Seahawks will find O-line options so appealing

Rob Crisp — seriously underrated

What do the Seahawks want in an offensive lineman? It’s a tough one. They’ve pretty much gone after everything since Tom Cable arrived in Seattle:

— The converted defensive lineman, brimming with athleticism (Sweezy)
— The every-man, blue collar ‘no thrills’ type (Moffitt)
— A hulking, massive run blocker with length and power (Carpenter)
— The street fighter with a wrestling background, full of potential but raw (Britt)

We do know they like tackle converts or at least players with experience playing multiple positions. Size and length is attractive but not exclusive. There seems to be a lot more wiggle room on the O-line than other positions.

Cable picks his guys and uses a broad canvas.

I do think they maintain certain ideals, however. They run a zone blocking scheme with a power element, meaning size is as important as mobility. It’s not a small O-line like you traditionally see in the ZBS. Across the NFL teams are searching for athletic linemen to counter the influx of incredible athletes playing defense in college.

Seattle needs to fill two holes at center and left guard. I suspect it’d be counterproductive to move Britt inside. You’d be adding to the upheaval. Instead of two changes to the O-line you’ve got three. If Britt doesn’t work out at guard you wasted a year of development at right tackle and run the risk of a musical-chairs situation up front.

Draft a guard. Draft a center. Get to work.

The options in this draft class practically encourage that sentiment.

You can pinpoint an appealing prospect with every Seahawks pick between rounds 2-5. We’re talking possible week one starters too. After all, Seattle started J.R. Sweezy as a 7th round rookie project in 2012. That didn’t end well but no rookie drafted in this class is likely to face the same level of adjustment (switching from defense to offense in a matter of weeks).

At #63 I still believe Colorado State’s Ty Sambrailo makes a ton of sense. When I spoke to Tony Pauline last week he insisted he won’t be available in round three and would provide terrific value in the late second. For me he’s a plug-in-and-play guard for this scheme. He has the size to fill Carpenter’s massive void, the mobility for the ZBS and the desire to get to the second level. He’s not the finished article but he has as much upside for this scheme as anyone in the draft. I suspect the Seahawks like prospects that aren’t considered the finished article — they want room to grow and develop within their setup. Sambrailo fits the bill as an athletic tackle convert.

Guard and center are the biggest needs right now — but that doesn’t mean the Seahawks have to go that way with their first pick. I suspect they’ll be enamored with receiver Tyler Lockett. He’s a gritty character guy with superb playmaking ability. He just knows how to get open, consistently makes big plays and has underrated lower body power and spirit. He’s also a week one punt/kick returner — carrying added value. If he’s there at #63 he might be difficult to pass up. That puts the O-line focus on the middle rounds.

I think the Seahawks would be quite comfortable in that scenario. Lockett is a terrific player with instant impact potential in the return game. The Seahawks have gone early and often on the O-line since 2012 and yet their biggest success story so far is the 7th rounder spent on Sweezy. A cluster of athletic scheme fits in the mid-to-late rounds open up the possibility of passing on a Sambrailo (for example) at #63, even if it’s an attractive option at the biggest need position.

This piece by Zach Whitman for Rotoworld highlights the more athletic linemen in the draft. You can see some familiar names on his list.

Ali Marpet is, according to Whitman, the most dynamic athlete among offensive linemen in the 2015 draft. He notes: “If a player is in the 50th percentile, they rate as a perfectly average NFL athlete.” Marpet is in the 96th percentile. He might be raw and untested against top-level college opponents — but he’s a heck of a ball of clay ready to mold. He’s also an ascending talent. The small-school aspect will be off-putting to some and for that reason he maybe lasts a little longer than he should. It equally won’t be a shock if he goes in round two.

Almost every week we learn something new and interesting about the guy. Today it’s this: “Ali’’s father, Bill, is an Emmy-winning director and cinematographer who is considered the leading producer of fashion videos in New York.”

Who knew?

It might be unlikely, but a double dip of Sambrailo and Marpet would offer a real injection of upside, size and athleticism to Seattle’s interior line. You’d be looking at the most athletic interior in the NFL when you throw Sweezy into the mix.

As you run down Whitman’s list you notice Laurence Gibson at #4 — a legit later round option. He has one year of tackle experience at Virginia Tech but exploded at the combine with size, length and athleticism. He’s one to watch for sure as a tackle project — especially if Seattle has to consider moving on from Russell Okung in the future.

Rob Crisp is a little further down — a player we’ve talked about a lot since the start of the college season. He’s enormous in terms of length and he’s a plus athlete. For me there’s no reason to think he can’t play left tackle at the next level. He shut down Vic Beasley in a way nobody else did in college football. He’s a tremendous, highly underrated prospect.

San Diego State’s Terry Poole tests well and has genuine guard/center size with tackle experience in college (boxes ticked). He’s big but has a nice squat frame. You could easily see him enjoying a long career at guard.

Mitch Morse is number five on Whitman’s list. A close friend of Justin Britt, Morse is highly athletic and also has experience at tackle. He has identical size to Max Unger and could kick inside to play center as a fourth round project. Stranger things have happened. He’d also make a nice option at guard.

We ran through some of the center prospects the other day. The options are deep and rich:

B.J. Finney — really solid if unspectacular, has the wrestling background Tom Cable likes
Andy Gallik — superb second level blocker, street fighter, lacks ideal size
Hroniss Grasu — ideal zone blocker, big time leader and technician
Shaq Mason — drive blocker although hard to project working in the triple option
Max Garcia — some don’t like him but I do as a project, did well at Senior Bowl, hit and miss and not the most mobile.

You could realistically get Finney, Gallik or Grasu in the middle rounds, with Mason and Garcia available later on. There’s really no reason why any of the first three names cannot start in 2015.

Filling spots on the O-line with cheap rookies will be vital as the team manages it’s cap situation and begins to pay more of the storied veterans. You could be paying a second, third or fourth round salary to a starter for the next four years. That’s big.

It’s probably one of the main reasons the Seahawks are busy adding veteran defensive line depth having already added Cary Williams and Will Blackmon to the secondary. The best depth and value in rounds 2-5 is going to come on the O-line and at wide receiver. Getting five players at both positions in the middle rounds shouldn’t be ruled out. They’ve got the picks.

Quite frankly if they can’t find a couple of guys to fill these two most pressing needs on the O-line, it’ll be an upset. The sheer depth of options and the vast quantity of picks equates to a perfect storm. They select four times between the end of the third and the close of the fourth. Even if neither hole at guard or center is filled at #63 because they’ve taken a prospect like Lockett, they’ll still have many opportunities to feel very good about the situation up front.

Meanwhile, it’s only a small update — but we’ll take it. Jim Thomas from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch isn’t expecting any imminent news on Stefen Wisniewski.

And finally — the compensatory picks were announced today. Seattle received the four we expected. However, Breno Giacomini only netted a 6th rounder and not the projected 5th rounder. It means they gain one extra fourth, a fifth and two sixth’s — taking the overall total to eleven picks:

1st round — Jimmy Graham
2nd round — original pick
3rd round — original pick
4th round — from New Orleans (Unger)
4th round — original pick
4th round — compensatory pick
5th round — original pick
5th round — compensatory pick
6th round — from New York Jets (Harvin)
6th round — Marcus Burley
6th round — compensatory pick
6th round — compensatory pick
7th round — original pick

167 Comments

  1. Lenny206

    Any word on the Comp picks for 2015?

    • Rob Staton

      One fourth, one fifth, two sixth’s.

      • Lenny206

        which leave us with what total for each rd?

        • Rob Staton

          I’ve just updated the blog post following the announcement. You can see the full list of Seattle’s picks in each round.

          • Ho Lee Chit

            You need to remove the 6th for Burley. There are 13 listed including Graham.

            • williambryan

              It’s listing them as they were used.

