Live blog to begin at 6AM PST.
Some key news before we get underway today. Stephon Tuitt has a foot fracture (just like Austin Seferian-Jenkins) and won’t participate. It’s a big blow — he had an opportunity to regain some momentum today after a poor 2013 season.
Dee Ford also won’t take part. An unknown medical issue flared up. When interviewed by the NFL Network, he admitted he wasn’t aware what the issue was.
No Tuitt and no Ford is a big deal.
We’re off and running with the forty yard dashes for groups 7 & 9.
I’ve included some of the unofficial 10-yard splits in brackets for key players.
DL FORTY YARD DASH GROUP 1
Jay Bromley (Syracuse) — 4.93 & 5.13
DeAndre Coleman (California) — 4.78
Will Clarke (West Virginia) — 4.72 (1.69) & 4.75 (1.63)
Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina) — 4.47 (1.56) & 4.48 (1.59)
Scott Crichton (Oregon State) –4.78 (1.62) & 4.82 (1.76)
Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh) — 4.65 (1.59) & 4.66
Kony Ealy (Missouri) — 4.84 (1.72) & 4.84 (1.66)
Dominique Easley (Florida) — DNP
Kasim Edebali (Boston College) — 4.69
Justin Ellis (Louisiana Tech) — 5.15
Ego Ferguson (LSU) — DNP
Dee Ford (Auburn) — DNP
James Gayle (Virginia Tech) — 4.65 (1.60)
Ra’Shede Hageman (Minnesota) — 4.97 (1.81) & 5.02 (1.75)
Jackson Jeffcoat (Texas) — 4.60 (1.60)
Timmy Jernigan (Florida State) — 5.09 (1.72) & 4.93 (1.75)
Anthony Johnson (LSU) — 5.25 (1.88) & 5.25 (1.78)
DaQuan Jones (Penn State) — 5.28 (1.81) & 5.34 (1.87)
Howard Jones (Shepherd) — 4.60 (1.58) & 4.57 (1.66)
Zach Kerr (Delaware) — 5.07 & 5.03
Demarcus Lawrence (Boise State) — 4.72 (1.63) & 4.81 (1.62)
Aaron Lynch (USF) — DNP
Cassius March (UCLA) 4.89 (1.69) & 4.89 (1.66)
NOTES
That 4.47 (unofficial) is why Jadeveon Clowney is going to be nearly impossible to pass on with the #1 pick.
Aaron Donald had an unofficial 4.65 with his first run — and a 10-yard split of 1.59. That’s very, very impressive at 285lbs. He’s a top-15 pick.
Not a great time for Kony Ealy. Datone Jones was the #26 pick in a weaker draft last year. He ran a 4.75 at 283lbs with a 1.61 10-yard split. Ealy’s about 10lbs lighter and only managed an unofficial 4.84 with a 1.72 split.
Ra’Shede Hageman was slower than expected. Jackson Jeffcoat was quicker than expected.
Demarcus Lawrence looked really good on his runs — it was surprising to see the times he clocked. That’s slow for 250lbs.
Some more info on Dee Ford not participating:
Thanks to @wyche89, more details emerge on Auburn DE Dee Ford's withdrawal from combine workouts. http://t.co/1Febn4FK66
— Chase Goodbread (@ChaseGoodbread) February 24, 2014
So apparently it’s a herniated disc for Ford. That’s not good news.
Jadeveon Clowney says he’s not going to do any field drills after running a good forty time.
That’s very frustrating. It would’ve been good to see him out there competing.
DEFENSIVE LINE DRILLS – GROUP 1
Aaron Donald in the movement drills (stepping over and between the bags). He looks like a running back. How high is he going to go?
Kony Ealy not quite as impressive. I wanted to see what kind of athlete he is, but he looked a little stiff.
James Gayle continues to move well, he’s a possible later round option. Ra’Shede Hageman did a better job on the movement drill than he did in the forty.
Demarcus Lawrence looked stiffer than expected getting in between the bags. Jackson Jeffcoat did OK, but was a little slow to finish — jogging home.
Now we’re onto the club-rip drill.
Scott Crichton looked good in this drill — nice hips, good sharp rip. No surprise that Aaron Donald continues to impress.
James Gayle needed to be compact here, he struggled a bit. Ra’Shede Hageman could’ve been more violent on the club.
Anthony Johnson is having a really nice work out — defensive tackle out of LSU. Nice compact frame. He’s as impressive as anyone out there in these drills. Howard Jones is a small school guy who has a lot of quickness. One to monitor as a later rounder.
Timmy Jernigan’s legs were all over the place. He nearly fell over and ran way too wide on what is essentially a quick lean, good hips drill.
Donald called out by the coaches for not striking the second bag on his second attempt.
Gayle struggling on this drill, just looks really stiff and awkward. Jernigan tried to punch the life out of the bag and just looked silly.
Man, Anthony Johnson is having a DAY. I know who I’m watching more tape of tonight.
The next drill is a three point stance, punching the bags with two hands. They want to see quick hand movement — shuffle, punch, shuffle, punch.
The thing I love about this drill — the football on a stick they get out to mock the snap.
Kony Ealy too deliberate, didn’t show much power on his punch.
I want to see a team hand the ball off to Aaron Donald next year as a running back. He can do it.
Jackson Jeffcoat looked pretty smooth in this drill.
This was Jernigan’s best drill so far. Lot’s of power on his punch.
Now onto the last session. Jim Tomsula, the 2015 Niners Head coach, is running a cone drill.
And the NFL Network goes upstairs to talk about Clowney. Of course they do.
Oh great. Greg Cosell is on the set now. And he’s already been introduced as a demi-god. Ugh.
Greg’s already used his favourite word, “I”, several times.
Timmy Jernigan is walking around singing, “I want to be like Clowney.”
Cosell spending a long time discussing what Johnny Manziel can’t do. Spending no time on what he can do.
Matt Millen has been especially condescending to Scott Hanson on the feed over the last couple of days.
Jadeveon Clowney had a 37.5 inch vertical jump. In comparison, Mario Williams had a 40.5.
Ra’Shede Hageman had a 35.5 vertical.
Clowney gets 10.4 feet on the broad jump. Aaron Donald managed a 9.8 broad jump, which is superb.
Hageman gets a 9.6 on the broad.
Pitt DT Donald owning pre-draft process. What's not to like besides lenght? Productive, dominated Sr. Bowl and elite workout #'s to match!
