The Worst 5 Draft Picks in Seattle Seahawks History
By Keith Myers
September 18, 2011; Pittsburgh,PA, USA: Pittsburgh Steelers running back Issac Redman (33) carries the ball against Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry (left) during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE
One of the best things of the John Schneider era has been his success in developing the team through the draft. That hasn’t always been the case for the Seattle Seahawks, who have a long history of failed draft picks. With the draft beginning tomorrow evening, I thought it would be fun to look at some the most extreme draft mistakes in Seahawks history.
Here’s my list for the worst 5 draft picks in Seattle Seahawks history?
5) Robert Barr, OT, 1996, 77th overall (3rd round)
The Seahawks were looking for a RT to replace the aging Howard Ballad, and used their 3rd round pick to do so. They thought they were getting a road grader they could count on for years. Instead they got a player who didn’t want to do the things it took to make it in the NFL. Barr lasted on the roster for 1 year and never saw the field. By the time the following season started, he was out of the league for good.
4) David Greene, QB, 2005, 85th overall (3rd round)
Seattle’s 3 round pick, he was supposed to be the player who took over as the backup QB and allowed the Seahawks to use Seneca Wallace as a playmaker all over the field. Instead, Greene looked so bad in camp that Holmgren refused to risk that Wallace might get hurt. Greene was out of the league a year later.
3) Antoine Palepoi, DE, 2002, 60th overall (2nd round)
In 2 and a half years in Seattle, Palepoi recorded just 1 sack. He was supposed to be the pass rushing specialist that the team needed, but instead became the embodiment of Mike Homgren’s inability to evaluate and draft defensive players.
2) Aaron Curry, LB, 2008, 4th overall (pictured)
Chances are that you already know the Arron Curry story. The Seahawks already had 3 good and expensive LB, yet GM Tim Ruskell decided to spend the 4th overall pick on another LB for reasons only he knows.
Curry was an freakish athlete who was tremendously productive in college and looked like he could be a perennial all-pro. Instead, the Seahawks got a head case who couldn’t tackle and loved to make excuses. Curry’s lack of football instincts were a constant frustration for both coaches and fans. After just 2 and half seasons, the Seahawks shipped him off to Oakland.
1) Dan McGgwire, QB, 1991, 16th overall
Its hard to believe that there was a pick worse than Aaron Curry, but there is. Dan McGwire was the franchise’s 1st high draft pick QB. Tall, strong-armed He was supposed to provide the team with it’s first high-talent QB after 15 years of being led by undrafted free agents. His acquisition led to the team dropping Dave Krieg a year later.
Instead, what the team got was a colossal flop. Even after a year on team learning on the job behind Krieg, McGwire proved to be absolutely clueless. He was unable to win the job in the 1992 training camp, and when the offense turned out to be one of the worst in NFL history, his insertion into the lineup only made it worse.
In the end, just 2 years after wasting a 1st round pick on McGwire, the team was forced to take another first round QB to try and right the mistake. His ineptness led to a level of desperation that led to another mistake.
Dishonorable Mentions: Rick Mirer, Ike Charlton, Kris Richard, Owen Gill