              • Jake

                So we traded Burley for Harvin and moved up in the round (in essence). Talent-wise – damn that hurts (of course talent only matters if he’s willing to play when you need him to). But, Burley has the inside track on being the starting nickel corner, so getting a defensive “starter” in return for Harvin is pretty awesome actually.

      • Willy Istvan

        Rob, Just wanted to point out: Nick at Overthecap has done has done his evaluation for the Compensatory Picks, and he now thinks that the Hawks didn’t get Giacomini’s pick lowered from a 5th rounder to a 6th. Giacomini played almost 100% of the snaps. Nick is now pretty sure that it was lowered because of Browner; probably having to do with his 4 game suspension, and then not playing until like Week 7. My suspicion is that Nick is right about this. You can see his evaluation here:

        http://overthecap.com/evaluation-of-the-2015-compensatory-draft-picks-projection-part-1/

        • Rob Staton

          Very interesting. Thanks for passing that on.

          • Volume 12

            It would appear to me by looking at the comp picks handed out this year, that the years signed might be the biggest factor in equating what round they give you a comp pick.

  2. Jon

    Seahawks got a 4th, 5th and 2 6th round picks for their comps. I thought they would get two 5ths

    • Jon

      I would be happy if we Got Sambrailo, Marpet and Crisp in rounds 2, 3, 5 respectively. That would leave 3 fourth round picks a 5th, 3 6s, and a 7 to get a WR/PR/KR, a CB, a Safety, and anything else one could wish for.

    • Ross

      Projections had Seattle getting a fourth for Golden Tate, a fifth each for Brandon Browner and Breno Giacomini, and a sixth for Clinton McDonald. Looking at the official list, the NFL seemed to count Anthony Collins and Mike Mitchell for the Bengals and Panthers above Browner; which moved that pick down, and counted a whole bunch of guys with similar contracts to Breno above him for some reason, which moved that pick down into the sixth. Why, I don’t know. It looks like Golden Tate’s pro-bowl berth made him more valuable than Arthur Jones, so it’s not all about average salary.

      Still, three fourths and two fifths isn’t too shabby.

  3. ontoic

    Rob,

    How many picks can you spend on the offensive line without hampering the development at other positions? I would be hard pressed to pass up on repairing the offensive line, even to the detriment of picking the best player available. Still, I am torn about the draft because I wonder whether Cable is really the right person to evaluate line talent.

    It seems like we exalt Cable as a line coach, without any regard for the fact that he hasn’t really forged a line commensurate the praise heaped upon him. I get that we’ve put up great rushing numbers, but Marshawn does so much of it after first contact. I acknowledge this is really my subjective opinion; and I suspect other contributors will come up with an objective defense of Cable.

    Should we have someone else choose the linemen and let Cable coach them? What’s the “over/under” for the number of O-linemen we acquire in the draft?

    • Miles

      The way fans evaluate the running game now is the same way it was evaluated in 2005 but flipped. It used to be that people didn’t think Shaun Alexander was a good RB because he had such a good o-line. Now, people think the o-line is no good because they have such a good RB. I think that it’s hard to justify this argument on either side of the coin. Certainly Alexander benefitted from Hutch and Big Walt, and the current O-line benefits from Marshawn. But you certainly can’t say that the elite running game is all Marshawn. It takes great linemen to open the holes they are supposed to open so he can run through them.

      There were a few articles on Field Gulls last year that broke down Seahawks running plays. And when you watch them, you can see how good our run blocking is when it is clicking. It’s worth the watch.

      I don’t think the Seahawks will ever be known for having pro bowl linemen because that’s not really what it’s about. It’s not flashy. It’s just a bunch of maulers who take out linebackers and yeah, they stumble in pass protection quite frequently. But you have to take the good with the bad. This FO doesn’t believe in investing lots of dollars on the o-line. They believe in investing that money in playmakers. They believe they can develop good talent on the o-line. I think it’s hard not to believe them because they took a DT and made him a player who is probably our best o-lineman right now. Did you hear what I said? OUR BEST LINEMAN IS A D-TACKLE!

      Someone could take that last sentence I said and make it an indictment on the current o-line. How can our best o-lineman be a DT? We have no one better than that? I just think the Seahawks have a solid plan with the O-line. They would love to go get great, technically sound linemen that can keep the pocket clean. But are they going to go spend lots of money to get it? Definitely no. Instead, they’re going to draft their guys, and invest their money wisely on high quality difference-makers.

      • ontoic

        Good points, Miles. I guess I wonder what the next step is. I think of my golf game and when I reached an 11 handicap, I thought I was ready for a breakthrough. I changed a few things that people told me were holding me back; and next thing I knew, I was an 18 handicap. There are aspects of the line that impress, and some that disappoint. I wonder if changing things will cause a short-term regression rather than an improvement.

        Have we plateaued under Cable? I want more pass protection for Russell Wilson to develop as a passer, but I still want our linemen to be maulers who open room for Marshawn to do his thing.

        We’re a superbowl team, but our line seems to be dominated at times. What would Marshawn have done with the line in front of Alexander? I dunno, Miles. Your observations are really well-taken. I still “think” that Marshawn would have been even more dominant with that line.

        • CHawk Talker Eric

          It’s fair to criticize the OL for poor pass pro at times, but don’t forget to credit the competition SEA faces twice each season in the NFCw – guys like Quinn, Donald, Campbell, ASmith – not to mention around the League. Pro bowlers who rack up sacks against the best OLs.

          I agree wholeheartedly that SEA’s OL needs to improve their pass pro. But that takes chemistry/continuity as much as talent, so even if they come away from the draft with a couple of promising prospects, it might be too much to expect a major improvement right off the bat.

          Fortunately, now that Bevell has Graham to keep defenses from loading the box, I expect him to dial up the play action passing game, which in and of itself should ease the pressure on RW on passing plays.

      • arias

        “It used to be that people didn’t think Shaun Alexander was a good RB because he had such a good o-line. Now, people think the o-line is no good because they have such a good RB. I think that it’s hard to justify this argument on either side of the coin.”

        I don’t think that’s the case at all. I assume you’re referring just to Seahawks fans because that’s the only way that how you characterized how ‘fans’ think makes any sense. But I don’t think that’s it either. They look at their running styles. Alexander was big on avoiding contact and running to the open space. You would never see him put his head down and fight for extra yards. He’d sooner run out of bounds or go down before the 1st down marker. He’d go down on first contact.

        He’s like the inverse opposite of Lynch who will welcome contact and break tackles like it’s no one’s business. Lynch fights for the extra yards.

        It’s not wrong to think that Alexander would have far less success behind this offensive line than he did running behind Hutch and Jones. Because let’s face it, he would. He wasn’t a runner who’d survive the first contact. Nor is it wrong to speculate Lynch would have more success than he does now running behind Jones and Hutch. This is just fact. Those two are Hall of Fame offensive lineman. The current line doesn’t have any of those. I don’t think you can blame the fans for thinking the way they do. It’s not hypocritical. It’s consistent, based on the types of runner each running back was.

        • Radman

          His point that Alexander gets downgraded from the elite runner that he was is a good one. Yes, he wasn’t a power back. But he was as shifty and explosive as they come in the league, and he was a legit MVP player. You can’t take that away from him no matter how great his offensive line was, and Seahawks fans seem to routinely do so. I think it’s a disservice to him and the team. He was a great player.

          • Jake

            I agree with Radman, it’s about style and appearance more than anything. There’s no denying that the 2005 offensive line as a whole was great, but Chris Gray and Sean Locklear were not great players, they were average at best. The left side was HOF worthy and Robbie Tobeck was a top-5 Center in his day, but Alexander did a lot of damage after contact as well. He was a tough runner in the hole and in the middle of the field and he was hard to bring down because he never gave a tackler a clean angle. He didn’t plow over people like Beast Mode does, he broke tackles by avoiding clean hits. Sure, he stepped out of bounds instead of fighting for the extra yard, but NO ONE has ever fought for a TD the way Alexander did – Beast Mode included.

