— Dion Jordan was superb last night, a major high point during the Arizona win. For starters he looks enormous. Nicknamed the ‘praying mantis’ at Oregon because of his tall, lanky frame — he now looks like a completely different player. He’s big and physical, capable of bullying inferior offensive linemen:

Dion Jordan (@dionj95) with the bull rush sack. Textbook rush! #Seahawks #SacksAndStats pic.twitter.com/ROuiyM5J5q

— DLineVids (@DLineVids) November 10, 2017

Not only that, on other occasions he showed he still has quickness and mobility and he played with his hair on fire all night. This could be one of Seattle’s best reclamation projects yet. It’s only one game and Jordan has to stay healthy and motivated. Damontre Moore looked good a year ago, got hurt and then ended up drifting again during a short stay in Dallas.

He’s a restricted free agent in the off-season so the Seahawks have some club control here. If he builds on a solid debut there’s no reason why he won’t be back in 2018 at a modest price. Jordan was the #3 pick in 2013 for a reason and his talent was never questioned. With Frank Clark, Sheldon Richardson, Naz Jones, Jarran Reed and now potentially Malik McDowell and Dion Jordan — there are signs of a young, highly talented new D-line core emerging.

— Last week I had the opportunity to watch Washington easily handle Oregon at Husky Stadium. And while it was easy to be impressed by the offensive talent on display — the two players that stood out the most to me were Vita Vea and Greg Gaines. You have to see Vea live to understand just how athletic and active he is. He’s listed at 6-5 and 340lbs yet time and time again he was running to the sideline, chasing down ball carriers and making it look easy. There just aren’t that many human beings on the planet with his size and athleticism — and that’s why he’s destined to go in the top-15. Gaines is highly underrated — just a disruptive interior presence who can also handle the run. Don’t be surprised if he ends up going earlier than expected and having a fine NFL career.

Dante Pettis had a very good outing too. From my view it was fun to watch him consistently create separation. He’s a dynamic, sudden athlete and it shows when you watch his routes and return impact. I think he’ll go earlier than perhaps some are currently projecting. Royce Freeman also had a good performance I thought. He’s mobile and very active for his size. You’d like to see him thump a little bit more though. He’s not a bruiser at 230lbs. He deserves the nickname ‘Rolls Royce’. That’s what he is — smooth and quick, looks the part. Sometimes you wish there was a little more nasty in there.

— Speaking of running backs, that’s going to be the focus for a while on here. We need to have a thorough look at the options available. When a team like Seattle is so clear in setting out an identity and then struggles mightily to incorporate that identity, it’s worrying. The Seahawks want to run the ball. And they aren’t — or they can’t.

I’m not sure what else they could’ve done in pre-season. They went into camp with a long list of names and a strong competition. Eddie Lacy, Thomas Rawls, C.J. Prosise, Chris Carson, Alex Collins, Mike Davis. They gave themselves a fair shot to find someone to lead this running attack. They found Carson. Then he got hurt.

Unfortunately none of the other names were able to have an impact. Carson may return and end up leading the running game for years. The Seahawks need some security though. Some insurance. Rawls, Prosise and Davis might remain — but it feels like the writing’s on the wall for them. New blood might be required.

They might be able to land another veteran like Carlos Hyde. He might expensive. More than anything they need someone they not only trust to run the ball effectively — they also need someone they feel some pressure to get involved. With Marshawn Lynch they felt that responsibility to get him carries. His sheer talent demanded it. Now the best players on the offense are Russell Wilson and his targets. A struggling offense is putting the ball in their hands to try and make things happen. That, I’m afraid, is understandable and acceptable. Rawls had nine carries against Arizona for four yards — and one big 23-yard run. Feeding him was only going to lead to more failed drives.

That can’t go on for a third successive season in 2018.

Yes — the blocking also needs to be reviewed and analysed. However, Carson was running with authority and success earlier in the season. If he can do it — you’d expect the others to perform better.

We need to look for explosive runners listed within Seattle’s clearly defined size range of about 5-10/6-0 in height and 215-225lbs in weight. It’s a real shame Christine Michael never worked out because his body type is pretty much what they need right now. It’s hard to find players with his athletic talent. Sadly he proved to be a complete lost cause quite early in his career.

Let the search begin for a player who might fit a similar profile.

We’ve talked a lot about Rashaad Penny at San Diego State. He fits the size profile and he’s quite the all-round back. As we start this tour of the RB’s, here’s a collection of his highlights:

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!

The title says it all.

An ugly, miserable contest — endured and not enjoyed — was won by the Seahawks. It was scruffy, with a mountain of penalties (21 in total) and multiple injuries.

How can the NFL watch this and think Thursday Night Football is a good thing for the players or the audience?

Doug Baldwin says this game is exhibits A through Z of why Thursday night football should be abolished.

— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) November 10, 2017

Making things even worse is the ongoing experiment with something called ‘Skycam’. Next weeks Thursday game will feature the ‘Madden 18’ angle for the whole night. They used it one for series here, before a nauseated audience complained enough on Twitter to seemingly get it pulled.

Still, that’s not the topic for discussion tonight. Injuries make this a night that could define Seattle’s season.

Duane Brown didn’t last a half before going off with an ankle sprain. Jarran Reed exited early with what looked like a hamstring pull. Michael Wilhoite injured a calf and Kam Chancellor ended the night being transported off the field on a cart with a stinger.

C.J. Prosise got injured too — hurting his other ankle this time.

Yet the big story is Richard Sherman. Nursing a sore achilles already, he left the field in pain and was telling a captive audience on the sideline he’d suffered a tear. Hugs with Russell Wilson and Kris Richard ensued.

