Seahawks draft plans revealed in intriguing articles

The Seahawks had a first round grade on Derick Hall

After the draft it’s always a fun exercise to try and put together little bits of information to try and work out the thinking in the draft room.

Wonderfully, information relating to the Seahawks has started dripped into the public domain.

Firstly, this article from ESPN’s Brady Henderson. Over the last couple of years Henderson has written articles that are well sourced and he appears to be connected to the Seahawks front office. I would suggest when he says something as fact, or implies a thought from within the walls of the front office, that it’s worth paying attention to.

Here’s what he wrote:

Schneider said Thursday after the first round that while the Seahawks listened to trade offers for the fifth pick, they had already decided that they weren’t going to move back from that spot if Witherspoon and/or one other player were available.

The unnamed player was Anderson. The Alabama outside linebacker briefly looked as though he might fall into Seattle’s lap when the Houston Texans took Stroud second overall, creating some fleeting hope in the Seahawks’ draft room that quickly vanished when Houston traded back up to 3 to take Anderson.

From a pure evaluation standpoint, the Seahawks thought enough of Richardson’s talent and potential to take him with the fifth pick. But in the bigger picture, for a team that’s trying to win now and in a financial pinch, it would have been tough to justify using a pick so high — and the money that comes with it — on an undeveloped quarterback who’d be a backup for at least one season.

Here’s what I would take away from this:

— Will Anderson was almost certainly their top target at #5. That’s not a big surprise, it felt obvious pretty much since the end of the season.

— I don’t think the Seahawks were planning to draft a quarterback at #5. I’m not convinced it was as philosophical as suggested here. For example, if John Schneider loved a quarterback I doubt the financial constraints would’ve prevented the pick. After all, they’re spending $40m on safeties this year. I think it’s more a case of none of the quarterbacks expected to be available at #5 moved the needle enough for Seattle’s GM to make that call. At least not enough to pass on Anderson or Devon Witherspoon, who they seemed to zone-in on.

— I do think the Seahawks really liked Anthony Richardson. My impression is Pete Carroll developed a soft spot for him, with the way he’s spoken so glowingly about the player. I also think they were likely very intrigued by his physical upside. Maybe if Anderson and Witherspoon were off the board and no trade-down option was viable, they might’ve drafted him? But I sense that wasn’t a burning ambition, to select him at #5. Nevertheless, I think with the way Carroll has spoken since the draft, he’s genuinely pleased for Richardson that he went as high as he did as he’d taken a shine to him as a person, even if he wasn’t the player they were specifically targeting.

As I’ve mentioned a few times, I had a conversation with a former Seahawks player the weekend before the draft. He suggested they would take someone at #5 who could be a ‘firebrand’ — someone who can add to the leadership in the locker room, that they’d sought to further develop this year by re-signing Bobby Wagner and Jarran Reed. The former player didn’t expect a quarterback at #5 either.

That conversation, combined with Henderson’s report, leads me to think that the Seahawks were strictly thinking Anderson and Witherspoon at #5 — two physical, alpha, 100% football types with leadership and tone-setting qualities.

John Boyle at Seahawks.com has written a tremendous article from inside the Seahawks draft room. The piece last year was incredibly insightful and interesting and this equally provides some tantalising nuggets of information (while also leaving you hungry for more).

Boyle notes that the Seahawks had four players left on their board with first round grades, once Washington had selected Emmanuel Forbes at #16. One of those players was Jaxon Smith-Njigba, taken at #20. One of the others was Derick Hall.

Regardless of your personal view of the players in question, it really speaks to how this was a successful draft for the Seahawks internally. The piece mentions they had fewer than 20 players with first round grades on their board, yet they came away with three of them. That’s a huge result.

It’s also noted that while the Seahawks liked Keeanu Benton, he wasn’t top of their board as the #52 pick was approaching. That was Zach Charbonnet. John Schneider tried to move up, presumably to land the UCLA running back who was one of the few remaining players they had graded in round two. They got him with their native second rounder. Again, that’s a success story for the team based on their grading.

I won’t re-write everything that is said in the piece, go and check it out for yourself. It’s brilliant and hopefully it’s a journalistic tradition the Seahawks continue next year.

The other nugget to review is this report from Tyler Dunne at GoLong.com:

“I was told the Seahawks were quite pleased that everybody seemed to view their team as (Jalen) Carter’s most logical landing spot. It was never going to happen. (“Hell no”, one team source said).”

This is something we consistently noted, of course, to the extent I felt confident enough to write I was 99.5% certain they wouldn’t take Carter in a piece critiquing all of the mocks that paired him with the Seahawks.

The wider media, however, were convinced. Virtually every mock had Carter going to the Seahawks. Peter King noted how it had become a cliché among league sources to give the Seahawks Carter in projections. Todd McShay, who days earlier had reported he’d heard the Seahawks wouldn’t take Carter, edited his final mock draft hours before the event to have Seattle pick the Georgia defensive tackle at #5. Locally, when the Seahawks were on the clock, Gregg Bell even tweeted, “All signs are Seattle is going to draft defensive tackle Jalen Carter here next at 5.”

As Dunne notes, it was never happening. I wouldn’t have written or talked about it with such conviction without doing my own homework or speaking to my own sources. It needn’t have been such a big talking point but a serious conversation was never really had about the likelihood of Seattle passing on Carter.

The other thing I wanted to bring up isn’t from a report, it’s from John Schneider himself. It’s the way he referenced a desire to acquire extra 2024 stock as a key goal during the draft.

I suspect he felt that was important because of the quarterback position, more than anything.

Firstly, with the entire middle tier of the 2023 class returning to college football, it stripped away the depth this year while simultaneously plumping up the 2024 crop. The hype over the talent available might be OTT — but there’s certainly a lot more quarterback depth next year.

This means the Seahawks should be able to find someone they like enough to draft and develop, whether that’s in the first, second or third round. Having that extra third rounder courtesy of the Broncos gives them some crucial flexibility.

Secondly, Geno Smith’s contract dictates they have to plan ahead. His cap hit will be no lower than $31.2m next year. For it to stick at $31.2m, however, he’d have to fail to hit any of the following $2m incentives:

— Passing Yards (4,282)
— Passing Touchdowns (30)
— Completion % (69.8)
— Passer Rating (100.9)
— Wins (9)

Thus, the likelihood of him getting $31.2m in 2024 is remote. He’ll either be cut, take a pay-cut or earn more than $31.2m because he hit the incentives. It’s hard to imagine him failing to reach all of these targets and being seen as value for money at $31.2m.

Therefore, it kind of narrows it down to this. Smith is either going to play well and secure his position for 2024 and 2025, or they’ll be in a slightly desperate situation where they need to replace him next off-season.

Is Drew Lock an option if that happens? Sure, but they’d run the risk of becoming another Indianapolis — having a good roster and not having a serious long-term answer at the most vital position.

There’s even a situation where Smith hits some of his incentives and the Seahawks still have to have a difficult decision to make. What if he throws 30 touchdowns to get an extra $2m but also throws 20 interceptions? What if his play is average but the rest of the roster elevates the team to nine wins? If both of those things happen, he’d suddenly be due $35.2m next year. This is a quite complex situation in terms of Smith’s future.

Even if he plays brilliantly (and hopefully he will) it’d be worth investing in a quarterback for the future. Firstly, it delivers a cheap backup. Secondly, it provides a potential heir to the starter role, with Smith turning 34 next year.

The Seahawks might not have wanted to spend the #5 pick this year on a quarterback, investing and drawing major attention to a third stringer while failing to deliver an impact player in 2023, but a quarterback is coming and it’s likely coming in 2024.

I’d suggest reading the first two parts of my quarterback study for next year (click here for part one and click here for part two).

If they’re ultimately drafting someone to develop, it could be someone with tools who needs refinement. Schneider already name-dropped Quinn Ewers in one of his post-draft press conferences. He’d be a classic example of someone with all the physical qualities to be a top quarterback but his tape, so far, is fairly dreadful. He needs major work and given he almost has to declare next year due to Arch Manning’s presence at Texas, he could be seen as an intriguing project. I also think the Seahawks will be drawn to Michael Penix Jr’s arm talent and personality. They are two options but there are others.

Everything written in this article today, I discussed in the video below:

If you’ve enjoyed the blog this draft season and want to support the site via Patreon — (click here)

290 Comments

  1. Forrest

    I’m fully convinced the Quinn Ewers name drop was not an accident. I believe it’s an intentional smokescreen.

    This is the equivalent to the Hawks’ road show with QBs this year. It was all aimed at pushing up the QBs to get Will Anderson. They were hoping to get a team to move up to #3 to jump them and Indy for AR, so the Colts would take Levis snd they’d get Anderson.

    • cha

      I think it can be two things. They genuinely were evaluating the QBs. As Rob said, if there was a top guy at #5 they would be foolish not to take him, no matter the cost or their other plans.

      What I find incredibly ironic, is people wrote all the QB meetings off as a smokescreen intentionally created by the team, and here we had Carter as the “real smokescreen” which had everyone in the NFL fooled.

    • geoff u

      I think the perceived smokescreens are greatly exaggerated. He name dropped Ewers in a casual conversation that no one in the league will remember ever happened a year from now. In fact, I bet most don’t even know it happened at all outside a few Seahawk fans. What is this, 67D chess that’s so deep no one gets it? Nah, when in doubt: Occam’s Razor — the simplest explanation is probably the correct one. It’s his job to know who all the college players are, expecially the QBs.

      As far as this year, we did our due diligence on the QB’s and didn’t like them enough to go all in (and also probably rightly assumed Young and Stroud would go 1 and 2 anyway) and that’s that. If we wanted more, or more of a smokescreen, should’ve brought them in for top 30 visits like Indy did.

      But instead we brought in Witherspoon, Carter, and Anderson within the last two weeks before the draft. One player we took and another we would’ve taken had he been there. The third: due diligence (and perhaps the only claim you could make for an actual smokescreen). Was all this supposed to be a smokescreen on top of a smokescreen? Or was this just genuinely the direction they were going? I mean, we know the answer now, now don’t we?

  2. Thomas

    I called it. I said after the draft that they never intended to draft a QB and they were in win now mode.

    If Levis turns out to be Aaron Rogers part 2 we’ll look very foolish.

    9 – 11 wins. Hope to get hot in the playoffs. Bet on the NFC having no qbs.

    • Peter

      Pete has been in win now mode since he got here.

      Hurts, possibly young. There will be teams that rise. Teams that fail last year.

      Seattle gave Geno every chance to ball out. No excuses.

      • Tien

        Totally agree, Peter! The Hawks will have a better OL (with the OTs no longer rookies and possibly new starting G and C), a legit third WR, and a better backup and insurance RB for Walker. We’ll know fairly quickly if the hot start by Geno in the first half of last year was a fluke or not and yeah, no excuses if he is not effective this year.