            • arias

              True he did have a nose for the end zone. I’ll give him that because he did seem to kick it up a notch whenever he got close. What I do remember is that he was a great runner in open space and had great vision. I don’t remember him doing damage after contact.

    • Rob Staton

      I think Cable has done a fantastic job personally. The problem is, line play is never perfect. You’ll get a lot of negative plays in a game — and that includes blocking for the pass and run. The defense are going to win their battles. Those moments where a player is dumped in the backfield for a loss or a sequence where the run gets stuffed tend to linger a little more than the intricacy of a pulling guard clearing a lane for one big play — especially when the RB takes a lot of the credit. Sweezy in particular just continues to shine in the run game. The whole line in fairness has played excellently against the run and done their best (IMO) to block for the hardest QB in the league to protect.

      For me you can easily take four O-liners from this class. A guard and center to start, a tackle project and one other.

      • CC

        Taking 3 maybe 4 O line guys is highly likely unless Wis signs on. Odd as it seems a bit for me, with 11 picks I could see 3 O line, 2 WR and possibly a back up QB on offense. I don’t see a RB or TE worth drafting – pick up some UDFA guys for depth there.

        Then you can go DT; DE; LB; safety and CB – with one pick to do whatever with (maybe another DT?)

        • peter

          You see a QB worthy of a pick? I’m not sure even Blake Sims gets a pick

          • Jake

            I like the kid from Nevada, Cody Fajardo, a ton. I’m an Alabama fan and it was a lot of fun watching Blake Sims and the Tide this year, but he is no Wilson. He has arm talent, but he isn’t accurate enough nor does he seem to have the command that Wilson does. I hope he proves me wrong, but Blake Sims looks more like a shorter Vince Young than he does Russell Wilson.

          • CC

            I don’t – but could see them using a pick if Tjack doesn’t resign at the minimum

            • peter

              I see udfa’s and maybe just maybe that comp 6th so far. Jake I like that guy from Nevada as well.

              • peter

                Sims would be fine for me and I also like Shane carter out of ECU though I think he goes to a more needy team

      • ontoic

        You identified an interesting question regarding Russell Wilson, Rob. I had thought about this before and still am perplexed by the question.

        In my opinion, Russell Wilson presents a serious “chicken or egg” question: Does Russell’s scrambling ability (and tendency to improvise) create the problems for the offensive line; or does the line’s deficiency create the need for Russell’s scrambling and improvisation?

        It is my opinion that Seahawks fans’ love for Russell’s intangibles and charisma, in my opinion, causes them to overlook the stress he puts on an offensive line. Would our offensive line be better pass protectors if we had a plodding statuesque passer like Tom Brady? I believe the answer is “undoubtedly.” They would know where the pocket would be.

        Great discussion.

        • ontoic

          “in my opinion” x2!!! Don’t contribute to a discussion when you’re drinking with friends!

        • williambryan

          There’s been too many times when Carpenter, Sweezy, and Britt were straight pancaked last season to consider giving much blame to Russell Wilson. And I think that a lot of the sacks that wilson takes can actually be attributed to Coach Carroll who wants to avoid turnovers more than anything.

          • Radman

            I agree with this. They are a fantastic run blocking line, on the whole. But their pass blocking is quite poor. And there were occasions of straight whiffs on Sweezy, Britt, and Carp’s part that I just haven’t seen very often in the NFL. You take the good and the bad, but this team is darn lucky RW is about as hard to hit as anyone who’s ever played the position.

            • AlaskaHawk

              Yes, too many times an offensive linemen ended up on his butt. Also a good share of missed assignments when the defense stunted. Britt really needs to work on his outside blocking. There were at least two games where the defensive ends were able to run by him untouched.

              I think we are putting too much emphasis on how hard it is to block when RW scambles. These scrambles are either planned, based on how the defensive end moves. Or they are unplanned and happen because he is flushed out of the pocket. If planned the blocking is pretty much the same. If unplanned someone has already missed their block or RW is holding onto the ball to long.

          • joel

            Wilson and the O line are equally guilty. There were numerous pass plays Iast season where Wilson simply started scrambling before the pocket collapsed. It’s impossible to know exactly what he was reacting to but it’s going to be hard for any line to reliably protect the passer if they can’t rely on the passer to maintain the pocket. The Seahawks heavily emphasize ball control too, and when Wilson has had a good pocket he has tended to hold the ball for ridiculous lengths of time. He doesn’t want to throw an Int, but he doesn’t want to throw it away either. Sometimes this allows Wilson to let a play develop and create those explosive plays the Seahawks are fond of, sometimes it leads to a sack or forces Wilson to scramble to the sidelines. Either way, Wilson holding the ball forces the O line to protect longer, which is going to tire them out.

            The Seahawks O line does not always protect Wilson, but sometimes they do an admirable job in spite of the Seahawks passing game failing to connect. That’s equally on Wilson and the receivers. Sometimes he fails to see open receivers or doesn’t trust the separation, sometimes the receivers fail to get open.

      • Stuart

        Totally agree!

    • Coug1990

      Let me let you ponder this question. If it were only Marshawn, why was he such a mediocre RB in Buffalo? Why wasn’t he running over everyone there?

      • ontoic

        Coug1990,

        As a University of Washington alumnus, I’ll not resort to intrastate personal attacks! My remark obviously assumes that your screen name has to do with the Washington State University Cougars rather than the myriad other “cougar” schools. Regardless of the college rivalry, your comment is provocative but seems to assume that Lynch was mediocre in Buffalo. I wonder if he wasn’t the highlight of a very mediocre team.

        In Buffalo, if you look at Lynch’s career stats, he played in slightly fewer games and put up fairly comparable statistics. Are his numbers better with Seattle? Yes. Seattle was, quite simply, a better team than Buffalo. I think Buffalo dropped him over the off-the-field issues rather than his production.

        Anyone know when statisticians started tracking “yards after contact”? I am curious how Marshawn’s Yards After Contact with Buffalo stacks up against his Yards After Contact with Seattle.

        My suspicion is that Buffalo saw a chance to get some value from the sinking ship that was Marshawn Lynch. A bad team like Buffalo couldn’t manage the negative PR for Lynch’s off-field issues.. Seattle swooped in and allowed Marshawn to flourish in a coaching environment that valued him for his strengths as much for each and every idiosyncrasy. .

        • Coug1990

          Yes, I did graduate from WSU in 1990. I don’t know what myself having attended WSU has anything to do with this subject, but OK. Congratulations on also graduation from one of our states great universities. We are all Seahawk fans here.

          24 year old running backs that should be heading into the prime of their careers are not traded. Marshawn dealt with injuries and off field problems in Buffalo. Buffalo got a 4th and a 5th round pick for Marshawn from the Seahawks. Lynch also shared time at running back with Fred Jackson.

          I think you also should take another look at Marshawns statistics. He had less yards in three years and four games than Lynch had in his first two full seasons in Seattle. Lynch also did not have the yards per carry that he had in Seattle.

          Regarding his off field transgressions, if every team got rid of players with off field transgressions, there might not be enough players to field a team. We also know teams will bend over backwards for players they think will help them win games.

          Again, if it were just Lynch breaking tackles, it would not matter how good the line was in Buffalo or Seattle. Lynch is a fantastic back, but to think the line has little to do with his success is wrong. Look at what Cable his done. His first year in the NFL was 2006 as the OL coach for the Falcons. The Falcons led the NFL in rushing by almost 400 yards. The next year he goes to the Raiders. In 2006 (the year before Cable) the Raiders finished 29th in the NFL in rushing. His first year as OL coach, they finished 6th.

          The year before Cable (PC/JS first year), Seattle finished 31st in rushing yards. His first year Seattle improved to 21s, then 3rd in his second year. I don’t believe in coincidences. Cable has shown an ability to get his teams to run well.

