How soon until Kam Chancellor belongs on this list? Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

A couple days ago I wrote about how John Schneider was making a name for himself around the league for being quite adept at finding tremendous talent in the late rounds of the draft. So just for fun I name for you my list of the greatest late round picks the Seahawks ever made.

This list isn’t very long. The Seahawks actually have a pretty poor record at drafting good talent in the late rounds. I meant for this to be a top-10 list, but I couldn’t find 10 players that deserved to be included. Not that that is unexpected. There’s always a reason why players last to the later rounds, and those reasons often make it difficult for the players to make it in the NFL.

This list has to begin with Michael Sinclair. The 6th round pick in 1991 developed into one of the best pass rushers of the 90′s, and was a big part of the Seahawks defense for over a decade with 73.5 sacks.

Edwin Bailey, G, 1981, 5th round – Bailey was a starting guard for 10 years for the Seahawks, and would have been so longer hand an injury not prematurely ended his career.

John Harris, DB, 1978, 7th round – Harris started for the Seahawks for 8 years before moving on to the Vikings to finish he career. While never dominant, he was a steady presence for the Seahawks in their early years.

Dwayne Harper, CB, 1988, 11th round – It took a year before Harper won the starting job, but he was tremendous at corner for the Seahawks for 7 years before moving on to the Chargers.

Michael McCrary, DE, 1993, 7th round – The Seahawks got just 3 years out of McCrary before he joined the Ravens and helped begin their legacy of dominant defenses.

Philip Daniels, DE, 1996, 4th round – As a 4th rounder, Daniels might not warrent the “late round” label. I chose to include him because the list was awfully short. Daniels only played for the Seahawks for 4 seasons, but he had a 15 year career with 62 sacks.

Rocky Bernard, DT, 2002, 5th round – While rarely a starter, Bernard has made a habit of generating enough of an inside pass rush on passing downs to become a valuable part of the DT rotation, first with the Seahawks for 7 years, and then with the Giants for the past 3.

More Recent picks: Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, KJ Wright, Ben Obomanu. We haven’t seen enough from this group in order to get a feel for how history with judge them.

May 11, 2012; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) passes during a minicamp scrimmage at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE

With the recent news that Russell Wilson is now a contender for the starting job, the QB situation in Seattle is becoming increasingly interesting.  According to reports, Wilson had a tremendous minicamp and has catapulted himself into contention for the starting position.  Do I think that this is likely to happen?  No; however, I do think this is good news in general.

There are many who believe that an all-out competition between newly signed Matt Flynn, returning starter Tarvaris Jackson, and Wilson is just making a messy situation.  On a lot of teams, this issue might create locker room drama that tears a team apart from within.  But, ever since Pete Carroll came to Seattle, he has preached the sermon of competition.  It doesn’t matter who you are, you can lose your spot at any time.  Carroll and Schneider draft people with the mental ability to thrive in this type of situation.  They have had great success so far.  Undrafted receiver Doug Baldwin came in and became a top target for the team.  Players are hungry, and if they lose that drive and their stats drop, someone else will take their place.

This brings me to Tarvaris Jackson.  I realize that many people disagree with me, but I would never start Jackson another game, ever.  I know he is a good guy. I know he wants to play well, gives it his all, and plays through injury.  I just don’t think he has the ability to make good decisions.  Jackson would pass when he should take a hit; get sacked when he should have thrown it out of bounds; fumble when the game was on the line.  This breaks the back of any team.  Too often, he looked like Chicken Little in the pocket and panicked.  You can’t blame it on a new offensive scheme, he had the same OC.  He’s also not a rookie.  Before Sidney Rice got hurt, Jackson would force throws to Rice at the expense of open receivers and first downs.  I just don’t believe that Jackson has the ability to reach the next level and continuing to start him would be detrimental to the team.

My ideal roster order for QBs would be Flynn, Wilson, Jackson/Portis.  With the not-sizable, yet not-miniscule amount we are paying Flynn, it behooves the Seahawks to start him and see what he can do.  He has shown flashes of greatness and we need to see if he can consistently do that for us.  My gut tells me that he can and I can’t foresee any situation in camp where Jackson would crush Flynn in competition.

