Gerald McCoy will declare

Not surprising news, but nonetheless Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy will declare for the 2010 draft. Second only to Ndamukong Suh in most people's rankings, McCoy has elite potential as a 4-3 three technique and has been compared to Chicago's Tommy Harris. It's still early days, but he looks like an absolute certainty for the top five and an outside candidate to go first overall.

McShay & Kiper talk Bradford & Clausen

If not Holmgren, Who?

By Kyle Rota...
"If not Holmgren, who?" is a pretty common question in Seahawks Nation. While it's extremely difficult to know who is a riser and who is not, I've asked around and done a bit of research. By no means is this list comprehensive, but the names are highly recommended and have good track records. NOTE: The order is not ranked by preference, just by the order I remembered the names.


Steve Keim, Director of Player Personnel, Arizona Cardinals: He played offensive line for NC State but never really made much impact professionally. He's a younger guy, mid-late thirties (graduated college in 1995). Gets a lot of credit for the big draft picks Arizona has made, has a really good reputation. The Cardinals are doing quite a bit with very little ownership support, so it might be worthwhile to see what he could do with the resources Seattle could offer. Articles I've read have painted him as good with people, which is of key importance IMO. He's never been "the man", working under Rod Graves, but most of the guys on my list are "fresh faces", just the way the recommendations turned out. Talks about not reaching for need as being a major philosophy, FWIW. The downside is that he bears a striking resemblance to Bill Bavasi.

Steve Malin, Scout, New York Giants: Feel like taking a risk? Then Malin is your guy. The former scout I know says that Malin is "the best scout I know of". Another young guy (not sure on exact age, but saw a picture and he looks pretty young), he has a bit of a coaching background (very minor, SMU was the biggest name where he was an assistant coach). In truth, probably not the pick I choose just because there isn't much known about his ability to run a franchise. Supposedly extremely thorough and a hard worker, and if he is as competent at running a franchise as he is at scouting he could be a great pick. Sounds like a guy in need of a promotion, at least.

Lionel Vital, Assistant Director of Player Personnel, Atlanta Falcons: So if you feel like finding a guy who has learned from the most successful franchises out there, Vital may be your man. This might be my favorite choice. He's a little risky as he hasn't had the experience of, say, Keim or some names further down the list. He's worked under Bill Belichick, Ozzie Newsome, Bill Parcels, Scott Pioli, and now Thomas Dmintroff. Vital has a lot of experience, played RB for a few years (never very good), heck he even played professional baseball. He's certainly had the opportunity to learn from the best, though some Seattle fans may hesitate to grab the "Next Big Thing" out of Atlanta. Haven't been able to find much in the way of articles, but he came very highly recommended. Has experience looking at players from a 4-3 and a 3-4 perspective, which I personally like as it means the team wouldn't be "locked" into one defensive mindset just because the GM has grown up with it (Ruskell and Tampa 2).

Eric DeCosta, Director of Player Personnel, Baltimore Ravens: This is the "superstar" pick. DeCosta gets his name thrown out a lot, as far as these things are concerned. I'm not sure how keen Baltimore would be to let him get away, but you almost have to try to book an interview with him. He views OL, S, and RB as "easy" to scout in an interview he did, which is something we could use the help me. He's been with Baltimore since the Ravens/Browns moved there. Another younger guy, he's 38 or so if my math is decent. Baltimore doesn't always get their picks right, but they sure manage to get enough of them to remain relevant in most years.

Kevin Colbert, Director of Football Operations, Pittsburgh Steelers: He's been running things for Pittsburgh for a while, so he has the experience. I wouldn't have put him on here except that, according to my source, he might be willing to relocate for a "President" role like Seattle gave Ruskell, even if it was largely just a glorified GM job. Pittsburgh speaks for itself and Colbert has been de-facto leader for years there, so he's more of a known quantity. (Mike Gorscak is another name from Pittsburgh, he's a scout there so very high risk, but my source seemed to have a high opinion of him)

Dave Razzano, Unemployed: Formerly worked as a scout with the Arizona Cardinals. Has been in the NFL for 21 years before being fired this year by AZ. No idea why he was fired, bears looking into but good luck finding it online. Has the experience, pedigree (his father was a major pioneer in scouting), and the recommendation from my source. Not sure I'd be all over this move, but my source seemed to think he was a possibility when teams go looking for GMs, so I figured I'd include him.

Todd McShay's mock, knocks Clausen

Rob Rang's latest mock draft

I'll be updating my own mock draft this week. You can find a teaser on the right hand side bar (where you'll find my own top ten mock from now until draft day). The Seahawks pick is likely to change (currently Joe Haden, cornerback) so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out Rob Rang's latest offering. He has the Seahawks taking Russell Okung (OT, Oklahoma State) and Taylor Mays (FS, USC). I'm not a big fan of either prospect. I prefer Andre Davis (OT, Rutgers) and Charles Brown (OT, USC) to Okung, so if the Seahawks feel they have to address the position in a down year for left tackles, that is where I personally feel they'd be better looking. Mays will have some value later in round one because he has elite physical tools. However, he's consistently shown this year that the instincts, tackling and decision making don't match the speed and size. He relies too much on big hits - often risking pointless penalties.