          • ontoic

            Coug,

            You have my apologies. I was trying to be jokingly familiar with a fellow Washingtonian. I’ll step back from that approach and say that I am grateful that another contributor more succinctly and intelligently made my point.

            Lynch was not mediocre in Buffalo.

            • Coug1990

              Marshawn is one of the most talented running backs in the NFL. He was talented when he was in Buffalo. Yet, for whatever reason, he was not great there. Lucky for us here in Seattle, he wasn’t or Buffalo would not have let him go. I am not sure what is so difficult with that thought.

          • arias

            I think your argument that he was a “mediocre back” whose play was significantly worse in Buffalo is weak and full of holes. He had one sub par season of three full seasons. His stats in the other two seasons were not significantly worse.

            “24 year old running backs that should be heading into the prime of their careers are not traded.”

            This is a poor argument to use to try and claim he was a “mediocre back”. Eric Dickerson was traded after his 4th season in the league after leading the league in rushing in 3 of those first 4 years including the 2nd ever 2000+ yard season and he’s one of the greatest backs of all time. Teams do trade players when there’s a falling out between management, even Hall of Fame players, when there’s irreconcilable differences. Lynch had some problems with getting arrested, the Bills thought he was more trouble than he was worth and were concerned about his associates and possible ties to gangs, and his play declined the year he had legal issues. They decided to cut bait. That doesn’t prove he was a mediocre back when the two years prior he had 1k+ yard rushing seasons, averaged at least 4 yards a carry, and made a pro bowl.

            • Cysco

              Coug’s point was that Lynch wasn’t setting the league on fire in Buffalo. You can’t say that his success in seattle is because of his talent solely. Give our offensive line and Cable some credit.

              • manthony

                Which members of the oline shall recieve credit? Tyler Polumbus? Carpenter? McQuistian? Breno? Moffit? Unger? Okung? Unger and Okung both made 1 pro bowl each, but besides that hes ran behind some piss poor talent on the oline. Cable deserves credit for what hes done, and Marshawn Lynch aka usually our only Offensive weapon, deserves the rest. He is our running game, id like to see Turbo or Cmike try to do what shawn’s done for the last three years behind this line. The incredible effort Marshawn displays is pretty obvious if you watch the games, once he breaks 1 tackle, then hes the one making that play what it is, the plays he breaks multiple tackles, hes obviously the xfactor.

              • arias

                Coug asserted that Lynch was a “mediocre back” in Buffalo as a way of contrasting his superstar RB status now in order to credit Cable for his transformation. It was a ridiculously flawed argument that deserved to be called out which is what I did.

                When a RB leads the league in yards gained after broken tackles is that success because of the offensive line coach? Nope, not one bit. That’s all Marshawn.

                • Coug1990

                  Arias, no. This is not what I was saying at all. It is only one part of the equation.

      • arias

        Sorry but I see nothing about Lynch’s play in Buffalo that would make you consider him “mediocre”.

        • Coug1990

          Sorry, but he shared time in Buffalo with another RB. Franchise RB’s don’t share time. In 2008, he averaged 69.1 ypg, in 2009 34.6 ypg and 2010 41 ypg.

          • arias

            Wait, you’re talking about ONE season of the three full seasons he played where he “shared time” in Buffalo as justification for calling him “mediocre”? That’s a real stretch dude. Most of the time he played there he did not “share time”.

            Ever consider that an injury that caused him to miss 3 games that year is what could have limited his production in the 9.1 carries per game that he did play?

            Pointing to one season of sharing time to label him a “mediocre back” in Buffalo is pretty absurd, especially seeing how he was selected to the pro bowl the season just before.

            • Coug1990

              Ok, tell me what he was and why? Why was Buffalo so ready to get rid of him? Why weren’t teams lined up to acquire a 24 year old obviously franchise back? Do you think if he stayed in Buffalo and put of similar numbers as his first four years, would there still be a discussion of him for the HOF?

              • Coug1990

                I guess I should add that Fred Jackson won the starting job over Marshawn Lynch late in the 2009 season which continued into the 2010 season. Again, he is not what you think he was in Buffalo.

                • arias

                  Like I said, he had one sub par year in Buffalo the year he had his legal issues and his fights with management came to a head. You haven’t made a compelling case that he was sub par in any year but that one because you can’t. It’s pretty hard to argue with the numbers or the facts. It was ridiculous in the first place to call him a “mediocre back” while with Buffalo. Like I said, he was a pro bowl selection the year before.

                  • Coug1990

                    Arias, he was having two subpar years in Buffalo, but he was traded in the middle of his second subpar year. His rookie year, he was 11th in rushing yards. His second year he was tied for 13th. His third year he was 45th.

                    I love Marshawn Lynch, he was the first jersey I bought of the current players. But, I don’t have to puff him up more than he was before he got to Seattle. He was fabulously talented when he was in Buffalo. Yet, it did not always transfer to the field. It is great that he was mediocre in Buffalo or else he would not be a Seahawk today.

              • arias

                Like I said in my post above, because had issues getting arrested once for a hit and run and another time for a weapons charge and there were concerns about his associates and possible ties to gangs. He got a lot of bad pub in Buffalo.

                That doesn’t prove he was ‘mediocre’ running back. It proves he had a falling out with management there.

                There were teams lined up. Not just Seattle but Green Bay was interested as well. But there were character red flags. Ever heard of those? Some teams didn’t want to get anywhere close to a back that was rumored to have gang ties. But the teams in the know like Schneider and Ted Thompson knew he was a great back.

                Again your argument is weak.

                • Coug1990

                  Seriously? Baltimore was ready to keep playing Ray Rice until the video came out. They did nothing about Ray Lewis. The Panthers didn’t want to suspend Hardy until the were forced to. Dallas had no problems signing him. lWhen the first reports came out against Ray McDonald, the 49ers yawned. That is not even going into Aldon Smith and the appeasing they did with him. The Seahawks have signed players who committed domestic violence. Heck, the analyst also is a domestic abuser. I could go on and on and on. If a player is productive, a team will keep him. Lynch has been a headache with Seattle. But, he is productive, so the Seahawks put up with it. So, do not give me character…

                  Again, was he on a path to the HOF in Buffalo? One Pro Bowl in four years?

                  • arias

                    And like I said, there were teams that wanted him too. Claiming no teams wanted him and the Seahawks grabbed him off the scrap heap is just patently false. You’re making stuff up now to support your weak argument.

                  • arias

                    And again, now it’s pretty funny watching you try and shift your argument and make stuff up. It was’t 4 years. It was 3 full seasons. Not 4 years.

                    And who said anything about the Hall of Fame? You were the one that made the ridiculous assertion that he was a mediocre back in Buffalo, which is just so laughably false that I find it pretty remarkable.

          • arias

            One more thing. Yards per Game is a pretty weak metric and doesn’t prove anything. It gives no idea as to how many attempts he had in those games to achieve those yards.

            In 2008 he averaged 4.1 yards per attempt. Sorry but that’s not mediocre.

            • Coug1990

              What about 2007 where he averaged 4.0? Or 2009 where he averaged 3.8? Or 2010 and 3.6 combined? Cherry picking one year does not make an argument.

              • Coug1990

                Oh, I guess I should add the back that Marshawn shared time with for really three years, not one averaged during those four years 5.2 ypc, 4.4, 4.5 and 4.2. Each one better than Marshawn ever did in Buffalo during the same seasons.

                Marshawn did not take off until he came to Seattle.

                • Radman

                  And he didn’t take off right off the bat, either. He had to learn the system.

                  I think everyone is correct in this sub thread. He got his head on straight, he was used more appropriately in a system that suits him, he had a better line, a better team, was trusted with the starting job, and got more playing time. And, as we know from watching him, this makes him get better.

                  • Coug1990

                    Yes, this is correct and Tom Cable has a lot to do with this. The offensive line has a lot to do with this. Yet, some people want to only give credit to Marshawn.