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) February 24, 2014
The way Demarcus Lawrence slapped the bag in cornering drills also shows up on film. Strong hands. #BoiseState
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) February 24, 2014
DL FORTY YARD DASH GROUP 2
Kareem Martin (North Carolina) — 4.73 (1.60) & 4.68 (1.53)
Daniel McCullers (Tennessee) — DNP
Tevin Mims (USF) — 4.95 (1.69) & 4.95
Jonathan Newsome (Ball State) — 4.69 (1.62) & 4.75 (1.66)
Louis Nix (Notre Dame) — 5.35 (1.85) & 5.37 (1.87)
Jeoffrey Pagan (Alabama) — DNP
Tenny Palepoi (Utah) — 4.94 (1.72) & 5.12 (1.75)
Kelcy Quarles (South Carolina) — 5.00 (1.81) & 5.10 (1.87)
Kaleb Ramsey (Boston College) — DNP
Caraun Reid (Princteon) — 4.90 (1.69) & 5.00 (1.69)
Michael Sam (Missouri) — 4.79 (1.72) & 4.84 (1.75)
Chris Smith (Arkansas) — 4.54 (1.59) & 4.69 (1.63)
Marcus Smith (Louisville) — 4.63 (1.57) & 4.65 (1.60)
Shamar Stephen (Connecticut) — 5.17 (1.81) & DNP
Ed Stinson (Alabama) — DNP
Will Sutton (Arizona State) — 5.37 (1.75) & 5.47 (1.82)
Robert Thomas (Arkansas) — DNP
Stephon Tuitt (Notre Dame) — DNP
George Uko (USC) — 4.90 (1.75) &
Brent Urban (Virginia) — DNP
Larry Webster (Bloomberg) — 4.62 (1.63) & 4.60 (1.57)
Ethan Westbrooks (West Texas A&M) — 4.97 (1.75) & 4.85 (1.75)
Chris Whaley (Texas) — DNP
Disappointing that Brent Urban isn’t healthy enough to work out. He picked up an injury at the Senior Bowl.
I’ve never been a big fan of Will Sutton. He ran a terrible first attempt in the forty and his second go-around was even worse. Ryan Mallett ran a quicker forty by .10 seconds.
Larry Webster looked good running the forty. Small school guy out of Bloomberg — ex-basketball guy. One to monitor.
Kareem Martin — nice length. 35 inch arms. Decent runs today.
After running well, I’m going to check out the Marcus Smith tape tonight.
DEFENSIVE LINE DRILLS – GROUP 2
Louis Nix is moving well for 330lbs in the first drill — a mobility session focusing on change of direction and footwork.
Kelcy Quarles was a little stiff and didn’t run well. Princeton’s Caraun Reid is having a good day so far — another athletic gem.
I have no idea what Larry Webster’s tape is like, but he looks damn smooth running around out there.
The bags are coming out for the agility drill. Kareem Martin looked really good to kick things off. He’s having a good work out so far.
Louis Nix is working too high on this drill, he also stumbled on a bag.
Caraun Reid again with really quick, nimble feet. Agile guy at 6-2, 302lbs.
Onto the club/rip — Kadeem Martin strong again. Daniel McCullers didn’t run but he’s working this drill.
Kelcy Quarless had his best session on the club/rip. Violent hands, the best so far. Very smooth.
Chris Smith showing a nice punch in the bag drills. George Uko showing the exact opposite — very weak punch. Larry Webster also struggled a bit on this drill.
Louis Nix not a fantastic athlete, far from it. A big man, but not that rare nose tackle type.
OFFICIAL FORTY YARD DASH TIMES
They’re starting to filter through…
Jadeveon Clowney — 4.53
Aaron Donald — 4.68
Kony Ealy — 4.92
Jackson Jeffcoat — 4.63
Howard Jones — 4.60
Kareem Martin — 4.72
Chris Smith — 4.71
Marcus Smith — 4.68
Michael Sam — 4.91
Larry Webster — 4.58
Webster, the last guy on that list, just looks like a Seattle prospect. Great athlete. Ex-basketball. Could probably play defense or become a Jameson Konz style athlete.
Disappointing 4.92 for Kony Ealy. That aint great. I’m not sure why there’s so much talk about him going in round one.
That’s a good time for Jackson Jeffcoat.
Aaron Donald is being interviewed on Camera A. Very level headed guy, good talker. The kind of player you want on your team.
He’s going in the top-15. Book it. It’s a shame, he keeps using the word “compete”. He’s so Seahawky.
Clowney official 40 time = 4.53. The 5-yr average of wide receivers at the combine is 4.54. WRs average 202 lbs. Clowney checked in a t266
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) February 24, 2014
I’ll have some reaction to the Red Bryant news later, but there’s also this today:
Also, @ClaytonESPN says he doesn't expect tight end Zach Miller back with the #Seahawks at his current salary-cap cost of $6.2 million.
— Danny 710ESPNSeattle (@BrocknDanny) February 24, 2014
We could be seeing a changing of the guard in Seattle.
Tony Pauline has some Seahawks rumours on his Draft Insider blog today…
If the Seattle Seahawks had their choice of player with the last pick of round one it would likely be Odell Beckham Jr. Chances are Beckham won’t be available to the Seahawks at the end of the first frame. I’m told look for the Seahawks to go offensive line heavy in the draft.
I trust Pauline, who does great work, but Seattle almost never lets anything out during these combine events. So we’ll digest this information, but not take it literally.
Assuming this is a non-Seahawks source, the reference to the offensive line might just be a perception based on what a lot of outsiders perceive to be the teams greatest need.
At the same time, I think it makes sense to consider they spend multiple picks on the OL. It won’t necessarily be the #32 (see: the interest in Beckham). But they’ll likely add 2-3 guys by the end of the draft.
But it’s very easy to see why Seattle would love Beckham Jr. He’s a fantastic player.
Stephon Tuitt says on air he has a stress fracture in his left foot and was held out of the combine. He wants to do a pro day on March 6th and have surgery after that date.
Khalil Mack just recorded a 40-inch vertical. Wow. And a 10.8 broad jump.
Ryan Shazier had a 42 vertical and a 10.10 broad. That’s very impressive.
DL FORTY YARD DASH LINEBACKERS
Anthony Barr (UCLA) — 4.66 & 4.63 (1.56)
Lamin Barrow (LSU) — 4.67 & 4.68 (1.59)
Chris Borland (Wisconsin) — 4.83 (1.62) & 4.78 (1.63)
Carl Bradford (Arizona State) — 4.74 & 4.72 (1.66)
Preston Brown (Louisville) — 4.75 (1.68) & 4.76 (1.64)
Max Bullough (Michigan State) — 4.78 & 4.75 (1.62)
Adrian Hubbard (Alabama) — 4.63 (1.62) & 4.53 (1.63)
Christian Jones (Florida State) — 4.63 (1.66) & 4.60 (1.60)
Devon Kennard (USC) — 4.62 (1.60)
Khalil Mack (Buffalo) — 4.66 (1.56) & 4.62 (1.63)
C.J. Mosley (Alabama) — DNP
Trent Murphy (Stanford) — 4.75 (1.66) & 4.78 (1.63)
Kevin Pierre-Louis (Boston College) — 4.44 (1.53) & 4.41 (1.54)
Ryan Shazier (Ohio State) — DNP
Ronald Powell (Florida) — 4.53 (1.56) & 4.60 (1.56)
Shayne Skov (Stanford) — DNP
Yawin Smallwood (Connecticut) — 5.00 (1.60)
Telvin Smith (Florida State) — 4.48 (1.53) & 4.41 (1.53)
Kyle Van Noy (BYU) — 4.66 (1.63) 4.60 (1.60)
Jordan Zumwalt (UCLA) — 4.70 (1.59) & 4.72 (1.59)
Ryan Shazier did not run due to a hamstring issue. C.J. Mosley has an IT band issue.
Ronald Powell appeared to hurt himself at the end of his second run. Yawin Smallwood got injured on his first run.
Gus Bradley better not be trying to get a peak at Seattle’s notes…
Kareem Martin had the top broad jump among DL w/ 10'9".