Wilson should be the #2 QB for two reasons.  First, Seattle needs to establish QB lineage or at least a totally reliable backup (like Charlie Batch in Pittsburg).  Seattle needs to avoid repeating the loss of a key element of the offense (i.e. Hasselbeck) and being left empty handed under center.  Wilson has a lot of detractors, mostly because of his height, but it wouldn’t be the first time that the critics would be wrong. Secondly, Jackson is a free agent after this season.  I cannot see any situation in which he is re-signed by the Seahawks.  Therefore, he has maybe a little trade value right now and none in the future.  If Wilson can develop behind Matt Flynn, Seattle can possibly trade him to another team for some draft picks a la the Seattle-San Diego trade that brought in Whitehurst.  Focusing on developing Wilson as a #2 QB offers more benefits than watching Jackson throw a game away backing up Flynn. I’d rather lose a game and give Wilson experience, than lose a game because we wanted to see Jackson flail around aimlessly some more.

Hopefully, the quarterback competition settles a lot of these issues and Seattle can enter the season with a solid and foundationally sound offense.  It’s hard not to see the potential for greatness when you look at the individual offensive components.  The Seahawks need to solidify the critical element of QB and everything else should fit together.

Nov 6, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll congratulates defensive end Chris Clemons (91) on a defensive stop against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

As the headline states, the Seahawks seem to have been amassing a large number of specialists for their defense. First round pick Bruce Irvin is a perfect example. He’s an amazing pass rusher, but at least at this point in his development, he offers next to nothing in run support.

This is especially true on the defensive line. Brandon Mebane, Red Bryant and Alan Branch are among the league’s best run stuffers. They also offer next to nothing in terms of pass rush. Conversely, Chris Clemons, Jason Jones, and now Irvin are exceptional pass rushers, but offer little in terms of run support.

That dichotomy can lead to really good things for the Seahawks. It should allow them to be great against both the run and pass. Get he run stuffers out there on running downs, and then pull them off for the pass rushers one passing downs.  The problem is that this system puts tremendous pressure on the coaches to make sure the right the right personnel on the field for every play. Have the wrong unit in there and bad things are bound to happen. Luckily, I have a lot of faith in Pete Carroll and Gus Bradley.

My concern is that this type of system is open to team’s that “break convention;” throwing on running downs and passing in running situations. I think we’re going to see a lot of teams going 3 or 4 wide and then handing it off. Or coming out with 2 TEs and a fullback only to pass the ball.

Another thing that makes me worry is versatile players like SF’s LaMichael James. I can see them huddling with 2 TEs, a FB, James as the RB, and just 1 WR, and then shifting into a formation that has James and speedy TE Vernon Davis both split out wide. The Seahawks would mostly likely find themselves with their run-stopping unit on the field, and would be at a major disadvantage against any pass play called by the Niners.

Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out. As I said above, I have a lot of Faith in Carroll and Bradley to get the right players on the field and to call the right plays. I’m just concerned. There’s a reason why other teams don’t do this. While there’s potential for this defense to be absolutely amazing, I’m still worried.

August 27, 2011; Englewood, CO, USA; Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider walks along the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field. The Broncos defeated the Seahawks 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

Most GMs have a calling card; something about them that distinguishes them from for the others. For Tim Ruskell it was small, unathletic players who were supposed to be better “football players” than their measurables would suggest. For Mike Holmgren it was genuinely awful defensive players. For Al Davis it was thugs and anyone with a long police record. For Jerry Jones it is players who have more personality than talent (aka diva drama queens). I think you get the picture.

It’s still really early to try and get a feel for What John Schneider’s legacy might be, but he does have a tremendous reputation for one thing already, and that is finding great players near the end of the draft.

Just for fun, I asked a bunch of other others, who covered various other teams from all over the league, what they thought of John Schneider, and the answers were pretty consistent. Things like “bigger, stronger, and faster,” “toughness,” and “power” were common themes within the responses, but the one thing that was almost universally included was Schneider’s knack for finding late round gems.

Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman, both 5th round picks, are two of the best at their positions in the league, and are the crux of Schneider’s reputation. Chancellor was a pro-bowler last season, and Sherman would have been had he started more than 10 games.

Also helping Schneider’s cause was KJ Wright, the 4th round pick in 2011 that was the team’s best LB last season. Schneider was also given props in this regard for his undrafted free agent signings of Doug Baldwin and Jeron Johnson.

If his reputation is going to continue, something tells me that Winston Guy and Korey Toomer will be the players that everyone is talking about after 2012. Neither player is likely to start, but both could very well earn a tremendous amount of playing time this season.

Clearly, it’s still way to early to know what Schneider is going to be known for. A year from now it might be something completely different that people think of when you mention his name. I just thought it was pretty cool that the league is starting to notice that Schneider has been really goot at finding later round talent.

Doug Baldwin, 2011′s most productive receiver, is a lock to be back, but beyond that nothing is certain.