                  • Curt

                    Agree: If I remember right he was doing a lot of dancing behind the line instead of cut and run. He took off when he finally got Cable’s system.

                • arias

                  What I see you doing is putting a lot of effort trying to give Cable more success than he deserves by calling Marshawn a “mediocre” back in Buffalo and then cherry picking ONE season in Buffalo to try to make such a weak point.

                  Then I see you trying to use REALLY lame arguments like how the team tried to trade him as if that in itself proves anything when it doesn’t. Again … see Eric Dickerson.

                  Now, I see Radman pointing out that Marshawn came to a better team and better environment, he got his head screwed on straight and was motivated to play again and wanted to play hard for his new team, had a better line, more playing time, and over the course of a season got better presumably after learning how to make the ZBS work for him.

                  Cable’s line was one component of many factors in his improved play. But he still had to put the work in and learn it, he didn’t pick it up the first season he was here. Yet, you want to give Cable “a lot” of credit for his success.

                  Sorry, Marshawn was a very capable back before he got here and it was his improved motivation and efforts to stay out of trouble and stay distraction free and play hard for a team he wanted to play for that contributed to his success. Cable is only one of a number of elements that played into that. Deliberately trying to over credit Cable for it is not persuasive.

                  • manthony

                    Thank you arias for standing up for marshawn. Marshawn also has said he was uncomfortable in buffalo, not used to the cold, and a players mental well being is as much of a factor in this convo as YPC.

                  • arias

                    Totally agree manthony. I remember that too, and I think he felt much more comfortable coming back to the west coast and being just a few hour flight from home in Oakland. He also took a daily beating from the press/public after his brushes with the law that down year that obviously affected him so much he refuses to speak to them anymore. It was clearly affected his play there.

                  • Coug1990

                    No, I see you flat out lying about what I am saying. I have asked you several question and you have never answered one.

              • arias

                FYI: 4 yards and above is considered a decent average in the NFL. So pointing to 4 YPC just reinforces how he wasn’t mediocre in 2007.

                And pointing to 2010 is pretty funny since it also contradicts your argument. He had a 4.4 YPC in his 4 games in Buffalo. In Seattle he had a 3.5 YPC. In other words, in 2010 during the 3/4 of the season he played in Seattle he was a worse than he ever was during his time in Buffalo.

                You’re clearly the one cherry picking here trying to use weak metrics like YPG as if it proves anything. Looking at the complete picture your cherry picking becomes just more obvious and starts working against you like you’re trying to do here. You could do the smart thing and admit that you’re on the losing side of a really weak argument before digging yourself in further.

                • Coug1990

                  Are you seriously making an argument about his 37 attempts in four games? I am done with you and your condescending attitude. Believe what you want. When people don’t have an argument, attack the person. That is what you have done.

                  Anyway, I am going to bed.

                  • arias

                    wh0a man, are you seriously that poor of a loser? I never ONCE attacked you personally, I always kept things squarely on how weak the argument was that you were peddling of Marshawn being a “mediocre” back in Buffalo.

                    This is actually really funny. If you had a problem with the term “cherry picking” maybe you shouldn’t have been the one to start throwing the term around while doing that very thing yourself. I don’t really consider that a personal attack though. You brought up 2010 being a poor year, not me. When I called you out on the fact he spent 75% of his 2010 season in Seattle you throw a temper tantrum and bolt.

                    I was trying actually trying to give you a way to gracefully bow out of trying to defend such a poorly made argument that there was no way you’d be able to legitimately defend. I guess you don’t do graceful.

          • manthony

            Call marshawn mediocre again!!!! Mediocre running backs dont lead there teams to superbowls!!!!! Do you even watch football? Ive followed marshawn since call and hes never been mediocre! Idk, what point your trying to make

            • manthony

              Cal* lol coug1990, lets bash the franchise some more today when u get around to it smh

              • Coug1990

                Manthony, you have to remind me when Marshawn lead Buffalo to the Superbowl. I will be waiting a long time.

                • JunkFoodForThought

                  Yard Per Carry over Yard Per Game?

                  4.1 Average is Not Bad.

                  Seahawks have had a certain 3rd string RB with a career avg of 4.9 ypc.

                  Yet, doesn’t stop people marginalizing Christine Michael with a bust and mediocre label.

                  Facts are Lynch has only been average to good from 2007-2011 (1st Half) with flashes of greatness.

                  Lynch has been consistently good to great from 2nd Half of 2011 onward.

                  You go back to the 2011 narrative, and you might remember the turning point was Lynch having sort of a heart to heart with Cable. With Lynch asking what he has to do to be successful in Cable’s ZBS.

    • Robert

      If we took away RW’s gawdy rushing yards and reduced Lynch’s yards after contact to league average, we might have a more accurate view of how effective our OL really is in the run blocking department. But there are other factors such as other teams stuffing the box because our scheme and WR talent allow them to often get away with that gamble. Graham could really have a tremendous impact on our running game by making teams pay dearly if they dare to over commit to stuffing our running lanes with LB’s and SS near the LOS!

      • Old but Slow

        That is the hope, and I have expectations that our game planning will lean in that direction.

  4. DavHawk

    Rob,

    What are your thoughts on Cedric Ogbuehi if he were to slip to the late second or third round? I know he disappointed as a LT this year and thus people are down on him (including your earlier article) but that was assuming he’d be an early first round pick expected to play LT. At 6’5″, 306 lbs w/ 36″ arms, he supposedly ran a 4.76 40 at last years Texas A&M underclassmen combine. He fits the profile of the type of absurd athlete the Seahawks covet for Cable’s zone blocking scheme. Assuming he slips and the Hawks instead slotted him in as a RT or guard, positions where he was much more successful in college, it seems like he could be a steal. That of course with some upside down the road as a potential LT. Obviously the injury is a concern but I find him very intriguing and am curious to see your thoughts.

    • Rob Staton

      I like the idea of bringing him in based on the upside potential. However, I think they need an impact starter. Is he going to be healthy enough to play in 2015? That’s the big question.

      • hawkfaninMT

        I was thinking about him yesterday… Doing my mock I had the Hawks taking him no earlier than the first 4th rounder. i doubt he lasts that long, but before that is too big of a risk to me.

        At what point would you draft him Rob?

  5. GeoffU

    First two picks almost seem inevitable, a playmaking WR and OL. If it comes down to Lockett or Sambrailo, I think you gotta go with Lockett. He seems like the rarer talent. So many picks, draft is going to be exciting once the boring ol first day is over.

    • CC

      I like Lockette also – and mostly because of his KR/PR skills. There are O line guys that could be available in the 3rd.

    • Rik

      I’m still dreaming that Agholor will slip to #63. But I’d be happy with Lockette. Can’t help thinking that PCJS will pull a rabbit out of their respective hats and make me sit up and say “Holy smokes!” Why do I think they enjoy the surprised look on everyone’s faces when the Seahawks announce their draft picks?!

      • rowdy

        Agholor would be awesome at 63. J Collins just had foot surgery and would be a dream for him to slip that far.

        • CC

          Agholor has become one of my favorites – I just don’t see him slipping to 63

          • rowdy

            I agree, so will Collins. Rik said it would be a dream if it happened, I just added to the dream.

      • GeoffU

        To me, if a player like Agholor slips it’s a no-brainer. I would say there is a plethora of receivers in this area and there is a chance something like that happens. Gotta capitalize.

    • RealRhino2

      I could easily pass up Lockett. Not really a fan. I’m no expert, but he looked like he made too many catches with his body, didn’t high point the ball enough, etc. Worried that his speed may be wasted downfield. No for me, in the 2nd anyway. I’m not saying Sambrailo is the guy, but with the depth at OG/C types that should be available later, if no really good WR is on the board at #2 I wouldn’t mind a LT prospect like the guy from Penn St., Smith. Or Ogbuehi from Tx A&M. Think you can get WR/G in 3rd and 4th.