Clowney 10'4"
Howard Jones 10'4"
Jeffcoat 10'3"
Moore 10'3"
Gayle 10'2"
C Smith 10'1
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) February 24, 2014
LINEBACKER DRILLS
Adrian Hubbard probably isn’t a fit for the Seahawks, but he’s moving really well here after a solid forty time earlier. Nice hip movement, low shape.
C.J. Mosley didn’t run the forty but is doing the drills. He looked really smooth in the mobility drill. Great shuffle, quick burst. Looking good.
I’m not really sure why Trent Murphy is running linebacker drills. Surely he’d have been better with the D-liners?
Got to love Scott Hanson as a presenter. Does a great job on red zone, having some fun here too.
Adrian Hubbard struggling in the bag mobility drill — while Christian Jones didn’t even jump over the bags. Cal’s Khairi Fort looked good in this session — nice agility and quick feet.
Khalil Mack is in great shape, but he did look a little stiff here.
Linebacker official forty’s
Kevin Pierre-Louis — 4.51
Telvin Smith — 4.52
Lamin Barrow — 4.64
Khalil Mack — 4.65
Ronald Powell — 4.65
Anthony Barr — 4.66
Anthony Hubbard — 4.69
Anthony Barr not in the top five there. He needed to run well, because he lacks technique and doesn’t have great upper body strength. Hard to picture him in the top ten after today.
They went upstairs very quickly on the linebacker drills, cutting the work outs from the feed. I’m going to close the live blog for today, but I’ll have a big piece up later discussing everything we’ve seen with the DL/LB and a thought on Red Bryant’s potential release form Seattle.
What are your thoughts about Crichton, Rob? I heard that he was comparing himself to Michael Bennett. Could he fit into that kind of role for the Seahawks should Bennett be too expensive to re-sign?
I don’t think he’s explosive enough for that type of role. On tape he looked like a very average prospect in 2013. I think his run today backs that up.
Aaron Donald on the other hand — WOW.
It is a complete shame Donald will not be on the board at 32! Could not agree more, that is a guy you take and figure out where he fits regardless.
Don’t be so sure. Remember, many NFL teams are not run as the ‘Hawks are like you said, where you take a guy that does something really well and adapt your scheme to maximize his strengths. Many coordinators around the League have a much more rigid scheme where Donald’s unconventional height and weight could cause them to downgrade him. He will not be a mid-round pick like Atkins but he may very well be there at 32. If the Bears and Cowboys go with Hageman and Jernigan, I can see Donald sliding all the way to us.
Donald is too good — if any team drafts Hageman or Jernigan ahead of him, they should be fired on the spot. We’re talking about a top tier athlete, elite tape. He’s the complete package.
Complete till you see the height and weight, which is actually really important to a lot of coordinators. To your point, does that make them right or good? Heck no. Not every team runs a championship-caliber program like we do. More fireable offenses have occurred – just sayin’. Let’s just hope I’m right 🙂
It is weird how committed most teams are to a rigid set of parameters with regard to measurables. Clearly Donald uses his shortness to get underneath tall and stiff Olinemen. The resulting leverage advantage is a big part of his dominating package. Of course, he also comes off the snap like a cannonball, has a lot of power to go with that leverage and combines great hand fighting with a full arsenal of effective moves. But let’s start a viral Twitter campaign focusing on his shortness and maybe he will fall to #32!
The teams that are disposed to downgrade him for his height/weight will justify doing so by claiming that if he does not win with his initial speed burst his lack of size will inhibit him from resetting against longer, heavier blockers. Of course those are the same teams that probably define ‘winning’ a sacks and downplay the disruptive value of pressure.
Will Clarke, Ethan Westbooks, Arthor Lynch all have the LEO length and size. Will be interesting to see the speed (Clarke looks good). Perhaps we can pass on Lawrence, address WR and OT, and address the D-Line late with Clarke, Westbrooks, or Lynch. Add in Deandre Coleman as a late 1-tech, and voila.
Rob, any interest in looking into a later round LEO, such as Clarke, Lynch, or Westbrooks. The 40 times, including 10 yard split, combined with their length, height, and weight makes me curious.
If I recall, Clarke and Westbrooks left solid impressions at both the East/West and Senior bowl games.
Always interested in looking for LEO’s. Not many options in that first group — Howard Jones perhaps the best option. Not a fan of Aaron Lynch.
Agreed on Lynch. Character/work ethic concerns, and I also don’t think Leo is his natural position.
Good call. Not sure about though.
Lynch….
Howard Jones, Shepherd…measurables (4.57, 34 1/8 arms, 6-2.5, 235)
nd big-time small school production (65 tfl/34 sacks career). Late round LEO. Can’t wait to watch his film.
Anyone have any input on why Deandre Coleman is falling. His measureables are fantastic. Is it that he played for Cal?
Cameron Jordan played at Cal and made the top 25
Rob, what are your thoughts on Justin Ellis as a Big Red replacement in the 4th or 5th?
Not crazy about Ellis. I’ll do a piece later discussing what I think they do with Bryant set to depart — I’m not sure they’ll try and replace his size like for like.
Ellis will be a good player Rob. Locates the ball very well and hustles sideline to sideline. Very disruptive.
Crichton was moved all over the line at OS. Played some DT there and looked good in that role. A moveable chess piece, although not a first rounder in my opinion. Mid to late second? Yes.
I like Ellis as well. While he is not so much a burst guy, he has a fair amount of fluidity and slipperiness to him for such a massive amount of bulk.
He only managed 21 reps and seemed to be out of shape and tired most of the year.
I’m an Ellis fan. Thought he did well particularly for his size. Tape is solid. Senior Bowl/Shrine games showed he handles the increased competition well. I do think that our phase 2 cap management is going to require we replace Mebane with a rookie deal. I do not see Jordan Hill as a comparable 1 tech replacement.
If we don’t go DL early I see Ellis as a good option in R4/5. We will need a LEO and a 1 tech in the next two years to plow under the 9+ million we have committed there and the 5 million at the 1. That’s a tough job to try to do that in one draft.
Ellis can play the 1 and should be really effective there. If we look at the draft in Schneider’s ‘3 year plan’ scope — I can see Ellis fitting in that plan under specific conditions. Conditions (us taking OL/WR in day 1/2) that I think are very likely to occur.
Anyone know much about James Gayle. It looks like he has good size and his second 40 was 4.60 unofficial with a good 10 yard split.
Looked very stiff in drills.
I like Gayle as a bit of a project for a LEO/DE – he has length and some speed. I keep hearing Petey say it isn’t about what he can’t do, but what he can do.
Talk of cutting Bryant, but no talk (yet) of cutting Clemons, who has a higher price tag, is older, and if last year is a precedent, is declining. Do you suspect it’s because Avril, Irvin, and Mayowa haven’t shown up against the run like Clemons does? Is it just easier to replace Red’s skillset, maybe with an healthy Williams or a bulked-up Scruggs?
Also, it’s evident that we need a post-up WR, but what if someone we don’t really need falls? What if a Cooks or Beckham slides to #32?
We don’t really need another small, speedy WR. We’ve got Harvin for that.
We need that big body WR.
I agree, just wondering about passing up evident value even if it seems unnecessary. I suppose they’d just address a different position and look to develop an athlete later, but Cooks and Beckham seem special, if superfluous to our apparent needs.
