I joined Brandan Schulze to talk about many of the main topics dominating the Seahawks agenda. Check out the podcast below and let us know what you think about the coverage. We’ll be recording a few more of these before the draft.
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.
We have a great community in the comments, we just ask you keep things on topic.
Rob Staton
Hot topics
- Some thoughts on what the Seahawks’ thinking might be for the offensive line
- O-line chat with Puck Sports & my thoughts on DeMarcus Lawrence & Marquez Valdez-Scantling
- Please, let’s just have a little bit of perspective about the Seahawks and their offensive line
- Why it’s OK that the Seahawks didn’t sign Will Fries
- Thoughts on day one of free agency for the Seahawks
Search the blog
Hot topics
- Some thoughts on what the Seahawks’ thinking might be for the offensive line
- O-line chat with Puck Sports & my thoughts on DeMarcus Lawrence & Marquez Valdez-Scantling
- Please, let’s just have a little bit of perspective about the Seahawks and their offensive line
- Why it’s OK that the Seahawks didn’t sign Will Fries
- Thoughts on day one of free agency for the Seahawks
Andy Benoit has to be one of the worst guys in his field. His takes are atrocious.
If you follow him or report anything from him, dunk your head in the toilet and flush the sh** out from between your ears.
I gotta be real with ya’ll. ‘Sunshine’ is league ready. Watching some of the throws he makes are just…hot!
Watch out for Jacob Eason as well!
He is ridiculously good for kid that age. The surest thing at QB since Andrew Luck and I think he has more natural talent that Luck.
š¤£
I love these podcasts they are very high quality and fun to listen to. Keep up the good work, the draft will be here soon!
Just continuing the discussion on the S/CB class from the end of last post, there are just so many options.
Jamel Dean another option we might be overlooking too? Watched a bit of him yesterday. Not sure if he can do the slot though.
David Long from Michigan, as mentioned yesterday:
https://seahawksdraftblog.com/three-round-mock-draft-seahawks-seven-round-mock#comment-434349
Zedrick Woods from Mississippi ran 4.29 at the combine at 5110, 205 and is ranked as the 2nd best tackler in the Safety class. Need to go watch him.
I guess I’m just trying to say I think the Hawks will find a guy they like in the mid rounds, enabling them to go DL or WR first, and they’re doing their due diligence on the R2-early R3 guys, cause at least one of them is likely to slip through the cracks into late R3-early R4.
They trust in David Moore, Jaron Brown, whoever else, try and get one last go from ADB this year and take a receiver later with their eyes on a historically good WR class next year? Or trust the depth in next year’s class and go early this year?
Something tells me they get Solari a guy early to work with in advance.
I thought about that, taking DL in this year’s loaded class and wait until next year for WR. That also gives you a chance to take a good look at what David Moore can give you with more snaps/targets. But I just think McLaurin is the PERFECT fit in every way for our team. He very well could go in R1, but I’m still thinking his age (turns 24 before the draft) will push him into the top half of R2.
If we could get McLaurin at 40 after two trade downs, and Trysten Hill in R3, I would absolutely love it!
The other scenario that makes a ton of sense to me and would make me pass up the chance to draft McLaurin and instead wait for next year’s WR class (perhaps nabbing Gary Jennings in R4; is he too similar to David Moore…?) is if Jeffery Simmons is there. ACL full recovery is 7-9 months. That means that, barring unforeseen setbacks, he should be back practicing at the very latest by mid November (and getting back into shape well before then). He could realistically play December and playoff football for us this year, and we get by with Poona and Meder or whoever until then.
But even if they did prefer to give him a full medical redshirt year, I’d still be on board with adding a top-10 talent and a huge hedge for Reed if he ends up being the odd man out of the “big 4” who need extensions. We don’t get a chance at that kind of talent very often picking where we usually do.
Not similar to Moore at all IMO.
Gonna be interesting when one of these D-lineman slip and Seattle’s on the clock at 21.
Yeah, even though they had Sills, Jennings still took a ton of snaps in the slot.
The DL though, who are you thinking might be there that could actually tempt them?
Peter King just did a mock with Rashan Gary going at 29…I know that is a complete pipe dream, but could you imagine the Hawks trading back to 29 and having one of the stud DL still there?
Dean seemingly has everything we look for in a DB but I just wonder how much his injury history will play a factor – he couldn’t even qualify out of HS at Ohio State then got injured more in college at Auburn. Could be a factor
Rob, Iām not āpanickingā about trading any one player. Schneider has his process, Iāll trust and wait for it to play out. But as a fan, itās our place to criticize after the fact. Fans questioned the Khalil Mack trade, and rightly so. Pick any year in the last 20 of the browns. Letting Golden Tate walk etc.