      • CHawk Talker Eric

        Agree on Lockett in R2. Much prefer McBride in R3 or Bell in R4 or Alford in R4/R5, not to mention Farmer and Harper later on.

        I really like the idea of taking Ogbuehi but only with one of the three R4’s. He’s as much a luxury pick for SEA in this draft as anyone else. A true R1 LT prospect to replace Okung whenever that may be.

        I still think 63 will come down to one of Grasu or Marpet (hoping it’s Marpet), unless that random BPA target is there – someone like Agholor or Diggy

        • rowdy

          I would take Mcbride over lockett in any round. I like all 4 you mentioned that you think would be there over them too.

    • rowdy

      The thing is, with the draft being so deep at those positions it could lead them to taking a defense player early because the drop off would be much more then wr/oline. Other then a major player falling the there should b a comparable player in the later rounds for oline and wr. The same probably won’t be true for the defensive players. Your probably right but picking at 63 there’s way to many variables especially with this team.

    • CharlieTheUnicorn

      I think it is VITAL to get the OL right. I would take a similarly graded C, OG or OT, than a WR.
      Big uglies will win in the long run.

      • Jake

        Hasn’t been that way so far under Carroll. He wanted good tackles (2x 1st round picks, 1x 2nd round pick), but interior OL has not been a big investment so far. Moffitt in the 3rd round was the highest interior OL pick. I think Tom Cable’s not impacting the salary cap is the primary reason he has the title “Assistant HC” and the highest salary of any assistant coach in Seattle. The team philosophy seems to favor the idea that his coaching ability allows them to save salary cap space on offensive linemen.

  6. Brandon

    I think 2nd round we should take a shot at Marpet. Seems like a hard working guy who wants to prove himself. Would love to get him in the 3rd round but I honestly think he’ll be gone by then. Many like him as a center but to me he looks more like a guard or maybe even OT. 3rd round I really like Grasu. He might be gone by then also but if he falls to there then I would love to draft him. He just reminds me of Unger so much. His leadership is definitely an upside and he seems very coachable. If not Grasu then Gallik or Finney are solid later round picks. Getting a returner with these first picks is another option, but I feel like there is more depth there than finding a day 1 offensive line starter. After those first picks, don’t think we need to think about another Oline till the 6th round. I actually feel pretty confident with the rest of our team. Get a returner and Oline for starting positions and find quality backups for everything else. For Oline, it may not be as bad as we thought. Alvin Bailey and Patrick Lewis are quality players imo. We brought in quality veterans to fill the holes left by free agents. We have a ton of draft picks and may trade for even more. Practice Squad and IR players ready to comeback and step up. I would say next preseason will be very exciting.

    • Ho Lee Chit

      I agree with Marpet. He is a unique athletic talent. He is both strong and mobile. I would lock him up as our Center of the future while starting him at OG. Pick up an OT later in the draft. The Centers will all be gone by the end of round 3.

    • CHawk Talker Eric

      Totally agree. Been saying I think it’ll come down to Marpet or Grasu @63 because:
      1. SEA needs interior OLers badly (particularly a C);
      2. Erving, Grasu and Marpet are the top 3 C prospects by a wide margin (size/speed/agility/intelligence) despite some fine mid round prospects;
      3. Erving will be the first C taken, most likely in late R1;
      4. Either Marpet or Grasu will be available at 63, but probably not both;
      5. Both Marpet and Grasu probably will be gone by 95.

      If SEA wants one of the top 3 C’s in this draft, they’ll need to do it at 63.

      • peter

        I’m not sure how marpet went from athletic guard at a d3 school to the center of the future.

        • peter

          Lets look at a bit of historical narrative shall we all on the Ali market train.

          Speculation is rampant on this site that he will definitely be gone by our third round pick.

          Ok, so Ali marpet is going to be picked higher as a project center then say Terron Armstead who went from tackle to tackle (college to pros) with no positional learning curve and bested marpet in every possible athletic category at the combine?

          Or he’s going to get picked near the same spot as a tackle from the SEC who had a good combine and was getting picked to play tackle in the pros. (Justin Britt)

          I like marpet but go look at all of Seattle picks under the current regime. Extreme athleticism or production often both at power five conferences get picked early. Developmental guys get picked late. For all the talk of developing players that actually doesn’t seem to happen much. Its more like solid coaching and letting players play to their strengths. Minus sweezy, one guy in the 7th athletic from a power conference. It seems that fans may have taken the hype of an unknown player and shot him into the early mid rounds where I see a guy whose hype just means he’s going from undrafted to picked in the 4-5 th round because the leap from Hobart to Aaron Donald of the rams could be pretty steep.

          • CHawk Talker Eric

            I’d appreciate less condescension in your reply peter. I’ll do my best to keep it out of mine to you.

            1. Armstead is a completely different player picked by a completely different team in a completely different draft to play a completely different position in a completely different offensive scheme. In other words, as 2nd year pro LT in NO’s pass-centric, power running game, Armstead makes a poor predictor of Marpet’s future potential at C in SEA’s zbs.

            2. Just because Marpet is an unknown player to some blogger named “peter” doesn’t mean he’s unknown. You too can do some research and make informed determinations.

            3. Fans don’t shoot prospects anywhere. Players are chosen when coaches and gms think they should. You must really think highly of yourself to suggest otherwise.

            Oh well I tried my best.

            • peter

              Whoa my man, seriously. Breaking down Seahawks historical draft patterns as to why I think across the board people rate a prospect higher then he realistically will go is condescension?

              Trying to source through past picks under Pete carrol and John Schneider and making a logical inference based on their picks and their overall preference for players from certain conferences vs. Players potential/small school prospects…..if it runs counterpoise to the current paradigm that’s condescending? The current paradigm that marpet is the best?

              Point three. My name is Peter quotes unnecessary.

              Point four. I actually dont think that highly of my ability to scout, nor anyone including Rob on this site. I’ve made jokes with/for Rob in the past that he’s the best scout ever for the AFC north.. And he is. Rob and many others yourself included have great ideas about where a players skills are. But in this case we disagree. But lets call a draft site what it is…its for fun.
              because if rob, v12, you, or myself knew any better wed be scouting for real and not here.

              Finally thanks. We’re basically back at the level and tone that was during the Wilson is the worst prospect ever/ matt Flynn is this teams saviour era. The real issue was that I hit reply to your post instead of starting a comment line myself. Sorry you got extremely offended. If you want to avoid condescension its probably best not to start with how your trying to not do it like it takes all your will power, then get into it in your 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, point….

              Rob, keep up the great work my man you’ve got the best site going for info and debate. I loom forward to draft day and your instant reactions are the best post game.

        • drewjov11

          He actually played left tackle in college.

          • peter

            Either way potatoe-orange. Marpet playing LT at Hobart is irrelevant to my concerns. Again I like Marpet quite a bit, but to lose a center of even ungers diminished capabilities and say here’s a guy who’s going to learn line calls and be the brains of the line is a valid concern. heck Unger who was a center had to spend a year as guard to figure it out. Being the center is just a bit more nuanced then LG.

            • drewjov11

              You can have the luxury of letting him play guard at first. You take talent and work-ethic above all else. Lewis may be a stop-gap, or he may develop into a good starter. In that event, Marpet becomes a really good guard, a position that many teams draft as high as the mid-first round.

              • peter

                Drew, irrelevant was the wrong word. You pose a good situation, and again I really like the prospect and think if his,work ethic pans out the sky could be the limit for him.

                • CHawk Talker Eric

                  This sounds entirely different than the perspective you shared with me above, when you questioned how Marpet went from D3 OG to SEA’s C of the future. If this is how you feel about Marpet – that the sky could be his limit – then we agree completely. Keeping in mind that no prospect is a sure thing, Marpet is as promising an interior OLer as any in this draft. We may disagree about when he should go, or whether SEA should try to get him.

