Why we could see a lot of WR’s going in round one

This Tweet doesn’t lock in the Cowboys taking a receiver. Far from it. But it does hint at an approach teams could take in the #10-25 portion of this draft.

By now we have a pretty good idea about who’s going to go in the top ten. Greg Robinson, Jake Matthews and Taylor Lewan should go in that range — and Zack Martin could join them. We’ll see Jadeveon Clowney go early, probably at #1. Khalil Mack, Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans are safe bets and the top two quarterbacks — Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles — could be gone by #8. Aaron Donald should also be a top ten pick.

The 10/11 players named above are pretty established as the top prospects in the 2014 draft. But when you get outside of the top ten, things get a little murky.

This is nothing new. Often when you’re faced with a good quality draft the talent difference between #12 and (approximately) #26 is minimal. Picking in the mid-teens can be undesirable — you just miss out on several top tier players, and end up drafting someone who isn’t that much better than a guy you can get ten picks later.

Let’s say the Chicago Bears draft Ha Ha Clinton-Dix at #14. He’d be a solid pick. But he’s certainly not Earl Thomas, a previous #14 pick. And he probably isn’t all that better than the players who will go in the early 20’s. It’d fill a need, but the value would be slightly underwhelming.

Some of the other teams between #11-19 will struggle to fill their needs. Dallas are one of those teams. So what do they do?

They could consider trading up. Going after Aaron Donald would make some sense for the Cowboys. Jerry Jones has been aggressive in the past. Yet they have so many needs on defense I’m not convinced giving up a boat load of picks would be a wise idea.

Will there be a deal to trade down? Perhaps. The Ravens at #17 are a threat for anyone wanting a right tackle or specific receiver.

If no deal is forthcoming though, who do they take?

A lot of people, myself included, have mocked Anthony Barr at #16. He’s not a perfect fit for Rod Marinelli’s scheme and ideally you wouldn’t be banking on an immediate return on your investment. He needs further development having only played defense for two years. He needs to get stronger. His best fit is on a team that can mix him into a rotation in year one — not rely on him to provide an edge rush.

The Cowboys might think it’s too big a risk to put that pressure on Barr. They may need alternatives. He might even be off the board by #16. The Titans at #11 need a 3-4 OLB for Ray Horton’s new defense.

If we’re going to take Barr out of consideration for the purpose of this article, what other direction can they go in? Timmy Jernigan for me is totally overrated and won’t be considered anywhere near this early. Are there any other safety’s or defensive linemen you’d take at #16?

The receiver position is so rich in quality at the top end, you might as well consider it. Just add a really good player to your team.

This is what an unnamed personnel man told Bob McGinn:

“I told the head coach, there will be a team that comes out of this thing with five starters in the next three years.”

“If there’s ever a situation where you pick the best player available, it’s this year. There’s that many good players.”

The Cowboys could add Odell Beckham Jr or Marqise Lee as Rapoport’s Tweet suggests and feel very satisfied that they added a really dynamic weapon.

Dallas won’t be the only team that ends up in a situation like this. Tennessee with all their needs might see receiver as the best option. Pittsburgh could look at the position. So could Baltimore, the Jets, Green Bay, Philadelphia and Kansas City.

When faced with making a big reach or just grabbing a good receiver, I think many teams next Thursday will see it as an easy decision. And the overall depth in this draft will encourage this mentality.

There’s also the possibility teams like New Orleans and San Francisco (both with a history of being aggressive) will move up to make sure they get one of the top wide outs.

We could easily see seven receivers off the board by #22: Watkins, Evans, Beckham Jr, Lee, Cooks, Benjamin and Latimer. It could happen.

After that you get a run of teams who won’t see the position as a big need. Between #23 and #31 there’s probably going to be a mini-run on cornerbacks. This is the area where value meets need, there’s a real soft spot here for 3-4 defensive backs to leave the board.

But when you get into New Orleans (if they stay put) at #27, Carolina at #28, San Francisco at #30 (again, if they stay put) and Seattle at #32 — we could see even more WR’s going in round one.

I imagine there’s a consensus talent drop off after Benjamin/Latimer, but it wouldn’t be a total shock if Donte Moncrief and Martavis Bryant (for example) ended up sneaking into the back end of round one.