Sydney Rice is the most dynamic player of the group and almost certain to return as well, but Rice is also injury prone and the group’s most expensive player. If Rice gets nicked up in training camp, it’s possible that the Seahawks could cut him loose and try and move on. I doubt that will happen, but itn’t completely out of the question. Still, lets assume that Rice is a lock to make the team.

That’s just 2 of the 6 spots, so 4 of them are completely up for grabs.

Pete Carroll really likes Kris Durham, and he has a tremendous amount of potential. If he takes a big step forward in his development he could end up taking over the starting job at split end. If he doesn’t, he could be one of those who lose out completely in the competition for a spot on the team.

The fans all seem to love Rickardo Lockette, but I actually don’t expect him to make the 2012 squad. He’s got great speed, but hasn’t shown he’s a threat to run anything but a go-route. In fact, if you look at the take from the games he played, Lockette appeared easy to cover on plays where he had to make some sort of cut, so I just don’t see him finding a place on this team with such a crowded field.

Ben Obomanu and Mike Williams both face an uphill battle to remain with the team. Williams had just 18 catches despite starting in 12 games. He’s a big target but struggled to get any sort of separation last season. Obomanu has always been a spectacular special teams player and decent reserve WR, but the specials teams should be loaded this season after the Seahawks drafted so much speed, and players with more upside might have to be cut in order for Obomanu to stay. In the end, I can’t see both of these 2 making the squad this season.

A similar case could be made for the duo of Golden Tate and Deon Butler. Both are extremely physically gifted, but neither has ever managed to turn those gifts into on field production. Last season was supposed to be when Tate emerged as a real weapon, but he lost his playing time to an undrafted rookie. Another thing working against this pair is their size. Pete Carroll clearly like bigger physical receivers, and those are adjectives that will never be used to describe, Tate and Butler. Again, I can’t see more than 1 of these 2 making the final roster, and I could easily see a situation where both are gone.

That’s the 8 players who are returning from last season. My tally is that 5 of them make the final roster (Baldwin, Rice, Durham, one of Williams/Obomanu, and one of Tate/Butler) That leaves 1 spot open to be claimed, and many vying for a that spot.

The duo of Phil Bates, Charly Martin, is all fairly uninteresting. Both are practice squad journeymen who’ve yet to show they belong in the league. While it’s possible they impress in camp, I doubt that will happen.

That leaves a trio of undrafted rookies to consider, Jermaine Kearse, Lavasier Tuinel, and Raymond Webber. Kearse will likely be a fan favorite in the preseason since he played for Washington, but his lack of development over his final 2 years of college makes me think he has limited upside at this level. (which is too bad, since I had huge expectations for him after his sophomore season.) Instead, my expectation is that if any of the undrafted rookies makes the team it’ll be Tuinel.

Tuniel is a big target (he’s 6-4) and is an exceptionally physical blocker for the running game. He’s also got good speed and quickness. Physically he should have been drafted somewhere on day 2, but (statement removed***) that caused every NFL team to pass on him. He could be a real steal for the Seahawks.

On the other hand, Tuniel size and blocking skills actually make him a candidate to be moved to TE, which is a rumor I’ve been hearing out the Seahawks rookie camp this week. If Tuniel moves to TE, or if his checkered past removed his name form the list of possibilities, then that opens the door for Kearse, Lockette, or one of the others to steal a roster spot.

The wide receiver position is going to be one of the most interesting roster battles to watch when training camp finally arrives.

***At the Request of Lavasier Tuinei’s representatives, I have removed a sentence in which I claimed there had been a part of Tuinei’s past that might have caused teams not to draft him. Since I have no first hand knowledge of such events, and was only relaying what I had been told by other draft pundits, I have decided to decided to remove the disparaging remark. 

I certainly had no intention of harming Tuinei in any way. 

Nov 13, 2011; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks tackle Russell Okung (76) during the game against the Baltimore Ravens at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Ravens 22-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Okung and John Moffitt, both young offensive linemen who ended 2011 on Injured reserve but are expected to be starters in 2012, are “ahead of schedule” in their recovery. While neither are currently cleared to participate in contact drills, both were on the field with their teammates earlier this week for the team’s minicamp practices.

It may not sound like much, but the having the duo out there, even without being able to participate in contract drills, is extremely important. Both are young players that are still learning the ins and outs of Tom Cable’s blocking schemes that were introduced last year. There’s still learning to be done that can help these players once the game’s start.

Okung and Moffitt make up 40% of an offensive line that will need to be much improved if the Seahawks are going to make it to the playoffs in 2012. So having them healthy and participating in these practices is incredibly important.

