Calm Down The RG3 Hype

Or don’t actually. Build him up so someone else can overpay for him. Just don’t expect the Seahawks to move up for Robert Griffin III. While anything is possible, there’s simply too much evidence available that suggests it simply won’t even be considered by the Seahawks.

By now you’ve already read all about John Schneider’s Green Bay background and trade down philosophy. I wont spend much time on that here since it’s already well known and well documented. The one thing I would add on this topic is that there’s no reason why he’d  want to give up on this philosophy now. The last 2 drafts have seen Schneider draft pro-bowl level talent late in the draft. Moving back in the first round and getting more picks can only be a good thing when Schneider is the one drafting the players, and he knows it.

The other reason why I don’t see the Seahawks targeting RG3 is that he isn’t the type of quarterback the Seahawks want. Now, before you roll your eyes and point your web browser to another site, let me explain what I mean.

We’ve all assumed at one point that the RG3 is exactly what the Seahawks want. He’s accurate, got a big arm and mobile. Perfect right? But ask yourself where that list of requirements came from. You might be surprised that the prototype we have all had in mind isn’t actually what the Seahawks are looking for.

Pete Carroll talks about wanting a “point guard,” or a “game manager.” What exactly that means he hasn’t been particularly clear about until his post season press conference, and even then he was a bit vague and contradicted himself a couple times.

What we have to go by to determine what Pete Carroll and Schneider want in a QB is actually pretty limited. We have to look at their history to determine what they want. Charlie Whitehurst is certainly big, mobile and has a big arm. Jackson is not as big and doesn’t have as big of an arm, but he is also more mobile. If you look at the players that Pete Carroll had at USC (Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Matt Barkley, Mark Sanchez, John David Booty) all (except for Booty) are big guys  with limited mobility, and only Palmer had a truly elite arm.

Clearly there’s a pattern here. Of all of the players on the list, only Jackson is capable of making plays with his legs, and even he’s not going to make too many people miss. The problem is that there’s mobile, and then there’s mobile. If you look at the QBs that Pete Carroll and Schneider have targeted or rated highly in the draft, none have been the type to be true playmakers with their legs.

RG3 definitely doesn’t fit that model. He’s in the Mike Vick/Cam Newton mold of playmakers. You only have to look back one year to see how Carroll and Schneider view that type of player. Cam Newton was the first overall pick in the draft. Jake Locker, another QB who’s a playmaker with his legs, went with the 8th overall pick. According to multiple reports, the Seahawks had those 2 players way down on their draft board as the 4th and 5th QBs in the draft. Both apparently had 3rd round draft grades. Carroll and Schneider clearly don’t value that skill set.

So while RG3 has a lot of hype right now, and undoubtedly the Seahawks will be linked to rumors of trying to trade up for a QB, those rumors will likely be a smokescreen to hide their true intentions. I believe it’s highly unlikely that the Seahawks will try and trade up to get him.

Even if Griffin falls down to them in the draft, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Seahawks use the hype around him to trade back and get a nice package of picks for him.