Seahawks RT Justin Britt Was a Brilliant Draft Pick by Pete Carroll

When the Seattle Seahawks drafted Justin Britt from Missouri to end the second round of last weekend’s NFL Draft, critics and most NFL analysts really hammered home the point that he was a significant ‘reach’ at 64. I’m interested in the thought process of some of these guys though and I continue to find myself puzzled when I hear “that’s why the Seahawks’ draft grades for me at a B+ (or a C as we saw yesterday), because we don’t know how Britt will pan out and he was a reach.” There are three facts you may find interesting that play into that pick that just baffle me about how these analysts are deriving their information.

1. The most important thing here that somehow gets by these guys is that Britt was graded by most in the 3rd-4th rounds, meaning that based on no 3rd round picks, he was going to be gone along with all of the other linemen the Hawks may have had on their early board, by the time the Seahawks picked again in the 4th. They were going to have to reach on somebody to land a lineman there, which takes away the whole thought process of ‘reaching’ in the first place.
2. The Seahawks were informed by another NFL exec shortly after the pick that another team a few picks later (early in the 3rd) was going to take Britt if the Hawks hadn’t. This is evidence that at least one other team had graded Britt higher than whatever folks thought at the time.
3. Going into the draft the Seahawks needed a starting right tackle or a nice, solid guard. Britt fulfilled the tackle need and clearly showed more of a dedication by Seattle to adding starting potential at that spot to end the 2nd round, which should only increase the grade for the pick. Also, all remaining tackles who were projected that high on the board projected to the left side, where the Seahawks are already set with Russell Okung and Alvin Bailey. Yes they could’ve got some bigger names earlier, but they chose play-making and got great value for it. That’s just smart drafting and I thought this was a brilliant pick with what was available.

The Seahawks picked up a guy that has more intangibles than what you would hear on a grade-out and Tom Cable absolutely loves the kid and has already pegged him as a possible starter. Cable also watched him play on film as a right tackle and says he feels that any major issues Britt possesses should be fixed by a simple move back to the right side. Because of Missouri’s line issues, he was too good for them not to play at LT, but RT is much more natural for him. For my part, I really hope this kid comes in and tears up the field and becomes an instant day-1 starter. I’m really sick of hearing the whole ‘reach’ thing without much basis for it.