Of the 5 offensive linemen who ended the 2011 season as starters, only 2 projected to back in the same place at the start of 2012. Max Unger will return at center, and Breno Giacomini will be back at RT. Giacomini, though, is actually a backup himself. He’s filling in for an injured James Carpenter, who wont be fully healed in time for the 2012 season, and will likely begin the year on PUP list. A third, Paul McQuistan has the edge to win the LG spot, but he was the starting LT at the end of the season.

How soon will Winston Guy push for a starting job? Credit: Mark Zerof-US PRESSWIRE

That headline felt a bit weird to write, since no one is thinking that Kam Chancellor is in need of replacement, but the Seahawks have huge expectations for 6th round pick Winston Guy.

When the Seahawks selected Kam Chancellor in the 5th round 2 years ago, it was tough to tell if he’d stick at safety or have to move to LB. Chancellor silenced all doubters and earned himself plenty of playing time as the team’s nickel back. A year later, he was the starting strong safety and on his way to the pro bowl.

The Seahawks see similar potential in Guy, even though he fell all the way to the 6th round in the draft. At 6-1, 218 lbs. The Seahawks see a potential big hitter who can help in the run game. With a 4.5 second 40 yard dash, they see a someone who’s fast enough to cover a lot of ground in coverage.

Its important to note that part of the reason that Guy fell to the 6th round was that he had an injury that prevented him from participating in the combine and in Kentucky’s pro day. Guy also ended up playing mostly at linebacker this past season because Kentucky really needed help at that position. This lead NFL teams to wonder if he protected as a LB or as a safety at the NFL level, and further hurt his draft value.

The Seahawks didn’t have any such trouble knowing how they are going to use him. The plan this season is to use Guy the same way the Seahawks used Chancellor in his rookie season, as the team’s nickel back. That means Guy is likely to see plenty of snaps on the field next to Chancellor and Earl Thomas.

To me, the interesting problem comes in 2013. If Guy develops the way the Seahawks expect him to, then he would be ready to step in and become a starter at that point. But where would he play? It’s pretty clear that Thomas and Chancellor aren’t going anywhere. Both were pro-bowlers last season, and appear to still have room to improve.

Obviously, this would be a great problem to have. 3 high quality safeties capable of starting? I don’t think you’ll see Pete Carroll complaining if that happens, but it does make me wonder if we’ll end up seeing a trade of one of them for a high draft prick at some point in the future.

Is Matt Flynn the future of the QB position for the Seahawks, or just the present? Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

So just who is going to be the Seattle Seahawk’s starting quarterback in 2012? What about 2013? I doubt that there’s a more hotly debated topic right now around the Seahawks. Anyone who says they know exactly how it’s all going to happen is either lying or delusional.

Tarvaris Jackson might as well be persona non grata right now. Looking around the web, all I see are calls for him to be cut, or outrage that Jackson is going to be given a chance to win the starting job. Part of me completely understands the sentiment behind that. Jackson is never going to be a franchise QB, so why keep him around at the expense of someone who might be?

At the same time, Jackson wasn’t awful last season. While he melted in the 4th quarter and cost the Seahawks at least 3 wins, he also prevented the team from completely unraveling early in the season, and really toughed out a long season with a rather severe injury. While the thought of him being the team’s starting QB again in 2012 makes my head hurt, he would make an excellent backup for this team.

Matt Flynn is the presumed starter. It seems that everyone has already handed him the keys to the franchise. To me, I simply don’t understand this. Flynn has all of 2 NFL starts, and both were against really poor defensive teams. I think it says a tremendous amout about Flynn’s upside that both his former offensive coordinator (Miami’s new head coach) and the person credited with Flynn being drafted by the Packers (Seahawk GM John Schneider) both offered him a contract befitting a backup, and not that of the starter.

I think it also says a lot about Flynn’s future with the team that the Seahawks used a 3rd round pick on Russell Wilson. Regardless of my thoughts on wasting such a high pick on a 5-10 QB, Wilson has all the skills to be the best QB on the roster. (whether or not those skills ever show up on the field because of his height is the problem, not any of his skills.) In practice, it’s highly probably that Wilson will be best QB in training camp. If that’s the case, will the Seahawks really give him the starting job for week 1 of this season, or will he wait in the wings for Flynn or Jackson to struggle?

And then what happens if Wilson is tabbed the Quarterback of the future, but then Flynn or Jackson excels in the roll at the begining of the year? Do they move on to Wilson anyways, or trade him away next offseason and stick with the older now-established starter?

And all these scenarios are even before we bring up Josh Portis. Portis is a good athlete who was still learning what it meant to play QB last season. Now he’s got a year’s experience in this offense under his belt. Portis severly lacked refinement when we last saw him in the pre-season a year ago, but there’s a chance that he could still develop into something special.