That said, what would be your criticism if the headline read āRussell Wilson signs mega contract with the Giants, Seahawks expect 3rd round compā? Or Wagner, or Clark? Iām not criticizing right now, but youād be right to wonder given how the last few examples of this situation played out.
You’re picking extremes to illustrate a point though. Of course we’d all react negatively to Wilson being traded for a third. But there’s a bit of difference between that and fans in this comments section thinking the worst all the time of the teams handling of their star players and panicking — yes — by suggesting they better trade them now. We’re barely in the first flush of negotiations. Clark has a clear deadline of July 15th — not April 15th. If Wilson and the Seahawks can’t agree terms, nothing HAS to happen. They can wait this out because situations change.
My point has never been ‘never criticize the team’ and I’m not sure why that’s been implied either. I’m simply saying people are overreacting to the contract situation. It’ll play out. We just need to let them get on with it.
I appreciate your angle here. Allow them to negotiate and play out the process. But my point is this, and it is pounding the table over nothing for now, but allowing any of those four to walk and getting nothing but a comp pick in return would have my faith and respect in JSPC greatly diminished. Because that would be unacceptable. If the time to get back value was 2017 or 2019, it is their job to foresee these issues to remain competitive, to stay one or two steps ahead. And I seriously doubt (if no deal was possible) they wouldn’t be able to get a pick better than a 3rd comp.
I appreciate your replies on the subject. I think we’ve both made our thoughts on the matter heard.
Why are you talking in those terms though?
āIf this really negative thing happens I will be disappointed in the team.ā
Great. But come on man. When did Seahawks fans become so cynical?
Well, your content “prepare for life without RW” is no more cynical than what I’m saying. Miss-managing these types of situations is no light topic with serious implications. Is that cynical? I don’t think so.
My rationale is this: either you resign these players in a way that doesn’t become a disability to the team and overarching plans. OR you find value for them so you can continue to build and develop. The only time you can’t do either is if you can’t get better than a comp and impossible to resign without handicapping the team.
I think (I hope) that Schneider will accomplish one or the other. Failure to do either is the result of poor management (in my honest opinion) given that all four players have much more value than a comp.
My content is very different. I’m trying to offer a realistic review of the situation by saying ‘be prepared for anything’. That’s a world apart from stating you’re gearing up to complain about the team about something that may not happen.
And it’s a perfect review of how cynical Seahawks fans have become.
I have asked chris tripodi and tony pauline about Tony’s comment on Juan. Here it is š:
https://twitter.com/morski_jastreb/status/1115521114405580800?s=19
Tony probably hasnāt had that clarified.
Itās pretty clear theyād be looking at Thornhill for the big nickel
Did youbse Jack del rio comment about Russ future? There is more and more talk about him playing in new jersey next year…
https://twitter.com/SeattleSihawks/status/1115647308887134208?s=19
He said next year so presumably that means 2020
Anyone have thoughts on Mercole Hardman Jr?
Only two years as a WR, so a bit raw on the technical side. He can flat out fly though, and I have a hard time seeing him not getting separation at the line. Was also a valuable special teams member at Georgia.
Rob has him going at #102 in the last mock.
I do.
Loved his highlights and his speed, but yesterday I saw he has a 31.3% deep catch rate (per PFF). Considering that would be his main role in our offense, that concerns me.
Compare that to guys like McLaurin who has a 71.4% deep catch rate or Gary Jennings at 60.9%. Even N’Keal Harry is at 50%.
Anything lower than 50% is a red flag for me for any WR whose game is based principally on speed/deep threat.
Interesting. Is that due to drops or bad throws or good defense? Scary stat regardless.
Hard to know what to make of some of these scouts.On the same website, two analysts have the following opinion of his hands.
Crabbs: He doesn’t have the biggest hands and does prefer to trap the ball against his chest trying to bring in throws as he’s square to the ball.
Kelly: Hardman makes a conscious effort to always be catching the ball with his hands. At all angles, he will use his hands to pluck the ball out of the air.
https://thedraftnetwork.com/player/mecole-hardman
Then there was this:
https://dawgpost.com/forums/2/topics/5781
0 drops in 27 catches. He only had 8 more catches, so either he was dropping everything thrown his way, or there’s more to that stat than just drops. Maybe bad routes, maybe not getting separation. Just not sure how much is on him VS other factors.
Yeah, that’s interesting.