        • Dave Thompson

          I also think the Oline could be better, but will they be stout enough to protect Geno from a team like the 49ers front 7, or if we play Philadelphia theirs, and will the OLine be good enough to give Seahawk RB lanes to move through.
          And also what scheme change can we expect from Clint and crew that will improve the D.
          And what schemes can we expect from Shane and his crew that allow Geno to be more effective with the weapons he can work with this year.
          It seems the team should have better personnel this season, but what will the coaching staff do to get everything they can from the player’s talents.

          • Greg

            Yep, if QB is the most important position then DL is the second most important “position”. If you can constantly disrupt the QB like the Niners and Eagles you’re going to go far. My hope is that our improved secondary (and hopefully a full season of healthy Jamal) will force QBs to hold onto the ball and allow our DL/EDGES to do some work. I don’t think our DL will be as bad as last year but they aren’t going to be the Niners/Eagles either which I’m ok with because it’s not always easy to be in a position to draft those players or sign a bunch of them after they balled out and want new top end contracts.

            I’m cautiously optimistic; I think the Seahawks have had a great off-season so far but I don’t want to jinx it!!

    • Big Mike

      You didm call it Thomas. I really thought this was the year they’d go for it considering all the ancillary stuff (Geno contract, etc.) Middle of the road mediocrity awaits you Pete unless you get a dynamic QB. Prove me (and any number of other fans) wrong Geno. I love the taste of crow.

    • Rob Staton

      I think they did their work on the QB’s so I wouldn’t go so far as to say ‘never intended’

      I also think there was a scenario where they would’ve drafted AR

      But I also think they decided Anderson/Witherspoon was the direction they wanted to go

      • Mr drucker in hooterville

        So It was Anderson or Witherspoon. I still wish Richardson ended up a hawk, but oh well. Its going to be interesting to see how they can get a QBOTF wothout the draft capital.

      • Palatypus

        Those quarterbacks had pencil wrists and ankles.

      • Tommy Boy

        I’m so glad Houston traded up for Anderson!! He was the one guy I wasn’t interested in and am much more pleased we landed Witherspoon.

        Is Anderson that much of an upgrade to what we have on the edge? Vs Hall at #37?

        If Anderson was Derrick Thomas or even a Von Miller, you’d love to have him, obviously, but I still contend Anderson will be just a “guy” and not a transitional impact game changing talent.

        He’ll set the edge in the run game but pressures and impact sacks leading to fumbles? I don’t see it. A solid all around player but the impact you can find later in the draft.

        We shall see and what is fun about prognosticating! I’m just glad we didn’t get Anderson and took Witherspoon who will have a major impact on our defense!! That is what my EYES tell me! And I’ll be around if I’m incorrect and won’t care but I believe I will nail this like I did with Aaron Curry.

        I look forward to the schedule tomorrow, camps and the 2023 season!! I believe we can make some damage in the NFC.

    • Cysco

      I guess it depends on your definition of “Win Now”

      Most often, I see that term used when’d a team mortgages the future and goes all in, in an effort to win next season. I.e. the Broncos trading for Wilson.

      I just don’t see the fact that the Hawks weren’t intending on drafting a QB as an indicator that they are in Win Now mode.

      If anything, I think it just points towards smart roster building. They’re not betting the farm on next season. They’re just making really good decisions these days that help the team this season, but more so in the future.

      • Joe Strummer

        Agree. Otherwise what, “win later”? F that, doesn’t work.

  3. diehard82

    Rob, absolutely tantalizing article. Love having the puzzle solved in pieces like a good murder mystery. Continuing the topic, Schneider also said they were getting ready to make their 3rd round pick when their target player was taken by someone else. Looking at the players taken ahead of pick 83, I’m betting they were getting ready to take Tucker Kraft. It makes sense on several fronts. It was Green Bays 2nd TE having already selected Luke Musgrave in Rd 2. They probably had a 2nd round grade on him like you did, and probably liked him for all the reasons you did. It would make for a smooth transition at the position with Fant and Parkinson UFA’s next year. It might have given them the freedom to trade Fant during the draft for another pick, perhaps in 2024 for the added stock Schneider desired.

    Looking at other players it could have been, I’d rule out WR and RB and Edge and CB due to earlier picks. I doubt they would have been planning to double up on any of them. It could have also been Byron Young DT Alabama, although he was taken at 70 by Las Vegas and I’m not sure how that Jibes with “getting ready to make our pick”. He was taken more than an hour prior.

    • JD

      I agree Tucker Kraft was the real upset. I also agree they liked Byron Young from Alabama but the way John spoke about this upset was different and he went much earlier than #83. You obviously wouldn’t expect GB to take their second TE of the day. Would have been great value, dipping into a strength of the draft and future planning at the position.

      • diehard82

        I think now I was wrong. After reading the John Boyle article it seems clear that the player they were targeting was YaYa Diaby. It wasn’t until after he was taken at 82 that Schneider got back on the phones to confirm the trade with Denver. So think of that. Hall and Diaby? I had Diaby in the 5th round. Whiff!

        • Belgaron

          I believe this is correct, and have thought about messaging Boyle to see if he’d spill that tea. Yaya’s description pretty much matches verbatim of what their new prototype is. They may be reluctant to have that info out there in case Yaya gets moved to the Tampa Bay practice squad or is made available via trade at some point. I don’t think they mind overdrafting in terms of quantity these types of players, they want the defense stacked with them.

  4. Tom O

    Great insight as always. Thank you.
    No surprise, you were spot on with Carter.

    IMO they wanted someone to move up to 3 and take Richardson.
    It sounds like the first two round fell their way and getting a starting C in the 5th and # 3rd back who will play in round 7 is a huge plus.

    PC has always spoken highly of Lock. I hope we can see him play all preseason and a game or two (not wishing an injury to Geno) during the regular season and see how he has grown in Seattle.
    Maybe he is our guy.

    • AlaskaHawk

      If Seahawks want to get maximum value out of Lock they should let him play for a few quarters in regular season and then trade him for future draft picks. Go all in on 2024!

    • BK26

      He’s spoken highly of everyone that has been on the team.

      If he was even remotely considered to be the guy he would have a contract that would reflect it.

    • Peter

      If lock is playing in the regular season then we’ve either gone 15 and 0 to that point, geno is injured ( do not want to see), or the rails have fallen off the tracks….and half this fan base will sarcastically be commenting in geno we trust for that number one draft pick.

      Best viewing seems to be pre season.

    • JR

      When Geno’s DUI goes to court he will be facing a suspension. This will give Drew a chance to show what he has got. It also makes his incentives harder reach depending on how many games he gets.

  5. Erik_in_Oregon

    If Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Derick Hall were 2 of the 4 players that John and Pete rated as first rounders remaining on their big board when they picked at 20, I wonder who the other two were? Any evidence out there that would tell us?

    • cha

      I would guess Michael Mayer and Calijah Kancey.

      Maybe Nolan Smith.

      • Erik_in_Oregon

        But Calijah Kancey was off the board at 19, so couldn’t have been him. I would also guess Michael Mayer and maybe one of the other TE’s. Fun to speculate. Sure wish we could actually see their big board:)

        • AlaskaHawk

          I would have been curious to see if they would have chosen Kancey over JSN. I think they still would have gone after JSN as that third receiver they have been looking for.

        • cha

          Boyle notes that the Seahawks had four players left on their board with first round grades, once Washington had selected Emmanuel Forbes at #16.

          • Erik_in_Oregon

            Oh, I see. I misread that. It wasn’t 4 players rated as first rounders at pick 20, but 4 after 16. Thanks, Cha. So it could have been Gonzalez or Kancey.

    • Rob Staton

      It was four R1 grades left after the #16 pick

      So I would guess Christian Gonzalez was one of them, along with JSN and Derick Hall

    • Henry Taylor

      I was thinking Mazi Smith would be one. Great physical profile for a big team need and they’ve obviously shown an affinity for Michigan players since Harbaugh has been there.

      • Malanch

        I wouldn’t have guessed Mazi Smith, given John Schneider’s apparent comfort with getting run-pluggers more toward the middle rounds.

    • LouCityHawk

      My guess is Zay Flowers or Brian Branch. Both leaders.

      I think there were other players that weren’t scheme fits, were injury flagged, or played non premium positions (NT, G, TE) who weren’t able to transcend that value.

      • Rob Staton

        We’ve got to remember the Seahawks are quite traits driven, which is one of the reasons why Hall was a R1 grade

        Not sure Branch’s testing would’ve warranted a R1 grade

        JSN and Hall were two of the three. I’d be surprised if Gonzalez wasn’t one of the four. That leaves one other.

        If I had to guess:

        Kancey, Banks, Murphy or Kincaid

        • JC

          If there was a big discussion about JSN vs Flowers, wouldn’t Flowers have to be the 4th?

          • Rob Staton

            Who has said there was ever a big discussion between JSN and Flowers, though?

            • Aaron

              I heard that too yesterday from Brock Huard. If you go to the Brock and Salk podcast and listen to hour 2 of the May 9th show, start at around minute 16:45 where he is talking about the injury concerns with JSN and says it was a “pretty divided house” and that “there were some that loved Jay Flowers”, But he doesn’t give much more detail than that, and “pretty divided” and “some that loved” are vague enough terms that it could just mean a couple of scouts, so it’s hard to say if that would make him the 4th. It could just be that some were so concerned about JSN’s injury history that they might have preferred drafting a different player and hope Flowers dropped to them in the 2nd.

  6. Hoggs41

    If anyone is a serious draft fan you are doing yourself a disservice if you havent read John Boyles piece as its fantastic.

    • Malanch

      Did you come away from Boyle’s article feeling even better about the Seahawks’ draft process and draft results?

  7. Spectator

    I keep seeing that Manning is going to be pushing Ewers out, but where is this coming from? I’m a recruiting nut in the same way I like the draft. And having watched Mannings film in high school, I really wasn’t impressed at all. I don’t even think he is the 2nd best QB on Texas roster (Murphy looked really good in HS). And Compared to Ewers in high school. Ewers looked much better coming out, with sophomore and junior tape. Ewers was only 19 when playing last year.

    • Rob Staton

      It doesn’t matter

      He is a Manning. He was the player every school wanted. Texas pulled off a coup to get him.

      Ewers will be looking over his shoulder from now until he leaves Texas

      And he would be anyway unless he improves on his 2022 performance.

      • Spectator

        Not disagreeing. I’m not a Ewers fan by any means, but Ewers was also the player every school wanted. So was Murphy. Not saying he won’t be looking over his shoulder or need to increase his play, but I don’t think that’s because of Manning. I guess I’m just annoyed with the Manning love, when he hasn’t even played and didn’t even look great in high school playing poor competition.

        • Rob Staton

          Nobody is ever going to compare to Arch Manning though

          He is in a tier of his own when it comes to recruiting hype and career expectation

          • Spectator

            My prediction is that his transfer portal recruitment will also be in a tier of its own, when he doesn’t get declared the automatic starter after this year

            • Rob Staton

              Not sure why you’re so negative about Arch Manning

    • Malanch

      You’re far from alone, Spectator. Quite a few recruiting sites echo this sentiment, rightly or wrongly. Personally, I have no take on Arch Manning, but I do know that—in a truly competition-driven program—talent and performance rule. High school hype fades in relevance by the year. If Manning’s early progress doesn’t validate his blue-chip projection, he won’t be able to apply much pressure on Ewers.