Has anyone heard about Scruggs’ progress? He’s got the frame to assume Bryant’s job.. if he’s finally healthy and bulking up.
Seemed to me they were grooming Scruggs to play inside.
Ya that was my assumption as well. Before Bennett was signed I was thinking Scruggs would be our inside nickel pass rusher. That leads to my second question.. who assumes Bryant’s job?? If he is cut. Jesse Williams?? that’s seems risky
I don’t think they’ll try and replace him like for like. I think we’ll see them simply adjust to the guys they have.
Jesse Williams appears to be a full go for training camp in 2014 and could be at the top of the list to replace Red if he does not return.
I’ll believe it when I see it. Although I wasn’t completely shocked his knee was going to give him trouble. He injured it at the end of the college seasons and played through it in the NCG. I kind of expected him to have trouble with it.
I’ve not heard/read anything definitive about the knee. I know Kip referred to it as an arthritic knee which would be apocalyptic worst case scenario. But I’ve not seen a source for that. At this point, I’m just going to wait and see. Thus far, I haven’t heard anything that would suggest that his knee is any more troublesome than just a recently injured knee. I wasn’t entirely shocked to see him shelved to start the year as the timetable for recovery would put him right around the start of the season anyway.
Anthony Johnson looks like a guy to plug into the Mebane role. Quick, good hands, thick. Pedigree (5-star out of HS/we know Carroll loves that). Rob, could he last all the way to #64?
He could. This was a very interesting work out. Someone I’m going to look at tonight. Good R2/3 option based on today.
Actually the guy we want for the Mebane role long-term is Ryan Carrethers. He’s got some good looking tape that looks very similar to Mebane, and despite his slow 40 his 10 yard split was respectable for his size.
The tape I’ve seen on Carrethers is was not impressive. He seemed to get puched around a lot for such a big man. I agree Red had to be cut, but I don’t anticipate Mebane being a cap casualty. I want him to stay. Michael Bennett loves him and it might give Bennett less incentive to resign with us if we completely gut the DL we won a SB with and start over.
I am not saying they get rid of Mebane by any means…just time to start looking at his eventual replacement. He has to be losing some tread and has two years left at 5.5m per. You draft a guy that can plug into the rotation (McDonald’s 1st/2nd down backup role) and keep Hill as a pass rushing 1T/3T (again, McDonald’s NASCAR role). Churn, churn.
Anthony Johnson has prototype DT lower body, just looks so powerful. Gerald McCoy-esque.
Is that 4.78 for Coleman correct? That’s a really, really impressive time for a guy his size. Any word on how he looks in drills?
He didn’t stand out in drills. NFL.com didn’t show the forty for Coleman, I got that off Twitter.
Have you watched much tape on Marcus and Chris Smith? Both looking perfect for LEO.
I wasn’t that impressed with Chris Smith. Not spent time on Marcus yet. Marcus had two very different 40-times.
Chris Smith had the different 40s, I think. He looks like a 3-4 OLB. Marcus looks like prototype LEO. Long, fast, good hips, production. In the Hawks draft position, they would have to take him at #32 if they want him…I don’t think he makes it to #64.
You are probably right. Depending on who else is off the board by #32 I would not be surprised to see them make that pick
What! His get-off is the truth!
Marcus Smith has some fantastic tape. Probably my top Leo outside of round 1. His 10 yard split was 1/100th off of Clowney’s.
Hey Rob,
What are your thoughts on Cody Latimer as a mid round option for WR? I could only find the tape vs. Bowling Green and he looked very good in that game. It hurts him not being able to run with the foot injury, but he had over 1000 yards in a poor Indiana offense this season. He looks like an explosive athlete to me, has pretty good size, and was a willing blocker from what I saw on tape. If we can’t get any of the big boys in Rd 1 I’d like to take a flier on this guy over some of the others like Enunwa.
I’ve not spent a ton of time watching him, but he looks like a later round option. To be honest, I’m kind of thinking if I don’t get one of the top guys, I’m not too concerned about this area. I’ll stick with Lockette. There’s going to be a big drop off after the first two rounds at WR.
That’s what I was thinking too. That Chris Matthews signing is probably a hedge against not getting a top WR. I know Latimer said the draft advisory board gave him a 3rd round grade, but I’d wait until the 5th or so. Lockette had some nice catches later in the year and started to develop as a fantastic special teamer.
On the Chris Matthews signing — it’ll have almost no impact on the draft. He’s just a future’s guy — the type every team signs at this stage of the year. He’ll do well to make it to camp this summer.
It is going to be fascinating though with such a deep class of WR’s, OT’s and a few really good players at other positions… who will be there at #32?
I think it is increasingly likely that both Bennet and Tate are getting signed, and maybe even Breno, which will truly open up this class to take an incredible player @ 32.
Almost my thinking exactly, though I really like Latimer – 23 bench reps (!). At a long 6030 I like Devin Street also. And I actually wouldn’t mind picking up a smallish, pure speed receiver somehow, as depth behind Percy, maybe someone like a John Brown.
So does the release of Bryant mean that they are close to resigning Bennett? Why would you release Bryant if you don’t have a significant signing along the way (unless there is a backup plan for signing someone in FA)?
Sure seems like there are a lot of injury scratches: Ford, ASJ, and Tuitt. What is a little shocking, is that they didn’t know they had injuries. It will be interesting to see if they heal enough to run 40’s at their pro days. I think if ASJ slips to the 4th round, he will be steal. Tuitt at 304 lbs is likely a 4.8-4.9 40 (no idea on the agility drills) if he is running healthy.
I was a little disappointed to see Nicklas not run. Normally I would say that a prospect was sand bagging it so that he could test well in strength at the combine, then lose the weight and run a faster 40 at his pro day. However, Nicklas doesn’t have much body fat, so I doubt he loses much weight. More than likely his agent told him that if doesn’t feel 100%, don’t run. He is likely a 4.8 40 guy when healthy (he might be a best case scenario of 4.75, but definitely not any faster than that), so even a slight injury or discomfort could push him into the 4.9 to 5.0 and completely destroy his draft position (in which case it makes sense to hold off on running until he is 100%).
On a different subject, I have to say that I really question Saban’s win-at-all-costs mentality. Going into the NCG last year, there was a lot of talk that Jesse Williams was hurt and likely wouldn’t play. They shot him up and he played in the game. Yet the result is that instead of healing and getting a good start on his career, he exacerbated an injury that hurt his draft stock and carried over into a lost first season (that in turn could jeopardize his chances at sticking longer term). There have been some questions as well that it may turn out to be degenerative.
Now essentially we see a similar situation with C Koundijo (sp?). The big OT has a knee that wasn’t fixed properly (or allowed to heal properly), and while Alabama got the most from the kid, this will seriously hurt his chances to be drafted high and likely will dramatically shorten his career due to the now degenerative condition of the knee. While one example might be an aberration or an unusual situation, two in two years is the start of a trend.
I’ll have some thoughts on the possible departure of Red later tonight.
Over the past couple of years IMO the Bama players are either worn down or feel entitled. With maybe a few exceptions they have underachieved. I hope Seattle doesn’t draft any of those guys – they certainly don’t have a chip on their shoulders and from what I’ve seen, lacked the grit Petey loves.
