Two things to listen to today. Firstly, a radio appearance on 750 ‘the game’ in Portland on the John Canzano show:
Secondly — a new live stream running through a two-round mock draft (plus further thoughts on the Seahawks):
Welcome to Seahawks Draft Blog, providing daily analysis on the Seattle Seahawks and the NFL Draft.
The blog started in 2008 and is now into its 16th year. I'm available for any radio or podcast invites, just reach out using the 'contact' section.
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Rob Staton
Hot topics
- Why the Seahawks are already facing a critical period under the new regime
- Instant reaction: Don’t be fooled, this was an embarrassing loss
- Curtis Allen’s week six watch-notes (vs San Francisco)
- Scouting notes week six: Eye-catching O-liners, a player the Seahawks might target, Luke Lachey notes, Cam Ward is what he is & more
- Video: 49ers preview with Puck Sports and an honest debate about the Seahawks after the Giants loss
FYI – the PFF simulator projections for players seem to be a lot closer to yours PFN’s for a lot of players at the moment, if you’re considering doing simulated mock at any stage. The trade function’s decent too, although probably too generous.
Trent Brown’s new two-year deal is worth up to 22 million.
Base value of 13m, with 4m guaranteed and the rest tied to playtime incentives.
This seems like an incredible deal… for the team. Not so much for him
Seahawks were in on it though!
Personally, I want Curhan at RT on a rookie contract. He’s actually one of my favorite players on the roster when I take contract/anticipated team contribution into account. A starting RT who can maul in the run game making peanuts for 3 more years? Yes, please.
Breno Giacomine says hello.
+1!
Looking forward to the live stream Rob. My mock wasn’t very positive for edges falling.
Top 12 Pick Mock Draft. No one trades up for QBs; 0 Edges
1. Jaguars- Hutchinson
2. Detroit- Thibodaux
3. Houston- Walker
4. Jets- Johnson
5. Giants- Neal
6. Carolina- Ekonwu
7. Giants- Hamilton
8. Atlanta- Garrett Wilson
9. Minnesota- Sauce Gardner
10. Jets- Derek Stingley
11. Washington- Chris Olave
12. Seahawks- Devonte Wyatt & pick#77
That’d be an awesome scenario to get Wyatt and pick up an extra pick in the 3rd to do it.
Im a little wary of the additions on the D-line and the money spent, then spending their top pick for a DT.. I feel like they won’t go for edge or DT here.. which kinda scares me. I think thats why Rob thinks they gonna go OT Penning..
Totally agree. My pick is what I would like Seattle to do. Rob’s pick for what they will likely do is more likely.
Will be interesting to see what happens. As long as they use all their picks in the draft I’ll be happy. Hopefully we get lucky at #9.
Pete & John are so tough to get a read on for this year.
You guys are way off on position groups picking OL or DL. That makes sense.
It’s almost guaranteed that the first selection will be a LB.
Or a Safety
Anything is possible with these two running things
I’d love for them to treat mone, woods, ford, qjeff, and harris as nice to haves and not: position solved. Looks stout but in no way intimidating.
How frustrating is it that the BPA could hypothetically be safety but they are paying near QB money for one injured and one oft injured safety.
Jarran Reed signs with Green Bay.
I wonder how they have the cap space?
As of this moment, overthecap.com shows the Packers with $22.4M in cap space.
That’s more than the Seahawks at $16.5M
They cut Za’darius and saved all that money to franchise Davante and now he’s gone.
You know if what is truly unbelievable is the Saints have more cap space than the Seahawks how did that happen.i am not sure who is to blame I am guessing it’s J S unbelievable bad.
Seahawks just seem to be set in their ways on how they handle the cap.
Now compare 2023..
Somehow I think the saints will be fine. The cap for them is an idea and not a fact.
Oh sure, they’ll keep restructuring. Point is they took on some major debt consolidation this year and pushed it all out. Hawks so far are taking a year to pay the bills and have options next year.
I get it. Part of ne wishes the hawks might consider hiring someone a bit better at working the numbers but I know it’s not their way.