      • Rob Staton

        Again though, Ewers has to play better

        If he does what he did last year, nobody is going to accept that this season

  8. Tien

    I’m disappointed that QB wasn’t higher on the priority list for the Hawks but it’s also nice to see that they got the players at the top of their draft board. Now, let’s hope they were correct in their evaluations!

    That John Boyle article was really informative and the one thing that stood out to me was that according to Boyle, the “upsets” that John Schneider referred to weren’t about the players the Hawks targeted but were picked before it got to them. Instead, these “upsets” were players that the Hawks had ruled out for medical reasons or were determined to be in the UDFA pool that were actually drafted.

    • Malanch

      “We had an upset right in there. We had a player we were getting ready to take, and that player was selected—and that happens. That happened to us a couple of times. But, hey, like we talked about before the draft, you have to be pliable and be ready to move.” –John Schneider, responding to a question post-draft on Wyman and Bob about why Seattle traded out of the #83 pick

      Looks like the term “upset” has more than one meaning…

      • Tien

        Ah, thanks for that! I really thought that the Boyle article had the definitive take on the “upset” term…Nope!:)

  9. Zane

    Something that has never made sense to me:
    We always hear, every year, that the draft has X number of first round quality prospects, and it’s always less than 32 (usually 20ish it seems). But how can this make sense? By definition, there should be an *average* of 32 first round quality players every year, because that’s how many get drafted in the first round.
    It seems like the grading scale is arbitrary if every year we’re only talking about 15-20 first round grades.

    • HawkfaninMT

      My interpretation is that by “first round grade” they mean in any given draft these guys would be first rounders. Of course there are 32 teams (31 picks this year) so there will be 32 players drafted, but not all of them would graded as such in any given year.

    • cha

      Teams use it to discern the threshold of value.

      If there are only 20 players you have graded on your board as first round picks and you’re picking at 25, if all 20 players get picked you could maximize your value by fielding offers to trade down.

      If you have let’s say 35 players graded in Round 2, you can in theory trade down from 25 to as late as say 55, still get a player you grade well and gain some additional capital to use.

    • Comfect

      This is why Rob’s horizontal board has those “1-2” round grades: some prospects are definite first rounders in any given year (1st round grades) and others are people who you could draft in this year’s first round but in other years might not make it (1-2 round grades). As cha says in his response, that helps you judge whether to trade back, or forward, based on what the value is. It’s not like you would expect the pick at 33 to be miles worse than the pick at 30; this gives a more reasonable sense of the curve along which prospect quality can be found.

    • God of Thunder

      Exactly.

      Take Collier. Taken in the first round but never a “first rounder”. Arguably a third at best.

    • Jhams

      The round grade is an evaluation of quality not a prediction where they’ll be picked. Bucky Brooks explained it in detail once. So a “first round” graded player is expecte le to be an above average starter, a second a low end starter, a third a career backup or rotational guy etc. Not saying that’s the actual definition, just an idea of what it might be.

      • Zane

        That just kinda proves my point though. Might as well just use numeric or letter grading at that point, it would be more precise and clear.

        • Sean

          Yes. It really is not accurate to call it a first round grade. The idea that it means the player would be a first rounder in any given year still does not hold water if there are fewer than 32 first round grades EVERY year.

          They should just call it ‘top tier’ or something.

          If you always have fewer than 25 “first round grades” and that is interpreted to mean that the best move is to trade down from the late first, then the smart move is to always trade out of the late first…so there is never a good value pick in the late first? That simply does not make sense.

          • KitsapHawk

            Except each team evaluates differently and has a different list with a different number of prospects. It’s about what each team is looking for, not who the talking heads think belong in round 1.

            The Seahawks might not have rated a player in round 1 because they didn’t have the leadership traits they wanted, for instance, while another team coveted that player.

  10. IDhawk

    After watching a bit of Spencer Rattler, he reeeally looks like a John Schneider type of QB. The improvisation is pretty amazing at times. The hope might be that he continues to be inconsistent with splashes of incredible, giving the Seahawks a shot at him without a massive trade up.

    • IDhawk

      That being said I am worried about the “win now” statement in Henderson’s article. They might not go QB round 1 unless it’s a slam dunk, NFL ready prospect, which they will not be in a position to get. So much for embracing the rebuild 🤷🏻‍♂️

    • BK26

      I agree with Rattler (coolest name for a quarterback too). I think the fact that he fell down, faced it, went somewhere where he had to bust his ass and LEAD, and is finally succeeding is textbook Seahawk. He’s also older than some of the others, which could be why he might slip a spot or 2 to some teams. Take the younger kid with possibly more unknown upside or the guy a little older that is more “you get what you see.”

      I really hope that he builds off of last year (and then the SEC is still tough enough that he doesn’t shoot too far up draft boards). He’s the only one that I can see being a legit difference maker that the team could be in on. Who could also start soon for Seattle.

      The rest of the class worries me.

      • Rob Staton

        The key for Rattler is consistency and showing to teams a greater maturity and calmness

  11. Gaux Hawks

    Wondering if Dee Eskridge is on the trading block?

    Player swap, maybe a 5th rounder (but I’d rather keep him than get a 5th)?

    • LouCityHawk

      At this point he looks like a roster casualty.

      Doubt a team would want to trade for him knowing he could be had on waivers.

    • cha

      His trade value is negligible.

      I wouldn’t mind him as a punt returner and a 5-snaps a game WR – provided they use him properly and quit trying to turn him into a gadget player.

  12. Romeo A57

    I wouldn’t expect Dee Eskridge to be worth anything close to a 5th round pick. He had two injury plagued seasons with almost no production. Who would give up a draft pick for that?

    He will probably be on the roster, IR or PS this season and not brought back in 2024. Most likely he ends up a complete waste of a draft pick.

    • Andy J

      Eskridge has always reminded me of Paul Richardson, who took until his 4th year before he went for 44 catches, 703 yards, 16.0 avg., 6 TDs.

  13. Phil

    Is Gregg Bell every right about anything?
    This is a serious question. I cannot remember the last time he’s been accurate on a prediction.

    • Rokas

      He’s been a fool for a long time, I hope my language does not offend anyone, but i really don’t know a better word.

    • LouCityHawk

      Not a Kraken fan, but this seems accurate

      https://twitter.com/gbellseattle/status/1654365077758447617?s=46&t=QnF6gJmc6OM1fOYBLmUnjg

    • Hawkdawg

      He seems to me to be either very gullible, or very lazy. His takes are very “common knowledge” based.
      Which would be consistent with either adjective.

      • bmseattle

        Well, he’s certainly very confident in himself, despite how often he is wrong.
        He likes to mention his “sources”…my guess is, whoever is giving him scoops, knows he’ll run with the info, and push a narrative that they want pushed.

        • KennyBadger

          Sounds like the definition of a tool.

    • JR

      He is a beat writer not a prognosticator, don’t remember him ever predicting anything just giving his opinion based on news out in the void. He does the same thing as Bob Condotta, so I don’t think you really understand what his job is if you are expecting him to make predictions.

      • Rob Staton

        Was he not prognosticating when he started yelling at everyone that there was zero chance Wilson would be dealt?

        • Hawkdawg

          Exactly. He does this often enough to make it a thing, expressly or obliquely. Carter and Wilson are good examples of the former. You would think that at some point he might figure out he’s being used.

          • TomLPDX

            Either that or he just doesn’t care.

    • cha

      I miss Mike Sando

      I miss Eric Williams

      TNT took a huge step down when GB came on board

      MS and then EW used to host a weekly chat that was always illuminating. You always got some sweet ‘cleaning out my notebook’ nuggets.

      GB took it over and promptly killed it. Arguing with fans, constantly name-dropping (“I’m sitting in the locker room next to ______ conducting this chat” “Hey GB can you ask him _____ ?” “No. I don’t want to bother him”) and basically just making it all about his opinion. It went off the rails quick and TNT stopped hosting it.

      • TomLPDX

        I miss Sando and Eric also. Their chat board was really good, even in the beginning of Gregg’s turn, but TNT decided to start charging for the privilege and it went to hell very quickly. Gregg also started going downhill at that time too. Used to really enjoy the online banter there and was so glad to have SDB now.

        • cha

          Oh yes I forgot TNT paywalled it.

          • Jabroni-DC

            In addition to the paywall they added a facebook login requirement iirc. Those moves effectively killed 99% of the traffic. Good news for SDB though as most of the folks from there migrated over here. There were a few years where both were going strong concurrently.

      • STTBM

        Cha, I miss those guys too. I miss the old TNT Seahawks blog and it’s regular crew of nutballs even more. The only one from those days that I remember is Bobbyk, and a couple of the Montana folks. They had someone even lazier and more douchey before GB. Forgot his name. He was an utter Tool.

        But TNT had been trying to kill the blog or charge money for it. In hindsight, I’d have paid to keep it going. But not with GB or his predecessor.,..

  14. LouCityHawk

    I dig that at least the Hawks were as high on Derick Hall as I am, I saw him as Edge2 in this class.

    It seems like I have been trying to preach of Derrick Hall’s goodness over and over while being told that he is all manner of underwhelming, and we could have had Ika or Benton, or whatever other lower impact player…

    When JS was talking about being surprised by teams drafting players they had failed injury grades on – I’m 95% certain those were Edge defenders not named Will Anderson – I’m nearly positive the Seahawks were shocked that they were able to get Hall where they did – and that he is going to be pushing the Edge room hard.

    • steve

      Well reasoned.

  15. Rokas

    I also hope such draft post mortem becomes a tradition. Incredibly interesting to read.
    Have to admit i found my peace of mind, since i was very very curious to know if they had taken Richardson.
    Apparently they wouldn’t have.
    And that honestly disappoints me, I did understand the part that it was basically impossible to move up. But now it seems that if neither of new Polamalu nor Anderson were available, they were gonna trade down to squeed a 3rd second rounder or sth? After all this JS loves traits this and that?
    I don’t want to sound like a douche and my intentions are truly friendly, but when we speak next year how JS loves traits, he loved Mahomes, Allen, we can not add any name to this from this draft class. This win now/tight cap stuff can not be an excuse, JS simply didn’t love QBs of this year’s class, although traits were there.

  16. Brett

    Great nuggets in here, thanks for sharing Rob.

    With regards to the QB position, we could be seeing some parallels to the way they went about building the team from 2010-2012. In 2010-2011 they didn’t draft a QB and relied on the incumbent Hasselbeck and then journeyman Tarvaris Jackson. Instead they focused on drafting their types of players to build out a talented roster and one that created a great situation for a rookie to step in the following year (2012). Going into 2022 they had more core pieces in place before the draft, but in the past two drafts they’ve gone back to that 2010-2011 approach of picking BPA and their types of players. So I think you’re dead on that while they may or may not have Geno in 2024, they’ve definitely built up their roster to be ready to strike at the QB position in next year’s draft. And it becomes more crucial to do so to have a QB on a rookie contract as they’ll have to start paying players from the past two draft classes in 2025-2026. I just pray they never stray from this BPA approach as they seemed to do from 2013-2021.

