2015 Seattle Seahawks Shadow Draft

One thing I’ve been doing for over a decade now during the NFL draft is the creation of a Shadow Draft for the Seattle Seahawks. A Shadow Draft is what would have happened had I been in charge of selecting the players Seattle took in the draft.

The rules for doing a shadow draft are simple: Whenever Seattle picks a player, I pick a player. I have to make the pick before Seattle’s pick is announced so as to make sure I’m not biased based on what the team did. As the draft unfolds, I assume the team picked my guys, so the totality of the draft class is independent on what players Seattle actually picked.

It is a fun exercise, and it helps keep me from going off the deep end whenever the Seahawks make a pick that I don’t agree with. Running a draft board isn’t easy, and John Schneider is very very good at it.

So here is my Shadow Draft for 2015. It is also a best example of why you all should be very excited that I will never be the general manger of the Seahawks.

Pick 63

Seahawks Pick: Frank Clark
My Pick: A.J. Cann, OG, South Carolina
Where he was drafted: Cann was taken by Jacksonville four picks later at 67.

Frank Clark wasn’t on my draft board for reason I don’t think I need to get in to. I also didn’t think a pass rusher was a big enough need to stop me from getting an offensive lineman that can be dropped into the starting lineup on day 1. Cann was a huge get by Jacksonville, and was clearly the best zone-blocking guard in the draft this year.

Pick 69

Seahawks Pick: Tyler Lockett
My Pick: Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
Where he was drafted: One pick later at 70 to the Texans

Don’t tell Charles this, but I wouldn’t have used four picks on a punt and kick returner. I’d have waited out the round and if he didn’t fall to me that so be it. When Seattle did trade up, I thought it was for Jaelen Strong. Strong would be an instant starter in Seattle as a massive upgrade over Jermaine Kearse. He’s also a perfect fit for quarterback Russell Wilson’s skill set.

Pick 130

Seahawks Pick: Terry Poole, OT, SDSU
My Pick: Shaq Mason, OC, Georgia Tech
Where he was drafted: one pick later at pick 131 to the Patriot

Time will tell if I was right or very wrong here. Mason is the much better athlete, but he played in a multi-option offense in college and thus is clueless as a pass blocker. Of course, with Cann at LG Mason wasn’t going to start at OC in 2015 in my alternate reality anyways, so he’d have time to learn.

Pick 134

Seahawks Pick: Mark Glowinski, OG, WVU
My Pick: Grady Jarrett, NT, Clemson
Where he was drafted: Three picks later at 137 to the Falcons

I really like Seattle’s pick of Glow at this spot. I think he’s going to be a great fit and exceptional draft value. I had already taken two offensive linemen, so I went defense instead. Jarrett was a guy that I would have targeted earlier had it not been for bigger needs on the offensive side of the ball. He’s a big nose tackle that two-gaps well and would have been the eventual replacement for Brandon Mebane.

Pick 170

Seahawks Pick: Tre Smith, CB, Towson
My Pick: Mike Bennett, DT, Ohio State
Where he was drafted: 10 picks later at 180 to the Jaguars

I love Schneider’s pick here. It made me wish I had though of picking Smith in this spot. Instead, I finally got my pass rusher. Bennett was a guy I would have drafted much earlier if Seattle hadn’t traded away so many picks for Lockett. In a sense, Schneider made me look smarter than I am. Bennett plays a lot like the guy already on Seattle’s roster with the same name, and slid into this stage of the draft entirely because of an injury concern.

Pick 209

Seahawks Pick: Obum Gwachum, DE, Oregon State
My Pick: Ben Koyak, TE, Notre Dame
Where he was drafted: Almost an entire round later at 229 to Jacksonville

My first real miss in terms of draft value, but I’m ok with it for the this player. Koyak isn’t a good tight end yet, but he is a good athlete. He offers the potential to develop into something while providing needed depth for the Seahawks.

Pick 214

Seahawks Pick: Kristjan Sokoli, OG/OC, Buffalo
My Pick: Kristjan Sokoli, DT/DE, Buffalo
Where he was drafted: ummm… yes, you read that right.

This was was entirely because he’s officially the best athlete in the NFL by SPARQ according to Zach Whitman over at 3 Sigma Athlete. I had Seattle already taking two defensive linemen prior to this pick, but couldn’t resist adding him here. Schneider thought the same thing apparently, but saw him as an offensive linemen instead.

Pick 248

Seahawks Pick: Ryan Murphy, S, Oregon State
My Pick: Nick Marshall, CB, Auburn
Where he was drafted: He wasn’t.

It was Seattle’s last pick and I realized I hadn’t drafted a CB. Whoops! So I grabbed the guy on the board that I felt fit Seattle’s profile the best. Marshall was a college QB, but fits athletically as a Seattle CB. He has a lot of learning to do, but he should be successful if given time to develop.

Overall Impressions

When I’ve done this in the past, I’ve typically screwed up the draft value of guys once we get to round five. I did a much better job this year of not completely screwing things up in that regard.

That said, I like Schneider’s draft more than mine. It has more balance top to bottom and there are more guys likely to stick on the roster long-term. His ability to get Glowinski in the fourth round makes my selection of Cann in the second look fairly awful.

I also made a couple of key mistakes. There’s no edge rusher in my class. My only pass rusher is a guy who plays on the interior. There’s also no cornerback that can be counted on to contribute in 2015.

On the other hand, I think that Strong and Mason have significantly better careers than Lockett and Poole. Time will tell. If Schneider’s track record is any indication, time will prove that I’m once again wrong.

The Seahawks fan in me will be totally ok with that.

Next: Seattle's UDFAs: who are they, and who has a shot at the roster?

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