Some teams are going to say, “we’ll wait” for a wide out because there’s depth to match the first round numbers. But the thing is — it’s a weak draft for other positions. Defensive tackle is mediocre this year. Linebacker and defensive end might be even worse. It’s not a great cornerback or safety class. And after the top 6-7 offensive tackles leave the board, there’s a major drop off.

You can find players at all of those positions, but there’s either limited depth or little value in round one.

When you’re faced with a Marqise Lee or Odell Beckham Jr sitting there as a fall back — it’s going to be really difficult to pass.

73 Comments

  1. Jon

    This may be why we find an Easley, Bitonio or Hageman sitting at the #32 pick.
    I know people are wanting to trade back to collect picks, but I just dont know. Perhaps if a Beckham Jr., Lee, or Latimer get to #25 we could move up. I know we don’t have a lot of picks this year, but I would love to see a move like this in round one and then a big move back in round 2 to pick up those picks. The greatest depth of this draft is seen in the way that talent in round 2 and 3 just keep going. according to D Stephens per Davis Hsu their are about 90 players with a round 2-3 value. Then the other depth is that we will likely still have some 3-4 round talent in the 6th or 7th as teams have to fill holes while the hawks just sit back and wait for scheme fit BPA products.

    • Rob Staton

      With respect to Derek Stephens I disagree an awful lot with his grades this year. Very different to how I see it.

      • Jon

        I don’t realy know. I just quoted that based on something I saw, and the fact that people seem to say it is such a deep draft makes me think there are a lot more draftable players. And players that are graded in the 2-3 range as well. I have seen a lot of difference between your opinions this year, but did not realize that your opinion differed on overall depth of the class. Can you say more.

  2. Darren

    Being at 32 we’re about to the second round anyway. We could take a 30-50 rated talent and it’s not really a reach as long as we like that player. We could still take Easley in the first if we want. We have that luxury. The history of pick 32 isn’t glamorous. Would love to trade up, but difficult with so few picks to start. Robs already noted the unlikeliness of moving down from 32.

    Come to think Bitonio may be gone being the 5 or 6 best lineman, a mankins type player.

    DL may not be a big need if current youth is solid. If so, Hageman and Smith are the likely suspects it seems.

    Give the depleted WR options at 32, Moncrief at 20 y.o. with his measurables would still be a nice consolation prize.

    • Darren

      Wouldn’t Moncrief in a normal year be a 3rd or 4th rated reciever?

      Easley, Coleman 64

      • Rob Staton

        Moncrief is a tough one to project. He’s one of the best athletes in this draft, legitimately in the top 4-5 at any position in terms of athletic potential. If you feel you can develop certain areas of his game he’s a first rounder. It’s really down to how much faith you have in your ability to develop him and his ability to be developed. Some teams won’t consider him until round three because they can’t put on tape and see something akin to a finish article. Other teams will see a blank canvas. The problem in terms of Seattle is he doesn’t show strong hands or the ability to high point the ball consistently. If they think they can improve this — they’ll rate him very highly IMO.

        A good example of what he’s capable of is the Texas tape from 2012. A good example of how painfully frustrating he can be is the Missouri tape from 2013.

        • Darren

          Maybe if his separation ability is elite and he’s a competent route runner, he could provide that as a unique asset we currently lack. How many times do we see Russell running around with no one open.

          It seems there isn’t a correlation betwween Teams with outstanding WR groups and championships. Just last year we shut down a supposedly epic WR crew in Denver. They are nice to have for gameplanning and all but defense wind championships.

          Still I think we know pete wants a bigtime SE and we can’t but one,we’ll have to find one. I Like Moncrief, Coleman or move up somehow for Benjammin……..I wouldn’t discount Hageman and Smith as available options.

          • Rob Staton

            I think there’s a subtle difference though between getting open on a route (aka creating separation) and being able to give your QB an option during a scramble drill. And Seattle runs a lot of scramble drills — Carroll is on the record as saying he wants to be the best scrambling team in the league. The Seahawks don’t run much of a timing offense and even when they had three starters missing on the O-line, they didn’t resort to a more up tempo passing game. They want to take shots and use play action. The receivers don’t have to create great separation, they just have to be able to compete and win 1v1 battles. This will be the problem I fear in terms of Moncrief. His 2013 tape is pretty weak when it comes to high pointing the ball, winning battles, showing strong hands. He doesn’t own the red line. In a way he’s the anti-Cody Latimer. But athletically he is a dream come true. A perfect specimen for the position.