Contrary to other reports, Portis is not eligible for the practice squad. While he never played in a game, he was on the active roster for Cleveland game last season when Jackson was out with his torn biceps, and Charlie Whitehurst got the start. Being on the active roster for that game makes him ineligible for a practice squad slot, so cutting Portis likely means losing him.

So then what do you do with both Wilson and Portis? Does the loser of the Jackson-Flynn battle get cut if both Wilson and Portis do just enough to make this choice hard, but not enough to insert themselves into the starting debate? Does the fate of the loser of the Jackson-Flynn battle depend on Wilson’s development alone, or is there something they can do on their own.

Is cutting Flynn even an option to the Seahawks, no matter how poor he looks? How much of a PR nightmare will that be; cutting the big-name QB that was brought in to fix the position, and before he ever played in t regular season game? And do Schneider and Pete Carroll even care about that? And if we operate under the assumption that Flynn can’t be cut, does that seal Portis’s fate if Jackson wins the starting job, no matter how much Portis shows? Or do the Seahawks try and keep 4 QB on the roster in that scenario?

And what happens if none of the quartet impresses in the preseason? Then what?

All of those question are just a fraction of the possibilities that we might see unfold this summer. Hold on to your hats, this is going to be a wild ride.

There are people who are paid large sums of money to know this – Mel Kiper and Mike Mayock to name a couple – and even they were shocked by Seattle’s choices in the draft.  Yet, they didn’t have the intellectually honest reaction that some had.  Rather, they reacted as if Pete Carroll and John Schneider had no clue what they were doing and just napalmed Seattle’s future.  This is the nature of pundits in all realms of punditry, though, and admitting you’re wrong or misinformed does not come naturally to them.

Another problem is that the Seahawks are not being built like a typical NFL team.  They don’t draft the very best player available no matter what the position.  They might not even draft the “very best” player in a position they need, instead taking the best player that fits what they are trying to do.  Instead of trying to pool talent, generally, they are looking for players, specifically, that will complement their system.  To evaluate Seattle’s draft picks, you need to view it through that lens.   Of course that means one would have to dig a little deeper and take some time to understand what was going on up in South Alaska, but it means that the professional analysis would be that much better.  For better or worse, Seattle is not your typical NFL team.  (It’s also important to remember that it takes three years to actually be able to evaluate a team’s draft class.)

The way I understand Carroll and Schneider’s big idea, is that on defense they want a general framework in which they can plug in various players depending on the circumstances (opponent, situation, and desired outcome).   Sometimes they might need a super-fast pass rusher within a 3-4 defense and plug in Irvin to create some pressure.  Other times, they might be stopping the run, or just trying to make sure passes go incomplete.  Pete Carroll likes having specific tools in the tool box for specific situations.  That’s why he runs a hybrid 3-4 4-3 defense.   And because of this, the Seahawks are not going to draft in the typical NFL fashion.  Flexibility in specificity of players is valued higher than really good every-down generalists.

These negotiations, especially for first round picks like Irvin, used to take months and often weren’t completed until just before the start of training camp. Now they’ve been reduced to a few hours of combing over the fine details and making sure there’s no typos. It’s clearly a much different situation now.

The following draft picks are signed:

• Bruce Irvin, 1st Rd, 15th overall
• Bobby Wagner, 2nd Rd, 47th overall
• Russell Wilson, 3rd Rd, 75th overall
• Robert Turbin, 4th Rd, 106th overall
• Korey Toomer, 5th Rd, 154th overall
• Jeremy Lane, 6th Rd, 172 overall
• Winston Guy 6th Rd, 181 overall
• Greg Scruggs, 7th Rd, 232rd overall

The following players remain unsigned:

• Jaye Howard, 4th Rd, 114th overall
• JR Sweezy, 7th Rd, 225th overall

All of these contracts must be approved by the league and the Players association, and thus do not yet appear on the the league’s official transation log. That should happen today, and at that time we should learn 2 of the 4 players who will have to be cut to make room for this year’s draft picks. The other 2 will come when the remaining to players sign their contracts in the coming days.

It is really impressive that the Seahawks have managed to get all these players signed so quickly, not that it matters all that much. As long as none of the were to get hurt during the non-contact OTAs and mini-camps, then it simply doesn’t change anything as long as they are all signed by the start of training camp.

At least now they are all protected in case of some freak non-contact injury.

