The Associated Press is reporting that the Seattle Seahawks won't draft a quarter back fourth overall, according to GM Tim Ruskell."Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell says he's not looking to use Seattle's No. 4 pick in Saturday's NFL draft on a quarterback. He says quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is in his prime. The three-time Pro Bowl player has two years left on his contract."
With just a couple of days to go until the 2009 draft, this could be viewed as a smokescreen. On the other hand, after contemplating the possibility of Mark Sanchez landing in Seattle this week - I've come to the conclusion that it's an unlikely scenario. The former Trojan would earn a contract similar to Matt Ryan's huge $72m deal, making it difficult to keep him on the bench even in 2010. Drafting Sanchez gives you a security blanket for the future if Matt Hasselbeck's back problems persist, but if he returns to 2007 form a potential quarter back controversy could have brewed.
The report goes on to add,
"Ruskell is looking for a player who could help the team right away."
I think that is the likely approach for Saturday's first round pick. The Seahawks would entertain trade offers, especially if teams interested in Mark Sanchez think he'll be snapped up by Cleveland at pick #5. If they can't move down, I think the Seahawks will choose between Aaron Curry and Michael Crabtree.
12 comments:
No offense Rob, but this AP article is straight speculation. It glorifies TR's quote about Hass being "still in his prime."
If we truly want a player to help us right away at #4, draft Curry or a RB. WRs learning curve is steep in the NFL and we are asking a kid who has played in a spread to learn a drastically different offense.
I despise stuff like this being attributed to the AP. A live body wrote it and ought to have the hair to put his name on it.
Besides which, Mr. AP doesn't know what he's talking about when he draws conclusions from what TR says this time of year. I think it's likely they'll take Stafford or Sanchez and have the option to keep him or trade him, and to create the option of trading or releasing Hasselbeck at some point if his back proves chronic or plays like he did in 2008.
Amen to the 2 posters above. This article has as much credibility as me saying I'm Ken Griffey Jr.
It might not be the greatest link, but having contemplated the situation I don't think the Seahawks will draft Mark Sanchez. He's still one of three prospects I expect them to consider, but I think they'll choose one of Crabtree or Curry.
Annonymous - WR can be a learning curve but you only have to look to last year. Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson both had succesful rookie campaigns. Playing from a scaled down playbook, Crabtree can have an impact. He won't be at his peak, of course not. But he can get on the field and will make plays.
Hi Ken. Hope you can pull your BA up above the Mendoza line pretty soon ;)
Agreed. There is absolutely no indication from this article that Ruskell has ever said that the Hawks aren't interested in a QB, let alone recently. In fact, during his "Matt is in his prime" talk, he specifically did NOT rule that out.
This is 1) a tremendous scoop on deep background (profoundly unlikely), 2) Ruskell leading some poor reporter by the nose (almost equally unlikely) or 3) far more likely, another example of truly bad journalism.
All that said, I find myself leaning toward Crabtree or Curry, in that order, as the Hawks' likely pick.
Hey Rob,
Do you think that Ruskell might be saying this so teams who are interested Sanchez would come to us instead of dealing with KC in fear that we might take him?
-mikey
Mikey, that's a very strong possibility. As you say, if teams are worried that Seattle will take Sanchez, they could target KC's pick. This would allow a team to trade with Seattle and save a few dollars between picks, whilst still getting their man.
Meanwhile, Kiper says on ESPN Radio this morning, reportedly, that Sanchez is a virtual "lock" to the Hawks.
I really enjoy listening to Kiper, but I would be surprised if that particular piece of information is particularly trustworthy. I mean honestly, there's probably nobody outside of the Seahawks front office that can confidently say anybody is a 'lock' for #4. Sure, we can rule people out, but nothing is guaranteed in who they take.
For what it's worth, last week Kiper said he'd been told Monroe would be the pick and that he shouldn't put Sanchez at No4 because it wont happen. Funny how a week of hype has changed that.
I think the Seahawks will consider Sanchez, Curry and Crabtree. However, I think if they remain at #4, they'll take one of Curry or Crabtree.
Expanding on the Kiper thing- he claims that he was told by the Seahawks front office that they earnestly weren't interested in QB last week, but that has since changed.
Who knows how true this is. Ruskell is trying so hard to be unpredictable.
Rob--
Agreed. I think Ol' Mel gets played like a fiddle this time of year. It's one thing to break down tape yourself. It's another to swim with the sharks in a sea of rumors.
If Ruskell was looking to draft Sanchez and trade Matt, (as per the recent NFL total access suggestion) claiming that Matt was in his prime is exactly what he would say, isn't it.
There again, if he was thinking that way, he might have tried to trade Matt for Cutler.
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