            I disagree that there’s any correlation between great WR’s and Championships. You can win a title in many different ways. Green Bay and New Orleans won their’s recently with terrific passing games. The Ravens beat the 49ers because Flacco, Boldin and Jones all had an outstanding game. The much respected Baltimore defense was actually a liability in that post season. They won because of the passing game.

            Seattle shut down Denver’s entire structure. They did what nobody else could do — pressure Peyton Manning. And they schemed perfectly. Carroll hasn’t received enough credit for that game plan. But I promise you now — if Seattle had a guy like Demaryius Thomas on their roster they’d be a better team.

            • Darren

              Agreed.

              • Darren

                I like Bryant more and more, he won a lot of 50/50 shots in the film I watched recently,…he had no problem laying out to bring in tough catches either, great speed, we’ll coached,…..attitude concerns possibly behind him…..6’4″…Moss-esque.

                Even If 8 WR go the first 31 picks, there appears to be a drop after 9, with Coleman and Robinson being 10 and 11 respectively. I’ll be stunned if we don’t have a new wideout by the end of day two

                • Robert

                  Me Too! I think there is a lethal dynamic potential if we combine MB with the Percy factor. PH draws the attention of Safeties and LB’s who are always ready to abandon their assignments to help with Percy. MB has unreal quicks for a big guy and his long strides are going to force the FS to abandon the middle of the field. Having 2 players who combine to stretch defenses vertically and horizontally would open up everything in the playbook!

            • EranUngar

              Rob, if i buy into the high pointing, win contested catches etc. as the one goal on my mind there is one receiver that does that better then any other in this draft and he will be available later then all the guys we talk about. He does it better the Latimer but he is slower.

              check him out –
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qesZYXrQPGk

      • Jon

        Easley will not likely make 64. It seems the Pats are very high on him. It would not surprise me to much if he were off the board at #32.

  3. chavac

    I wasnt a huge bitonio fan in the beginning but it’s starting to look like he would be a best case scenario at this point. I think the only WR that would outweigh him and have a shot in hell of falling would be Lee, but that seems like a stretch. Unless of course Cable has his guy pegged later on, or they’re really sold on the peop they already have as starters.

    With so many quality starters and backups i think this is going to be one of the most exciting drafts in a while for us. That first rounder is going to be pegged for a need but after that they can get really, really, creative and play the board. I never thought i would be so excited for 2-7 and indifferent to our first round pick.

    • Rob Staton

      Lee is too good to fall out of the top-20 IMO.

      I really do believe they thought Ja’Wuan James would be there at #32. And like a lot of linemen in recent years (including Eric Fisher and Lane Johnson last year) he’s flown up boards from the Senior Bowl onwards.

  4. Cameron

    Interesting that you would use an Ian Rappaport tweet to segue to a post about how a lot of WR’s could go in round 1.

    Also tweeted by Rappaport this week: “I know everyone expects a ton of WRs in the 1st round. I’m not so sure. Have heard many teams say “we’ll just wait until the 2nd or 3rd.”

    I still contend there may be something to this. After all, if you’re looking for an impact player at DE, LB, DT and other positions with limited supply, it makes sense to go after one early right?

    For some of those positions, the starter level quality might only be found in the first round or two. Are you, as the GM, really prepared to get hung up on whether player A is a better value than player B, when player A plugs a hole at a need position, and player B is a luxury at an already solid position group? I don’t think most GMs think this way. I could be wrong. We’ll know in 4 days.

    • Rob Staton

      I think some teams will go after their needs quite aggressively. As an example, for me there probably isn’t a cornerback worthy of going in the top-25. And yet we might see 2-3 off the board by that point. So there’s going to be some feeling that you better get your guy now, otherwise you might not get a chance to scratch that itch.

      But there’s also going to be other teams who just set out to get as many starters as possible in a deep class. IMO if Dallas was to say — “we have to go D-line at #16” and Barr’s off the board, there just isn’t another option there. There’s nobody you can justify taking with the pick. So you either make a truly titanic reach or you look elsewhere. And in that case, ODB or Lee just makes absolute sense.

      As for Rapoport’s Tweet about a limited number of WR’s going in round one. I think unless he’s spoken to every team that’s hard to say. You could speak to 8 teams who all say “we’ll wait”. You could still have another 15 willing to say, “We’ll go after a WR”. You can’t take a small sample and apply it to numbers going in round one. Maybe he did speak to every team, but it’s probably doubtful. He may have spoken to just one team who deliberately undersold the class on purpose. I guess we’ll never know. But seven, for me, is the likely tally of round one WR’s with room for one or two more.