Are Tarvaris Jackson's days on the Seahawks roster about to end? Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

The Seahawks roster officially sits at 84 players right now. The maximum is 90, so on the surface everything would appear fine. But for 4 players everything is not fine. We just don’t know who those 4 players are yet.

The Seahawks just drafted 10 players, and while their rights are controlled by the team, they aren’t added to the roster until they sign their contract. That means that as the Seahawks sign those drafted players, 4 people currently on the roster will end up unemployed.

So who’d going to be given their waling papers? it tough to say. The Seahawks are well under the salary cap at this point, so I don’t believe that we’ll see any veterans get their surprise waling papers. Instead, it seems much more like that the some of the 10 undrafted free agents, or the large group of players signed to “futures” contract immediately after last season will be the players who are shown the door.

If I had to guess, I’d say that WR Charly Martin, RB Tyrel Sutton, LB Allen Bradford, and CB Coye Francies have the most to be worried about. Then again, John Schneider never seems to do what I think should happen, so perhaps those 4 are safe simply because I suggested that they are like candidates to be cut.

If we were to poll the fans, I’d be willing to bet that a large number would like to see QB Tarvaris Jackson cut loose. I just don’t see that happening at this point. Jackson is likely going to be given a legitimate chance to beat out Matt Flynn for the starting job. Even if Flynn wins that competition, there’s a good chance that Jackson goes into the season as the #2 QB unless Russell Wilson picks up the offense much faster than is usually expected for a rookie.

If he makes the final roster, Marcus Trufant will be the oldest member of the Seahawks in 2012. Credit: Kirby Lee-PRESSWIRE

Last season, the Seahawks started the year as the 4th youngest team in the NFL. After Marcus Trufant(30) and Matt McCoy(29) went on IR and were replaced by Roy Lewis (23) David Voroba (25), the Seahawks jumped to #2 on the list. When you consider that Raheem Brock (33) and Atari Bibgy (31) were among the team’s vets and weren’t even starters.

The 2012 Seahawks might be even young. Brock was replaced by Bruce Irvin (24), and Bigby was replaced by Guy Winston (22). Throw in David Hathorne’s (27) departure in favor of Bobby Wagner (21) and you start to see just how young this team might be. And that’s even before we note that Robert Gallery (31) is going to be replaced by… someone… who is almost guarenteed to be younger than he is.

There are currently 94 players currently listed on the roster. (there is a 90 player maximum, so as the draft picks officially sign, 4 players on the roster will have to be cut. More on that tomorrow) Out of those 94, the Seahawks have just 5 who are 30 years of age or older: Marcus Trufant (31), John Ryan (30), Heath Farwell (30), Chris Clemons (30), and Frank Omlyale (30).

The 29 year old club only has 7 members, though it does contains key contributors like Michael Robertson, Leon Washington and Paul McQuistan. Of the 12 players on the roster who are 29 or older, only 5 appear to be guaranteed spots on the final roster.

Arizona Cardinals

• The Cardinals had the weakest draft in the division by my evaluation. They seemingly did nothing to upgrade their team. While some of their picks have the potential to be good players, it’s hard to see more than 2 getting significant playing time this season.
• Michael Floyd seems like a wasted pick. Sure it’ll make Larry Fitzgerald happy since he’ll face less triple teams, but WR wasn’t a huge need. Arizona could have taken any number of players at #13 that would have made a much bigger impact on their team, and still upgraded WR later in the draft. I’m not saying Floyd isn’t very good, because he is, I just don’t see this as a big improvement for Cardinals.
• The Cards didn’t take a QB until round 6, and they got one who’ll look pretty in a uniform but isn’t a real NFL prospect. Ryan Lindley had trouble completely more than 50% of his passes at the college level. Do they really think he’ll be better against pro competition?
• Arizona’s biggest weakness, other than QB, was their offensive line. Clearly their strategy was quantity over quality.  The Cardinals took 3 tackles in the draft, and non of them appear to have the skills to start in their rookie season. Obviously Arizona is hoping that one progresses much quicker than expected and manages to get the field, but that seems unlikely at this point.

San Francisco 49ers

• A.J. Jenkins was just a a head scratcher. The only way I can describe it is to call it a Tim Ruskell pick. In a draft full of a large number of tall and fast receivers, the 49ers pick a player who is neither tall or fast. Instead they get a guy who likely is going to never be more than a slot receiver when they needed a real weapon on the outside, and those players were still available.
• After Jenkins though, their draft got much better. LaMichael James should be another Darin Sproles/Reggie Bush type playmaker that moves all over the field. Combining his speed with Frank Gore’s power could give other teams fits.
• After that they did a good job fining talent at a number of positions where they could use additional bodies, like Guard and Safety.
• I’m a bit surprised they never drafted a CB or a TE, but then again they only had 7 picks so there was only so much that they could do.