Will Mallett follow Locker's lead?

The big question in the aftermath of Jake Locker's decision not to enter the 2010 draft is will this push other underclassmen quarterback's to declare? We saw Mark Sanchez take advantage last year, making a last minute decision shortly after Sam Bradford announced he'd be staying with Oklahoma. In the end, Sanchez ended up going fifth overall to the Jets whilst Bradford spent the year nursing a shoulder injury.

Jimmy Clausen has already made his intentions clear that he'll head for the draft, whilst Bradford has also said he will enter the NFL. But is Locker's removal from contention enough to make another prospect - such as Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett - head for the pro's?

Bobby Petrino was pretty dismissive when pressed on the Mallett issue. Clearly it's an issue that's been discussed. I've felt for some time that one of Locker or Mallett would enter the draft. In Mallett's case, he has the tools capable of being a very good pro-QB: big arm, capable of making a good range of throws and ideal size. However, he's struggled against good opponents this year when his accuracy has been particularly wayward. Against Florida, he was missing wide open receivers in the end zone from ten yards out one minute and throwing deep, accurate bombs for a big TD the next.

He could use another year of seasoning, but then what quarterback wouldn't? Mallett appears to have solid family support and perhaps won't feel any financial pressures. But the temptation will always be there and having transferred from Michigan to start for the Razorbacks, he might feel now is the time to turn pro. We'll probably have to wait until after the Liberty Bowl against East Carolina to learn his decision, but it's unclear at this stage whether Mallett's future is in Arkansas or the NFL.

Jake Locker will not declare

It's been announced today that Jake Locker (QB, Washington) won't be declaring for the 2010 draft and will return to the Huskies next year. This could set a precedent - it's been widely expected that a large proportion of underclassmen would declare fearing a new CBA and possible rookie cap. Locker clearly hasn't been put off by that or injuries to Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham. You have to wonder if we'll see similar decisions from prospects like Ryan Mallett and Andre Davis, but I'd expect the likes of Gerald McCoy, Eric Berry and Derrick Morgan to enter the draft.

Locker will head into the new college season a hot tip to be the first overall pick in the 2011 draft. He's made a big decision today to try and refine his skills in a pro-style offense, whilst also helping the Huskies in their recovery under Steve Sarkisian. It's always admirable to see a young prospect return to try and better themselves ahead of the big pay day - but it's not necessarily always the wisest choice financially. It's a year to get more polished, but it's also a year for scouts to pick apart every little issue they can find.

Todd McShay's first 2010 mock draft

Scouts Inc and ESPN's Todd McShay today published his first 2010 mock draft. You'll need to be an ESPN Insider to see it in full, but for those of you who aren't I'll highlight some of the key talking points. McShay has Jake Locker going first overall to the St Louis Rams - certainly an eye catching start. Ndamukong Suh goes to the Buccs second overall with Eric Berry in third place to Cleveland. Without wishing to sound like a stuck record, I'll be positively stunned if Berry goes this early.

Seattle's first pick is at ninth overall and they take Andre Davis (OT, Rutgers). McShay: "Davis comes with a bit of baggage, but there isn't an offensive lineman in the 2010 class with a better combination of size and agility." The baggage he speaks of is the weight issues Davis has endured during his time with the Scarlet Knights. I wrote this report on Davis earlier in the year when Tim Ruskell was still the team's GM.

The second pick by the Seahawks is Jimmy Clausen (QB, Notre Dame) taken 26th overall. McShay: "Current starter Matt Hasselbeck is 34 years old and backup Seneca Wallace doesn't appear to be the long-term answer. There are concerns about Clausen's release and he doesn't have ideal arm strength, but his mobility and accuracy underneath would make him a good fit for a West Coast offense." Considering the Seahawks offensive struggles, particularly yesterday in Houston, I'm not entirely sure they'll be maintaining the current status quo on offense - so placing Clausen as an ideal fit with Seattle may be ill-advised right now.

But McShay's mock backs up my own personal instincts about Clausen expressed in my most recent mock draft. I had him falling out of round one - largely to prove a point that I think he's vastly over rated and not anywhere close to being the top 5-10 pick most mocks have him at right now. McShay cites the same kind of issues that I did - namely his side arm release. Essentially, if he falls to the #26 pick and Seattle didn't take him there - how does he stay in round one? Unless the Minnesota Vikings want a long term option at QB, McShay's mock is basically portraying the same possibility as mine.

So it's Clausen to Seattle - but perhaps more telling is the further evidence that opinion is starting to shift on Clausen and that perhaps he won't be the top draft choice most people are predicting.

Ingram wins by closest of margins