      • Cameron

        That’s a fair point. I think this problem of aligning draft slots with value at various points throughout the draft will work itself out via trade. Let’s say Dallas is targeting Barr at 16, and he goes earlier than that. They should absolutely slide back in a trade with a WR hungry team like SF. Dallas could draft a Demarcus Lawrence and pick up precious mid round draft capital (Dallas of all teams should be employing this strategy).

        Of course this still means a WR was drafted with that pick, but it may have been the pick for SF at #30 anyways.

    • Mattk

      I agree. Football is the ultimate team sport. Often times, it’s the weakest position which rears it’s ugly head at the worst time, often the playoffs. Coaches and GMs want to address the holes on the roster and if they know that position X will have a supply of good players later in the draft while position Y is limited, they are going to place those players with limited numbers higher on the board or position themselves through trade so they get the value and need that makes sense.

      Your posts from Rappaport holds credence imo. It’s true like Rob said, he may only talk to a handful of teams, and usually they don’t offer specifics to the media how they will draft, BUT they will tell reporters what they think the OTHER 31 teams are likely to do. It’s very possible he hears that Carolina needs a receiver but they are more likely to draft a LT and wait till the 2nd to draft receiver, because shhhh that’s what we’d do.

  5. drewjov11

    If the run on tackles gets insane, and that leaves a few wr’s with high upside, I would love to take a chance on Martavus Bryant. Lots to work with there. I look at it like this: can we find a tackle who is definitely superior to what our current young bigs can give us? Or, do we have anyone in the wr corp who proved special attributes that Bryant or moncrief possess? Maybe an Alan Robinson if we move down a few spots? Rice is the one wr with size and he doesn’t play “big”. I say go with players who give you talents that you don’t already possess on the roster.

    • Rob Staton

      Bryant is an incredibly intriguing prospect. Very exciting player. Watching his tape makes you realise how truly awful Tajh Boyd was at Clemson. Give Bryant a better QB and he could be scary.

      • Mylegacy

        Rob, next year the Hawks look to have possibly 3 or 4 extra picks (for net free agent losses this year) any chance the Hawks look to make a trade and move up using one or two of those as bait to land one of the WRers or Whomever they really want?

        • Ben2

          Read some stuff on Ron Wolfe and the GB way…GM tree that JS is a part of and one thing that stuck out to me was a reference about drafting 10 guys a year. I bet JS hates having this few picks….does that make him trade for more picks this year OR Not make a trade again this year in which he loses numerical bulk; ie losing more picks than you end up getting ?

        • Rob Staton

          I wouldn’t rule it out.

    • James

      It would come as no surprise if John and Pete select somone in R1 whom we have hardly discussed, but I doubt it, because this blog has been very thorough. The Seahawks could really use any one of 4 positions: WR, OL, DT or Leo. It doesn’t really matter if there is a run on WRs, let say, because that will just slide down the other three positions. If the team were dead-set on a single position, then a run could adversely impact them, but since that’s not the case, a very good player is going to be there at #32. Of the players most discussed here: Bryant, Benjamin, Latimer, Bitonio, James, Easley, Lawrence, Tuitt, Shazier and Hageman, at least two or three will be there at #32 to choose from.

  6. SeahawkNMD

    Rob have you done a post lately on your personal WR rankings and where you would value taking them? Mainly I’m wondering how you are valuing Brandon Coleman especially vs Benjamin, Bryant and Moncrief. Ever since you brought Coleman up in 2012 I’ve been hooked on his talent.

    • Rob Staton

      Coleman would be next on my list after all the receivers listed in this piece.

  7. EranUngar

    A few general remarks:

    There is nothing sexier then picking a WR. (ok…maybe a QB pick when it’s Luke/RGIII)
    A GM in doubt will never be blamed for picking a top caliber 1st round WR. A bust on a mid 1st. round pick of a “working class” player could cost someone their job. So, when in doubt, pick a WR. I would be truly amazed if less then 7 are picked in the 1st.