PFF has for deep throws (20+ yds in the air):
Mecole Hardman: 16 targets, 5 catches, 229 yds, 3 TD, 3 drops, 119.8 PR when targeted
for comparison:
Gary Jennings Jr.: 23 targets, 14 catches, 519 yds, 8 TD, 3 drops, 126.4 PR when targeted
Marquise Brown: 24 targets, 13 catches, 592 yds, 5 TD, 2 drops, 104.2 PR when targeted
Mclaurin in Rd #2 after a trade back or Jennings in Rd 4 seem like the two best options at WR for the Hawks IMO. I like Campbell too it just seems like the Hawks have a hard time utilizing guys like that. The would be ridiculous in NE Scheme.
yeah..Russ seems to like to throw long and/or to the sidelines..probably because he can’t see the short middle zones very well..lol
Rob, if seahawks somehow get 30-35 pick and 55-65 pick…and with first two picks the want tobtake safety/big nickel and 5T.
S/BN : CGJ, Thornhill, Adderley, Savage
5T: LJ Collier, Omenihu, Zach Allen, Anthony Nelson
What do you think which position has higher chances to last until 55-65 range? And who would you take first?
Not Rob, but I think the 5T names have a greater chance of being in that range. There is a real cliff of talent for S/BN after the early second round—when we can expect a “run” to go on them. Anthony Nelson and Zach Allen have a very good chance of being available then and they tick all of Seattle’s physical boxes.
Agree. Collier and Nelson almost sure to be there IMO.
#hedge
Here is a simple table I put together for WRs.
The guys included are ones I was interested in who fit Seattle’s profile of running in the 4.4s and/or who have a low drop rate and/or high catch percentage.
I feel like reliability is a key trait for Seattle receivers. They don’t get many targets, so they need to make the most of every single one they do get.
Interesting enough that Seattle has two of the top 5 most efficient WRs in the NFL since 2009 and brought in a third one for a visit before he decided to retire: https://twitter.com/PFF_Fantasy/status/1111401336862498816
The green and red are just top and bottom of each spectrum, with arbitrary cut off points made by me.
Seahawks WR Key Stats
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pOIy__UekL0n8P6QZ4ja87cHRm9EWNtSFBfv5u34BGg/edit?usp=sharing
Play around with it and let me know if you want me to add someone else for comparison.
Thanks for doing this up! Really appreciate it.
AJ Brown ran a 4.49, so I wonder how he stacks up.
As Iāve said before ā he canāt do what they want
I know you don’t think he’s a fit Rob. Does every guy on our team need to excel at running a go route though?
Doug doesn’t have that as part of his game, and his days are numbered. Jordy didn’t have that as part of his game and we were trying to sign him. Who are we throwing to on 3rd and 5?
The last time we drafted a ‘type’ we took PRich over Davante Adams.
Players are either a fit or they arenāt
How about this comp:
Player A: 6.05″, 226lbs, 32 7/8 arms, 9 3/4 arms, 4.49 – 40, 19 bench, 36.5 vert, 120 broad
Player B: 6.20″ 214lbs, 32 5/8 arms, 9 3/4 arms, 4.45 – 40, 17 bench, 36.0 vert, 124 broad
Player A is AJ Brown, Player B is Amara Darboh, who is the last WR John has drafted. You can argue that Darboh was a bad pick, or that we already have a guy like this on the roster, but there is precedent for taking this ‘type’ of guy.
When I look at some of the best WR’s in the league: Michael Thomas, Davante Adams, Antonio Brown, Keenan Allen, Adam Theilen, Stephon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins, JuJu Smith-Schuster…
None of these guys were burners, none were top 20 picks and most had more in common with Darboh than Lockett.
Darboh was a completely different player to Brown though.
It’s all about fit. Many things determine fit.
I’m still interested in seeing more of AJ Brown.
Also, what games do I need to watch to get a good take on N’Keal Harry?
Good players fit anywhere. The question isnāt does he fit, itās is he any good? I donāt really know. I always thought both ole miss wideouts were overrated.
No, the question is does he fit.
Every team has preferences. We’ve had nearly a decade of Pete Carroll to know what they look for at certain positions.
Fit is everything. Personality, playing style, profile.
How was Malik McDowellās personality a fit?
How was Ethan pocicās athleticism a fit?
How was Jimmy Grahamās physicality a fit?
And yes, the biggest one of all, how was wilsonās height a fit?
For every player who really fits the Seahawks ideal, itās like you can point to one who doesnāt because they excelled in some other area.
McDowell ā freakish athlete. Length. Fits their short shuttle. Massive upside. Was a nailed on fit.
Graham ā dynamic X factor weapon and TD machine brought in weeks after they lost a SB in the red zone.
Pocic – Nothing about Pocic says he wasnāt a fit.
Come on. Iāve been doing this for a decade. I try to steer us in the right direction and for the most part we excel there. We know what to look for.
