • Elijah

          My guess would be that Will Sutton would be viewed as an alternative to Jason Jones, perhaps if Jones is looking for a contract bigger than the Seahawks are comfortable with.

  4. Kenny Sloth

    What if Melton and Chicago can’t get a deal done? He might like the concept of being a starter for a contender rather than an aging defense that might miss the playoffs two years in a row. Seattle’s looking a whole lot nicer than Chicago right now.

    • Rob Staton

      $$$$$$$

      • Kenny Sloth

        Quite right, but he’s a three down player. We could drop Branch if and Jones if he would come here. Great player, in my opinion. Do you think he’ll demand a particularly large contract?

  5. Stuart

    I love the pick of Ertz in so many ways! Many times on this sight I have honked Ertz’s horn for our pick in R-1. This pick is not to replace Miller but to fully complement RW. Ertz could be the safety valve that shoots RW to superstar status. We all remember McCoy getting 105 yards in a game recently and then being nearly invisible the next game…What about the game at St. Louis when McCoy fell down on our last drive costing us a chance to pull out the victory. Suppose we could have won that game? Or even the game at Arizona? Ertz could have been that man where Edwards and Baldwin failed at the end of the game. We all get excited about what we are missing but if we had just won either of those games we would be playing for the division crown this weekend?

    Great choice Rob!

  6. Kenny Sloth

    What does anyone ACTUALLY see in Dion Jordan. I agree. Elite physical talent. But absolutely no pass rush instinct. Poor tackler. No pass rush moves. Doesn’t have violent or active hands. Nor is he strong at the point of attack. I thought he would come out this year and blow everyone away with his ability, but he’s gotten a bunch of coverage sacks, missed tackles, and shown a lot of promise as the fabled “big nickel” everyone is looking for. <- that last bit was sarcasm. He's a project player for sure.

    Note: I am a diehard Oregon fan, but would not take Dion Jordan in the first round. Maybe a late second. But hey, there's a reason I'm not a GM.

    • Kenny Sloth

      I’m sure he has a great personality, though.

      • AlaskaHawk

        Flynn has a great personality. I wish some other team wanted to date him.

        • Kenny Sloth

          He’s a gemini. Gemini’s are great. Especially if you could get even a 3rd round pick for them. *Hello, Bills?*

  7. PatrickH

    Tony Pauline has publish his first projections over at http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/?p=6587 for WR in next year’s draft. He is currently projecting that Brandon Coleman and Markus Wheaton will go in the fourth round. It is early, though, so it will be interesting to see how the projections change in the next few months.

    • AlaskaHawk

      With the success of Texas A&M I would target Ryan Swope in the 4th round and call in that other guy as a UDFA for a tryout.

    • Rob Staton

      Very little chance they last to the fourth.

      • AlaskaHawk

        I agree, with the season that Texas A&M had you got to think their receivers are excellent and will be drafted, but no one is mentioning them in the first two rounds yet.

  8. AlaskaHawk

    The good news is that if we did go DT in the first round there are at least three candidates going after our pick. The bad news is that we don’t have two picks in the first! Darn it, I want more. Free agency might solve our 3 tech issue, but no guarantees there. Even if you get a great player they can be injured. Also under consideration when we are spending money on a free agent is that we got a bunch of young players that will be due more money soon too.

    Zach Ertz would be a great pick if we would use our tight ends more. Quick slants up the middle would are a good counter against blitzing linebackers. Miller hasn’t been getting pass plays that hit him quickly. Probably more to do with the pass play design then the players. It would be nice if the Hawks spent the offseason studying New England and Denver for pass route ideas. Washington also has a lot of unique looks. We got the QB, lets upgrade our pass routes next.

    • Colin

      “studying New England and Denver for pass route ideas…”

      It helps when your QB is Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

      Personally, it doesn’t bother me that the vast majority of our routes are deep and long developing. Pete is aggressive and wants to run the ball and take shots down the field. I like it.

      I wouldn’t expect the playcalling to change suddenly.

      • AlaskaHawk

        That’s what I’m trying to say. It is the play calling that is limiting us. Long passes are fine if you got the time. The good defensive teams won’t give us that time. We need to have a few blitz routes ready. The tight end is a good counter to the blitz.

        Ideally we have the short, medium and long passing game working. Mixed in with punishing runs and a few screens. Looking at teams like Washington = they have newer formations that are hard to counter. Now that Russell Wilson has taken over we can start expanding our play list.

        • Colin

          You’ve been quick to criticize players and coaches (Bevell, Bruce Irvin, Carpenter) but you don’t seem to appreciate their efforts. Don’t you think Bevell deserves SOME credit for getting Russ to the level he’s at right now? I’ll admit I was a large critic of his early this year, and now I can fully appreciate why they went slow.

          • AlaskaHawk

            I do appreciate Bevell’s efforts. I love the play of rookies Wilson and Wagner, I am totally onboard with them. I hope the Hawks smack the 49ers down.