Cameras caught Sherman mouthing he was out for the season. Pete Carroll confirmed it’s likely serious. A ruptured tendon.

Sherman fought back tears in his postgame press conference. It felt like Carroll was doing the same. It summed up the night. Seattle won — but there was no real joy in this victory. Just sadness.

That’s just the worst news for now. If it emerges that Brown and Chancellor also suffered major injuries — you’d have to question Seattle’s status as a contender. It’s one thing to lose a player or two — but multiple starters (don’t forget the existing injuries to Avril, Fant and Carson) would be destructive.

The Seahawks are already having to kick and scratch to win any contest. This whole evening was another grind. In fact the entire game arguably swung on one big play:

.@DangeRussWilson..UNBELIEVABLE!! #GoHawks pic.twitter.com/kJWus06TBt

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 10, 2017

Russell Wilson is so close to being sacked for a huge loss — and so close to throwing an interception. With Arizona already enjoying a 6-minute drive to begin the second half — good field position (or a pick six) could’ve swung the contest.

Instead, Doug Baldwin makes an incredible play. The best of the season so far? Possibly. Maybe the most important. Seattle couldn’t stomach injuries galore and a 5-4 record.

Moments later Jimmy Graham is catching his second touchdown and the game was virtually over.

What a huge swing in a season of swings for Seattle.

It’s a reminder that despite all of the injuries, the Seahawks have a loaded roster. There were still three stars (Wilson, Baldwin and Graham) capable of winning the game at a moment of desperate need.

They’ll need that trio to keep making plays.

This was another night when the running game was an afterthought. The running backs managed just 54 yards on 18 carries at three yards per carry. Thomas Rawls, the starting running back, had 27 yards on 10 carries — including a 23-yard run through a canyon-esque hole. His other nine carries collected four yards.

Equally J.D. McKissic had 26 yards on five carries, with 17 yards coming on a neat looking pitch to the outside. His other four carries went for nine yards.

Again they needed 19 yards from Wilson to boost the numbers. Chris Carson remains, unbelievably, Seattle’s most productive running back. He played just four games.

The Seahawks spent an off-season trying to remedy this problem. It’s not getting better. Too much responsibility is placed on the quarterback. When he’s able to make the Houdini plays (see above), Seattle has a shot. When they don’t come off — how do they win without multiple turnovers?

It’s an issue that isn’t anywhere near being resolved and likely won’t be now we’re into the second half of the season. And that could be as costly as the mounting injury crisis.

We’ll see what happens. If Prosise’s injury is bad it might be an opportunity for Mike Davis. It’s probably time for Davis to get a shot anyway. Can he really be any worse? Deshaun Shead might come back into the fold to replace Sherman — or we could see Byron Maxwell return (it’s a touch of fortune that he’s currently a free agent).

The Seahawks are suddenly very fortunate they didn’t trade Jeremy Lane to the Texans.

The good news is the defensive line. While they didn’t pile up the sacks tonight, they had another strong outing limiting the Cardinals to 34 total rushing yards on 24 carries. Sheldon Richardson was terrific and had a brilliant bull rush early in the game for a QB hit. Dion Jordan had a tremendous debut with another great bull rush for a sack. Naz Jones continues to play at a superb level. What a find he has been.

K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner also excelled — as did Chancellor.

They’ll need all of those key players to stomach the loss of Sherman and the continuing absence of Earl Thomas. Plus the potential loss of the newly acquired left tackle.

A final note for today — Jimmy Graham now has six touchdowns and is on pace for double digit scores this year. All of the talk about trades or this being his final season in Seattle were premature. He’s a vital weapon — and the Seahawks are finally finding ways to get him the ball in the red zone.

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!

5-3 after eight games?

The exact same thing happened in 2014.

One of two seasons often reminisced about in Seattle started with drama and strife and adversity.

First they had to force Percy Harvin into a role on offense. Then they sensationally traded him to the Jets. Then there was all the talk of Marshawn Lynch refusing to board the bus ahead of the St. Louis game. Then we had the ‘Russell Wilson isn’t black enough’ talk courtesy of Mike Freeman.

With all this playing out in the background, the Seahawks dropped to 3-3, recovered to 6-3, then suffered an ugly road loss to the Chiefs.

It was only then, as a 6-4 club, that the wagons were circled.

The subsequent run — six straight wins to end the season — carried the Seahawks to the #1 seed and eventually the Super Bowl.

It is not beyond this team to have the same kind of turnaround. Nobody who watched that Kansas City game would’ve seen a winning streak coming. The Seahawks were as inconsistent, disjointed and frustrating as they have been in 2017 so far.

Somehow they worked it out.

So what did they have that the current Seahawks don’t?

Lynch is the obvious answer.

Here’s a section of a piece from November 12th, 2014, four days before that Chiefs game:

Replacing Lynch will be the toughest thing this franchise has to do in the post-Super Bowl era. You could argue running backs are easy to plug into an offense. How else can you describe 29-year-old Justin Forsett posting 5.4 yards-per-carry in Baltimore as the fourth most productive runner in the NFL? I think for most teams it’s a valid point. But not for Seattle. Not with Lynch.

He is so integral to this teams identity. He is a phenom, a truly unique runner that deserves to be remembered as fondly as any other running back since the turn of the century. His physical style, ability to break tackles, his attitude on the field. These are not easily replaced by just plugging in another player. The moment Seattle loses ‘Beast Mode’ the team will also lose a part of its identity. There’s no getting away from that.