St. Louis Rams

• The Rams had so many picks in the early stages of this draft it would be tough for them not to get better. Thats exactly what they did. While it might not translate into them being a real contender in 2012, it will pay off sooner rather than later.
• The Rams did a good job of trying to upgrade both sides of the ball, and not just concentrating on the defense like I expected them to. Even with that, Michael Brockers and Janoris Jenkins (if his head stays screwed on correctly) should seriously upgrade what was one of the worse pass defenses in the league in 2011.
• On the offensive side, Isaiah Pead will take a major load off of Steven Jackson at RB, and is good enough to take over if Jackson decides to retire after this season. He’s under the radar compared to others, but I think he’ll be a good NFL RB.
• Brian Quick was an interesting choice with their 2nd first round choice. Quick has all the skills to be a Tory Holt type playmaker, but coming from such a small school he has a long way to go before he reaches that potential. Quick is really raw and likely wont put up huge numbers in 2012.
• It should also be mentioned that the Rams used this draft to also get an extra first round pick in each of the next 2 drafts as well.

Massaquoi would have ended up as the situational pass rusher in my alternate universe. Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Don’t know what a shadow draft is? Don’t feel bad. It’s almost never used in the NFL. It’s mostly a baseball thing. Still, shadow drafts can be really fun. What we’re talking about here is what players I would have picked for the Seahawks if I had been the GM.

The fun part of this was that I made the picks at the same time the Seahawks did. No extra days to think things over. No hindsight based on people who were available 3 rounds later. It’s about picking the players as the draft unfolds. Can you see why I think that shadow drafts are fun? Oh, but that’s not even the best part. The Best part is looking back at the shadow draft a year or 2 later, and ealize jsut how bad the draft would have turned out. Lets just say that we should all be glad that John Schneider is in charge and not me.

Overall, I liked my draft a lot more before I wrote it out for this article. I never got a backup RB or a CB. I didn’t get OL until the very end, and thus neither would be much help this season. I also ended up with 3 LBs, and 2 DEs, though 1 of each was my versatile first round pick. Clearly you can see that my draft grades for those 2 positions were high because of how much of a need they were going into the draft.

Round 1, 15th overall: Seahawks picked Bruce Irvin. My pick: Melvin Ingram, OLB/DE South Carolina

Ingram went 3 picks later to the Chargers. i had him rated above Irvin at the time of the draft in part because I had a poor read on Irvin’s criminal history. Turns out its not the big deal I thought it was. I also had Ingram rated higher because I thought he could be an every down player right away. Irvin’s ceiling is higher, but I thought Ingram would be more production in the first couple years.

Round 2, 47rd Overall: Seahawks picked Bobby Wagner. My Pick: Lavonte David, OLB, Nebraska

David wasn’t picked until #58, so clearly I overvalued him. To me though, David might be the most complete 4-3 OLB in the draft. He’s not a flashy pass rusher that would excel in the 3-4, but he can play the run and cover in the passing game like no other OLB in this draft. He also has the speed that I thought would interest Pete Carroll. I don’t have a problem with the Wagner pick at all. To me this was just a judgement call and I went with the player from the bigger school.

Round 3, 75th Overall: Seahawks picked Russell Wilson. My Pick: Mohammed Sanu, WR, Rutgers

By now I’m sure you’ve read my thoughts on the Russell Wilson pick, so I wont go into that here. Instead, I would have taken Sanu who went 8 picks later to the Bengals. Sanu is a a tall, speedy receiver who would have been a good fit to play Split End. I’m not convinced that Mike Williams is going to even make this team in 2012, and with his speed Sanu would have been a good upgrade at the spot.

Round 4, 106th Overall: Seahawks picked Robert Turbin. My Pick: Jered Crick, DT, Nebraska

Turbin is a great fit for the Seahawks. I really liked this pick. I had him rated about this spot, but chose Crick instead. The Seahawks didn’t need a DT, but Crick is a guy who can create an inside pass rush on third down, a lot like Jason Jones. This pick was made with the idea of pairing Jones and Crick at DT on passing down, trying to get some pressure on the QB from the inside. Crick went a full 20 picks later to the Texans, so clearly I didn’t get value here.

Round 4, 114th Overall: Seahawks picked Jaye Howard. My Pick: Adrien Robinson, TE, Cincinatti

The Seahawks need a TE, and Robinson was the best on the board at the time. I didn’t think it was a very good pick, but I had a lot of linebackers and short CB on my board that I didn’t want to draft and Robinson was the next viable player. I was actually shocked when the Giants took him just 13 picks later at 127.