Yea and Mike Shanahan put RG3 out there against our tenacious defense.
RG3’s knee was toast and Shanahan knew it. It’s sad when you see a coach care more about winning then a kids future. Big black eye for both coaches.
Per Pauline, the “OL Heavy” part is a huge concern for me. I am really starting to worry that this could turn out like the Carp/Moffitt draft, which would be horrible considering how great/deep of a draft this is. I’m hoping this is just outside speculation.
I can totally buy the OBJ part, as he fits the mold. He could fill the role of Harvin/Tate/Baldwin. Day 1 impact and a great insurance policy for the future?
Rob, I know SEA is not a team to trade up, but let’s say (due to WR depth in this class), that OBJ somehow gets to pick 20-22; could you see SEA making a move to get him? I only bring this up with OBJ, because I can see PC/JS both absolutely loving him as a player, and not only wanting him in SEA, but also to deter SF from getting their hands on him. Of course, I am reaching/speculating quite a bit, but do you see him as a prospect in which PC/JS would make a move at a certain point? FWIW, I could see this same scenario regarding Aaron Donald (sans the SF part of the equation).
I can’t see them moving up to get Beckham. As much as I like him, it’s not worth losing picks in this draft to add a player that to be fair, we already have on the roster.
You can’t generalize like that. Each draft is different. There is no correlation to be drawn there.
Also, this draft is ripe with good OL prospects. 2011 was just terrible. Obviously the results were bad. But our team was in a desperate place on the OL — we needed bodies. We didn’t have a full roster and we had to reach horribly.
This class is not the 2011 class. If we did go OL heavy (which I doubt we will), I would expect much better returns.
Honestly, this team is still more than 6 deep even if McQuistan and Giacomini walk. We simply don’t have to add a lot here. Those kinds of remarks really strike me as ones lazily aped from early in the year superficial scouting projections. We were short OL players and had to resort to still learning rookies early on. Our protection grades were understandably terrible. Circumstances and opponents conspired to make the unit seem worse than it was. But unless you were following it closely — you wouldn’t make that distinction.
I do think we go OL early. But just one. I think this unit is vital to our core identity. And it’s a unit that comparative to our other units is still weak even at full strength. Losing two of our top 8 guys, coupled with an expected departure of Carpenter after next year — means we need to infuse the unit with a body or two. And it’s about time we infuse some legitimate starter grade talent to compete with Carpenter/Sweezy/Bailey/Bowie.
I do think, that Seattle would like the prospect of having better LG performance. And if we were to push Sweezy to be a better player at the same time — that would be a real boost to our offense.
You’re kind of abrasive about other people’s opinions. I only get a few minutes to pop on and catch up with these things, as I am at work. As much as I’d like to write an in-depth analysis about all of my thoughts, I’m forced to make generalizations (which are my opinions, I don’t state them as facts) due to limited time.
To be a little more detailed about my thoughts, when I hear “OL heavy,” I immediately think they will overdraft out of fear of missing out on certain positions. It will be very hard to trade out of the 32nd pick as well. I liken it back to 2011, as it’s been reported that SEA wanted to trade back but didn’t have a partner. They wanted OL and decided to overdraft on 2 different occasions. Both were misses. I’m not saying we are doomed, etc. I’m simply making an analogy based on history as well as current speculation/rumors. I know a lot of people who follow the draft act as if their word is gospel, but I’m merely offering up my own opinions and attempting to start a dialogue.
I personally don’t think we need to highly draft a bunch of OL and feel that there are other positions/prospects that would be a better suited in R1 and R2 (DE/DL/WR/TE). We play in a division in which every fan will be crying out for “better OL” play. At our current draft position, I’m struggling to see any OL who will be anything more than an average starter in the NFC West, as the competition is extraordinarily tough (Smith bros, Quinn, Brockers, Docket, Campbell, etc). It’s one thing to be staring at Greg Robinson at your pick, it’s another to be looking at David Yankey, Gabe Jackson.
It’s opportunity cost. You may want a sandwich for lunch, but if it costs you the same as a filet mignon, then why not just have the filet mignon? I feel confident that we will be seeing a great prospect or 2 at WR or DT or DE be available at 32. It would frustrate me to see us pass on a superior talent simply to acquire more OL. This should provide more clarity into my previous generalization.
Don’t mean to be abrasive.
The reluctance to pick OL early because we whiffed in 2011 to me seems illogical. We agree, I don’t want to miss out on other talent by taking bad OL picks. I do want to dispel the correlation that drafting OL early is a ‘wasted’ pick — particularly when we use 2011 as anecdotal proof of that. You’re not the first person to make that argument so if I seem to be passionately contrarian to that opinion — it’s not meant to be personally attributed to you.
I personally don’t see the OL heavy rationale either. I do see value in taking an OL prospect early. I see a lot of abnormal quality in the 25-75 range at the position group. But it’s merely one of many options. We could ignore it until later and I wouldn’t be surprised either. I’m sure if we were to do just that, we’d get quality guys with the picks as well. Certainly I am not committing to the position group at the expense of all others though.
I think we’re pretty close in opinion here. I merely dismiss the 2011 draft as a sort of cautionary example of not drafting the position group early. Sorry if my dismissal came off as abrasive. Really, this team is stacked. We’re not exactly looking for day 1 starters — although getting some would be nice.
You’re all good man. I overreacted (it’s a Monday and I spent all weekend moving). And I agree, I think we are very close on this.
Don’t get me wrong, I am totally on board with OL high in the draft if it makes sense at the draft position. Quite honestly, I think we are in a sweet spot at pick 64 because there are some very intriguing/athletic OL who I think we will be looking at (potentially Brandon Thomas?).
Here’s kind of what it boils down to, for me. And it really just hit me. The NFC West is so stacked with uber athletic DL, that unless a highly drafted OL has great-elite athletic abilities, I’d rather go the mid-late round prospects with enormous athletic ability, but who are not ready to contribute yet. Sure, it’s a riskier play but I’d rather gamble late picks on great athletic potential, than spend premium draft capital on a Yankey type (ie good technician, limited athlete/strenght). That’s not saying that Yankey cannot be a starting OG, but if I’m drafting a non-LT OL, I am aiming for a potentially great player.
Yeah, I detailed earlier Joel Bitonio who probably is the exact player you’re describing. Ridiculously athletic and someone who if available at 32, is a very clear outlier testing wise for offensive linemen at the end of round 1.
Of course he could be David Quessenberry 2.0. But Quessenberry was never really thought of as a top 64 guy. Bitonio was definitely on the early/mid 2nd round radar. And Bitonio played LT, where Quessenberry was already merely an interior guy. Bitonio would easily be a Bruce Irvin kind of pick. Taking a 2nd round grade guy in the first. The difference here being that we’d be doing that one pick away from the second, not 17 picks away. Bitonio has agility/athleticism normally reserved for top 15 overall OT prospects. He’s simply being pushed down to the second because there are a couple guys already that athletic going top 15 and the quality and depth at other positions is abnormally high. To me, he’s an enormous value pick. A guy who should very easily play OG or OT.
I have liked Brandon Thomas for a long while as well. I can see him being pushed down past 64 based on the talent we’re seeing.