                  All I’m suggesting is that Marpet won’t be available at 95. I think I even hedged it with a “probably”. Neither will Erving or Grasu. I mention those 2 specifically because if the target position is C, those 3 offer varying combinations of size/speed/agility/intelligence that SEA had in Unger. I’m not alone in this assessment, both on this site and in the broader Seahawk/NFL community, not only with respect to his potential, but also in which round he’s likely to go.

                  At any rate peter, I haven’t the slightest problem with the content of your replies or perspectives, nor do I take the least bit offense when someone disagrees with me.

                  What I don’t appreciate is the didactic tone imparted by terms like “shall we” or the “Ali Marpet train” or the superior attitude that reduces a broadly shared consensus to “speculation rampant on this site”.

                  • peter

                    Look two things one I will always play a devils advocate to every prospect because hype is a real thing but should for all prospects be a measured device to meter a prospects rise. And the subheading with that is sometimes I’m going to be a wiseass. Thus terms like “the marpet train,”…..which stems from being a guy not regarded in the slightest on say Walter football, here, or any where for that matter to having a good to great senior bowl. That’s a hype building regardless of term used.

                    Also I’m not trying to state any kind of superiority statement when I personally feel that 1. Marpet could be a good/great LG prospect 2. As much as I think its,strange that we dont consider him a LT prospect I find that equally strange that he’s considered a center prospect 3. Volume 12 beat me to it but there is real data that shows Seattle has a preference for the power five conferences when it comes to drafting oline men and that Scott in the 6th is the highest pick for olinemen not from a power conference. And 4. I’m all about eating a hat when marpet is the pick in the second or third round but there is also historical data that shows a willingness to draft guys from smaller schools…just later like the fifth round. That’s all I was trying to get at.

                • Volume 12

                  IDK, I’M kind of with Peter on this.

                  o remember somebody asking ‘why all the Tyler Lockett love? Is he even connected to Seattle?’ Something along those lines. Please don’t quote me.

                  Well the same could be said for Marpet. Why the love? Because he’s an athlete?

                  Peter said something to me a month or so ago that’s stuck in my mind. Every starter on Seattle’s O-line this year and last, and probably before that, all come from the Power 5 conferences. Yes, even Michael Bowie was at OK St before he ended up in CC.

  7. CC

    Great article again Rob – thank you!

    Getting Morse and/or Poole in the mid rounds would be solid picks. I really like Mason too – maybe in the 6th.

  8. Lenny206

    4 6th rd picks. Yes Lawd !!! That might be the $ round.

    • Brandon

      I think it is only 3 picks since we do not get our original pick (Marcus Burley Trade to Colts).
      So we get the
      JETS 6th rounder
      2 Compensatory picks

      • Old but Slow

        That sounds right, Brandon. I have tried to figure out which picks we have by order, so: 2d round, pick 63; 3d-95; 4th- 112 (N.O. pick), 130, 134; 5th-164, 170; 6th 206, 209, 214; 7th 248.

        Just my figuring, not official, of course.

        • Old but Slow

          Already found an error in my figuring. I forgot that our 6th round pick was from the Jets for Harvin, that means that instead of pick 206, it is probably pick 176.

  9. Old but Slow

    Apparently Seahawks reporter Clare Farnsworth has decided to retire. He will be missed.

    • Coug1990

      I agree. A lot of us have been reading him a long time. Good for him that he is able to go out on his terms. He replaced the late Mike Kahn. I miss Kahn and will miss Clare.

  10. Kyle

    Rob,

    I think all of you will be very interested in this. Zach Whitman, the fellow who did all those SPARQ articles for fieldgulls last year has been putting together SPARQ data for rotoworld. He also did the metrics for RBs and TEs, but this one is for OL and DL:

    http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/cfb/52989/466/sparq-ol-and-dl

    • CharlieTheUnicorn

      http://imgur.com/qFYnFB4

      Here is your target list.. look at the top 7 prospects rated by SPARQ. Now, take a look where they will most likely be taken in the 2015 NFL draft. When you start to cross correlate them, you develop potential “value” of an OL pick.. during each round… when you see an imbalance, SPARQ with a low projected round.. the Seahawks will strike.

      Obviously, Marpet is the highest SPARQ and rated 2-3 round prospect. However, Sambraillo is poorly ranked on the SPARQ, this is a red flag when trying to predict the Seahawks drafting him in the draft. I think they will pass.

    • arias

      Damn. Striking how Leonard Williams has a slightly less than average SPARQ but will be one of the first lineman off the board.

    • Rob Staton

      Kyle — this article is actually linked into the piece.

  11. Greg haugsven

    Whats the chances of a dream scenario? Sambraillo at 63 and Lockett at 95…haven’t heard anyone in this room not like Lockett

    • Matt

      Slim to none. We would be lucky if Lockett fell to 63, let alone 95.

      • red

        I would not be surprised if Sambrailo slid a bit on draft past the third.

      • Curt

        Lockett at #63 would be awesome and make my day but Seattle JS/PC always leave me scratching my head with their first pick. I think he would be a great fit. Game changer in returns and in the slot.

      • UKHawkDavid

        I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea but Matt Miller just posted a seven round mock with the official comp picks included – we picked up Preston Smith (#63), Tyler Lockett (#95), AND Ty Sambrailo (#112). Based in the other selections in the first four rounds, this didn’t look wholly unrealistic.

    • rowdy

      Theirs a couple us, not that we don’t like him just not in the second. To me his role will be to limited in the nfl and be mainly a kr/pr. I see him being a player that needs space to operate and space is limited in the nfl. People forgive him for his hand size but he does drop balls and playing in wet conditions could be real scary. He struggles to much with press and in the slot at times. He could play the Percy role maybe a little sproles stuff too but that would be limited on this team and didn’t really work with percy. Not trying to bash him at all just express why I think the 2nd is to higb. He’s a great player and would be the day one starting returner.

      • Volume 12

        One thing I think we’re overlooking when to comes to analyzing draft prospects is, how do they run/play on field turf?

  12. CHawk Talker Eric

    Hey V12 – and everyone else – I found some game footage of my dark horse C prospect UToledo Rocket Greg Mancz.

    It’s the GoDaddy Bowl vs Ark. St.

    Let me know what you think.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPgdCppEEhE

    • Old but Slow

      That was impressive, Eric. Strong, good feet, and good judgement. That definitely moves him up on my board.

      • Volume 12

        He’s intriguing. Definitely could be an option. Plays very ‘heads up.’ Seems like a tough as nails prospect.

        I can’t help but feel that Seattle is going to take someone on that SPARQ list we haven’t discussed yet. Who? IDK. I also think they’ll take a couple O-lineman we’ve all discussed on here too though.

      • OZ

        Great find. I have looked at a lot centers so far and he moved to the top of my list.

  13. Cameron

    For all you guys who like to run the mock draft simulator at fanspeak.com – they have incorporated the comp picks into the simulator.

  14. Old but Slow

    Little help here. I have not been able to find film on Rob Crisp. Anybody got a link or some direction?

    • Volume 12

      Is there nothing on Draft breakdown.com?

      • Old but Slow

        Not unless I just missed it.

        • peter

          Check out Vic Beasley vs. NC state. You’ll see crisp battle one of the best pash rushers in the draft for a full game. Crisp looks mostly awesome the whom time.

          • Old but Slow

            Thanks for the tip Peter, that was helpful. I can see why he is getting some attention.

            • peter

              Your welcome! Pretty good for an under the radar tackle prospect!

  15. Volume 12

    Hmmm. Why not this guy?

    NC St OL Tyson Chandler- 6’6, 330 lbs., 88′ inch wingspan, 36′ inch arms, 5.38-5.40 40 yard dash, 27 1/2 ‘ inch vertical jump, 9’2’ foot broad jump, 4.84 short shuttle, 7.99 3 cone, and put up 31 reps on the bench press which is highly impressive for someone with his arm measurements.