He’s also a darn good player — the only true ‘star’ on the offense outside of Russell Wilson. The talent drop off will be difficult to overcome for an offense that can’t rely on a brilliant QB-and-WR partnership. Assuming you can’t add a superstar to compensate for his absence, you might need to bring in several players to make up for it. Think about that because it’s a realistic dilemma. Seattle can cope with Lynch and the current group of receivers. But take Lynch away and you might have to pump up that passing game with a couple of additions — not to mention probably adding a new running back.

Looking back on those words today, doesn’t it resonate so much?

The loss of identity. The need to add multiple receiving weapons to compensate.

Everything came true.

It’s stating the obvious to highlight how badly the Seahawks miss Lynch. That’s not really the point. This is about trying to highlight the difference between then and now. Because the Seahawks are arguably even deeper and more talented than they were in 2014 — so you hope they can still make this a Championship year.

In sitting down to write this piece, I wanted to look at that season and see reasons for optimism. All I could glean was how much this team misses having a consistent and brilliant running back.

This stat from Danny O’Neil is telling:

In Russell Wilson's first 3 seasons, #Seahawks 5-5 when his QB rating was less than 75. Since then, they are 0-6. https://t.co/81x9uyfpcg

— Danny O'Neil (@dannyoneil) November 6, 2017

Lynch and Wilson used to share responsibility for the offense. Now it’s all on the quarterback.

He was brought in to be the star point guard, not a one-man LeBron James show.

As O’Neil highlights — on the days when Wilson can’t be fantastic, the team loses. With Lynch, they could survive a rough day for the quarterback.

The idea of a Seattle running back getting over 100 yards in a game is currently unfathomable. It’d be a major surprise if it happened. A 100-yard rusher? What a luxury. We used to take something like that for granted.

It’s something they don’t have now and they miss the comfort and stability that Lynch brought to the offense. He grounded them. If he wasn’t getting the ball, it felt necessary to get him involved. What draws Seattle back to the running game now? The opportunity to see which of Lacy, Rawls or McKissic can struggle for a short gain? It’s too tempting to turn to Wilson instead.

Yesterday is a good example of the difference between the two versions of the Seahawks. In 2014 you imagine they would’ve come out in the second half featuring Lynch. In 2017 they practically abandoned the running backs and put the game on Russell Wilson, trying to chase the big play.

They badly need some balance and some help for the quarterback.

Chris Carson might’ve been the guy, sadly.

What can they actually do without him? They appeared to acknowledge the need to feature one back before the Washington game. Eddie Lacy was the chosen one. He got injured in the first half.

Now what?

It feels like if they’re going to get this right, as they did in 2014, they need that running game. Is it fixable with the players on the roster?

Wilson is currently the teams leading rusher with 271 yards. Carson, shockingly, is the second leading rusher with 208 yards despite missing several games with a broken leg.

They only have two rushing touchdowns — one by Wilson, one by J.D. McKissic. And they haven’t even threatened to establish a ground game or score running TD’s.

Can you really change this now? They’ll try, but is it possible?

If not, is it fair to hold high expectations for this version of the Seahawks if the quarterback needs to be fantastic every week?

And will they ever be as good as they were in 2013 and 2014 without Lynch? Despite all of the big additions — Jimmy Graham, Sheldon Richardson, Duane Brown — it’s the subtraction of Lynch and the inability to replace him that feels the most telling.

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!

There’s usually one characteristic saved for good teams. You have to play your best game to beat them.

The Seahawks, strangely, have never quite lived up to that.

The Pete Carroll era, predominantly filled with successes and exciting wins, has also been known to throw out an occasional ugly loss.

The Redskins and Kirk Cousins deserve credit for the way they won it at the end. That’s a terrific drive with the odds stacked against them. Two big pass plays to win. That’s not easy against any opponent in that situation.

But really they had three good drives — their scoring drives — and struggled mightily the rest of the day.

Seattle dominated yardage, time of possession, first downs, yards per play, sacks.

That should’ve been enough to secure a win. It wasn’t.

The 16 penalties, the three missed kicks, the two failed two-point conversions, the slow start on offense, the big drive conceded at the end by the defense.

It was one thing after another until the very end.

It was, it has to be said, a bit of a mess. A blown opportunity to go to 6-2 and stay at the top of the NFC West.

The Seahawks under Carroll love to play chaotic games. They often thrive in such a dramatic setting. The problem is, such a scenario can easily lead to a performance and result like this — even against an injury-ravaged Redskins team.

Had a loss like this been coming? Was the four game winning streak a bit of a mirage? Maybe. They’d made hard work of all four of those previous wins. Today, their luck ran out as they tried to kick and scratch to a fifth.

It’s a significant loss if you were hoping the Seahawks were going to stride forward and become the team to beat in the NFC. They fell further behind the Eagles and are now relying on the NFC East beating each other up to bring Philadelphia back into range. The Rams continue to march forward — both Philly and LA today rolled to the kind of easy wins Seahawks fans must crave.

The Rams, rightly, will now be the favourites in the NFC West.

Despite all of the aggressive moves and the determination to win now, Seattle unfortunately looks a bit too disjointed to take seriously as a contender. That can change, of course. But the margin for error is almost completely evaporated.

In 2013 they only lost three games in total. In 2014 they needed a Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton injury plus an incredible winning streak to overcome a difficult start.

At 5-3 at the mid-way point this Seahawks team looks disappointingly similar to the two previous years. Destined to win about 10 games, make the playoffs but face a difficult road game.

It’s a shame to have to write that — but isn’t obvious? The Seahawks have games coming up that they can and should win. They also have games on the horizon where you can foresee struggles.