    As much as we’d like to get the best value out of our draft capital it’s like fantasy football compared with real football. The perceived value at the draft is meaningless. Winning the draft value comparison is also worthless. The goal is to help your team get better. almost 40% of 1st round picks are a bust. The greatest drafting FO in the history of the seahawks has won the SB with 21 out of 39 draft picks on the roster. (Some in a cheer-leading capacity…)
    It’s a lottery no matter how you look at it and your perceived win or lose at it can only be measured years later.
    Considering the above, “drops” between groups of players within the draft should be taken with more then a grain of salt.
    I wonder how big was the drop between Luke, RGIII and say a 3rd round QB that year. How big was it between the top class of CBs in the top 2 rounds and Sherman at the 5th? or between the top safeties and Chancellor?

    The benefit of having a good deep roster is that it buys you a year. The biggest jump in quality of play happens between the first and 2nd year of an NFL player. We have that year to invest. We can get those players in when they are better and ready to contribute at NFL level.

    IMO when you are on the clock you look at the list of players on your board that you believe will not be there the next time you are on the clock and pick the one that represents the biggest potential to improve the 2014/2015 roster.

    The more i look at the WRs list the more i hope that someone in this organization invested serious effort in making sure that Bryant has indeed turned the corner in his young life and is ready to give it all he’s got. If he is there mentally i’d rather have him then even Latimer.

    Being the “best scrambling team” is often portrayed here by Rob as “The receivers don’t have to create great separation, they just have to be able to compete and win 1v1 battles” or “high pointing the ball, winning battles, showing strong hands”. Show those traits is enough to get picked. Failing to exhibit those on tape is cause for immediate rejection. I beg to differ. Being the best scrambling team is about understanding the demands of “scrambling football”. It’s about changing routes, finding the open spots in the zone on a changing field. It’s about playing smart and getting open for your QB. PC philosophy of football is “do not turn over the football”. It’s best achieved in the passing game by a receiver getting open for a “safer” pass by the QB. The fallback is being able to win the contested shots. Both are important but being able to get open comes first. Some receivers in this class do not show a lot of high pointing in their tapes. It’s not that they failed to rise, position their body and catch the high ball. It’s a QB that rarely gets the ball there for them to rise for it. They are fast and the passes are not long enough. Can they do it? i don’t know. Can we say they can’t? not from what i see in Moncrief’s tape for example.

    All being said and done, I’d rather have a WR that can get open due to speed, size, suddenness, crisp route running or just clear view of the field and where he should be(Mathews…) then just have the guy that will win the contested shots. I’d agree that not being able to win them is a reason for rejection but i can’t accept it as the no.1 reason to pick him.

    Rob, i guess we have to agree to disagree on that one once more.

  8. Dan

    “I told the head coach, there will be a team that comes out of this thing with five starters in the next three years.”

    Maybe we’re underestimating the talent pool of the other classes (non-WRs). Maybe there’s something that everyone missed from the start…

    • EranUngar

      Of course there are. We are only trying to help with the 1st and 2nd round picks here.

      All the Shermans, Chancellors, Luke Willsons and K.J.s are in the 5th round and they don’t need our help there.

  9. EranUngar

    However…

    If it all goes wrong WR wise, the right guys are gone when we pick and other positions show greater value…and we get to day 3 without a WR…..

    how about – 6-2, 225, 4.44 40, Team Captain with leadership skills, set his school season record of 12 TD in his senior year (21 y.o.), add to it 4 rec. 129 y. 2 TD at the Gator Bowl, smart and very coach-able. Not the greatest ball catcher but nice YAC and a fighter.

    Could be a late round option. (Quincy Enunwa)

  10. Alex

    Rob: What do you think of Peter King’s analysis from today’s MMQB that Seattle is sitting in a good position to trade down a few spots so that a team can jump Houston at #33 to get a QB. It makes a lot of sense to me for a couple of reasons: (1) the fifth year option is much more valuable for a QB than any other position; and (2) the Hawks love their middle round picks, which they could recoup in this trade for moving down into the early second.

    • Rob Staton

      I think it’s just dull draft rhetoric. King fails to note that while it all sounds great in essence, you simply cannot get away from how unlikely it will be for teams to wait until the final pick on day one to do this just because Houston happens to own the #33 pick. If you can do the deal earlier, you do it.

      Here’s the scenario. You want to move back into round one. You’re asking about deals from let’s say 23 onwards. It’d take a flat out rejection from every team all the way to #32 before Seattle gets that offer. It’s just too convenient to link Seattle with this because they pick one spot before the Texans.