Round 5, 154th Overall: Seahawks picked Korey Toomer. My Pick: Johnathon Massaquoi, DE, Troy

I really wanted Josh Norman, and then Senio Kelemete here, both both came off the board right after I mentioned them in our live chat that day. Having both of them taken left me scrambling and so I chose Massaquoi. He would have provided the pass rush opposite Clemons on passing down, and filled a need, even thought I was hoping to get DB or OL help in this round. He went 10 picks later at #164.

Round 6, 172th Overall: Seahawks picked Jeremy Lane. My Pick: Audie Cole, ILB, North Carolina St.

This is where my draft starts to really look clueless. Cole went a full round later (210 overall) to the Vikings. I clearly had Cole overrated, and thought I was getting great value here (wrong) Cole isn’t a starter right way, but appears to have enough upside that he could develop into a David Hawthorne type LB. I guess we’ll see.

Round 6, 181th Overall: Seahawks picked Winston Guy. My Pick: Brandon Washington, OG, Miami

Finally got my offensive lineman. I like Washington as a run blocker, but he has a lot of development to do before he’s ready for playing time in the NFL. The Eagles drafted him 200th overall, so again I’m picking a guy way too early.

Round 7, 225th Overall: Seahawks picked JR Sweezy. My Pick: Matt Reynolds, OT, BYU

Reynolds went undrafted, so clearly I missed on this pick too. I liked his footwork in pass protection when I scouted him. That’s all I had on him, but it was positive and this late in the draft my notes didn’t have many positives about any player. I was also busy writing up recaps and not watching the draft as closely as I should of been, so I was scrambling to find someone who hadn’t been picked yet.

Round 7, 232th Overall: Seahawks picked Greg Scruggs. My Pick: Sean Cattouse, FS, California

I was down to my last pick and I hadn’t managed to pick up a DB. Cattouse is 6-2, and was productive in the Pac-12, and thus he was my pick here. He went undrafted too.

Of the UDFA, I didn’t get into that too much. I did notice that I hadn’t picked a RB, so I would have tried to sign Chris Polk out of Washington and Marc Tyler out of USC. I also probably would have brought in Austin Davis out of Southern Miss to compete with Josh Portis for the 3rd string QB job. And finally I’d have looked at Boston College CB Donnie Fletcher to provide another body at that position since I never drafted a corner.

Other than that, I’d picked a players from just about every position group so I didn’t look into who else was available. Instead I finished up my way-too-early 2013 Mock Draft.

I waited to start writing this review because I didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon of applying grades to the draft. We all know we won’t be able to evaluate this draft as a success or failure for at least two years. I also wanted time to let all the reactions settle and to filter all the information available on blogs and Twitter and news services. I’ve heard the interviews and the rebuttals wherein the general manager (Hi JS!) says it was the best draft ever and the media says “They always have to say that and it’s not an indicator of a quality draft!”

So pushing all that aside, here’s my gut reaction:

1. I think PCJS did a better than average job of evaluating talent and drafting players with the exact abilities they were looking for. They didn’t let the media “best player available” buzz dictate their choices.
2. I think PCJS did an excellent job of drafting for their system and needs. As an example, while the media and some fans thing Russell Wilson is too short is for a successful NFL QB, Seahawks picked him anyway. And the buzz on Twitter is that the players like his skills. It does speak to the front office’s belief that he has the skills needed for their system. It’s also set up and intriguing scenario going into training camp where there’s 4 QBs on the roster and only 3 slots.
3. I was wrong about the Hawks not drafting a QB. (I hate admitting that. I was so sure I was right!)
4. PCJS did a great job drafting players with multiple capabilities. Moving some of those big bodies they drafted in later rounds around to meet our needs shows they put a lot of thought into the process.

I have to admit, the player I’m most excited about is not Bruce Irvin, although I’m beyond elated at the thought of a consistent pass rush. The player I’m most excited about is Robert Turbin. Yes, the word on the street is that NFL games are won on the arms of the QB throwing for big chunks of earth. But I don’t believe any team can win without a two prong offense; running and passing. Having the defense believe you’ll throw at every down is just ludicrous. Therefore a running game is essential… or at least the threat of a running game.  I really like Turbin’s strong, physical running style and I’m looking forward to a shared workload between Lynch and Turbin. Unfortunately, even though he’s such a standup guy, Forsett (Who I’ve always liked) wasn’t effective last year and I fear he may be too small to be successful. So having two aggressive runners on our team really makes my day!

What’s your reaction to the draft?