    “He looked incredibly athletic during position drills for such a large lineman,” wrote Pauline. “In fact, most said Chandler was the best offensive lineman in attendance and not Rob Crisp. Chandler was smooth and easily flipped his hips in drills.”

    • Rob Staton

      I’ll check him out.

    • peter

      And he came in fit losing weight tho off season to stay ready always a good sign of a work ethic

    • CC

      Chandler is a guy I’ve had on my list for a month or so – I keep thinking about Pete saying what a guy can do vs what he can’t.

      • Volume 12

        Don’t focus on what a guy can’t do it will drive you nuts and you’ll never end up liking a guy.

        Put your players in a position to succeed. Meaning what can they do for US?

  16. Volume 12

    Whoo! This kid is a freak!

    W. Oregon WR Tyrell Williams, 6’3 1/2, 204 lbs., 4.38 40 yard dash, 39.5” vertical jump, 10’7 foot broad, 4.22 short shuttle, 6.53 3 cone.

    He’s going to be a fast riser. Probably a 5th rounder, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go higher. Give me this kid and Cal WR Chris Harper, and call it a day wide receiver wise.

    SCOUT’S TAKE:

    Rare athletic freak with Randy Moss-like build and measureables. Staright burner who must be respected as a vertical deep threat. Breakaway speed capable of turning a screen pass into a 50+ yard touchdown at a moments notice (Averaged 17 yards per catch for his career). Tremendous leaping ability, shows good hands, will tip balls to himself in mid-air and makes many acrobatic highlight reel-type catches. All this against inferior competition, which will be the hardest task NFL scouts will have to evaluate—how his game transitions to the NFL. His skillset is still raw, he’ll need to work on refining his route running technique—a skillset he has already begun improving with former NFL and current CFL wide receiver Brandon London at Parabolic Performance in New Jersey. Shows a willingness to block and is very well liked by teammates. Vibes well with everyone; based on first hand observation over a course of numerous training sessions. Ran the fastest three-cone time in the country at his pro day workout, possessing agility and athleticism, in addition to quicks. He worked out in front of all 32 NFL teams at Oregon State pro day, it would be hard to envision a scenario where he doesn’t get drafted fifth round our later. The physical attributes are just too tantalizing to pass up. Don’t be surprised if Tyrell Williams becomes a household name

    • rowdy

      6.53 3 cone? At his size? How lee chit! You have any film on him?

      • Volume 12

        I don’t. This guy’s one of my sleepers. I have some more I’ll slowly unveil.

        Check out DT Tory Slater on YouTube. The Seahawks are bringing him into the VMAC in April. He’s a freak! The end of Slater’s highlight clip is totally ‘Seahawky.’

      • Robert

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1gvpnXtJpw

        • Volume 12

          There it is. Thank you Robert. I was just going to post that.

          • OZ

            I like him! Would like him to extend and pluck more, although he did a good job on that slant at the Goal Line. Hmmm. Could have used a play like that in the S/B. I would like to see how he catches over the shoulder though.

            • drewjov11

              He looks like a decent project. There is now ay he plays at 4.38, though. Long strider who can definitely run, though. Big body as well. I still like what I saw from Kevin Cook. I really do want to see this team transition to the bigger receivers.

      • CharlieTheUnicorn

        The Patriots are sniffing around him already….. 1 report they took an official visit from him.

        • Volume 12

          All 32 teams know who those kid is after Oregon St’s pro day.

          Seattle doesn’t have to list him as an official visit, because he’s considered local. All prospects from Oregon, Idaho, and Washington if I’m not mistaken.

          • arias

            Those numbers are insane, 3 cone time is crazy. And Randy Moss is about the highest comp you can give a D2 guy. He might be gone by the 3rd round.

    • Old but Slow

      OK, Vol 12, you are starting to scare me a little (in a good way). If you are finding these sleepers, then you can be assured that the Seahawks scouting staff are finding them as well. What it means, is that I (and you), have little chance of putting together a draft synopsis that will in any way reflect what the team will ultimately do.

      We know that the team likes to look for special qualities in a player, and it does not have to be the all around attributes that the pundits see. Bruce Irvin is a perfect example, and Russell Wilson as well, and lets not forget Sweezy. How in the world do you predict Sweezy?

      Back in the dark days of Tim Ruskell, I was able to predict the draft class pretty closely, and picked 7 of the players they chose, one year. But, Ruskell was a rigid, classical drafter, big schools, seniors, no red flags, and so on, so it was easy to see what he would do. With JS/PC, not so much. But, I like it. I want to be able to predict well, but I really want the picks to do well even if they are not the ones I thought they would get.

      With the sleepers you keep coming up with, I can see how difficult the problem is, and how out of the loop most of the draft sites are.

      As I said, scary.

      • Volume 12

        Thank you OBS.

        Most of these guys I bring up will be going in the 5th round and so on. But as Arias said, this kid might go in the 3rd round.

        I’m just trying to bring some of the names we don’t know to everyone’s attention, so when they do select the Jimmy Staten and Eric Pinkins, we don’t all go ‘WTF!?’

        It’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to figure out who Seattle will select. But not so much figuring out who they’ll be interested in. WR Chris Harper is a perfect examples.

    • CC

      You guys are great at finding these guys!!!

      It is one of my favorite things about this blog!

      • David M2

        Yes sir! Thanks for all the hard work V-12 always appreciated.

        • Volume 12

          Thanks buddy. And CC too.

          I only do it, in hopes that we can all find someone we like.

          • AlaskaHawk

            I always enjoy reading about the players you bring up V12. Makes me think they will go offensive line early in rounds 2 and 3, and then pick two wide receivers in round 4. Maybe throw another offensive linemen in the mix in rounds 5 and 6.

            • Volume 12

              Thank you my man.

    • tzahn

      Nice, that was a good video to watch. I’ve got another one here.

      Rasheed Bailey, WR, Delaware Valley College (Div 3). 6′ 2″, 205 lbs. 80 rec, 1707 yds, 19 TDs. He was the leading WR in Division 3 last season.

      Not the fastest WR and D3 guys rarely make it due to lower level of competition, but it’s still a fun video. He’s got good body control and great hands. My favorite part is at 5:45. Now THAT’S how you beat press coverage!

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATFBEXi1edg

    • Rik

      Does really well catching in traffic, and puts up great YAC on the tape. He seems to have deceptive speed – lots of moments where he turns the corner on the DB or S who take the wrong angle. He’d be fun to have in camp, get out onto the field in preseason games.

      • Rik

        This comment is about Tyrell Williams.

  17. CharlieTheUnicorn

    After reviewing the 3sigma SPARQ numbers, the Walterfootball and nfdraftscout “probable” draft rounds for some of the players… 3 guys fit the bill for Seattle selections in the 2015 draft, each Seattle pick’s round included: (drum roll)

    2nd round – Ali Marpet, C/G, Hobart
    5th round – Laurence Gibsen, OT, Virginia Tech
    7th round – Mark Glowinski, OG, West Virginia

    Spread of draft picks early and late. Selections at every position of weakness on the line. The obligatory late round OL / project pick. Crossing fingers for this to play out IRL.

    • Volume 12

      Glowinski is a guy that find very intriguing, He keeps growing on me,

  18. Nathan

    Crazy idea, cut Mebane, sign Mathis(assuming he’s cut by Philly) and free up our draft strategy.

    As silly as it sounds?

    • arias

      Mathis wasn’t even any good last year, so yeah, I think it would be silly to sign him.

    • Robert

      Mebane is great at occupying 2 blockers and playing them to a stalemate. That allows our LBs to make the plays. BM is a hard player to replace for 5M….

  19. J2 MED

    Seattle at William & Mary pro day!

    • Jake

      I didn’t know they had a Punter that Cable wanted to turn into a Center. That’s cool!

      • K.af

        Oh yeah, Punters are the sneaky good athletes on any football team. They even make good situational QBs.

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