Help me out with regards to WR. What are we looking for? What was it about Darboh that made him a fit? You’ve mentioned that we’ve only ever drafted a WR who ran over a 4.5 a couple of times, but that’s clearly not the only thing you think we are looking for in a WR.
Last year you mocked Christian Kirk to us numerous times. He was a slot WR who was touted for his YAC and open field ability. Similar to Brown, but I must be missing something else. What did Kirk do that Brown doesn’t in your opinion?
Look, I’m not purposely trying to beat the drum for AJ Brown as a must have or anything. I’m just curious as to the rationale behind why someone who seems similar to a guy that you loved last year is such a bad fit for the team now.
I feel like I’m staring at one of those old 3D puzzles where you see a boat and I see a bunch of zig zags. What is it that I’m missing? Please don’t just say Kirk was completely different, or that Brown simply isn’t a fit. I’m sincerely trying to understand what specifically to be looking for in a WR target.
Christian Kirk was a fantastic downfield receiver and had superb special teams value. He is not remotely like AJ Brown.
Brown is a short-range receiver. He’s big and sluggish but he can box-out on shorter range stuff and has got the ability to get open quickly from the slot.
He is the opposite of sudden. The Seahawks want sudden.
Ok, sorry. I thought you guys see the filtered view automatically that I put in my spreadsheets. But I just looked at it in another browser and it is not automatically displayed.
So if you want to be able to filter and sort the different columns, you need to go to “Data” > “Filter views” > “Create new temporary filter view”.
You can also comment in any cell by right clicking on it.
This is really wonderful, Sea Mode. Thanks for the hard work! McLaurin is so made for us…but with next year’s WR class being so deep…should we be spending our first pick on WR?
Yeah, not sure. Volume 12 and I were just talking about this at the end of last thread.
I guess it kind of depends on who is available. At this point though, I would really only want McLaurin with our first pick or Jennings with our R3-R4 pick. The other guys don’t excite me that much any more.
The offensive weapon we add could well be a TE instead of a WR and we put that off for next year’s awesome class.
Nice work sea mode this is some fine work. That’s a whole lot of green for Paris Campbell. If the hawks could pick him up after trade down I’d be very happy. Mclaurin isn’t a bad option either.
Personally, I don’t think Parris Campbell really fits unless you believe there is some untapped deep ball potential. He is green all the way across, until you reach the passer rating on deep pass and he didn’t even have enough deep balls to make the list I guess. On top of that, he’s listed at 25% catch rate for deep balls.
This just serves to confirm what we already know from the tape: he runs a lot of sweeps and shallow crossing routes. He’s just like Percy Harvin in that regard. Not a deep threat, limited route running. I’m not sure the Seahawks go for that again.
One could argue he offers the ability to open the playbook up though. We need more than a great run game and great play action deep game.
Great work Sea Mode, that’s an interesting chart. I’m wondering why the percent caught and the percent dropped don’t add up to 100%. What am I missing?
Really enjoyed the podcast Rob.
I think you make a great point about Clarks actual trade value given the quality of the DL draft class. It makes no sense for a team to give a high pick then have to pay that kind of contract to Clark when you can draft a less polished but similar talent and have 5 years of cheap control.
I think it is almost a lock he plays on the tag this year and Russ does next year given how the off season has progressed so far.
So excited for the draft and influx of new talent to the team to focus on for a while.
Thanks šš»
Jeffrey Simmons visiting the Seahawks. Interesting. Is he the first player to come in for a visit that the team knew was injured and would not be able to play his first year? Could be a precursor to a draft tendency breaker.
IDK, but you can look it up if you want using our Tracker:
Seahawks visits/meeting/interest Tracker
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J3d023YdKp9MFv7OQTy0YTssJ65qLd_aB0UJFGVHxPY/edit?usp=sharing
Awesome work
No I don’t think he’s the first.
Basically any team who wants a complete profile on Simmons has to bring him in. So I wouldn’t read too much into it.
I would LOVE to bolster the Dline with a
Simmons
Edge
Trystan hill
for our 1st 3 picks.
It all starts in the trenches IMO and would allow us to not be forced to overpay Jarran.
I agree. Dline has always been my favorite position group. Got to dominate the line of scrimmage.
Hey Rob, now that there are reports of the Hawks potentially shopping Clark for a second, how do you think this will play out? Iām gonna say itās 70/30 they deal Clark before the draft because they wonāt stomach paying him 20 mil + per year
I think that rumour was a load of rubbish.
They wonāt trade anyone before the draft.
I think they would trade him for a top ten pick, but as discussed why would anyone do that? Everyone in the NFL realizes the value of cost controlled players vs expensive massive contracts.
Itās why there wonāt be much market for RW either (at least an offer one would take to trade away a top qb).