      • Mattk

        I agree any team looking to add a QB late first round should look to jump further ahead of Houston than #32, but I wouldn’t count out the possibility.

        Any trade can be done for the right price. It’s a question of what a team is willing to give. Take the vikings for example. A move from the 2nd round to #23, for example, will come with more scrutiny and expectations than a trade up to #32.

        • Rob Staton

          I wouldn’t rule it out for sure. But I think it’s a lot more unlikely than people like Pete King suggest.

  11. Colin

    Derek Carr is generating a ton of hype recently… maybe he sneaks into round 1. That would be most excellent.

    Teddy Bridgewater really wet the bed at his pro day. He knew it, we knew it, Mike Mayock knew it… he’s not going in round 1. The film isn’t all that bed, but it’s unsettling how a bit of an “eyes are on you” moment totally unraveled him.

    I’m really surprised at the level of indifference to Blake Bortles. It’s like no one really thinks all that highly of him, or badly. He’s just a guy good enough to be considered highly, which I don’t really agree with.

    • Arias

      Carr seems pretty confident to go in round one now. There appear to be enough teams that value him high enough, and higher than Bridgewater, to make that happen.

  12. Cysco

    Peter Kings thinks we would be a good trade partner with CLE to trade back into the 2nd round

    http://mmqb.si.com/2014/05/05/nfl-draft-johnny-manziel-khalil-mack/5/

    Realize it’s unlikely, but maybe this is the year the Superbowl champs trade back.

    • Alex

      I don’t think it’s unlikely at all. In fact, I think our FO wants a 3rd round pick and will aggressively seek to trade down in order to get another pick.

    • CC

      If we could get at 3rd pick out of moving down a few spots that would be fantastic!

      I really think this draft is going to work out perfectly for Seattle – lots of talent at WR; DL and OL – which is our need.

      We’re going to get a star at 32 – I just know it! (or at 34-38; 64 and 65-90)

    • Colin

      Schneider will gut them if they want back into round 1- a 2nd and a 3rd.

      Especially if they do want a QB, because you know there are teams that are hedging their bets on being patient and getting the guy they want early in the 2nd.

  13. Austin

    Ill say it again isn’t it possible the draft plays out where Seattle takes an elite TE to fulfull the big target/red zone guy? If ASJ really did run a 4.5 now that he’s healthy he’s a bigger, faster Gronk. Do you see anyway Seattle takes him at #32 if all the WR’s and Oline guys they covet are gone? Just seems like a pick that would yeild more results than taking a player at a position of strength.

    • Rob Staton

      I think there’s no chance. Aside from all the negativity around ASJ, they already re-signed McCoy and restructured Zach Miller’s deal. They have three good TE’s.

      • me

        And they spent their first pick last year on Michael when they already had Beast Mode in his prime and a proven backup and he got what single digit carries last year?

        This is not a management team that will pass up an incredible talent because they’ve got it ‘covered’ with a one dimensional vet, and injury risk, and a situational rookie. If they think ASJ really is a better version of Gronk (and I’m not saying they do, seems unlikely) they’ll take him.

        • Rob Staton

          That’s very different. For starters, they picked Michael in the back end of round two — not the first round. Michael is one of the most explosive players to enter the NFL in years — check his SPARQ value. It’s off the charts.

          Nobody will take ASJ in round one. He’s going to be lucky to stick in the second. Too many concerns off the field, not explosive on the field.

          • me

            Don’t necessarily disagree, I’m just saying that if they pass it won’t be because of who’s on the roster, it’ll be because they don’t see him as that explosive complete player.

            Put another way, just say for the sake of argument that an elite TE like Gronkowski was sitting there at 32. Would you really pass because hell you’ve already got Willson? Probably not.

            • Rob Staton

              There aren’t many Gronkowski’s around to be fair. And for me, ASJ is not Gronk (who went 42nd overall let’s not forget).

        • Adog

          Yeah I agree…te could be in play at 32 .they always kick the tires on guys like. Winslow and finly ; so it makes sense that they could be targeting Jenkins or Nicklaus.

          • Rob Staton

            The main reason they won’t take a TE at #32 is after Ebron’s gone, no player is good enough to go in that range.

            • Austin

              But he showed flashed of brilliance before last year and was moved in as a blocking tight end and played through injuries. If he really did run a 4.5 at 270 that seems like a definitive difference maker and while I like McCoy and Wilson not sure either have ASJ talent or anything close to it. If we snagged him in the 2nd I would be thrilled. Also NE’s template with multiple TE’s is something to consider as well. I think you’re probably right Rob but it wouldn’t shock me either. Seems like a pick Seattle would make.