Right now they’re closer to the boom or bust Panthers than the clean, functioning Philly, LA and New Orleans.

Pete Carroll has to get this team playing clean football. At the moment they aren’t playing at the kind of level befitting the big names on the roster. They need to get out of their own way.

There is some good news from today that I wanted to share with you. I was very kindly invited into a suite for the game today, meaning I had spare tickets. With the help of Brian Nemhauser at Hawkblogger, we made the Club Level tickets available for a donation to Ben’s Fund — the charity set up by Traci & John Schneider to support the following cause:

…to not only provide grants to families to help them obtain services for their children on the spectrum, but also to connect families to FEAT so they will be established in a larger community to receive ongoing guidance and assistance as they continue their journey with autism.

We raised $400 for the charity today.

If you’d like to make a donation yourself, here’s the link.

I’m heading out to Husky stadium tonight for the Oregon vs Washington game. Before leaving I wanted to put down some thoughts on the aggressive approach the Seahawks are taking this season.

With two big trades for Sheldon Richardson and Duane Brown, the Seahawks no longer own the following:

2018 second round pick
2018 third round pick
2019 second round pick

It’s a considerable outlay and the team might feel the loss of those picks down the road. Change isn’t that far away for the Seahawks. Several key players are getting older. As new players get paid (Sheldon Richardson and Frank Clark presumably) there might not be the money to keep other stalwarts.

There’s no doubting Seattle’s approach. They’re not completely abandoning the draft (they still have their first round picks) but they’re focusing on a very specific window here. Probably this season and next.

This isn’t so much about sustainability anymore as it is maxing out the potential of this core group to win multiple Championships.

Why might that be?

1. The NFC is wide open

The teams that really dominated the NFC during the last two seasons are faltering. Atlanta look completely different minus Kyle Shanahan’s offense. The Panthers have well and truly made that 2015 season look like a flash in the pan. The Cardinals are ageing, injured and without Calais Campbell.

The top ranked team currently is an upstart Eagles with a second year quarterback. They’re good. They might turn great by the end of the season. But for now it’s hard to look at Philadelphia and see the same kind of threat as Atlanta a year ago or the Panthers in 2015.

The Seahawks have talent spread evenly enough across their roster to take control of the NFC, much in the way they did in 2013 and 2014. A couple of key areas were letting them down — left tackle and the running game. The Duane Brown trade solves one of those problems. Now they have to find a way to field a competent running attack.

Neither problem is solved without the deal with Houston. And while they could’ve possibly still worked through the NFC field to get a #1 or #2 seed — the aggressive trade makes it more likely to happen.

I watched a NFL Network segment yesterday where a group of players made their mid-season Super Bowl predictions. All four picked a different NFC representative — Seattle, Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans. That’s how winnable the NFC is this year.

The opportunity is here right now. Can you blame the Seahawks for doing whatever it takes to grasp it?

2. Change is inevitable

This core group are not going to just keep playing forever. There will come a time, possibly as early as the 2019 off-season, where major surgery is required on the roster. Will players retire or move on? Will there need to be cuts to allow room for others to be paid?

And perhaps more significantly, how much longer is Pete Carroll going to coach for?

This is his show after all. If he wants to max out this tenure with this Championship caliber team, doing what it takes to win now will be at the forefront of his mind.

That’s not to paint Carroll as this selfish ego-maniac only interested in winning during his time in Seattle. Don’t you all feel similarly? Would you rather this era be best known for one title, one agonising near-miss and a bunch of Divisional round exits?

If the Seahawks win at least one more Championship this year or next, we’ll have lived through a legendary era of Seattle football. Ensuring that happens is the most important thing right now. It’s more important than any future mini-rebuild. And here’s why they can feel that way…

3. Russell Wilson will be the man

Whenever the roster changes eventually occur, the quarterback is going to be so important. We’ve seen Pittsburgh, Green Bay and New England go through roster facelifts and remain competitive. Why? The quarterback.

So while spending future stock might prevent the Seahawks retaining a loaded roster in nearly every facet, Wilson is good enough (as evidenced against Houston) to elevate this team and keep it winning while a transition period occurs.

Hopefully he’ll be doing that as a two or three time Super Bowl winner. If not, well at least they left no stone unturned. Brady and Roethlisberger were able to win Championships without complete rosters so a few big name departures or retirements doesn’t spell the end of Seattle’s window.

There’s one other final thing to remember here. Seattle has made four big trades since 2013:

Percy Harvin
Jimmy Graham
Sheldon Richardson
Duane Brown

Clearly there are mixed opinions about these deals. Nobody can dispute, however, that all four players were incredibly unique, productive players with star potential.

It says something that Duane Brown might be the least talented of the quartet and yet he plays a position where there’s a dearth of talent currently in the NFL. His addition might be the most important.

Draft picks are the best way to bring in cheap talent and build a deep, competitive roster. But you’re not getting players of this quality and proven production in rounds 2-3 or even the late first.

They weren’t trading for washed up players or players who hadn’t proven anything. They were bringing in pure quality.

Such is the NFL, none of the deals have worked as well as the lesser compensated deals for Marshawn Lynch and Chris Clemons. Can you really blame the Seahawks for trying though?

We can only imagine how many rings Aaron Rodgers would have right now had Green Bay taken a few more risks to help him get back to the Super Bowl.

At the very least we can live with the knowledge the Seahawks were much more pro-active.

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!

With the Seahawks trading their second and third round picks in 2018 for Sheldon Richardson and Duane Brown, a lot of importance is going to be placed on their remaining first round pick.