  17. God of Thunder

    Spot on Rob, re: Carter. One red flag is something. Two or more is a neon lit billboard sign saying Keep Away.

    I had a strong sense a QB wasn’t in the cards. I think each has some holes that disqualify them. Probably Young is the best with his ability and “point guard” capabilities. But the slenderness!

    And while Stroud can feather a pass, I do not like Ohio State QBs. Richardson has remarkable potential but 13 (or was it 14?) games is a small sample.

    Levis might *might* be lucky to be Bortles. He could be very good but I’m skeptical.

    Our Seahawks did the prudent thing!

    • Rob Staton

      The sample size doesn’t really mean anything with Richardson. His potential drove his stock — and there hasn’t been a player with more physical upside enter the league possibly ever

      I don’t see anything in Levis that says Bortles, just very different players

      Whether they did the prudent thing is neither her nor there. The only QB they passed on was Levis at the end of the day.

      • Peter

        Can you explain the Malik Willis to Seattle fake noise?

        I take two days off of football and I’ve now seen locked on seahawks talking about it and your BFF and Philly pre eminent tour guide mop fillin’ has a 30 minute video about it.

        What on earth is going on?

        Dude was unimpressive in college and then showed that non talent last year.

        To quote yourself. It’s a grift. A good grift. But still a grift. I was told by your guy….I kid btw…. that Richardson sucks but now Willis who looks like a guy two years away from not being anywhere in the league makes sense…..

        • Rob Staton

          All bollocks

          Nonsense

          Just a quiet time in the NFL and people needing something to talk about

        • geoff u

          Why would we want a guy we’d passed on four times during the ’22 draft and who showed during his brief appearances in the NFL to be even more worthy of passing on, so much so that Tennessee drafted Levis to replace him, who was another guy we also passed on twice…

          • Peter

            I count six passes….so 6 dimension chess?

        • cha

          I love it.

          If for no other reason that if the Seahawks wanted the guy who shoved Willis onto the practice squad, they could have drafted him. Twice. And failing that, could have swung a trade to move up and get him.

          And people are promoting spending some draft capital on that team’s castoff? That makes all kind of perfect sense.

          If the Seahawks are truly interested, all they have to do is exercise some patience. Willis will be available on the street or off a practice squad before Week 6 or sooner.

          Maybe Matt Corral too.

          • Rob Staton

            If the Seahawks are truly interested, all they have to do is exercise some patience. Willis will be available on the street or off a practice squad before Week 6 or sooner.

            Maybe Matt Corral too.

            Correct

            Tried saying a year ago — Willis can’t see the middle of the field. He just constantly rejects throws over the middle. It’s not a minor issue for him, it’s career-breaking.

            • cha

              I vividly remember that first preseason Titans game.

              Vrabel knew his bad habits, to run first and try to razzle dazzle instead of just sitting in the pocket and going through progressions.

              Vrabel put him in and ordered him to throw. He ran.

              Vrabel yanked him off the field. As visibly upset with a player as I’d seen an NFL coach in a while.

              That is what the Seahawks want? No thanks.

              • cha

                And further, I don’t think Willis was a Vrabel pick, but a pick of the GM who traded AJ Brown away and henceforth was dismissed.

                Willis is about as far away from the Titans’ system as you can get. Their entire game plan is having a tough defense, being a bully on the ground, and a quick-read-throw accurate QB who can move the sticks and take the 3-4 deeper shots per game.

                Honestly the Titans did his NFL career a disservice by drafting him. He needed a system more open to his talents and a coach willing to invest considerable time teaching how to be an NFL QB.

        • Mr drucker in hooterville

          When channels are required to come up with topics every single day, this is what happens. Rob posts when there is something to say. Not everyday. It is equivalent to drafting for need.

          • Rob Staton

            Content for the sake of it

            I can’t imagine what it must be like trying to make YouTube your full time gig. When there’s nothing to say (like now) it must be absolutely shredding to find topics

            (But even then, Malik Willis??? That’s what you’re going to push? Really???)

            • cha

              Without watching the video I am guessing he is playing the race card.

      • God of Thunder

        Sorry for the unclarity.

        The prudent thing the Seahawks did was draft high character good dressing room players with ability. They stuck to the blueprint we saw last year, instead of reaching for need.

        No doubt! Richardson’s physical traits make him unique; he could be the QB that out-Vicks Vick (or for younger readers out-Jacksons Jackson). Whether he’s going to be an all rounder remains to be seen.

  18. Hawktalker#1

    Something I saw posted on Seahawks.net today:

    “One thing that I keep forgetting about and occasionally remembering is, we can poach from other team’s practice squads if we absolutely need specific players. Think rounds 5-7, all those gems that are more likely to end up on someone’s PS due to 53 cut-downs…Names that were thrown around here that people wanted on the Hawks.

    5th round picks
    -Jaquelin Roy, DT
    -Noah Sewell, LB
    -SirVocea Dennis, LB
    -Henry To’oTo’o, LB
    -Owen Pappoe, LB

    6th round picks
    -Karl Brooks, LB
    -Keondre Coburn, DT
    -Dee Winters, LB

    7th round picks
    -Moro Ojomo, DT

    Any one of these players could be stashed on their team’s Practice Squad, ripe for the picking if we truly need front 7 help…

    I’m not sure about ALL the rules relating to the topic, besides the fact that the poached player must be on the receiving team’s active 53 man roster for 3 consecutive weeks following said poaching… If anyone else knows why we shouldn’t be able to snag one or more of these guys for our line, please feel free to add some input. I’m also very interested in JL Skinner and Antonio Johnson being poached (if they end up on their team’s practice squad) and for once considering we might have space on our final 53 man team for one or two of these guys, this year might just get even better with depth and future starting players.”

    Thoughts?

    • cha

      I am fairly certain the Seahawks will be trolling for LB help.

      It was a pretty weak LB class though, so I’m not sure how much the guys on this list will move the needle for them.

      Topics like this are fun for a little rosterbation, but the challenge is integrating these guys when you already have a 53 man roster and a 14 man practice squad. Barring some bad injuries, they have to either a) be a guy the team really saw something in pre-draft or b) fill a real niche need within their position group.

      Even then, if you try to poach someone off a team’s PS, the original team may get the option to promote him or perk up his pay a bit. If they let him go, you’re talking about a player that couldn’t make the 53, and when presented with the prospect of losing him, their original team still wouldn’t promote him to the 53,

      I am inclined to think these types of 2023 drafted players are not hot pickups on cutdown day so much as further into the season, when injuries have taken their toll and the Seahawks may have some NFL tape on them.

      • Mr drucker In hooterville

        Gotta get Bumper Pool. All name team.

  19. EternalHope

    Would it be fair to consider Hall as the backup plan to not getting Anderson? In a “sliding doors” fashion as was referenced in an earlier article?

  20. Rushless pass

    Former Bama LB Dylan Moses invited to Seahawks camp. What happened to that guy?

    • Palatypus

      Injuries apparently.

  21. samprassultanofswat

    Here;s hoping that Robert Cooper, DT, Florida State Seminoles makes the team. He is a big body that could eat up some space.

    BTW I have been hearing good things about Jerrick Reed.

    Also: Could Drew Lock be the long-term answer.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/nfl-seahawks-qb-drew-lock/vi-AA1aWAP3?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b52b6dc1c79242fcaa399bcb217ee872&ei=29

    • Hawktalker#1

      I think if Lock is a long term answer at QB, we have some big problems.

      • BK26

        If he is the long-term answer, then they are trying the 76er’s plan to tank for half a decade and shoot for all of those #1 overall picks. So yes, there would be many, many, many big problems.

        Why is this still circulating as something? He’s 26, never beat anyone out, was a trade throw-in, and was signed for one year literally so they have a body as a backup. I’ve talked about it more in a week than probably the whole pre-draft process.

  22. Rob Staton

    Something to note for next year:

    https://walterfootball.com/draft2023rumorsresults.php

    Basically everything Matt Miller reported was wrong

    • Brodie

      3 right and 21 wrong over the last 10 years, with an 0-fer this year!

      😆 well done Matt!

    • JD

      He was the only one that connected us with Devon Witherspoon though if I recall correctly.

      • Rob Staton

        Meh, not really

        I think everyone talked about the fit in the end, the only doubt was whether they actually would take a CB at #5. It’s not like he was saying they definitely would or anything.

  23. Karlos

    Don’t understand why you want Geno to go well it just means we will a playoff team but be a non factor in the playoffs. If he plays bad which is possible we a 4-6 win team and picking from 3-8 in the draft. Much easier to trade up from there.

    • Rob Staton

      Whether you pick third or 30th next year

      It’s going to cost a fortune to trade up

      And chances are whoever picks first won’t trade down anyway, they’ll just take Caleb Williams

    • Peter

      Listen to Rob or have cha break down the incentives.

      Just the roughest of math the team. Could be in real purgatory next year if geno hits a few escalators and yet the team isn’t better.

      Would rather him hit the jack pot because we are a top five offense and trucking teams then a top 10-12 offense, paying 36 plus million for a 9 win team.

    • Jhams

      You don’t understand why fans of a team would want the QB to play well? Really? Because you assume Geno ascend to the glorious heights of an Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, Nick Foles, or Trent Dilfer and lead us to a Super Bowl?

      • Skirmish

        This is a great comment. Seriously. Don’t need a top 5 QB to go far but you do need a top 5 TEAM.

        • Rob Staton

          We’ll see about that though

          Brady, Mahomes have won three of the last four. Stafford no slouch. Burrow isn’t going anywhere, competing with Allen and Mahomes.

          Plenty of teams out there are let down because they don’t have an elite QB

          • Jhams

            Sure, obviously I want us to draft the next Mahomes. I was just commenting on an ostensible Seahawks fan rooting for the team to collapse because we don’t already have that guy.

          • frans geraedts

            What is interesting about that list of names, is that when you get to the play offs a run of four games with outstanding qb play is enough. On the athletic football show in one of the recent episodes Mays and Tice discussed exactly these scenarios. Eli Manning was not consistently a great qb…but he was one during that superbowl winning play off run. Flacco ditto. Isnt that a script that would fit Geno like a glove?

            • Rob Staton

              Eli and Flacco played elite level football in the playoffs though when they won

              Let’s not forget that

              • Frans Geraedts

                Exactly that. Has Geno not shown that that is what he is capable of? A stretch of elite level qb play?

                • Rob Staton

                  Not when it matters, no

    • Tommy Boy

      c’mon Karlos, we can be a factor in the playoffs. Heck, with a much worse roster, we played toe to toe with SF for one half.

      Add in the experience those 2022 rookies will now give us and this 2023 class, and anything can happen in what is a below avg NFC.

      I say below avg because who are the dominant QB’s in the conference vs the AFC?

      Geno is a top 3 NFC QB and improved defense with a new slot receiver and road grading OL, we can beat SF or Philly.

      Those 2 teams are far from juggernauts!! The Lions because of their go for it coach will be a tough out, too.