              Anyway I’m on here daily. Thanks for having the best draft site on the internet. Love the work!

    • Mattk

      I haven’t counted out the possibility of a TE early in the draft. Wilson needs bigger targets over the middle, and niether Miller, Willson, or McCoy are that guy. ASJ and Jace Amaro are players we don’t have at the tightend position; a mismatch, receiving TE threat from the slot. (And no, I don’t think Willson is that guy. More of a #2)

      Personally, I’m a bigger fan of Amaro and think he will be ranked ahead of ASJ. Maybe not at #32, but a trade back into the 2nd makes it more of a possibility.

  14. smitty1547

    Well Rob what was your opinion of the BYU WR that EranUngar posted?

    • Rob Staton

      When I watched Hoffman a couple of months ago I just thought he was a late rounder.

      • House

        I agree Rob. While his HIGHLIGHT reel shows a lot of nice acrobat catches. He also has big lulls with no production. It could be scheme related and I’ve heard of some personal things that have lead to suspensions.

        5-6th rd pick wouldn’t be a bad option

        • EranUngar

          Hoffman was mention as a joke. He is the king of contested catches on his highlight film only because he can’t get any separation ever.

          The question was about Quincy Enunwa. His character skills are off the charts and his size/speed is not bad. Any chance they take a look at him on a late round?

          • Kenny Sloth

            I really like Enunwa! A part of me wants to move him to DB. He’s a steal in the fifth for me.

          • williambryan

            I watched BYU’s bowl game live and Hoffman was clutch as heck. He reminds me a ton of Doug Baldwin and would love to have him on the team.

  15. AlaskaHawk

    Read the Seattle sports page today. They had two articles about how often Russell Wilson got hit last year. That includes 44 sacks in regular season and 7 in playoffs. Sf NFC game sacked 4 times and hit 10 times. At Louis sacked 11 times with 18 hits in two games in 2013. They thought we needed to find at least two more offensive linemen.

    • Rob Staton

      We do need to find linemen. We need depth and possibly one starter.

      But I wish they wouldn’t list sacks or hits. Seattle is the #1 scrambling team in the league and will always have a higher number of QB hits and sacks. Plus their two starting tackles missed a huge chunk of the season, and the center missed time. So stats like that need context.

      • AlaskaHawk

        I agree that they need context. The full article goes into injury history. Still that doesn’t help the team to have reoccurring injuries. Such as Carpenter missing 16 games his first two years and not playing that well last year. According to them only Okung and Unger are irreplaceable. More importantly the reason RW scrambles is because the line held like wet toilet paper. RW shouldn’t have to scramble and certainly not take a lot of hard hits. We can find new linemen, we can’t find a new qiarterback.

  16. House

    Do you think the signing of AJ Jefferson and earlier signing of Phillip Adams (plus the other guys on the PS) negates the need to draft a CB? With Simon also being red-shirted last season, I think we have enough guys fighting for spots.

    If there is a STUD available, I’m not saying pass, but IMO CB isn’t a need. Thoughts?

    Also, what are your thoughts on Chris Whaley (DL, Texas)? RB turned DL. Draws similarities to Henry Melton, but an ACL injury in November ended his senior season. Possibly a late-rd pick?

    • Rob Staton

      I think they might pass on a corner this year unless Pete’s found a guy he has to have in those later rounds. They could add one or two in UDFA. They seem to like Akeem Auguste too. Although it’d feel a bit weird not to see a corner taken in R5-6. It’s become the norm.

  17. Nate

    Drafting Easley, Lawrence/Smith or James and then picking up a Nathan Slaughter or Jeff Janis later rounds, since we re-signed Rice and have Matthews and Kearse. If we went Easley then Smith, I’d really like that. Remember we have tons of OL depth with Hauptman, Jeanpierre, Schilling, VanRoten and Bailey. So a OT mid to late, for Cable.

  18. Stuart

    Drafting DeMarcus Lawrence at #32 signals failure on Bruce Irvin drafted in R-1, who was described at the time by PC as “Irvin is the perfect Leo.” Do PC and JS even care? We already know they don’t care, and that was before we were even Super Bowl Champs.

