Reports suggest Ray Willis has signed a two year contract to stay in Seattle. How does this signing affect the draft? Tim Ruskell has again sought to fill a need in order not to restrict himself on draft day. Adding vital depth to the offensive line means Seattle can still be flexible with their picks, particularly with that all important first rounder. Colin Cole (defensive line), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (wide receiver) and Willis (offensive line) have all filled perceived areas of need allowing Ruskell to concentrate on the 'best player available' with the fourth overall pick.Should Walter Jones fail to recover from microfracture surgery in time for the 2009 season, the Seahawks could put Sean Locklear at left tackle (his contract contains incentives for playing blind side) and start Willis at right tackle. There's still a good chance the Seahawks could take an offensive linemen with the fourth pick as my current mock draft predicts, but they wouldn't be handcuffed to do so. This also potentially increases the chances of Michael Crabtree remaining an option. Rob Rang, Chad Reuter and Steve Wyche all have Seattle passing on Crabtree in preference of Eugene Monroe.
11 comments:
I think Ruskell has done a great job in free agency this year. I would give him a B+ so far. However, I do wish he had been a little more aggressive in his pursuit of Phillips or Sean Jones because I can't live through another season of Brian Russell.
Ruskell is just covering his bases in case Stafford slips. He gets a stiffy for Georgia QBs!s
jjhsix, the Hawks are probably in the perfect position to grab a safety in the 2nd. I wish they would trade back into the 1st and steal Wells or Knowshaun from AZ, but that would almost certainly mean another season of BRUSS. Unless he gets hit by a truck or something. Hmmmm
Mr. Steffes is right, and I hope it is Patrick Chung. I wish they would choose what kicker we are going to use this year and trade the other for a late round pick. I would hate to see two roster spots used for kicker again this year.
If Stafford falls to us at 4, and our FO sees him as BPA, take him. Yes that is alot of money for a third string QB, but I pray we dont pick this high in the draft again for many more years. Plus, he would get 2-4 years to learn and back up befor taking the starting job. This would free up SW to play WR and that would add some spice to our WR group.
Investing the top pick in a player that may not start for 2-4 years is not sexy but it is smart. QB is the most important position in football and many Seahawk fans are not as aware as they should be due to the play of Matt for the last few years. Think back a few more years and remember the pain of not having a high quality guy in the drivers seat!
That said, Tom Brady is one of a few others picked up late in the draft so if our scouts see a second or third tier QB in the draft that may have the potential, that would please me as well. But we have to be pro active to find who will take over when Matt is done. I pray that is not for many years!
Big Joe
Rob,
If we assume every player is availible to us at number 4, ( not possible, but work with me here), and you agree that the best move is BPA, and we do not have the option to trade down, which of the top players do you think are worthy of the pick and in what order. For this brain tease just assume picks 1 thru 3 have passed.
Thanks for your feedback!
Big Joe
Hi Big Joe,
Essentially you're asking me who's the best player in the draft. If you want the most talented, biggest upside and potential it has to be Michael Crabtree for me. He is the player that excites me the most with the biggest star quality.
If you want the 'safest' pick I would say Aaron Curry. He'll come into the NFL like Patrick Willis, get about 100 tackles and probably win defensive rookie of the year. Is he a difference maker? Not for me, but he's certainly someone you can invest in and know what you're going to get.
After that I look at Stafford, who I rate a bit higher than everyone else. I think he has great upside and potential. I rank him a little bit higher than Jay Cutler coming into the league and he can be a really exciting player in the NFL. He's a gun slinger so he'll make mistakes, but he's also capable of winning a game on his own.
They would probably be my top three. I can't distinguish between 4th & 5th so I'm going to say as a joint decision Knowshon Moreno and Jason Smith. For me, Moreno is a pure talent. Get him in your team and watch him make plays. I love everything about him, is energy, his determination, his personality. Jason Smith is a little raw but he's the best offensive tackle in this class. He has the most upside.
So those would be my top five. In all honesty I'd be happy with any. I'm not getting my hopes up on one particular prospect because it likely will only lead to dissapointment. But I have to admit, injury's or not - there's something about Michael Crabtree that I want on this team. I'm by no means an expert, but I've studied the tape and I've tried to get a better opinion on these guys. The one who really stands out and makes me excited is Crabtree.
Thanks Rob,
I think you are on the money with your opinion. I agree that if Crabtree is there when we pick at 4, we should take him, if not, I hope we have a trading partner to trade down and pick up more picks to increase our depth and value. The bad news is the draft is so far away and on top of it, we have to turn back the clocks one hour on Sunday!
Again, love the blog, keep up the great work!
Big Joe
Joe - We actually move our clocks one hour FORWARD on sunday, so thats one less hour waiting for the draft to come =D
Btw every time i watch highlight videos of Crabtree, i get excited about how much he could help our team. I cant wait till April 5, and hoepfully he will be in Seahawks Blue!
Louis, I know how you feel. I don't go more than a couple hours without watching some Crabtree highlight reels and just praying and hoping he gets a chance to light Qwest up like that.
Yea ive never seen a WR as good as that; he could be the next Larry Fitzgerald =D
And...if he was a seahawks, i would TOTALLY draft him in my next fantasy football draft xD
he might be a late sleeper, maybe if he is still available in one of the later rounds where most of my starters are set...i think michael crabtree could step right in and have the same impact as Anquan Boldin did though, with 60-90 catchs, 700-900 yards, and maybe 6 -7 TD catches. Put that side by side with Houshmandzadeh's 95 catches, 950 yards and 5 - 7 TDs and we got one hell of a team.
And when speaking fantasy football terms, this would DEFINATELY spike Hasselbeck's stock, as he seems to be healthy and has just added 2 big threats in TJ and Crabtree.
Cmon Ruskell...Crabtree! Let's start the chant going..
Crabtree! Crabtree! Crabtree!
Louis - You are right and I am going brain dead waiting for the draft to start. Nice to know the truth is we are closer than I thought, thanks for that.
TJ and Crabtree would be dynamic for sure. Check out the Sunday mornig one liners on PFT. They have a link to an artical about the details of TJ's FA visit to Seattle. If managment works the draft the way they did TJ's visit, we will have one hell of a result!
Big Joe
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