We’re not drafting any guards early in this draft. IMHO we’re not drafting any guards at all this draft. Bowie is the likely LG starter moving forward. We also have Bailey and Carp. However, we might draft an anchor of a right tackle.
It would be a really cool thing to find an anchor at RT. You can only protect your franchise QB with late round flyers for so long.
I think the hawks are in a great position to pick a falling player who they like. If there’s a record number of WRs taken in rnd 1 as some are predicting, it’s not hard to imagine the Seahawks gladly taking a prospect at o line (or elsewhere) who they didn’t expect to be there.
They’re a deep team with few glaring needs, just areas they can improve and looming FA issues, in a deep draft. Perfect scenario to let the draft come to them. Few teams can truly embrace the ‘best player available’ in an honest way but I think the hawks can more so than most.
Let Irvin play LEO.
Let FA test the market (do not overpay)
Acquire J. Jones on short deal (bigger WR)
Acquire J. Allen on short deal (pass rusher)
Acquire J. Asamoah on short deal (compete for G)
Acquire A. Jones/J. Tuck on short deal (DT on passing downs)
Trade out of 1st and pick up a 2nd and 3rd
Draft DL/OL/TE with first 3 picks
IMO that’s a lot of money you’re going to be doling out to Jones, Allen, Asamoah, Jones/Tuck.
It would be smarter to spend the money on your own guys and the extra to extending Thomas and/or Sherm.
how is Beckham and USC Marquis Lee similar different. It seems like Lee stock is falling, but they seem similar to me?
IMHO OB is like Harvin. Lee is more like Baldwin
Neither is like either. lol
OB is a smaller playmaker (ie Harvin). Lee runs great routes and more of a reliable possesion (ie Baldwin). What would your comparisons be?
OBJ is like Tate. Lee is like Victor Cruz.
Those are good comps.
Wow – Kevin Pierre-Louis 4.44 unofficial 40 yard at LB. Looks chiseled too.
…and follows it up with a 4.41
0.o
Official time is 4.51. Why do they even bother giving us these unofficial times that are such garbage.
Still sounds like a possible Seahawk LB fit. Also, Telvin Smith from FSU ran similar times. If either is available from the 4th round on, I could see the Hawks jumping on one. It will be hard to pay our LB’s in a couple of years given the outlay for Wilson and the LOB.
It’s about time they got a system in place to get the official times out right away — or at least a more accurate time. Right now they’re still using Charlie Casserly with a stop watch!
Is there a reason they don’t have a quicker system? I’m trying to think of track meets I’ve gone to, and I’m pretty sure a 60 yard indoor dash or a 100 meter run has the time to the 100th within 10-20 seconds.
Charlie Casserly is so old and outdated that it probably takes him a good half second to hit the stop button. Why that guy is on TV is beyond me? He and Lombardi are/were jokes on the NFL Network.
Lee has dreadful hands.
That was meant to go up there with Unitas77’s comment, not sure how I managed to get it down here.
He really does. Not sure why people have been mocking him in the teens all year. 3rd rounder.
These are guys I think have some special skills. With the exception of Easley, probably day 3 guys.
Dominique Easley – DNP
Deandre Coleman
Damien Jacobs
Marcus Smith – LEO
Larry Webster looks ugly on tape. He looks like a basketball player to me. You can tell he doesn’t know how to hit right.
Adrian Hubbard runs a 4.63 at 6’6 253. Don’t like his tape, though. Tiny hands for his size.
This team could do great things with Larry Webster in the fourth.
Howard Jones’ numbers were f***ing crazy. 40.5 vert. 124 broad. 34 in. arms. Only 238 lbs. though.
Another needless shot at Cosell. Seriously, your hard on for hating Cosell does nothing for your credibility. We get it already.
My credibility? I write a blog in my spare time. I’m not going for a pulitzer.
LOL!!! Love the combine.
Steen, why take it personal. It’s a comment. Cosell is a bit of a blowhard. He watches a lot of tape and his analysis is quite personal and comes across like his say is gospel. The fact is, he misses more on his projections of talent.
It’s all opinions, why read the blog if you take things personally (even if Cosell is your FATHER!!!). ha. just playing.
Love your blog and analysis Rob
Cosell, great at tape breakdown, terrible at projections
I’m with Rob…everybody on twitter loved Manziel until Cosell spouted off a bunch of negatives. Subsequently, all the guys I follow on twitter said, “yea, definitely agree with Cosell on that…”
It’s like a cultish following with this guy. His loyal followers act as if he’s never been wrong. It’s actually kind of creepy.
“The cult of Cosell…”
One of my favourite phrases from 2013.
Haha, nailed it.
The “Jim Jones of the NFL Draftniks.”
Not a shot if the dude really sucks. Deon Sanders didn’t back peddle as fast as that oxygen thief did after Russ killed it and raised the Lombardi. He’s one of these ‘I’m entitled’ ass clowns who smugly casts dismisses folks because he’s stuck in conventional thinking. I respect his ability to note a players weaknesses but he is a half glass full guy who is loath to note certain players strengths. I’d rather listen to brel-cream Mel all day compared to this guy, at least he’d be a likable WWE character..
Something I don’t think anyone has pointed out yet. Demarcus Lawrence has 11′ hands. FREAKISH.
That is pretty freakish. Hand size is important at his position, but think it’s one of those things where bigger is better, but what is most important is that you are just above some threshold (lol). JJ Watt obviously uses the most of his massive hands, but those hands aren’t going to help Demarcus Lawrence get off blocks as much as speed or power will.
11 foot hands? I have to see this 🙂
OOPS hahaha
Brandon Watts and Fortt are the LB I’m interested in checking out.
Really impressed with Williamson, Fortt, and Tripp as 5th-6th round LBs. Christian Jones looks like a potential Elephant to Leo guy (good player on film too). Hubbard is intriguing based on measurables but havent seen him pop out on tape. Curious as to others’ takes on him?
I would agree about Hubbard. Really doesn’t flash on tape. Gets lost in coverage and doesn’t finish in pass rushing. Intriguing guy, though.
Entertaining unlikely but possible scenarios, what if we do NOT invest 20 million of our CAP in Sherman and Bennett? We could trade Sherman in a blockbuster move and acquire enough draft capital (see Revis deal) to draft Aaron Donald AND Kelvin Benjamin. Our CB play would still be dominant as we have a lot of indoctrinated talent simmering on the roster. I have no concrete opinions on the draft or personnel moves. I am just perpetually giddy that PCJS are our decision makers and impatiently look forward to their decisions like my daughters eager anticipation before Christmas!
Many thanks Rob for the awesome articles! This is my 2nd year here. Following your site greatly enriched my Seahawks experience as we won the freak’n Superbowl!!!
Have said it before. Maxwell showed he can be a 1. Lane has shown he can be a 2. Sherman goes for a 1 and 2 or two 1 because paying him and Wilson 12+ will crush our cap.
Sherman to Detroit for 10th and their 2nd. Gives them a shut down corner then we drat Donald at 10.
I want to slap myself for smiling at the idea of that!
Various LOBers have been raving about Akeem Auguste. He might be the new nickel/slot DB. We need to leverage our proven ability to draft prospects in the middle to late rounds that do NOT meet the measurables criteria of other teams. And then our ability to quickly develop those prospects into upper tier CB’s is astounding. So let’s run with that and trade a 10% drop off in CB play with the loss of RS, but add absurd talent to our pass rush (which greatly helps CB’s) while protecting our CAP…Win Forever, baby!