            As for players – we are transitioning into a better team. Unfortunately some players will not make it due to injuries, being replaced by better players or other issues. The draft is not a sure thing, lots of players don’t make it. Lots of pro players have to hang up there cleats each year.

            I give my opinion, and yours and Robs are different. Thats okay.

        • Phil

          Speaking of screens — we’ve got to be the worst team in the league for running screens. When we run a bubble to a WR, it seem to take an eternity to develop and as a consequence it looks like the defense is just inches from a pick-six. On screens to our RBs, I think RW’s height is an issue. Sometimes he has to loft the ball over the onrushing defenders and, once again, the play is slow to develop. Our quick screens to the slot have worked fairly well — Tate has made some nice plays. In any event, I’d like the team to focus more on the screen during next year’s camps.

    • Phil

      AlaskaHawk – I agree. Ertz would be a great pick, but only if we are going to use him more than we currently use our TEs. I’d love to see us pick Ertz and Tavon Austin (ain’t gonna happen) — the long and short of this year’s draft.

  9. Stuart

    Ertz is a mover of the chain, that is for sure. While PC and staff are watching the footage from NE etc., they need to get ideas on how to utilize Miller more as well. If RW had two exceptional TE’s at his disposal, PC-Bevell will design game plans to maxize this new strenght of our O. As much as I love ERTZ, we still need a big play WR, “CHAIN MOVER.”

    With R-1 used for TE Ertz, I would use R-2 to get WR Wheaton or a player that can do what he does…Which would be big play, speed and great hands, “TOUCH MAKER.”

    Suddenly our O is legitematly lethal. I would do TE in R-1 and WR inR-2. JS needs to figure out a way to sign Starks and we have to have faith in Malcom Smith and Korey Toomer at the WILL. PC/JS find steals every year. JS has our dream job. I wonder if he ever checks this site, I bet he does…probably from his home PC (ha ha).

    • Attyla the Hawk

      It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. I also think the context has changed to an unrecognizable extent since that off the cuff ‘Touchdown maker’ comment was thrown out there. I mean we had an injured Rice, Tate was not productive. Baldwin was a slot guy leading the team in catches. Miller was not able to get released into the pattern. And we had an incredibly unproductive and eternally limited QB.

      This team isn’t even close to as bad as that team was last year. Improvements all along the board and it starts with Wilson and the fact that defenses have to honor his ability rather than cheat the defense because the QB can’t take advantage of that.

      I think this team is always going to be looking for touchdown makers. Those types of players are rare. But I don’t see it as a specific ‘need’. More like a slow burning ‘want’. If it were a real need, then we surely would have tried somewhere to address that need last year. We opted to take a DT and switch him to OG rather than address that need in some way. How urgent could it really have been?

      I see a lot of people still referencing the Touchdown maker morsel dropped on Pete’s end of year press conference. I’ve not heard that uttered since. Maybe we’re trying to lay low in the weeds and keep our intentions close.

      Hard to say. Right now, we’re not having problems scoring touchdowns. And our depth at WR has been tested some (with some missing the year on IR). I’m not convinced we are dissimilar from other teams in the league at this point in the season. Everyone suffers attrition. We can still roll our top 3 starters from opening day. There are a lot of teams that can’t say that.

      • Ely

        We already have our TD maker, its Wilson. QB’s like Wilson throw to the open man. Instead of needing an elite receiver he can do as much with 2 or three average to above average TD makers. Our receiving core needs depth more than a makeover. This is why I would be more inclined to draft DL in round one. Clearly we need the 3 tech as Rob has stated but the interior players are getting a little older and they are the most expensive group. Given the chance to move up for Richardson with a 3rd RD pick I would do it. If not hopefully Williams falls to our pick. I think RD two is where WR depth should be targeted.

  10. Jeff

    for a speed receiver,how about debose from florida? (#31 on walter football list.)

  11. Steeeve

    You’ve been saying Baltimore are good enough to take a chance on certain players, but are they really? They have a soon-to-be free agent QB who falls apart under pressure, an offensive line that struggles in both the run game and pass protection, future Hall of Famers at DE, MLB, and FS who are aging fast and prone to injury, a front 7 that is very inconsistent at generating pressure, and terrible depth at CB. I think the time of viewing Baltimore as this elite organization is nearing its end. Out of every team in the first round, the Ravens are the one that can least afford a misstep.

    • Rob Staton

      They’re also 9-5 after a mini-slump.

      • AlaskaHawk

        Baltimore needs to draft a QB. Flaco is competent but doesn’t provide a spark. In fact = I think Alex Smith would be a good fit for them. And also draft a mid round QB for the future.

        They are inconsistent and having the same problem as the Seahawks in that we identify with our tough defense. But this year it hasn’t been so tough = and now our offense is kicking it up a notch. So who are we? My ideal is tough defense and high scoring offense when we want/ or grind out the clock when needed.

        So how to get there? Do you draft for the defense you once had? Do you draft evenly? Or support the offense? Probably safest to draft evenly. But we don’t have to. I think it was Green Bay that went all defense last draft(?) They are doing okay.