The safe odds are probably on another trade down to regain some of the spent stock.

Even so, at the moment they’ll be relying on day three hits to make their 2018 class an impactful one. And they’ll probably focus on whatever they determine to be their biggest need with that early pick.

As things stand, there are probably three main contenders:

Defensive end

The future of Cliff Avril is unclear. Hopefully he will make a full recovery from his neck injury and return at the incredibly modest sum of $8m for next season. Whatever happens, an EDGE rusher or LEO is likely to be a point of focus.

Avril is approaching the last year of his contract, Michael Bennett turns 32 in less than a fortnight and Frank Clark, probably due an extension at some point, appears to be the only truly long term feature.

Marcus Smith and Dion Jordan were brought in as projects. It’s possible that either player, after a year with the team, could be re-signed to show what they can do in 2018. That’s a possibility but not something we can say with any certainty today — especially in the case of Jordan.

If Malik McDowell returns next year and with Sheldon Richardson, Nazair Jones and Jarran Reed working with Michael Bennett and Frank Clark — Seattle has size and freaky athleticism on their D-line. Speed and quickness off the edge could be a need to compliment what they already have and that looks like a good early bet to be Seattle’s focus with their top pick.

Bruce Irvin — 1.55 10-yard split, 4.50 forty
Cliff Avril — 1.50 10-yard split, 4.51 forty
Marcus Smith — 1.57 10-yard split, 4.68 forty
Dion Jordan — 1.61 10-yard split, 4.54 forty

This is the type of speed they’ve had and could be missing in 2018. Considering the Seahawks are likely to be out of range for the likes of Bradley Chubb and Harold Landry, it’ll be interesting to see which other prospects time well at the combine.

Offensive line

Call this the Dallas approach. The Cowboys just kept pumping draft stock into their O-line until it became a major asset. The plan has enabled Dallas to transition from Tony Romo to Dak Prescott and make Ezekiel Elliott one of the best playmakers in the league.

Seattle’s line is starting to take shape. Hopefully Duane Brown provides an answer at left tackle. Justin Britt and Germain Ifedi appear locked in at center and right tackle respectively. The hope has to be that Ethan Pocic will become a regular feature at one of the guard spots and/or they could still re-sign Luke Joeckel.

If Joeckel was to walk and if Oday Aboushi wasn’t re-signed, bringing in a top class guard to complete the set could be Seattle’s answer to Dallas’ plan. It’d have to be for a top talent, however.

Quenton Nelson at Notre Dame is one of my five favourite players to watch in college football at the moment. He’s sensational and could easily emulate Zack Martin by going in the first half of round one. If he fell a bit like David DeCastro and was around in the 20’s, he would be a major value pick.

Ohio State’s Billy Price could be an alternative option. Both Nelson and Price are highly aggressive, mobile, gritty blockers. They probably won’t be there for Seattle — but if they were, they could finally turn the offensive line into a major strength and help the Seahawks get back to running the ball the way they want to.

Running back

It could be quite a deep running back class in 2018 although it feels at the moment like the best value might be in the round 2-4 range. Clearly Saquon Barkley is going to go in the top-five. Then there’s a long list of names that could go anywhere from the mid-first to the late third.

The earliest pick Seattle has spent on a running back in the Pete Carroll era is a second rounder for Christine Michael. He was a physical freak of nature with all of the talent in the world. If the Seahawks were ever going to draft a running back in the first round, they’d probably have to be a similar athlete.

We also know they have a body type they like and a preferred physical profile. They’ve consistently brought in explosive athletes rather than speed demons and all of their backs have been in that 5-10 to 6-0 range in height and around 220lbs.

Before Seattle was forced to cough up their third rounder in the Brown deal, that looked like a sweet spot for a RB pick. With the running game in flux, they might be more inclined to attack this position early. They’ll need to do something though. Eddie Lacy isn’t likely to return, Thomas Rawls and C.J. Procise haven’t worked out so far and Chris Carson will need to recover fully from a broken leg.

It’ll be interesting to see how Nick Chubb tests following his knee injury. We’ve often referenced his performance at one of the Nike SPARQ combines. If he gets anywhere near that again and the medical checks are OK, he could go very early.

There are others to mention — Bryce Love, Derrius Guice, Damien Harris, Ronald Jones and Royce Freeman to name a few. The one I’d keep an eye on the most at the moment is San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny.

He’s having a fantastic year with 1368 and 12 rushing touchdowns (plus 136/2 as a pass catcher). He has six career kick return touchdowns and he combines toughness, elusiveness and the ability to break off big plays. He’s in Seattle’s size bracket (5-11, 220lbs). He also talks well in interviews and is elevating his team to a strong season.

I’m not sure where Penny will go in terms of round. We’ll need to see how he tests. Yet if the Seahawks did move down into rounds 2-3 to accumulate more picks, I wouldn’t bet against Penny landing on this team.

There are other positions we could mention. It’s pretty clear the Seahawks want to invest in a young quarterback to work behind Russell Wilson and provide some cheap security. That’s less likely to happen now that they don’t own picks in rounds 2-3.

Linebacker was highlighted as a need area by Pete Carroll at the end of last season and the depth they brought in arrived via free agency. They might seek to draft some young talent at linebacker.

Tight end could also be a focal point considering Jimmy Graham and Luke Willson are both out of contract.

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!

Duane Brown from Houston to Seattle

The news broke today that Jeremy Lane failed a medical in Houston and won’t be part of the trade. Here are the new terms:

Seahawks get: Duane Brown and a 2018 5th round pick

Texans get: Seattle’s 2018 3rd round and 2019 2nd round picks

The second day of the draft won’t be very interesting for Seahawks fans in April unless they trade out of the first round again.