My question regarding things like the saints, if you are kicking the can down the road perpetually is it really kicking it? Things come up like franchising a WR and then trading them and saving 22 mil. Or franchising a DE and then trading him. If we are talking about retirement that’s one thing but they are acting on the fact the framchise will always be immortal. Why worry about today what you can put off til tomorrow if you’re immortal? Just feels like we are playing blackjack from the players perspective while everyone else is playing from the house’s perspective.
I really want JS/Pete to be patient in building the new foundation. Disappointed they didn’t pick foundation /blue chip player in free agency even with the cap space available. I would have preferred at least good LT position addressed in free agency, and I agree with BobbyK on Curhan for RT.
I don’t want them to select player in draft on needs but on the best player available if it is DT so be it. They don’t have any pressure to win now. Wish the players Seahawks select this year are the one Rob and SDB members have discussed. No surprises and JS should not try to be to cute trading down multiple times and missing out on good players. Very nervous to be honest.
Great pic!
https://m.soundcloud.com/kxtg-the-bald-faced-truth/bft-interview-rob-staton
LOL
Rob, do you think there is a clear pecking order of the linebackers? I find the Georgia guys hard to evaluate based on scheme and usage since they rotated so much and had monsters upfront.
I thought Quay Walker stood out the most, but Dean seemed to be the leader of the group and had a nose on the ball. I know you like Tindall (who wouldn’t based on combine alone) and had Hawks grabbing him, but what stands out on tape to you to separate from the others?
Chenal might still be my favorite of the bunch. Seems the most apt to play inside in both a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme.
I don’t have a pecking order — have Tindall, Chenal, Walker and Damone Clark graded closely together. Would be happy with any.
Here is what I wrote about Daniel Faalele on my new handicapping blog for the WPSCL (World Professional Staring Contest League) “The Stare Down.”
Odds to win: 100-1 Over/Under: 15 Seconds
A cross between Jabba the Hut and The Stay Puff’d Marshmallow Man, Faalele’s true strength is his appetite. Recently he has honing his onion fart skills by dipping Funions in McCormick’s Louisiana Wing Sauce. It’s a move that can condemn an opponent to a watery grave. However, Boye Mafe made him cry so bad at the Senior Bowl he ate a whole crate of Moon Pies to get his feelings right.
Faalele has little chance to win, but he might swallow John Schneider whole like one of those greasy frogs in Return of the Jedi.
Premium content like this is available to you now for the low, low cost of $999.99 a month.
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🤣
I really hope you write or do stand up comedy as a part of your job or hobby. If you’re not, you should think about it.
Pensacola Little Theater and Pensacola Writing and Critique Group.
We have as currently constructed one of the worst rosters in the NFL, acquiring more picks in a very deep draft is a must but knowing the draft you never which player is going to suddenly surge up draft boards, if we are going to stay at 9 Sauce Gardener is the pick for me he is going to be a top 5 cornerback at the end of the year I know it sounds audacious but his tape is so impressive.
What drives me crazy about this team is that hey find a way spend a lot of money and get nothing in return, cap space just seems to get smaller and I look at our roster and see know fundamental improvement.
Rob a quick question whats your thoughts on Cameron Thomas DE, Tariq Woolen CB and Devin Lloyd?
Lloyd — bit overrated. Great production but hasn’t tested well. Not sure the production translates.
Woolen — outstanding physical profile. Bit stiff. Needs time.
Thomas — short arms, hasn’t tested, hard to say without any idea on his physical profile
At least we are primed to get the number one pic in a great qb draft next year
When I see Trevor Penning, my mind just takes me to Jason Spriggs. TEF monster. Great mover. Looks like a modern tackle. But a bit of a fake tough guy that can be bullied. I would be disappointed to see him taken at 9. I hope to God they trade a 4th for Becton or Jackson before that. There was some Charles Cross in the top 5 talk after his pro day. Hopefully that pushes someone down
You know, John Madden used to have this theory that he wrote about in One Knee Equals Two Feet, that offensive linemen were big kids that were told all their lives not to pick on people and defensive backs were little guys that always got picked on that fought like hell. So in the book, he talks about what a problem it was finding OL who were bullies.
I think Penning was showing the scouts what they wanted to see. But don’t worry, he’ll get bullied in the the pros.