      I see 11-6 and at worst 10-7 but we’ll have to evaluate how the games stack up with travel tomorrow night.

      I don’t see losses like we experienced vs the Falcons, Raiders or Panthers in 2022 to occur in 2023 and I think we can beat SF at home in 2023 and we were still 9-8 in 2022.

      I see a 2 game improvement from 2022. 11-6.

  24. Big Mike

    Saw on Cowturd the other day that the over/under on wins for the season for the Hawks is 8 1/2.. What do you guys think?
    My first instinct is “take the over” but then remembering that the schedule is likely tougher and the tail off by Geno the second half of the season gives me pause.

    *this gambling discussion for entertainment purposes only

    • Cysco

      I genuinely think the team is going to overachieve this year. On paper, this is the most dynamic offense we’ve seen here in the PCJS era. The Defense, thought not fully addressed, should be better. All last year’s rookies will be improved. And, Geno will have every incentive in the world to excel.

      I could see this team going on a roll and winning double digit games

    • LouCityHawk

      I got the Seahawks at +6000 to win the Super Bowl….

      I’d say the floor for the Seahawks season is 9 wins, and the ceiling is 13 wins. So over 8.5 seems like a safe bet, still, I’d like to see if it dips to a 7, then I would pound it.

      • Rob Staton

        I think 13 is a bit ambitious for a ceiling with this schedule

        I think 8-10 wins is a fair projection given who they have to play, with the potential to go one over or under depending on injuries, QB performance, defensive performance etc https://www.seahawks.com/schedule/future-opponents

        • Glor

          ooo, ya, brutal schedule this year..

        • LouCityHawk

          Obviously everything depends on player health, and the two biggest variables are what you listed.

          Perhaps I’m lower on some of the teams we are playing. Only 4 games I rate as clear losses. It is early though.

          • AlaskaHawk

            I would take the over. The team is definitely better after this draft.

    • Tommy Boy

      I think 9-8 is a SLAM DUNK take the over and money to the bank!!

      Issue is do you want to tie up funds for 8 months?

      I may put some $$ on winning the NFC.

  25. glor

    The only thing I would say is that I do take anything written by Seahawks staff and posted to the official Seahawks site with a bit of a grain of salt.

    First, what benefit would there be for the team to have something on their site stating that they missed out on AR – vs the benefit of saying, no of course we were always going to go with a D player because we are going to win it all baby.

    Secondly, see the first 😉

    • Rob Staton

      Fair points

      • Glor

        So, having listened to the video now.

        Rob, I wouldn’t doubt your thought process up to the draft.

        I think this is just the standard post draft media rounds to instill faith in the fan base that they got their guys. I have no doubt that AR would have been selected at 5 had he been there. I’m not saying they didn’t have Anderson high either, but in no way to do I believe they “stayed” at 5 to take their #2 option in DW. Don’t get me wrong, they went with the next guy on their board, however I think they tried to trade down (which is why JS was asking for the details for the AZ Houston trade) and couldn’t find the value they were looking for at the time.

        By saying that they were always on D for the first pick, they are padding Geno’s ego and bringing down that tension that might have been in the room pre-draft regarding the QB room, they remove any idea that they were building for the future vs to win now, they go a bit further with the rest of the team with respects to
        “Geno is our guy” etc, and, quite frankly, they respect the fact that the player is with another team and are very careful talking about other teams players etc.

        Personally, I find your predraft analysis much more believable than this revisionist history by the hawks FO, which is totally fine, they have to do what they need to do to keep the locker room in good spirits, etc – but this is the narrative they give us every year, and yet this year we are also hearing that they are admitting they drafted for need the past 12 years and reached a bunch on players (and they sure didn’t admit any of that during those draft press conferences, they only have the confidence to do that now since they nailed last years draft and quite frankly, look to have nailed this years draft as well.)

        • Hawkdawg

          All plausible. Although “no doubt” is a little strong…

          • glor

            True, how about “a high degree of confidence” 🙂

    • Mr drucker in hooterville

      So I can remain locked on to my opinion that seattle would have taken AR if Indy hadn’t? Cool.

    • Rokas

      But it was stated, that they missed on Will Anderson. At this point what is the difference between saying, that they missed on Richardson or missed on Anderson?
      If it has anything to do with not wanting to hurt Whiterspoon’s feelings, i would say being second on the priority list behind a QB hurts your feelings less, then being a plan B to another defender.

      • Glor

        I think they aren’t too worried about a rookie’s feelings who is under a 5 year mandatory contract, vs the QB we are rolling with and expecting to lead the team, and to be fair, they haven’t said they missed Anderson, just that he was an option for them had he been there. (Bollocks if you ask me, but hey, they are going to say what they are going to say to pump up their own guys and their own perception of success)

        I’m perfectly happy with how they stuck to the board, but I just hope in 4 years we aren’t all sitting here wishing we had “paid the iron price” to move up. Not saying there was any opportunity for us to do so, as I do side with Rob that I think it would be a hard sell for AZ to have traded with a division rival. So at the end of the day, things fell as they did and we made the best of it.

  26. Palatypus

    I like your point at the 13:30 point in the video Rob. When Jalen Carter does something like this next year, can we avoid the abuse and the nonsense?

    But you just know that he will be caught hijacking a truckload of Grey Goose with Maurice Clarett, drinking it from Louis Vuitton coffee mugs, and eating chips with mayonnaise, while listening to ABBA.

  27. VeryAl

    The thing that stood out to me on the Boyle article was the “upsets” part. I had assumed that players were taken ahead of their third that they were angry about, but it seems it was players they had graded much lower. So they were good upsets which is awesome!

  28. geoff u

    To round it off, interview with John Boyle today:

    https://omny.fm/shows/bob-groz-and-tom/hour-3-a-look-into-seattles-draft-war-room-with-jo

    • glor

      7:27 – “same thing with the quarterbacks, if the guys there we’re gonna take him”

  29. Danzell

    Interesting read for sure.

    I am however a bit intrigued about whether we can just trust this information as pure facts. Wouldn’t they have an interest in mixing in real facts with fake ones to potentially lull other teams into believing next year that they aren’t really in the QB market. Particularly given how much of the draft is about predicting what other teams are going to do

    If they truly believed in Anthony Richardson and thought he could be the next big star at QB, I would have been shocked if they would go in any other direction but to take him regardless of the reasons they provide this year to the contrary. I would still not rule out that Richardson was target 1 and that the other two were fall back options 1 and 2. Only way I believe this completely is if they were not that high on any of the QBs and that Richardsson did have as high grade as they may have had on e.g. Allen in the past.

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t think it reads like any lies are being told. A complete picture, we will never get. But I think the info shared is fair to believe in

  30. Big Mike

    Isn’t the schedule release tomorrow evening?

    • TomLPDX

      Yep, and it will be leaking out bit by bit until then.

      • Big Mike

        Yeah I just saw some leaks on NFL.com. The biggest one is Bengals at Chiefs on New Year’ Eve.

        • TomLPDX

          They’ve also announced all the overseas games as well for England and Germany. Glad to see we aren’t one of the teams required to make the trip this year.

    • cha

      5pm official but we should know a good chunk by then.

      I am definitely going to the Pittsburgh game, I want to go to the Philly game and maybe catch one division game. Probably SF.

      They have road games in Detroit and Dallas this year, so there’s a fair chance they are playing on Thanksgiving Day. Particularly when you consider they have been the home team on their Thursday game the last 5 years in a row.

      • HawkfaninMT

        Hoping that Bengals is earlier in the year to avoid crappy weather. Want to hit that game along with a road trip to Hall of Fame in a weekend

        • Big Mike

          HOF is very much worth the trip. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Was there the better part of a day.
          Hit it on a cross country and back motorcycle tip in ’18.

  31. bv eburg

    Back from bass fishing in Mexico and doing a little catch up.
    Posted this draft on here with a few caveats about 10 days before the draft.
    Caveats;
    A. Don’t know how Pete and John feel about geno/Lock. (Now we do).
    B. With only 2 RB’s on roster at least and a team that likes to run 2 would be drafted.
    C. Offense has as much ground to make up as D compared to past 4 SB winners.
    D. Below picks pulled off Rob’s horizontal at the time.

    1-12 (trade w/ Houston + 33) Bijan Robinson – RB
    1-20 Dawand Jones – Tackle
    2-33 Josh Downs – WR
    2-37 John Michael Schmitz- C
    2-52 Mazi Smith – DT
    3-83 Cameron Young – DT
    4-123 Deuce Vaghn – RB
    5-151 DJ Dale – DT
    5-154 Nick Figueroa – DE
    6-198 Rashee Rice – WR
    7-237 Ryan Hayes – G

    Position. My draft totals. Actual Seahawks draft
    RB 2 2
    WR. 2 1
    IOL. 2. 2
    C 1 1
    DE 1 1
    DT 3 1
    S 0 1
    CB 0 1

    Not bad. Didn’t see the CB at all and thought they would go heavier at DT.
    Overall really liked the early RB and draft overall.

  32. Jabroni-DC

    Philly is working toward losing the World Series, Super Bowl & NBA Finals all in a span of 12 months. Still some work to do of course. That would be a feat that even Buffalo fans would have to respect.

    • Big Mike

      I literally LOL’d.
      And you’re correct about Buffalo fans. For us Seattle sports fans that’d be like the Seahawks losing the Super Bowl, Kraken losing the Stanley Cup Finals and the Mariners losing in the World Series in a year’s time
      .
      .
      .
      oh wait, no worries about the Mariners making a World Series. Never mind.

      • Kyle R

        Hey Big Mike, you aren’t “zagfaninthecouv” on Lookout Landing by any chance?

        • Big Mike

          Busted. I’m the same on the Slipper Still Fits which is a Gonzaga hoops site.
          This was so good I had to post it on LL too
          Who are you there?

          • Kyle R

            I don’t comment very often on there but have been lurking on and off since 2008. I’m Kyle in MV. Same name on Cougcenter which I used to go to a lot but it has sort of died off.

          • Kyle R

            And it was quite good lol! As a Mariners fan growing up in the late 80’s into the 90’s and ever since then I really can’t ever picture them in a World Series. 2001 maybe but not since then.

            • Big Mike

              Well I’m so old I go all the way back to the 1st year in 1977 so it’s been a long ugly drought.
              Is the MV for Mount Vernon?

              • Rushless pass

                Hey hey Mount Vernon shout out!! Grew up there. Haven’t been there for a couple decades or so

              • Kyle R

                Hey Big Mike sorry for day late reply. Yep stands for Mount Vernon. Basically smack between Vancouver BC and Seattle.

    • crazykind

      They lost the Major League Soccer Cup final too!

