The Draft From Section 333
A view to the draft
As most Seahawk fans, I run on the same year round calendar you do, beginning right after the super bowl:
- Post season letdown and analysis
- Free Agency
- Combine
- Pre-draft speculation
- Proliferation of Mock Drafts
- Mini Camp
- Draft
- Training Camp
- Pre -season
- Season
- Post-season optimism
- Post-season
[Editor’s Note- Number 1 could totally be eliminated by a super bowl win- just sayin’]
So trust me, I’m just as giddy and excited about next week’s draft as the next fanatical football fan. I just have a slightly different view of it.
Unlike many NFL fans, I don’t follow college football (I know, I know). For one thing, there are so many teams and so many players to keep track of. And even though I watch the combine, I don’t bookmark anyone, because I don’t believe the combine is necessarily a predictor of NFL success. These two behaviors make it impossible for me to create a mock draft scenario. It also leaves me entering the draft with a completely open mind (some might call it more of a blank slate).
The benefit, as I see it, is that I’m rarely disappointed by our picks. There’s so much media coverage of players that should be first round picks, and of course very little media coverage of excellent players taken in later rounds, and absolutely no coverage of undrafted free agents. I think of this kind of like a three ring circus with the camera pointing at only one ring.
So I like to be patient and wait. I like the view of draft central, with Pete and John calling the shots and high fiving. I like researching players as they’re picked and visualizing how they’ll fit in with the existing players and fill needs on our team. I like going to training camp and watching the chemistry as new and old mesh into something dynamic.
What I’ve enjoyed the most in the last couple years, is that I totally get what Pete and John are doing. I like the fact that they’ve made very few missteps (Clipboard Charlie) and I appreciate the fact that they’ve found so many hidden gems (Doug Baldwin). While I missed some of the players that have moved on (Matt), I’ve think others that have left (Aaron Curry) have improved the team.
Although some might call the Seahawk leadership unorthodox or unpredictable with over 500 player transactions in two years, there’s serious evidence of their success in both draft moves and free agency.
Which makes next week’s draft pretty dang exciting, even though I don’t have a clue who they’ll pick! More than anything, this is really the start of the new season for me!