In his first year.
But his second year? I like his upside. And he’s freaking enormous. There is a lot of value in going to the Senior Bowl practices and seeing these guys up close, because the camera LIES !!!
Penning and Raimann were about the same size and the only one bigger was Faalale.
Rob, great mock draft and it’s refreshing to see you pick how you believe PC and JS will pick rather than a personal wishlist like other mock drafts do. The reasoning you gave for the mock picks were sound. One question, in the mock draft you identified the Big 4 EDGE rushers in the draft that Seattle just misses picking at #9. Is there that much of a drop off to the next group of EDGE positions? Maybe the 5th rated EDGE isn’t so much of a reach at pick #9 since it’s a major position of need for the Hawks? Thanks for all that you do!!
Not a huge drop but the next player has sub 33 inch arms
Quinton Jefferson pretty much confirmed the defense is moving towards a 3-4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCUtJxWr8Ys&ab_channel=SeattleSeahawks
Not sure if it’s been talked about here but the Eagles are supposedly taking calls on Andre Dillard. Seems like he’s been solid at LT after being a mess at RT.
Rob has the Eagles taking a WR in the first. I wonder if DK would be enough for them to give up their highest first rounder + Dillard.
You have your LT for 2022 on the cheap. Possibly your LT of the future. And two picks in the top 15. However unlikely the possibility of shoring up the LT position while having an outside shot at getting both JJ and Devonte Wyatt, or of grabbing Wyatt and one of the top CB’s…
Dillard has been a bust
I will be the contrarian and say Cross is the player I most want. I’ve been very impressed with his YouTube highlights. In general, I’d prefer an OL pick at #9 to defense.
I’ also think they should consider WR with one of their first three picks. It would give them some leverage in negotiations w/D.K. if they had someone ready to step in. Ideally Eskridge would be that guy, but not sure I’m super confident in that happening.
Highlights can’t be how you judge a player though
So much darn content! Been fun getting to listen to so much hawks talk. One hell of a lot more entertaining than the interview Salk did with Pete today…
Fun mock! Wouldn’t be the worst if they end up going heavy into the oline, at least it’d be in the trenches! And having 2nd year tackles would be helpful for a rookie coming in. I think ideally we need to bring in one serviceable vet tackle, add 1 tackle in the draft between rounds 1 and 4, and that’d give us 4 options for LT and RT.
Faalele though, oof. Sure hope not.
Didn’t remember that Eskridge played with Eleby, would be a fun late round flier.
Phew! Glad to hear some urgency on DK. Hope they can work it out soon if they are going too.
Yeah Pete, and pass rush was your number one priority in the ’19 offseason and we all saw how that turned out. Talk is cheap.
And another thing Petey, don’t give me a bunch of bullshit about cap space. If you want to get tackles, you can. The Saints, Rams et.al. make it work, you can too.
Jus noticed DJ Reed signed with the Jets last week.
I guess in a way the Jets ended up for the most part getting a 1st(10), 1st(23), and DJ Reed for Adams.
fml
Hey Rob, during the live stream you asked if any Jets fans were watching that could offer some suggestions as to what Joe Douglas might do at #10. I’m a Jets fan. Here’s what I think I know:
Douglas’ 2021 draft selections were in stark contrast to his ’20 haul, with the latter heavy on boom or bust Combine stars (Becton, Denzel Mims, Ashtyn Davis) and the former heavy on cleaner, more polished prospects (Vera-Tucker, Elijah Moore, Michael Carter). It’s too early to say if Douglas has a “type”. However, there is evidence that suggests Douglas strongly prioritizes fortifying the O-line and D-line with his premium picks.
Douglas cut his teeth as a long-time scout/personnel guy in Baltimore under Ozzie Newsome, who was all about utilizing the draft to stockpile quality depth in the trenches. As Vice President of Player Personnel with the Eagles, Douglas was instrumental in drafting ’17 1st-rounder Derek Barnett and trading up for Andre Dillard in ’19. Both moves were considered by many to be overkill since DE (Graham/Curry/C. Long) and OT (Peters/L. Johnson) appeared set at the time.