It’s quite an expensive deal now in terms of draft stock. Seattle has one pick in the first three rounds in 2018. The mid-season nature of the trade and the cost makes it arguably their most aggressive deal to date.

At the point of Lane failing his medical the Seahawks lost a lot of leverage. They had to get this deal done. This is an unfortunate albeit necessary decision to trade the 2018 third round pick.

You’d rather not lose so much draft stock but there just aren’t that many good three techniques or left tackles available. Sheldon Richardson and Duane Brown are quality additions befitting of the price.

The expectation is surely for Richardson to be a long term fixture and you won’t find a player of his talent level in the second round next year (not even close). Brown at age 32 isn’t a long term solution but he’s one of the few good left tackles in the NFL.

Look at this list of all the offensive tackles currently playing in the league. How many would you covet or want to pay a big contract to? Then consider the complete lack of options in the upcoming draft. Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey will likely go in the top-20. Trey Adams is reportedly returning to Washington and Connor Williams at Texas is raw and hurt.

Furthermore the Seahawks needed some security next season with George Fant continuing to recover from a serious knee injury.

So while the Duane Brown deal ended up being more expensive than expected — it gives the Seahawks a better chance of succeeding this season and next. For that reason, the cost is probably a moot point.

Jimmy Garoppolo from New England to San Francisco

This was a highly surprising move, costing the 49ers their 2018 second round pick. For a long time it felt inevitable that Kirk Cousins would be reunited with Kyle Shanahan next year. It felt like a good match — Cousins is able and experienced enough to be a successful quarterback in Shanahan’s productive system.

Clearly the Niners didn’t want to wait around or get into a bidding war, which is understandable. Did they want to wait until March for a chance to woo Cousins, only to miss out and then need to look for an alternative? By that point Garoppolo could’ve signed elsewhere.

Adding to the problem is the quarterback draft class. Multiple reports are suggesting Sam Darnold intends to return to USC. Josh Allen has not lived up to the slightly strange national media hype going into the season. Josh Rosen has played well but many people have touched on his personality being a bit of an acquired taste — while Lamar Jackson has felt the strain of having to carry Louisville all year.

It’s not clear which or any of these quarterbacks will actually declare. Even Josh Allen has been talked about as a possible graduate transfer, as he maybe looks to bolster his stock at a better team than Wyoming.

All things considered, the Garoppolo deal makes sense. The Niners make a statement to the player that you are our guy. They’re not turning to him having missed out on Cousins. They’re making a firm commitment now. That matters to players.

The rest of this season can be used to climatise the new quarterback into the system. They can be creative in the draft and free agency — improving other areas of the team, possibly trading down for more picks and selecting the best player available to keep rebuilding a team desperately in need of talent.

Jay Ajayi from Miami to Philadelphia

Adam Gase labelled his offense the worst in the league after last weeks embarrassing loss to Baltimore. Matt Moore is considered a respectable backup but he’s still Miami’s third choice at quarterback. It’s pretty remarkable that had the Dolphins beaten the Ravens they would’ve been in first place in the AFC.

Ajayi and Gase clashed from day one. If you recall he didn’t travel to Seattle for the week one game last year. Eventually he worked himself back into favour and managed to put a string of good performances together. This season, however, he hasn’t had much of an impact.

He ran for 122 yards against the Chargers and 130 against the Falcons. Apart from that, Ajayi is averaging 2.5 yards per carry in his other five games. He hasn’t scored a touchdown. There have also been some concerns about the health of his knees — a problem that saw him fall to the fifth round in the 2015 draft.

A change of scenery might be best for both parties. Gase gets to make a statement to his struggling offense in the hope this will trigger a reaction. Ajayi gets to play in an offense that has to account for a prolific Carson Wentz and he might get more favourable opportunities to run the ball.

For a fourth round pick it was worth the gamble by the Eagles. Even if he doesn’t work out it’s a deal worth making. The paltry return though suggests Ajayi, while a big name who enjoyed a strong 2016 season, might be more of a headache than a productive runner. And before anyone makes the comparison to a certain trade in 2010 — he isn’t Marshawn Lynch.

Kelvin Benjamin from Carolina to Buffalo

You have to admire what the Bills have done this year. They’ve created a tough, physical team that is punching above its weight. They’re 5-2 and challenging in the AFC East. They’ve also made several big moves.

Sean McDermott clearly wants his guys. And when you’re winning games after making all of these different trades, people are going to start trusting your judgement.

They’ve accumulated so much draft stock so far with an extra pick in rounds one, two and three in 2018. Dealing one of those early picks (a third rounder) to Carolina for Kelvin Benjamin was totally justifiable.

It’s a peculiar move by the Panthers considering they lack great depth at receiver. Remember Greg Olsen is also still injured. Are they considering trying Christian McCaffrey in the slot, at least temporarily?

Benjamin has had a bit of an enigmatic career. He made a number of big plays in his final year at Florida State, showing off fantastic size and strength and dynamic athleticism for his incredible frame. He also had plenty of drops — thus why he lasted into the late first round.

He missed Carolina’s Super Bowl season through injury and his weight has fluctuated. When healthy, however, he’s been reasonably productive.

McDermott seems like a good judge of character and has been around Benjamin so he’ll know what he’s bringing in. Considering they have those extra picks in rounds one and two, trading a third rounder for Benjamin seems like a low risk move to get Tyrod Taylor a big target on the outside.

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!