  12. Nate Dogg

    What am I missing on Ansah? Some of the draftbreakdown guys are really high on him, and you have him as a first round guy. I liked Upshaw quite a bit better than I like Ansah (although I was not a fan of Upshaw with Seattle’s first pick), and Upshaw went in the second round. I don’t see Ansah as a special pass rusher or athlete, and he’s struggles quite a bit against the run. Where does a first round grade come from?

    • Rob Staton

      Upside. Purely upside.

      • Nate Dogg

        Huh, I don’t see the athleticism to project a lot of upside. But like you say, if he rocks the combine then maybe it’s a different story.

      • Attyla the Hawk

        Is it me, or do you think that the combine hype is going to be much more influential this year versus other years? I just get the sense that there isn’t a whole lot of separation between many of these prospects. And it seems like it extends deep into the draft — easily into the third round.

        I could envision legitimate scenarios where Dontari Poe, if he came out this year, could have been a top 6 pick overall. Certainly above a Manti Te’o. Maybe even above Werner.

  13. Stuart

    Just heard Jason Jones is out for the season:(. Apparently it’s the same knee that hammpered his play in Tennessee. Short term this will hurt alot but what happens long term with soon to be FA Jason Jones?

    • Rob Staton

      I’m not sure it’ll have too much impact. Jones hasn’t been quite as effective as hoped. He’s acted as a specialist, and I think we’ll see more of Clinton McDonald now. Long term they need to find a permanent upgrade at the three technique, not someone who merely plays third downs.

  14. Stuart

    Rob, do you think the Hawks would move up in the first, second or third to get their preferred player?

    • Kenny Sloth

      I think they’d move up in one of those rounds.
      There’s going to be some great talent at the top of the second round.

    • Rob Staton

      Possibly.

  15. Kenny Sloth

    I like Will Sutton in the 3-4 range. Great burst off the ball. I’d rate him an awful lot higher than Jaye Howard in terms of penetration and pass rush ability. I’d rate him higher than Sheldon Richardson in these areas. He’s really good.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CgTpdpCymw
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDDdUFynMsY
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS3Ibe_SMFk

    Not a great tackler. Mostly due to poor technique. Doesn’t get much push in the running game, but doesn’t get driven back either, which happens to Jaye Howard and Sheldon Richardson, both. I give him an early second round grade. But he’ll probably go in the middle of the third. Great potential.

    • Kenny Sloth

      He looks a lot bigger than he’s listed, too.

  16. Turp

    Jason Jones to IR today. Do you agree with the statement that his season was a mixed success this year (successful when healthy, but nagging injuries a problem)? If we let him walk, then does that increase the need to draft a 3 tech as well?

    • Rob Staton

      I think they need to add a three technique whether he stays or goes. He’s acted as a specialist this year, working solely on obvious passing downs and mainly third downs. The big issue for Seattle is in the base defense which he’s not part of. They need to be able to press with four. At the moment, they rush four and the worst lines in the NFL are keeping the worst QB’s clean. If they want to keep this scheme, they have to upgrade the defensive line used in base defense.

      • AlaskaHawk

        I am a fan of Jason Jones. I liked the way he smacked people when he was tackling. Great energy! He probably should have been playing as DE instead of DT, but we have been looking hard for someone to fill in that 3 tech spot. Speaking of which, our newest candidate from the practice squad is named Fangupo and weighs 319 pounds. You can’t go wrong with a defensive guy who has “Fang” in his name!

        • Colin

          He played DE in Tennessee and it was not a fit for him.

  17. Kenny Sloth

    You like Giovani Bernard from UNC? He’s got great acceleration, vision, and balance. He’s my top back, just ahead of Eddie Lacy. Then Stefan Taylor.

  18. Jeremy

    If Ertz is you guy here, can you at least post a picture of him catching the football! I can’t see them going TE in the 1st.

  19. Nigel

    I just watched the Rutgers Syracuse footage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2n2iXjoUms and came away impressed with Khaseem Greene. He recorded two strip-sacks in the the game. He looks to shed blockers very well and would be an upgrade to Hill as a situational pass rusher. He would also be better than Malcom Smith at the point of attack while still possessing sideline to sideline speed. I wasn’t overly impressed with his pass drops but i haven’t watched enough of him to make an accurate evaluation.

    I love the Zach Ertz pick, but like many after a few years of Defense and Oline early, i want a sexy draft. You are right in that if we pick up Starks, Melton or another solid 3tech, we can basically do whatever we want in the draft. It looks to be pretty deep at WR but Ertz looks like the best TE, Eifert is pretty good two.

  20. Carl Shinyama

    Hey Rob,

    Who are some fast 3-Techs you feel the Seahawks may target in the 2nd or 3rd round (perhaps even beyond)?

    I wouldn’t be surprised to see them trade back from late in the first round to target multiple players in the 2nd and 3rd round.

    • Rob Staton

      Kawann Short (Purdue), Will Sutton (Arizona State), Sharrif Floyd (Florida), Bennie Logan (LSU), Akeem Spence (Illinois) – few options there.

© 2024 Seahawks Draft Blog

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