    Can Bruce gain a little weight and still be as fast? Has playing LB helped him enough learning how to stop the run?

    If we pick a LB on day 1 or 2, I predict Irvin is going back to Leo.

    Thursday night at 5:00 cannot come soon enough for me.

    • James

      Bruce Irvin is facing a make-or-break year. It is already a virtual certainty that the Seahawks will not pick up his 5th year option, which would probably be some absurd amount like $10 million. But if he wants a contract extension, he must play winning football this season at OLB or Leo, or both, or that money will go elsewhere.

    • James

      If you can find pro bowl players in R3 to R7, the crazy logic of the salary cap is that you are far better off than hitting on your R1 picks. Let those R1 guys, and their cap dollars, go away asap, and thrive on mid round guys, with a few core hall of fame level players getting paid and the rest stay hungry.

    • AlaskaHawk

      They are going to start having to resign linebackers off their rookie contracts next year. Irving could fill in at one of those spots if they need him. I like Irving’s abilities, I just don’t think he will ever find a home on the defensive line. He is better off playing behind it and occasionally blitzing.

  19. Sean

    One thing that makes this draft harder to predict is that a huge chunk of last year’s draft class either redshirted or were buried on the bench. The Hawks get an injection of new talent on both sides of the ball – Simon at CB, Hill at DT, Williams at DT, Ware at FB/RB, Micheal at RB. These additions + additions of Adams and Jefferson at CB, Pryor at QB, Schilling at OG + resigning Rice, Schofield, McDaniel etc. point to a hugely unpredictable draft. I’m really looking forward to it. I hope they go D. Easley-DT in the 1st and J. Landry-WR in the 2nd.

  20. James

    Every run on a position means a corresponding drop at another position. If every single pick between 10 and 31 is a WR or OL, as some seem to suggest, then there will be an embarrassment of riches of defensive prospects at 32. If the Seahawks were targeting a single position, a run might be bad news, but with at least 4 positions in play (WR, OL, DT, Leo), then the quality of selections will be there, no matter what sort of runs may occur.

    • me

      Honestly with the contract situations at LB and CB (probably no way we can afford Maxwell after paying Sherm if he plays as well as he did in the playoffs and we already need a nickle corner) I could see a R1/R2 pick at any of OL, LEO, WR, DE, DT, LB, CB in round 1 depending on how the drafts falls ahead of us.

  21. drewjov11

    I just can’t see how we can pass on a WR if a good one is available. There are too many question marks after next season in regards to contracts, etc. Also, Baily and Bouie showed well as pups last season. If Bryant or Lattimer is still around, pounce on one of them. If not, maybe Allen Robinson or Moncrief can be the guy. I also believe that we can find a tackle or guard in round two. But we could also go a different direction and still be ok.

  22. AlaskaHawk

    Just looked at a 5 person comparison of first round picks. They had 4 different choices for Seattle!!! Really is an unpredictable draft for us. Some of their choices at #32 are: Demarcus Lawrence DE, 2 picked Xavier Su’a-Filo OG, Cody Latimer WR, Austin Seferian-Jenkins TE.

    Of the bunch I think Xavier least likely as we have at least four guys that can play guard. That seems like the easiest position to fill on the offensive line.

    Of the other three, Rob has discussed Demarcus Lawrence and Cody Latimer. I would prefer Latimer as he has the abilities to make him our go to receiver for 5 years. I would be happy with Lawrence as he could fill a need as an edge rusher.

    The last choice Austin Sefarian. I know that Rob doesn’t think it a possibility as we have our tight ends locked up. However I will throw this out there. Our biggest offensive issues were converting on third downs and getting touchdowns in the red zone. Now most people have thought that we should get a tall wide receiver to fix this problem. I’m split between two thoughts. One is that if we fix the offensive line then our running game should become a lot better and RW will have better pass protection so more time to throw. If we could depend on the running game that would help us convert in the short yardage situations.

    The other thought is that we don’t use our tight ends the way other teams do. Most teams would look first at their tight ends on short yardage goal line touchdowns. There is no reason why a big tight end can’t slant down the field 5 yards and make a catch. That is what we would get from Austin. So I’m not ruling him out. It would be better if he was there at the end of the second round. That would be real value, just unlikely for him to be available at #64.

    • Rob Staton

      If the three tight ends we have can’t work a five yard slant, we might as well cut them now. If we don’t do it, it’s probably by design.

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