Full trade: Seahawks traded CB Jeremy Lane, a 2018 5th-round pick and a 2019 second-round pick to Texans for OT Duane Brown, per sources.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 30, 2017

Let it never be said that the Seahawks left anything to chance during this Championship window.

This is their fourth big trade since 2013 and second during the 2017 season alone. The Seahawks want to win the Super Bowl. And they’re going to do as much as they can to make it happen.

The price is quite steep but Seattle, once again, found itself in a sellers market. The Seahawks have traded both their 2018 and 2019 second round picks for Sheldon Richardson and Duane Brown. That tells you everything you need to know about Seattle’s urgency to add another title.

This is an important move for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there isn’t a left tackle answer forthcoming in the 2018 draft. With five wins already and the Seahawks well placed to make a run, they’re unlikely to be picking in the top ten. Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey is playing well enough to go early, Trey Adams’ knee injury means he’s reportedly staying with Washington next year and Texas’ Connor Williams is talented but raw and currently injured.

So this trade works in two ways. It provides an immediate answer at left tackle and buys the Seahawks some time.

They won’t need to dig through a bad looking free agent group at offensive tackle. They won’t need to be aggressive in the draft or pick at the O-line scraps in the first round.

These were basically the options available to solve this problem:

— Trade up in the 2018 first round (hard to do without a second round pick)
— Sign one of the ‘top’ free agents (Nate Solder was the only mildly appealing name)
— Hope Fant recovers in time for the 2018 season
— Try to make a trade now that helps both immediately and for at least next season

With so few good left tackles actually playing in the league, Seattle managed to acquire one. Which is no mean feat.

It’s an immediate upgrade at a vital position, filling one of the teams’ biggest voids and finally putting to bed the constant talk of improving the position.

Brown is 32 so he isn’t likely to be a long term solution. That could be Fant. Indeed this trade also allows Fant to recover properly and in good time. Brown isn’t a bad mentor either.

People have often complained about Seattle’s unwillingness to pay attention to the offensive line. They’ve answered that call. Now they have, potentially, at least three positions solidly filled with Brown, Justin Britt and Germain Ifedi. Luke Joeckel has shown enough promise to consider a possible long term fixture (health permitting) at left guard. Ethan Pocic could fill the right guard slot in the future. That’s a strong looking quintet for this year and potentially beyond.

If you missed it earlier, I also posted some further notes on yesterday’s win.

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!

WOW!!! pic.twitter.com/XliG2hJdte

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 29, 2017

So far, this season is actually pretty similar to 2013. Here are the comparisons:

— The Seahawks won a classic vs Houston that included a come-from-behind victory inspired by Russell Wilson, a pick-six and interceptions by Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman

— The Seahawks beat the Giants in New York

— Seattle won their home opener against San Francisco despite a rough first half offensively

— They beat the Rams on the road thanks to a late red zone stop

— They botched a winnable road game against an AFC South opponent

There are other similarities too:

— Not running the ball well? In 2013 the Seahawks had to abandon the run against the Rams with Marshawn Lynch recording 23 yards on eight carries. In the season opener in Carolina, Lynch had 43 yards in 17 carries. None of this compares to yesterday’s stymied run attack — but it’s worth highlighting.

— Seattle’s 2013 Championship winning, legendary defense gave up 21 points in a half to the 0-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. In the process they made Mike Glennon look invincible and conceded 158 rushing yards to sixth round rookie running back Mike James.

— The wins against the Rams and Buccs were so underwhelming, critics questioned Seattle’s validity as a contender. They won their next three games against Atlanta, Minnesota and New Orleans by a combined score of 108-37.

— Was the O-line great in 2013? It was good when Russell Okung and Breno Giacomini returned from long-term injuries. Paul McQuistan started eight games at left tackle, book-ending seventh round rookie Michael Bowie. The results, at times, were similar to what we’re seeing this year.

Try not to read too much into the negatives of last nights tremendous win. Yes the Seahawks couldn’t run out of a large, wet paper bag. Yes the defense gave up an unusually high number of chunk plays. Yes they almost dropped a home game many assumed would be a straight-forward victory.

Such is life in the Pete Carroll era. The unexpected happens, weird games occur and unlikely victories are mixed in with the occasional baffling defeat.

Here’s what we know about this team. Defensively they are a lot better than they showed last night. Deshaun Watson had a fantastic game. Despite his performance (no doubt aided by a bye week and two weeks of preparation on with Bill O’Brien) the Seahawks still won. Because ultimately, that’s what this team does. Finds a way to win, more often than not.

If Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, Sheldon Richardson, Frank Clark, K.J Wright and the rest are out on the field — there’s very little reason to be overly concerned with the defense. It was a rough outing against a brilliant opponent that still included five sacks and three interceptions.

Clearly the running game is more of a concern. Despite a lot of focus in the off-season and plenty of talk about repairing the run, this is possibly an even weaker running attack than last season. A bit of everything seems to be at fault.

There are plays if you watch back the Houston game where running backs are misreading and leaving yards on the field. There are times when the run blocking is not very good and RB’s are getting hit three yards behind the LOS.

It’s hard to know what they can do right now. The run blocking isn’t suddenly going to make a major jump half-way through the season. Eddie Lacy has been a big disappointment and Thomas Rawls’ 2015 season is increasingly looking like a mirage. C.J. Prosise could be the answer if he could stay healthy for more than five minutes — and J.D. McKissic is more complimentary X-factor than feature back.

Would Mike Davis do any better? Maybe. Or he might just be the next one to struggle.

Sadly any hopes of a consistent running game fell with Chris Carson’s broken leg.