  33. JDH

    I feel like this is related to the general topic of how the Hawks approached this draft, but it occurs to me that the success of these two drafts in a row might impact how the Hawks look at the draft process in terms of not only a rebuild, but for maintaining a highly competitive team. These two drafts have significantly upgraded the overall team, in my opinion anyway, and I wouldn’t be surprised if John and Pete conclude that the market inefficiency to be exploited here is the lack of focus, discipline, approach by enough other teams that the Hawks can continue to upgrade their roster year by year through the draft, augmenting the roster with cheap young talent, while becoming more competitive as the holes are gradually filled. Ultimately, the draft would mainly be a way of maintaining things and keeping control of the cap rather than needing to fill gaping voids in offense or defense. The one position where they need to get lucky is QB. I see less chance of the Hawks making a Jamal-like trade going forward. They have just had too much success recently with their draft process to give up those assets. I think it also may impact second contracts. The more solid depth they have, the less they have to reach with second contracts and keep the train moving down the track. The dribbling away of excessive cap money on OK, but not elite talent, may be ending?

    • Big Mike

      I would think this would be the goal. Let’s hope that’s the process they’re married to. Still say you gotta have th QB tho.

  34. Gaux Hawks

    I know SDB was really high on Jake Bobo pre-draft. Watching his highlights, definitely looks like a great possession receiver (or skinny TE). Matt Landers Also sounds like a potential steal…

    Our receiver room is looking good:
    WR1: DK Metcalf, Matt Landers (PS)
    WR2: Tyler Lockett, Cade Johnson
    WR3: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Dee Eskridge
    WR4: Dareke Young, Jake Bobo (PS)

    • Hoggs41

      Eskridge is in real danger of not making the team. Can save $1.2m if they spread out the dead money

      • Gaux Hawks

        …but if JSN gets another tight hammy!?

        • Peter

          Kenny Mcintosh?….

  35. Sea Mode

    Adam Schefter
    @AdamSchefter
    ·7m

    Seahawks will travel 31,600 miles this season, the most in the NFL, per @billsperos.

    Here’s how much each team will travel prior to the NFL’s full schedule release Thursday.

    https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1656386139379363840

  36. Rob Staton

    Jalen Carter latest…

    Eagles rookie Jalen Carter faces a lawsuit stemming from a car crash that killed his former Georgia teammate, Devin Willock, Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports reports.

    Dave Willock Sr., Willock’s father, seeks $40 million in a case filed Tuesday against the school’s athletic association, Carter and others. The suit alleges wrongful death, negligent hiring and negligence.

    https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/05/10/jalen-carter-faces-lawsuit-in-death-of-former-teammate-devin-willock/

    • JDH

      I was wondering when that shoe would drop. Assume they waited until after the draft in order to allow Carter to have the most guaranteed money for settlement purposes without a new lawsuit diminishing his value even further. It is likely his insurance would not cover him since he pleaded guilty to a crime that requires intent. It will be a complicated action, so Carter will have to lawyer-up and be ready for this to be a thing for quite a while.

      • McZ

        “Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter was given 12 months’ probation and a $1,000 fine on Thursday after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing related to a crash that killed Bulldogs offensive lineman Devin Willock and a recruiting staff member.”
        https://www.kfvs12.com/2023/03/16/georgias-jalen-carter-top-nfl-prospect-gets-1-year-probation-1000-fine/

        So, short of clear evidence of having caused the accident (which is already settled), there is no legal base for the fathers claims. There isn’t even a law that can be neglected. This is a made up case to come to a settlement before going to court.

        • Spectator

          You do realize that these are civil claims brought by the father, which makes your comments wholly incorrect and ignorant. Negligence isn’t just caused from neglecting laws. It’s neglecting duties. The father has every right to bring these claims. And the criminal case conclusion has little to no barring on his ability to succeed.

          Please educate yourself next time. But judging by your other comments, you may just be an angry elf.

        • GrittyHawk

          You do realize the standards of evidence are not the same between criminal and civil suits, right? To win a civil suit you merely need a preponderance of evidence (translation: was this more likely than not), where in a criminal trial you need proof beyond a reasonable doubt. They’re not remotely the same thing and nothing is even close to “settled” in this matter.

    • Malanch

      From E.J. Smith’s article in the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Howie Roseman said the team went through a vetting process surrounding Carter’s character after the first round of the draft.”

      Maybe shoulda done that before the first round…

      • Rob Staton

        Wow

        • Malanch

          And—lo and behold!—Carter’s conditioning has evidently drawn immediate media scrutiny, based on Nick Sirianni’s rather terse interruption of a reporter following a minicamp session: “Quite frankly, this is everybody out there practicing this weekend in rookie minicamp. None of these guys are ready to go yet, as far as ready to go and practice. But go ahead. Continue.”

          The reporter complies: “Specifically with Jalen, what’s your level of concern about his conditioning at this point in time?”

          Sirianni (abruptly): “None.”

          Well, in the picture I saw of Carter casually leaning against a blocking sled while his new Eagles teammates were practicing, his body composition appeared little changed from that most ignominious pro day of his.

          …And just think: That would have been Pete Carroll up there fending off testiness like that, not Sirianni, had the majority of mainstream Seahawk fans and content creators been granted their wish at #5 overall.

      • carter

        Might’ve been edited; currently reads “Howie Roseman said on April 28 that the team went through a vetting process surrounding Carter’s character.” Makes more sense

    • cha

      This too

      Carter raised a lot of eyebrows at Georgia’s pro day when he appeared out of shape and didn’t participate in all the drills.

      “It was just me,” he said Thursday. “I felt conditioned, but I guess I wasn’t. That was just me. I should have conditioned a little more — a lot more — before my pro day.”

      https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/howie-roseman-eagles-draft-pick-jalen-carter-its-been-traumatic-process

      • Nfendall

        It’s almost like there is a pattern of behavior that keeps repeating itself. Weird.

      • Justaguy

        Carter was a better option than a banged up CB. Witherspoon is skinny and when he tries to hit like he did in college he will be more likely to be injured. Why wasn’t #5 Will Levis? Write a thousand words about that

        • Malanch

          “Carter was a better option than a banged up CB.”

          Banged up? You mean the hamstring pull Witherspoon has been working through? Judging by his pro day results, I’d say that rehab is going most swimmingly.

          “When he tries to hit like he did in college…”

          You mean he can only apply his college technique? He can’t develop his craft as a pro?

          “Why wasn’t #5 Will Levis?”

          Because Witherspoon is a better play, Top Billin.

          • geoff u

            I would also like to add that Witherspoon is a CB and not a safety, which means less hitting.

            And why Levis at #5 when we could’ve had Levis at #20? John was 100% right passing on Levis at 5, at least.

        • Big Mike

          You can argue for Levis and it’s reasonable but to say Carter would be a better choice than Witherspoon leaves you dangling in the wind by yourself. There’s already problems in Philadelphia as was mentioned above. This will continue and he will be out of the league after his first contractof 5 years. If I’m wrong call me out about it if I’m right come in and admit you are wrong.

          • Malanch

            The Levis at #5 comment reads as sarcasm.

        • McZ

          Being banged up is not the problem. Not being a Seahawks corner is.
          He has short arms, small hands and cannot play zone. I don’t buy the “violent tackler” hype for one second. The reason he tackled a lot was playing slot most of the time.

          In college, he paid a lot for his downfield plays. Grabbing a jersey will get flagged in the NFL instantly, and he did it a lot.

          Can it be resolved? No, I fear. You cannot make a pure slot player into a zone existence overnight. Gonzales would have been the far better pick, IMO.

          This franchise has become so desperate of hitting the “next Kam”. After having the worst trade of franchise history, picking an unusable asset at #5 could be the final nail.

          • Big Mike

            If it turns out as you suggest it’ll be the worst draft pick of this regime considering where they took him.

          • GrittyHawk

            The reason he tackled a lot was playing slot most of the time.

            Witherspoon played only 14.7% of his snaps in the slot in 2022. In 2021 it was a scant 10.5%. You’re entitled to your opinions on who we should have drafted but please do us all a favor and stop short of completely fabricating nonsense to support your misguided narrative. He is not now and has never been a “pure slot player”.

            • Hawkdawg

              Facts can be stubborn things, even in the face of “alternative” ones.

            • Brodie

              Here’s another fun fact for this argument: Christian Gonzalez played 138 of his 716 snaps as the slot corner, a rate of 19.3%

            • Big Mike

              Are those crickets?

            • McZ

              It’s pointless where he took his overall snaps.

              Just rewatch his highlight reels; lots of cover 1 or cover 0, where he plays flat and gets credited for tackling. That’s how he gets advertized. Nice on tape.

              Most draft sources I’ve read are pretty consistent that he will play much more slot / nickel than outside in the NFL. Personally, I think we can also forget the idea of playing him zone in the NFL due to his light frame. He is basically DJ Reed. Reed needed three full seasons to master his craft. Reed was a fifth rounder.

              Durability might quickly become a concern in a physical scheme. 11 flags over two seasons with NFL rules being more strict might become a problem.

              So, bottom line… this is a pure culture pick. A pick people get carried away with. He wasn’t even the leader of this Illinois secondary. In my book he is not a top 5 pick.

          • Hawkster

            I have concerns about the first round picks, “The Hamstrings” being the title to that round’s selections (sarcasm font). Certainly the idea that he will bring the Kam hammer back to the defensive backfield is missing 1 thing, or should I say 50 things … pounds. Kam had 50 pounds on Spoon. The Troy P comparison PC makes … only 30 pounds there (and almost 2 inches shorter so a much thicker dude). But supposedly he hit smart, I’ll get back to that.

            I think the idea that because he excelled at man that he wont be able to be productive in zone is, to me, absurd. He did what he was tasked to do well. All reports are he is highly intelligent, film-studying, understands routes and schemes etc. Not just a twitchy hip-pocket ace, but a smart studying defensive back with good eyes. These things make zone DBs, in my opinion (and elite closing/recovery, and length doesn’t hurt).

            He’s 22, don’t know if he will thicken up some or not. FWIW there is scouting that says while he is a hitter, he is a smart hitter (angles/leverage/placement of the hit so to speak), not a mindless missile. Let’s face it, ET at times was less than business considered when flying downhill. The peacock has never looked like somebody that would las to me either. There are flavors to aggressive/violent, and people and of all sizes and shapes have short careers due to injury.

            On balance Spoon is a pick to be excited about IMO, but not without concerns, but every pick has concerns.

            The second Hamstring (JNS) just really red-flagged for me on the A part of BPA, best player AVAILABLE. This wasn’t a sore hammy messin’ with combine testing. This dude was mostly not a football player during the evaluation period of his last year in college and the combine. Mostly not a football player, I am tired of mostly not a football player.

            I preferred board crush Mingo taken 19 picks later, but hey, he had the whole foot thing. That seems “fixed”, but I have no such sentiments on the JNS most-of-a-year hamstring.

            All demons aside, all picks carry risk, neither of these players is some sort of out-of-left field win-now desperate grab at past greatness. These are highly coveted prospects and SEA took ’em.

      • Malanch

        Mike Florio and Chris Simms quickly dismissed the possibility of Carter’s conditioning being a worthy matter. “None” was Florio’s concurring level of concern; “End that crap” was Simms’s chucklesome translation of Sirianni’s response. They actually laughed at the absurdity of a coach having to address such nonsense, like the reporter had no business posing such a ludicrous question to serious football people.