Douglas won’t hesitate to put “obvious” needs on the back burner and go O-line/D-line in the 1st round at the first sign of cracks in the foundation.
Two things I think we can safely assume:
1. The Jets are done with Becton.
Gets injured Week One
Given a 4 to 6 week recovery time frame
Proceeds to miss the entire season while ballooning to nearly 380 pounds
Then has the marbles to hop on social media and openly mock the NY front office for daring to
question his dedication
With Becton, the pre-draft conditioning/maturity/drug red flags were visible from space. We got burned. Time to move on.
2. The Jets aren’t coming out of the top 10 without a tackle.
I’ll bet a pinkie on it. I like George Fant as much as the next guy, but he’s a fringe starter and there is no depth behind him. The situation likely keeps Joe Douglas awake at nights.
Rob, I pray that you’re right about Thibodeaux at #4. I want nothing more than to see Thibs pinning his ears back and screaming off the edge in that Cliff Avril role in our Seattle-inspired scheme…but I know my Jets. We gotta keep that Carl Lawson dream alive.
Douglas loves his offensive tackles. The more massive and Feldman Freaky-athletic, the better. In your mock draft scenario, my gut says Evan Neal is the pick, with Penning a potential surprise pick if the Jets want to add that extra layer of disappointment for the fan base.
I don’t hate your Devonte Wyatt pick at #10. He’s a superhuman athlete and help is needed alongside Quinnen. (Douglas is itching to get that Sheldon Rankins contract off the books.) However, I think a free agent run-plugger like Akiem Hicks/Linval Joseph, or Travis Jones at pick 35 or 38 is more likely since newly-signed DE/DT John Franklin-Myers slides inside on passing downs. Our discount Michael Bennett.
I’m thinking it would be Stingley at #10 in your mock draft scenario. After DJ Reed, we have tumbleweeds at CB.
Reed was a nice get, but he’s currently listed at LCB on our depth chart and some Jets fans fancy him our new CB1. I’m not comfortable with any of that. Reed is best utilized at RCB, a little slot. He’s Robin, not Batman. I want that Alpha.
Stingley fits. So would Sauce and McDuffie, although I love your HOU/McDuffie fit at #13. McDuffie is a Lovie Smith corner if ever there was one.
So there you have it. Hope it helps.
BTW – Ekwonu to the Lions??
Thanks, appreciate the thoughts and advice.
On Ekwonu — for me he’s a pure guard. I know people have him at tackle. I think he’s 100% a guard and it’s not close and people I’ve spoken to (who know more than me) agree. I think the O-liners and pass rushers will come off the board quickly. I can see them taking a plug-in player and if that’s interior OL I think they might do it to make the O-line a massive strength for them.
Huh. You may be on to something with DET/Ekwonu. Holmes and Campbell are methodically rebuilding from the inside out and going for the Bully Ball identity. Ekwonu actually makes sense. Added bonus: Ekwonu would replace Vaitai and his bloated contract. $7 MIL off the books.
Another angle: What if the Lions draft Ekwonu to play RT, with Sewell moving to the blindside so that they can offer up Decker to the highest bidder? When it comes time to extend Sewell, the money allocated toward OT will be absolutely insane unless they restructure/trade Decker. Why wait? Detroit is mid-rebuild, Decker’s trade value is at it’s peak, and it’s a seller’s market right now. Ekwonu as a preemptive strike?
I can’t see Detroit moving Decker personally
And I don’t like Ekwonu at either tackle spot
Enjoying the new intro for your YouTube videos Rob!
With that music, I can only assume you’re trying to parlay this rebrand into a show at the O2 Academy Sheffield.
Yes, my album drops in September
Looking forward to it!!
I really hope they don’t go for a QB with their top picks. Too many needs to fill and good players available. I also hope they will actually use their top picks and not do a patented JS trade-down.
Getting a little frustrated. Watching the Rams signing all these high players. While the Seahawks are pinching pennies.
To quote Vince Lombardi. “What the hell is going on out there?”
T Hill of the Chiefs is unhappy with his $20m and has asked and been granted an opportunity to seek a trade elsewhere.
Great work Rob, can’t wait for the next mock draft.