It’s hard to work out what the solution is going forward. In the past Seattle managed to put together a collection of terrific run blockers. This group might just be better at pass pro (and it’s getting better, week after week). The Seahawks used to be able to rely on Marshawn Lynch for production — but legendary, future Hall-of-Fame running backs aren’t readily available.

They’re not going to get at Saquon Barkley next year so they might have to keep looking at several options until they discover the long or medium term answer. That could be a free agent splash (Carlos Hyde?) or future draft stock (more likely middle round than first round). Hopefully Carson makes a full recovery but he’s in the same boat as George Fant now — you want to rely on them for the long term but how can you after both picked up serious injuries?

The good news is Wilson looks like he’s starting to go on one of his mid-season blasts. And he showed yesterday that if the running game or defense can’t seal the deal — he’s capable, along with his receivers, of picking up the slack.

A couple of other quick notes…

— The trade deadline is tomorrow and while there’s been a lot of talk and rumours, nothing has materialised so far. Peter King from MMQB thinks something could happen:

The Seahawks are snug up against the salary cap, and if they want (Duane) Brown, they may have to redo Brown’s deal and redo some of their own contracts. That’s, of course, if Schneider can find a deal to satisfy the Texans by the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline Tuesday. My money’s on Schneider.

It may be moot. But I don’t think so. Schneider is one of the most aggressive GMs in recent NFL history. He knows his offensive line is the major Achilles heel on the team, the one thing standing in the way of what could be the last deep playoff run for an aging defense. To beat Philadelphia’s outstanding front seven, Schneider knows he might have to go get a tackle by Tuesday’s deadline. Joe Staley’s overpriced in San Francisco (and suffered a reported suborbital fracture under his right eye on Sunday), and Cordy Glenn not likely to be freed up in Buffalo. It might be Brown or Colt Anthony Castonzo … and Brown’s better. We shall see.

— In previous drafts a lot of the players we liked on this blog ended up in the AFC North. It was fun watching three prospects we really liked playing so well for Houston together. Here are some articles and notes on all three pre-draft:

Deshaun Watson: “Watson is the latest victim of familiarity. Increasingly we’re rushing to criticise and lament big name college football players. Every problem is over-analysed. Every hole examined. When do we get back to focusing on what a player can do?”

DeAndre Hopkins: “He’s a top-20 talent who may go later… and a smart team will be ready to capitalise.”

Will Fuller: “Fuller is an explosive, dynamic receiver with exceptional character. Teams will covet him.”

In particular the piece about Watson really resonates today, especially this bit:

Are there flaws? Yes. Some of his turnovers this season were careless and reckless. Yet overall he has a 90:32 touchdown/interception ratio in college. He’s been a relentless winner on a team that was previously never quite been able to get over the top.

There are so many positives. Would he improve a team like Cleveland or San Francisco? Absolutely. Is he a superior prospect to the #1 pick last year? Probably.

There’s probably a lesson for us all here. There’s a constant need for people to Tweet opinions, offer ‘takes’ and provide relentless mock drafts. There’s nothing wrong with critiquing players and assessing what they can and can’t do. Just maybe spend a bit more time on the ‘what they can do‘ bit.

Watson could and probably should go in the top-10. I can’t believe there are bad teams in the NFL without quarterbacks that won’t be significantly better off with him under center.

He was over-analysed to the point of insanity. He’s a winner, a playmaker and a leader — and the teams that passed on him will be severely regretting it today.

I’m not surprised the Seahawks traded for Percy Harvin in 2013. It would’ve been interesting to see if Hopkins would’ve been their pick at #25 had they not made the deal. He looked perfect for Seattle — a student of the game who talked about routes and coverages during media interviews, a gritty player who carried his offense and played with a chip on his shoulder. He’s one of my favourite players we’ve covered since the blog started in 2008 — so this post-game image was pretty cool:

Two of the best in the game. 🙌 #Seahawks #Texans pic.twitter.com/hlQx2dzYci

— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2017

Sherman wrote on his jersey:

“To Nuk, I told you! You were a dog the first time we played! And you have worked to become one of the best in the league!”

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!

I have to be up very early to present a breakfast show, so I will keep this brief and have more thoughts tomorrow.

That was an incredible game of football, typifying the character and mental toughness Pete Carroll has brought to this franchise.

On a day where the defense gave up more big plays than you could ever imagine, the running game had to be abandoned and the Seahawks gave up what felt like a back-breaking turnover in the fourth quarter — they somehow, someway, found a way to win.

Incredibly this one topped the Pittsburgh victory in 2015 for drama.

It was also a fantastic portrait of Russell Wilson’s talents. This season has often been about the offense not supporting a top-performing defense. In this game, the complete opposite was true. Wilson and his receivers took on the Houston Texans and had to match every blow dealt by Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins.

(How good was Watson by the way?)

Even after the late pick, Wilson came flying back after a key defensive stop to lead this team to victory. It was a stunning performance by the quarterback.

It’d be wrong, however, not to highlight the brilliance of Paul Richardson. His jump ball catch at the end was so vital. It could’ve been another turnover, easily. It could’ve been incomplete and the Seahawks would’ve been left with a mountain to climb. That chunk play put Seattle in a position to win and was as important as his two touchdowns (a third was taken away due to a silly penalty from Thomas Rawls).

He wasn’t alone. Jimmy Graham (no, they’re not trading him) got two touchdowns and Tyler Lockett had a huge day. Doug Baldwin chipped in.

Now, enjoy the win and pray for Earl Thomas’ hamstring. More tomorrow.

You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.

Become a Patron!