        Florio continued his affirmation: “Nobody’s in shape this time of year. Nobody’s in shape.” He mentions how commonplace these accounts of poor rookie conditioning have been over the years, bringing up the negative impact of combine and pro day training on football-readiness—while also entirely failing to mention that Carter didn’t bother with any pre-draft prep work at all, by the looks of it. “(The rookies will) be in shape. They’ll be in shape at the appropriate time, at the appropriate place, and there’s no reason to be concerned about anyone’s conditioning for now. ‘We know how to get guys in shape. We’ll get ’em in shape, and they’ll be ready to go.'”

        Simms adds: “It’s too early to be judging things like that at this point. You know, everybody—yeah, and nerves are playing into these, you know, conversations. That makes, you know, you more short of breath. You’re thinking a lot; you’re out of your element altogether; you’ve just moved to a new place. I mean, there’s so many things that go into, you know, not being at your best right away. Let alone, like you said it: They’ve been training for the combine; they have the draft; you know, during the week before the draft and the draft is the first time all year they kinda get to go ‘Whoa, wait, I can take a break’ because they’ve been going right from college football into training for the combine and the draft and all that. And, you know, again, like we talked about with Jalen Carter: He’s at the perfect spot. He’s at a spot with great leaders and people around him that know him. Nick Sirianni’s a man; he ain’t gonna let this stuff manifest or go, right? This is a problem with Jalen Carter working out at his pro day in Georgia; now people want to make this a story, because ‘Ooh, he didn’t look like he was in shape that day.’ Right, that’s where the one thing we wish he didn’t do that, because now it gives everybody this question about him all the time. But I think Sirianni and the Eagles will do a great job of handling this whole situation.”

        Florio: “Yeah. Look, they understand what they’re getting into. They’ve got the support system there, and it’s very early in the process. And they’re gonna work him into the right kind of shape that they need him to be in to perform.”

        • Malanch

          Let that sink in: “People want to make this a story, because ‘Ooh, he didn’t look like he was in shape that day.’”

          Oh, is that all it is? There is no deeper context, no longer track record of characteristic disregard for the process? The poor preparation all began on his pro day?

          • Peter

            Florio is starting to lose it. Straight up.

            There are going to players all over the league from round ine through negative seven attending rookie camps that are going to be in shape. That run on their own time, lift on their own time, do drills in their own time. In any athletic endeavor this is always going to be the thing that separates most players from getting on 53 man rosters and potentially earning second contracts.

        • AlaskaHawk

          Interesting stuff – but

          I’m so glad that as a fan base we won’t be talking about Jalen Carter for the whole season – or a lack of Jalen Carter if it doesn’t work out. Let Philly fans worry about him week after week. Worrying whether he is in condition, worrying about whether he will get injured, worry about where he is going late at night, worrying about his lawsuits. Man I’m getting tired of all these things to worry about.

          We can just grab the popcorn and sit back and watch the show!

          • TomLPDX

            ^^^ THIS!!! ^^^

          • Peter

            I wish.

            Seahawks fans are the corniest.

            If he sucks people will be gloating. If he balls put and witherspoon is just okay fans will be crying.

            We need witherspoon to get near DROY and Carter to play fair to middling for fans to shut up about him.

            • cha

              What’ll happen is he will have a play where he explodes through the middle and takes a guy down and everyone will ooh and ahh over it and moan that the Seahawks could’ve had that.

              And what we won’t see is, he only played 15 snaps, they lost the game, and there is more legal trouble brewing we don’t know about.

              • Peter

                This!

  37. seahawkward

    Fun article, Rob! Love this kind of stuff!

    So who do we think the other 2 players Seattle had 1st round grades on after Forbes besides JSN and Hall????

    Guesses? My guess is Zay Flowers and Dalton Kinkaid.

  38. Jabroni-DC

    Rob, you mention in the video that we get the lower of the Denver 3rd round picks in 2024 and that we should root against the Saints rather than the Broncos. I think we’re rooting against both of them yes?

    • Rob Staton

      Correct yes

  39. TomLPDX

    Looks like Tyler’s contract got restructured…

    https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/05/11/seahawks-restructure-tyler-locketts-contract/

    • Big Mike

      Now cut Adams 6/2 and your cap issues are solved.

      • TomLPDX

        Don’t hold your breath on that one. As much as I would love to see us move on, it just doesn’t seem to be move they will make.

      • PJ in Seattle

        Yep – as much sense as it would make, I am convinced that Pete is not going to let it happen. Unless Jamal is hampered in his rehab, which appears not to be the case, I can’t see them capitulating and cutting him for cap.

        My hope is that they can get him to restructure his deal, but if he was open to that you’d think they would’ve done it by now?

    • DW

      Bring in Chris Wormley and another body like Byron Cowart and we are COOKING.

    • cha

      Interesting. Of all the restructures, Lockett is the safest.

      That covers their draft class and leaves about $1.5-1.6m of room.

      More to come but the rookie class can all be signed now – or – they can go shopping in the secondary market and open up some more room later. Maybe…June 2…

      • TomLPDX

        It will be interesting to see what their next move will be. Glad they got Tyler done though.

      • Brodie

        They really maxed out the leverage of his deal. His 2024 cap number is now higher than Cooper Kupp, Devonta Adams, Justin Jefferson and even DK – all of whom signed their deals after Tyler. (Though Adams cap number in 2025 is over $44M!)

        My spidey sense is telling me Nwosu isn’t getting done. We’ll have Mafe, Hall, Tyreke Smith and Taylor as a RFA next year, so that position is at least somewhat accounted for. Nwosu made the most sense to free up cap – IF everyone agreed on the finances. The fact that they maxed out Tyler’s deal at this stage has me thinking Nwosu talks are far apart.

        Maybe this was a leverage play. Tyler seemed like the he would be the third pin to drop, after Nwosu and Fant and depending on how much extra they needed. Maybe Nwosu’s agent was holding that against them, saying ‘we know you need the cap room, you need to move up to our number’.

        • cha

          Personally I don’t want the Seahawks to thin down their DE/OLB depth one bit.

          Nwosu took like 80% of the snaps last year because Alton and Tyreke got hurt, Taylor was awful in run D, Mafe wasn’t ready for a full slate yet (I don’t agree but oddly they didn’t ask me for my opinion). They had to go drag Bruce Irvin off the couch to fill in the gaps.

          I want enough depth to turn Taylor into an assassin. Let Nwosu, Hall and Mafe handle the run defense and disruption on early downs, and bring Taylor in to harass the QB on passing downs. 13-15 sacks on 35% of the snaps.

          If they’re playing Taylor a lot and he cannot improve in run defense, they’re back to 2022 levels of suckage.

          • Brodie

            Just calling it like I see it. There’s always FA and the draft next year too.

            I agree that Nwosu would be great to have, but they’ve drawn a line in the sand regarding contracts many times before. What if he’s asking $20M+/yr or he’s hitting FA?

            I think every Hawk fan would agree that signing him to an extension would be a good move, if it’s not an overpay. The fact that it hasn’t happened and they’ve kicked 90% of Tyler’s cap to 24 & 25, leads me to think they’re not close to a Nwosu deal.

            • cha

              Could also just be their standard trade – not working on extensions until the fall of a player’s last year.

              • Brodie

                Good point.

              • TomLPDX

                Probably why they got Tyler done so soon. They had every intention of keeping him around and this helps them do that.

                • Brodie

                  Tyler was a restructure, not an extension. This was purely for cap reasons. He’s likely the only contract they felt comfortable kicking money into the future with though.

                  • TomLPDX

                    Right, thanks for pointing that out Brodie. The intend to keep him is what I’m saying.

    • Brodie

      This tells me that what they’re offering Nwosu isn’t what he’s looking for. Or, what he’s asking for in an extension is beyond what they’re willing to do.

      I heard John Gilbert on a pod a couple of days ago saying, we just need to extend Nwosu and the cap isn’t an issue. Not many people considering that he may not want to. Hitting FA next year in his prime after 2 really good years is probably his best chance at the biggest contract he’ll ever sign.

      Right now the Hawks are the only bidders and considering they’ve already pivoted to Tyler’s deal, I would guess they are far apart.

      • Rob Staton

        It’s nowhere near as easy as ‘just extend Nwosu’

        They’d have no leverage

        It’s a great way to overpay and get into a bad deal

      • cha

        He speaks in absolutes way too much for my taste.

        • Hawk Finn

          Sith status confirmed

      • Patrick Toler

        The cap isn’t an issue…I mean there is some truth to the idea that you can always continue to move money around, but looking at the state of the super aggressive cap teams like NO and LAR don’t make me feel great about joining that club. The last thing I want to see is Seattle paying top of the position money to good-but-not-great players like Nwosu or Fant.

        • cha

          It is far less of an issue if you draft well. Which the Seahawks have done.

          Restructuring Lockett and signing a big ticket guy like D Jones are moves you can make because you’re getting great bang for the buck in the draft.

          Piece coming soon on this.

          • Brodie

            Exactly. Imagine if we needed to look to FA to plug our tackle spots and a CB1.

            To me, it’s another reason to be optimistic about the process of drafting the last two years. They’ve gone BPA, but also at the most expensive positions in the NFL. Positions where the 5th year option actually means something.

            A good WR, CB or Tackle is a lot more likely to be worth that 5th year option than an ILB (Brooks) or a RB (Penny). That 5th year option is like a multiplier of value if you hit on a QB, WR, OT, DE or CB. For positions like RB, TE, S the franchise tag ends up being roughly the same as the 5th year (see Saquon Barkley). ILB and IOL are trickier because they get lumped in with OLB and OL.

            • Brodie

              When I look at Detroit vs Seattle in this draft, it’s amazing the difference in positional value that I see (my opinion).

              They started with 6 & 18 – we had 5 & 20. Roughly the same starting point. They got a RB and MLB – we got a CB and WR. If you want to factor in the pick they got from trading down, they used it on a TE… Then they picked a safety.

              We both ended up with a RB, but theirs essentially wasted any value of a 5th round option.

              They added MLB, TE & S – We added CB, WR, EDGE

  40. cha

    A preseason game in GB if this thread is to believed

    https://twitter.com/mattschneidman/status/1656622683931676673

    • cha

      Looks like Packers @ Lions and Commanders vs Cowboys for the two traditional Thanksgiving games, the third unknown yet.

      • cha

        SF @ SEA Thanksgiving night game? Softy hearing that it is.

        Geno and Tariq eating a turkey leg on the field would be a nice callback to the 2014 feast.

        • TomLPDX

          That would be a nice way to cap off the day.

  41. BK26

    Trying to find more on Rattler to watch and came across a guy summarizing the Tennessee and Clemson games and wanted to get opinions (seems like an SEC guy, a legit guy, not a Finebaum). His name is Josh Pate, show is “Late Kick with Josh Pate.” Was pretty impressed for quick segments.

    Broke down both games well, said he had expected SC to be a better team than the previous year even if their record didn’t show it, Tennessee game wasn’t a surprise (comments section backed him up on that take). Was very fair and knowledgeable. Comments section were all giving him credit for his projections, opinions, and breakdowns.

    Never heard of him but was impressed. He’s out of a studio. Would be nice to have another outlet that is a legitimate, quality source to break down college games. Any opinions on him?