Auguste is ET3-light, and I would be interested in seeing him worked in at FS as depth behind Earl. Totally disagree that trading Sherm would only result in a 10% drop-off in CB production. Sherm brings so, so much more to the table than measurables and stats, which you’ve pointed out are not ultimately what is important.
My ideal scenario is signing both Sherm and ET3 this offseason in the 10-12 range, then signing Russell next year in the 13-15 range, with an absolute ton of guaranteed signing bonus money from Paul Allen’s coffers to these slightly below market value deals sweeter. Sure, we take on risk giving that much guaranteed money, but you do it for these kinds of players. If we don’t resign Sherm this year, then the next best thing is to wait and see what Russel will cost us next year and franchise Sherm in 2015 to buy us one more year.
The only scenario I can bring myself to think of parting with Sherm is if Russell ends up costing us close to 20. In that case we will have gotten two more years out of Sherm – the last year of his rookie deal in 2014 and a franchise year in 2015 – and if he walks after that then so be it. Trading him now may very well cost us one or two SBs during those two years and we will have wasted two years of ET3 and Russell.
Keep ET, Sherm, and Russell as long as possible – for their careers if we can. Let the other parts be interchangeable and trade-able.
I can’t envision a scenario where Russell would get $20M/year. Yes, he’s a Super Bowl winning quarterback. Yes, he’s a fantastic young quarterback. Yes, he would deserve it. But what it comes down to is just the build of this team. We are a run first team and ideally Russell will be handing off more times then he is throwing. It just makes no sense to be paying him the same as a guy like Peyton Manning who is absolutely essential to the success of his team and carries a massive bulk of the offensive success on his shoulders. If he wins an MVP and starts matching Rodgers efficiency numbers, then maybe you pay him as the best in the league, but in the meantime you need to pay him as one of the best QBS in the league, but not as the best (because, as much as I like him, he’s not the best QB in the league).
Honestly, we need to be looking at what Kaep will get paid as an idea of what Russell will get paid. Sure you can make the argument that Russell will get more because of the Super Bowl win (or just by saying that’s he’s a superior player), but I think Kaep (and Cam) will be the best comparisons for what we should expect Russell to get.
Thankfully there is at least one other person in America who thinks it is completely insane to even project RW3 as a $20 million QB. Seriously that would make him one of the highest paid PLAYERS in the NFL. More than Brady, more than Rodgers, more than Brees, even more than Peyton Manning. Most QB’s even close to that are playing out there ridiculous overinflated rookie contracts. Where are people getting this insane dollar figure from? He is a $12-14 a year (TOPS) merely because of the position he plays. Does ANYBODY here feel Wilson is worth $20 million- to be the highest paid player in the NFL? REALLY?
There are no two players in this draft I would take in place of Sherman. ET, Sherm, and Russell are the types of players you pay 12+ for. Every team that operates near the cap has several of those types of contracts, and even higher. We do now, in the form of Bryant, Miller, Clemons, Rice, etc. Curt whichever of these guys you need to keep Sherm, which we have stared to do.
Sherm’s intelligence is as much or more irreplaceable in that secondary as his size and length. He is a coach in the practice field and he is largely responsible for Lane and Maxwell becoming the players they are now. But as good as they are, there is no way Lane makes the Immaculate Deflection play that sends us to the SB.
IMO, Sherm=ET=Russell, and you pay them all. Without Sherm we are a significantly worse secondary and overall defense, and we will not be the #1 CB churning machine we are now going forward.
Great points and I loves RS’s play, intelligence and contagious impact on the team. I just worry about the sustainability of Win Forever when about 30% of our CAP is being paid out to 3 of the 53 players on the TEAM. But I have a lot of confidence in PCJS and fully expect us to have a Top 3 defense and a Top 5 offense next year as we make a serious bid to Re-Pete!!!
It wouldn’t be Lane, it would be Maxwell. And Maxwell is a top 10 CB in this league. And if you think 3 players making over 35 million per year for at least 4 years isn’t going to make the rest of our team worse, that is crazy. The successful teams in this league don’t overpay. It’s about maintained success and if in current talks with Sherman he is thinking $10 plus, we need to think about trading him
Maxwell isn’t a top 10 corner in the league, I think that’s definitely overstating his ability. Let’s start at top 25.
He is really hard to grade our corners will respect to the other corners in the league considering how much ET makes everybody look better (e.g. allowing Sherman to take more risks and get his int numbers up).
According to PFF, Maxwell is a TOP 10 CB in the league with a small sample size. ET makes ALL our CB’s job easier and makes them look better statistically because he not only makes plays over the top, but the fear of him making plays dramatically limit the deep shots.
I don’t see how we can pay Sherman what he is worth – unless we underpay a lot of other people. The trouble is that we need 5 secondary players who are all excellent. If we pay the two safeties, then that leaves 3 corners to split the rest of the secondary money. Pay Sherman high means we lose the other two. That’s just the way the numbers pencil out.
I can see it. Seattle needs to pre draft replacements for guys already commanding top dollar contracts:
Clemons
Rice
Miller
Avril
Mebane
Bryant
Additional opportunties:
Lynch
Carpenter
Okung
Chancellor
Now, I’m not saying the last 4 are cap casualties. But those are big contracts. If Seattle identifies talent that can replace them for cheap, then that would be a cost saving avenue.
Lynch — I don’t think it’s a stretch to say his body is taking an unusual beating in his career. How long can that last? Might we see injury issues start to crop up? I would not be surprised to see this given the number of carries on his career and the kinds of carries he’s executing. He has 2 years left on his deal. If he’s injured and Michael is the next man up and tears it up — I can envision a very clear scenario where he could be let go a year early.
Okung is a cornerstone talent. He’s getting 10m+. While it would be insanely hard to replace him — if Seattle can manage to do that I’d have to think they jump on it. His second contract is going to be similar to what we’re paying him already. Durability concerns aside — he’s going to be hard to replace. Getting a LT rookie prospect would be almost enough on it’s own to pay Sherman. Would have to get lucky with a prospect in order to entertain this thought.
Chancellor just signed a new deal. By 2015, it’ll be halfway expired. He’s a unique talent. Not a high likelihood he gets replaced during his deal. But if you do, that’s cap money you can recover.
The first 6 on this list are really the contracts for Bennett/Tate/Sherman/Thomas. With quite a bit left over. Getting Wilson money is going to require some plowing under of other contracts. That is a pretty substantial list of players/positions that we have the opportunity to reload at. I’m pretty confident we can do that with most of them.
I agree that Lynch is taking a beating. I was really surprised that they didn’t use Michael to spell him last season. Their ypc are about the same, but Turbins is lower. I was listening to the announcers talk about how running backs don’t have value as it is running back by committee now. I wanted to raise my hand and say “Except for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks!”
Okung – I don’t know why he is sacred from a cut. (I think that’s what your saying also) He only plays half time. His foot injury may end up cutting his career short. Granted he is great when he can play. But his injuries are a real issue. Hard to replace at the same level – well the reality is that we already use someone else for half the season. So we my as well take our best shot at finding a great backup to LT. The money we will save from his cutting/end of contract , will probably go into the rest of the linemen.
