We've been waiting a while for Mike Mayock's first mock draft and it's finally here. Get ready for a couple of noticeable absentees. Tellingly, the top four picks match that of Rob Rang's most recent effort. With the draft getting closer, should we expect the board to fall this way? Of course, that means the Seahawks take Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry fourth overall. The two missing names from his top ten - Michael Crabtree and Brian Orakpo. Mayock states - and it's not the first time we've heard this - that Crabtree has some character issues.
Have any thoughts on the mock? Post your views in the comment section or email me rob@seahawksdraftblog.com
14 comments:
I have a hard time seeing Ruskell get a linebacker at #4. I know Curry is a stud but Ruskell is very good at valuing defense and I can see him picking up a LB later in the draft. I think he goes offense in the 1st. QB,Tackle or WR.
JMO
Mayock mentions Crabtree's off the field stuff. I think it might be time to rethink you Seahawks pick Rob. If the off the field stuff is enough for Jacksonville to pass on him, it is defintely enough for the Hawks to cross him off the board.
You might be right, mike.
What are Crabtree's off field issues? Never heard anything about that, besides "off field stuff."
Secondly, as good as Aaron Curry is, he doesn't make the most sense at #4. In essence, we draft Curry and lose Hill next year. It will happen because Hill will get bigger offers elsewhere. So, we end up replacing a great 26 year old OLB with a unproven 23 year old OLB. Doesn't make the most sense. If Hill was 32, then sure, makes a great deal of sense. However, Hill hasn't even entered his prime yet.
Lastly, I have been a huge advocate of Mark Sanchez for a long time. The guy's skill set matches perfectly with the Hawks offense. He has continually risen to the occasion at every event, and refuses to sit out anything unlike most top QB prospects. I think we have a unique opportunity to grab and groom our future QB without having to sacrifice anything to get him. I am personally not sold on the OTs in this draft because I don't see them becoming dominant. Consider it this way, if you draft Sanchez at #4 and he only becomes good, not great, that is still an excellent pick because it is so hard to find QBs. If you pick and OT and he ends up being just good or having to move to RT, then the value of that pick is greatly diminished. Sorry for the long post, but I just don't see any great argument for taking Curry considering the state of our LB corps. We have proven 3 great LBs doesn't make you a Steelers like defense. Keep up the great work Rob.
Finally. Some truth to Crabtree.
Then again, he could be the next Moss. Nah. Does not have the speed.
NOTE: Do not be surprised if we trade Hill.
I agree with the 4th comment, mirrors my thoughts exactly on Curry, Sanchez, Crabtree, and the value of OT vs. QB.
As far as Mayock goes, what a surprising Mock draft, and one that I think will be pretty inaccurate come draft day.
It was Mayock himself who said just recently that (paraphrasing) "Stafford would cripple Detroit for 5 years if they pick him." Reason being that Stafford is too flawed to start right away and Detroit is too crappy of a team right now to give a young QB a fighting chance.
Yet Mayock has Stafford #1 anyway. I think Smith/Monroe at #2-#3 is believable, O-line is supposedly KC's biggest need. Curry seems like a waste going to the Seahawks, I think if Curry falls that far you are almost guaranteed to see the Seahawks trade out of that spot.
What bothers me about these rumors of Crabtree's character is that apparently they are not significant enough for the press to simply tell us what they are, yet they are supposedly significant enough to scare teams away from drafting him.
I don't know what to make of the Crabtree character concerns. Clare Farnsworth originally said he'd heard from scouts there were 'red flags'. Rob Rang told me personally he has reservations about his character. And now this from Mayock. Yet none of us actually know what these issues are. It'd be a great story to announce them, so why haven't we heard anything?
I remember Mayock talking about Crabtree's 'posse' who followed him round the combine. This is something I found dissapointing and mentioned it during our combine coverage. However, is it enough to see him drafted below both Heyward-Bey and Maclin? I can't see it personally. I'd be surprised if he makes it out of the top ten - he's too good.
It seems to me that there are no players who are a good fit for the Hawks at #4. I would assume that with the Hawks "win now" mentality, they would be choosing someone who could start and contribute right away. That rules out QB and LT. WR is a question mark, but barring injury, Branch, Housh, and Burleson are a pretty good starting 3-some. The positions I could see upgrading right away are C, G, RB, SS, DT, LB. Outside of Curry, there arent any players at those positions that seem to warrant the use of a #4 pick. Therefore, if Curry is off the board, there appears to be no one the hawks would draft. Trading down seems like the only viable option, but the big question is whether anyone would want to trade up to #4, and whether the Hawks can get good value in a trade.
If a trade down doesn't happen, it seems like the #4 pick will be a backup player which just doesnt make much sense. I guess this is just evidence of how well Ruskell has disguised his hand.
seriously, WHAT are the crabtree character concerns? i've been searching the internet for almost 20 minutes now and the best i've got is some questions about his entourage. and i found 2 or 3 scouting reports that say he has "no off field issues". mayock seems to be all bent out of shape about the character issues...but apparently they are a big secret that nobody gets to know. what'd he do, kick mayock's puppy? if there are real character concerns, why haven't they come out?
we all know if there are any character issues, crabtree isn't coming to seattle. but i feel a little odd about crossing him off the list due to character issues when nobody can tell me what the heck the issues are.
rob, what do you think they are and why do you think we haven't heard about them? and whatever they are, do they keep him from coming to seattle?
I'm with you Tyler, it doesn't appear obvious what the character issues are. You only have to look at the publicity B.J. Raji received when it was reported he'd tested positive for marijuana or the recent speculation regarding steroids. If there was something strikinly obvious that would push Crabtree out of the top ten and behind Heyward-Bey and Maclin - wouldn't we know about it?
Like Mayock, I voiced concerns about his entourage at the combine. He scored a 15 on the wonderlic, but the average for a WR is 17 and Andre Johnson got a 14. He has had injury issues, yet the consensus appears to be that this hasn't put teams off.
So is the fact he had an entourage with him at the combine enough to drop him out of the top ten? I would have a hard time accepting that. You just wonder if this is one of those situations were scouts have been saying bad things, perhaps in the hope he drops. Maybe?
It's hard to judge how any perceived character issues will affect his stock with the Seahawks until we truly know what they are. If we're standing by Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill, then the thought that an uber-talented wide out wouldn't be drafted because he has a large contingent of friends who attended the combine seems a little hypocritical.
I won't rule him out of the Seahawks thinking just yet.
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