    • TomLPDX

      Got a link?

      • BK26

        https://youtu.be/LMXKD1D4zwM

        You know…that would help. Listening to Youtube on my phone while working. The above link is the Tennessee/SC game

        • TomLPDX

          Thanks, I’ll give it a listen

    • Brodie

      Really like Josh Pate. He does a great job of covering college ball and discussing the big topics. Also tends to give the upper tier of PAC teams some respect that other national guys do not.

      • Brodie

        I also listen to him at 1.25x playback speed as he’s a bit of a slower presenter. I do that with a lot of videos actually.

        • BK26

          I thought he was very fair. In that game, gave Tennessee credit and covered SC really well.

          Another video he listed the top 10 college fb programs and really put it in perspective to prove how he ranked them. There was no sense of “I’m saying this so it is 100% right.”

          Was impressed for all that I watched. Nice to have something like that to just listen to.

  42. Gaux Hawks

    Excited to see who are the last iDL standing come week 1

    1) Can Jonah Tavai beat out Myles Adams?
    2) Can Robert Cooper step in for Bryan Mone (PUP/CUT)?

    DE: Dre’Mont Jones, Mike Morris
    NT: Cameron Young, Robert Cooper
    DT: Jarran Reed, Myles Adams
    LEO: Darrell Taylor, Boye Mafe
    SAM: Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall

    Hard to imagine 3/4 rookie iDL (Jonah Tavai gets more time on PS)

  43. Paul G

    Rob,

    I’ve got a scheme question for you. What are your thoughts on Seattle having both 4/3 & 3/4 fronts? How exactly does that work, 4/3 early downs with proper personnel and 3/4 on obvious passing downs? Have they done something like this in the past? Thought more about this after hearing more quotes from Pete. Thanks

    https://twitter.com/mattyfbrown/status/1656706498737717267?s=46&t=S1hqpWZFdzCBJp8baXm-yg

    • Rob Staton

      My thoughts are…

      I don’t care what they run. Just don’t start the season with a crap defense for the first five or so games again.

      • cha

        Amen.

        I have had my fill of these ‘you have to listen to the jazz notes they’re NOT playing’ articles about the Seahawks’ defensive schemes the last three years.

        ‘This formation works better than you think’

        ‘The Seahawks are playing 4D chess with Jamal Adams, let me convince you with X’s and O’s why he is having a huge impact on the defense despite the Seahawks losing 3 of the last 4 by giving up several long drives’

        ‘Pete Carroll says the defense is going to be much improved this year and here is why I believe him…’

        ‘2020: Seahawks have finally acquired the defensive personnel to run the scheme Pete Carroll wants’
        ‘2021: Seahawks have finally acquired the defensive personnel to run the scheme Pete Carroll wants’
        ‘2022: Seahawks have finally acquired the defensive personnel to run the scheme Pete Carroll wants’
        ‘2023: Seahawks have finally acquired the defensive personnel to run the scheme Pete Carroll wants’

        Forget all that. My eyes don’t lie. Stats don’t lie. W’s and L’s don’t lie.

        JUST GET BETTER

        • Rob Staton

          💯💯💯💯💯💯💯

          • cha

            I swear, since that one terrible analyst from SI got hired by the Rams, there’s been a silent epidemic of these X and O articles that come across as trying to get an NFL team to notice and hire them.

            They’re so sickly positive it strains credibility.

            At worst they’re using their platform to audition for a job. At best, they’re knowledge show-off pieces. ‘A told told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.’

            • Rob Staton

              The problem is, I’ve no doubt that these people have studied a lot and have a good grasp on some of these X’s and O’s concepts.

              But so often, I see pro’s on Twitter saying, “well, actually…”

              You can’t properly grasp it all from home. You need to do it.

          • Huggie Hawk

            Pete and John seem to have gotten their draft and team building mojo back since jettisoning Russ…. Now let’s see if they can get some defensive mojo back… Not even top 10, just not bottom 5 please! Haha ughhh

        • Big Mike

          “We’re close”
          “We’re gonna get this thing right”

        • Malanch

          It’s like we were saying about the “Hawk tackling system” (which went M.I.A. several years ago): Just get the goddamn fundamentals down. Find a way. The CBA limitations on padded practices are a legit challenge, but I think I remember Pete Carroll harping on a “no excuses” mentality when he first took over the franchise. Indeed: No excuses. Fix the tackling, and the rest will follow. I haven’t seen the advanced stats for yards allowed after contact, but whatever those numbers are, I know they can’t be favorable to Carroll’s defenses of late. Schematic alignment does play a role in tackle accuracy and effectiveness, but I’ll wager fundamental execution plays a much larger role.

    • Patrick Toler

      I think most teams, including Seattle last year, are running a mix of odd and even fronts, though almost all teams will run one front most of the time. Of course there are multiple types of odd and even fronts. It sure seems to me that Seattle has had the most consistent success in their Bear front, that they used a lot in late 2021.

      But I’m with Rob, just figure out a plan that isn’t getting your defense consistently gashed for the first month of the season. I don’t particularly care if it is 4-3 under, bear, 2-4-5, or whatever other schematic masterpiece they come up with.

  44. cha

    MNF Week 4 in NY?

    Doug Rush
    @TheDougRush
    Giants schedule leak:

    Week 4: vs Seahawks. October 2. Monday Night Football. MetLife Stadium.

    The Giants will have 3 of their first 4 games of the 2023 season in primetime games.

    • cha

      Week 17 NYE hosting PIttsburgh?

      Andrew Fillipponi
      @ThePoniExpress
      Sources: Week 17. Steelers at Seahawks. New Year’s Eve. Pack your champagne for the Northwest Steelers fans.
      8:59 AM · May 11, 2023
      ·

    • Big Mike

      Don’t like this unless we play back east the next week and can just stay out there. The following week if the team has to fly back to Seattle after the NY game is nearly like a second Thursday game in the season.

      All that said, if what I’m hearing about the Giants schedule it could be worse. Rumor has it they pay 7 of their first 10 on the road. Brutality.

      • UkAlex6674

        Yeah but if they come out in reasonable shape record wise that’s a great run in for them, and as we know teams warm up midway through the season.

        • Peter

          Hers hoping when our team warms up that don’t give themselves an ice bath for the final 7 weeks of the season this year.

      • Big Mike

        If the Hawks get a week 5 bye as Corbin has reported and was noted below by cha, this becomes a moot point.

    • cha

      Maybe @ Detroit Week 2

      Corbin K. Smith
      @CorbinSmithNFL
      Working on confirmation, but hearing Lions/Seahawks in Detroit in Week 2.
      10:25 AM · May 11, 2023

    • cha

      Corbin K. Smith
      @CorbinSmithNFL
      #Seahawks will open 2023 season with Rams at Lumen Field.
      1:30 PM · May 11, 2023

    • cha

      Week 15 Philly coming to town.

      https://twitter.com/PHLEaglesNation/status/1656718765478797313

    • cha

      Week 5 bye…bleh..

      Corbin K. Smith
      @CorbinSmithNFL
      #Seahawks will host Browns in Week 8 at Lumen Field, which means Week 5 will be bye week.
      1:38 PM · May 11, 2023

      • Big Mike

        Agree cha. Not ideal to be sure.

  45. Old but Slow

    I am predicting that we will play 17 games this season. I don’t know the over/under.

    • Malanch

      So…no playoff appearance, then? Well, if the Seahawks’ projected increase in strength of schedule does prove out, then you may well be right. However, their projected strengths of schedule have ranked #11 for three consecutive years, yet their retrospective strengths of schedule have not accorded thus—just look at last year’s preseason-versus-postseason SoS contrast for a case in point. I mean, what if the NFC East reverts to its mediocre norm, or (and?) the AFC North fails to bring its traditional thunder? What if the Hawks are ultimately loaded with a lesser untimely injury factor than their opponents? What if the “wide open” nature of the NFC (read: dearth of legitimate competitors) proves out, offering a developing team like Seattle a fairly direct route to the tournament?

      I’d guess the over/under would be closer to 18 games, 17.5 at the least.

      • Rushless pass

        Mario edwards one year deal with the hawks per Fowler

  46. Gaux Hawks

    Would love to sign Isaiah Wynn to a cheap two year deal…
    Depth at both G and T while serving as a draft hedge in 2024

  47. Gaux Hawks

    Rob, what are your thoughts on Joshua Onujiogu??

    Feels like they are high on him (making the 53 and getting snaps in 2023)… and considering the uncertainty surrounding Nwosu in 2024, would be nice to know what you’re thoughts are.

    But hard to watch his highlights coming from a small program (but testing/size looks very similar to Nwosu).

    If you’re looking for some time to burn… thanks!

  48. Mick

    New Dline signing, Mario Edwards. Coming off average years at most, so I hope they know what they’re doing.

  49. Rob Staton

    Just about to record an interview with Jim Nagy

    Dropping on Friday

    • cha

      His comments on Will Levis now seem prescient.

      • BK26

        I’d be curious to know what he thinks of next year’s quarterbacks and what it means for Seattle.

  50. samprassultanofswat

    Why are the Seahawks signing Mario Edwards Jr. Their biggest need is DT. Not Defensvie End.

    Check out his stats. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EdwaMa01.htm Like I said the Seahawks need a defensive tackle . Not a defensive End.

    This move is a head scratcher,

    • Hoggs41

      Edwards is a very solid run defernder who really plays bigger than he is. Personally I love the signing.

      • samprassultanofswat

        “Edwards is a very solid run defernder who really plays bigger than he is. Personally I love the signing.”

        Hoggs: I hope you are right.

    • Ashish

      True, looks like they are happy with Young rookie and Myles Adams. Bryan Mone health is big question mark unless they have positive health update on him.

  51. cha

    Tom Pelissero
    @TomPelissero
    The #Seahawks signed first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba, per source.
    1:38 PM · May 11, 2023

  52. Gaux Hawks

    Updated Defensive Depth Chart:

    DE: Dre’Mont Jones, Mario Edwards
    NT: Cameron Young, Robert Cooper
    DT: Jarran Reed, Mike Morris
    LEO: Darrell Taylor, Boye Mafe
    SAM: Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall
    MIKE: Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks
    WILL: Devin Bush, Vi Jones
    RCB: Tariq Woolen, Mike Jackson
    LCB: Devon Witherspoon, Tre Brown
    DB: Coby Bryant, Jerrick Reed
    FS: Quandre Diggs, Joey Blount
    SS: Julian Love, Jamal Adams

    • Ashish

      DT – Myles Adams did very well in pre-season and good in regular.

    • Fudwamper

      I really like this signing. I think it is a good run stuffing pick up that gives us enough depth for a versatile 3-4/4-3 looks. We now have good Leo concept players, good 3-4 looks, and good 4-3 over run stopping looks.

  53. geoff u

    JSN always looked familiar to me, and then I realized he looks a lot like Christopher Reid from Kid and Play back in the day. Now I want him to grow his hair up into a high-top fade.

  54. Palatypus

    Well, the annual schedule release prank video on this rookies is up at .com

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