So bottom line, we can pay for Earl, Kam and Sherman – but then we can’t pay for the other secondary. The question I have is, why pay Sherman a big contract when we continue to develop excellent cornerbacks? As good as he is, so are the other two that have to play out their. If one is weak then the QBs will pick on him time after time. Pay him what the safeties make and not more. The safeties are more important in our scheme then the cornerbacks anyway.
Yeah, I wanted to avoid the injury history entirely. From a purely cap/money standpoint, it’s a contract that if you can avoid it provides a huge return. Okung is a high value player when he plays. And contracts generally don’t reflect durability risk (e.g. Percy Harvin).
Getting a LT of his caliber is extremely difficult to achieve. It’s the exact reason why good LTs earn 8 figures. We’d have to just get lightning in a bottle. And the fact that we draft an OL prospects who generally are OT capable in every draft is likely not a coincidence.
Or the next salary cap increase, which is expected to jump to 150 possibly, that difference alone could afford dangeruss’ top shelf contract while managing rest of team under current cap limit. Things are lining up pretty sweet to keep the band together, at least our young core for a great big window.
Cap increases might as well be thought of as inflation. If the cap increase is 15 million, that’s 15 million that other teams have too. They need to spend it. And what was a 15 million dollar contract now has a relative worth of 18-20 million.
The contract values increase to match. In fact this is by design. Clubs are required to spend up to a specific floor percentage of the cap. So getting more money just means those contracts now cost more.
Also don’t forget – as cringe-worthy as this is – Percy is a candidate to be cut/restructured after next season too, if push comes to shove on getting Wilson signed and especially if he has another injury-shortened season. That’s a huge chunk of change back for cap to get all of our core guys paid.
I predict PH transforms our offense next year. He stretches defenses so thin, horizontally and vertically. On every play, he distracts players from focusing on their assignments…LB’s cheat to help, Safeties get tunnel vision etc. I am sure we will run a lot more 4WR split wide. With a single high safety, that leaves only 6 in the box vs our HEALTHY OL. PH sprints in motion. Is it a handoff or toss sweep? At least 1 LB will cheat to help and be out of position when the Beast gets the handoff. Good luck stuffing our running game next year! Oh, it’s a play action fake and we have WR’s everywhere in 1 on 1 matchups. Better drop those LB’s back into zone to help. If they crowded the LOS to stuff our running lanes, then the middle of the field is wide open…The Percy Harvin factor is a virus the undermines the entire opposing defense. HE IS the ultimate constraint play!!!
I’m not too high on Manziel. His size is obviously a question mark, but in my mind his arm strength and playing style are bigger question marks.
The combine did not change my mind one bit, except we all know that Manziel is just not as athletic as Kaep or Wilson or Newton.
The eye test tells me that his arm is weak for the NFL. His throws tend to flutter on him, and that won’t do it in the NFL. Also, his playing style is not conducive to the NFL. Just look at the difference between Russell Wilson and Johnny football. Wilson is dependent on SAFE HIGH PERCENTAGE plays. In fact, his coach had the leash tight for the first 8 games of his career. Even now, he doesn’t take too many risks. Wilson is based on high efficiency, and if the play breaks down, to either scramble or make a play on the run. This last part is the only similarity between Wilson and johnny. However, Wilson is stronger, faster and down right more athletic, he also has a much stronger arm. Can you imagine Johnny football getting away from NFL defensive linemen, like he does with the college guys? If an NFL linemen gets a hand on him, Johnny will come down. If he gets in a foot race with an NFL linemen, running a 4.7 40, I don’t know if he will have much success running away from them. And his weak arm, unlike Wilson, makes it so he is not going to be able to do those passes on the run like Wilson.
But the biggest difference of all is that Wilson was a 3rd round draft pick. Johnny football might be taken in the top 3 overall.
I think Manziel is setting up for the biggest bust in this year’s draft.
If he goes to a team that is completely rebuilding like JAX, then yes he could be set up for a bust. But if he ends up in a place that already has a foundation and some good pieces in place like HOU or CLE then he could have the type of success that PC sees in him. But it will also require that team to be flexible enough scheme-wise to allow him to be who he is, which is another matter entirely. Manziel can be a legit NFL QB, but it will require some humility and out-of-the-box thinking by the team that acquires him.
I’m rooting for him, but i just don’t see it. Manziel reminds me of Favre without the tools –cannon arm, strength, and yes even wheels (FAvre used to be fast in his early days, although i haven’t looked at his combine).
I agree…RW’s intangibles are from a different planet. And RW’s biggest elusiveness factor might be his large hip girdle that enables him to turn on a dime and run circles around the athletic freaks that are about to grab him. RW’s obsessive compulsive work ethic is legendary! And he is inhumanly impervious to negative thoughts or distractions…Manziel is not even close…
“Anthony Barr not in the top five there. He needed to run well, because he lacks technique and doesn’t have great upper body strength. Hard to picture him in the top ten after today.”
That’s not totally fair. He’s two hundredths of a second from being 3rd. And of all the guys ahead of him only Khalil Mack isn’t 20-30 pounds lighter than Barr. Mack is of course also a top 10 candidate.
I’m curious what their 10 yard splits were.
MJ and Attyla the Hawk, you both have some seriously fine writing ability!
That’s very kind! And much appreciated too 🙂
Matt Millen shouldn’t have the right to be condescending to anybody. Did anybody see A Football Life about hime? It seemed like the central message was “blame everybody but Millen for Millen failing”.
The fabulous write up by Rob, and the incredibly keen insights on all this, together make this one of the all time greatest hits for SDB!
This site is my personal favorite and have followed it almost daily since 2010.
Thank you Rob!
Thank you fellow SDB fans!
Thanks for reading, Stuart.
Rob, say the Seahawks decide to trade up for Aaron Donald. From the 32nd spot (worth 590 points), the Seahawks would need 610 points (according to the NFL Draft Value Chart) to move to the 12th spot (worth 1200 points). This would probably require a 2015 first round pick. My question is, how do other teams value a future pick? Would the Seahawks’ 2015 first round pick’s value be equal to this year’s pick’s value at the 32nd spot, or would it be higher?
Usually what they say is a future pick in the next draft is worth a whole round-less value. So if you’re dealing a 2015 first, it’s worth a 2015 second. But the draft chart is out the window these days. I think teams are just judging the deals on face value.
Personally, I wouldn’t make that kind of a deal for Donald — as much as I like him.
Rob, considering only what you knew about each going into their respective draft, who would you rather have: Aaron Donald or Sheldon Richardson?
Richardson.
I’d agree. Richardson is an every down 3 tech. He doesn’t come off the field unless it’s to catch his breath.
That has more value, as teams employ hurry up tactics to prevent defenses from substituting sub packages.
Scruggs now weighs 295 and Boatright put on 20lbs. Jordan Hill should replace McDonald nicely. D’Anthony Smith looked great last preseason. Dewayne Cherrington is being groomed for the heir apparent to Brandon Mebane. I am pumped about the Seahawks farm system. They have arguable the best systems in the NFL for evaluating,acquiring and developing player prospects. Check out Boatright college dominance before he put on 20 lbs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8aOttTDZc0 We are gonna field a great team again next year…maybe a re-Pete!