NFL Draft day 1: What you need to know
By Keith Myers
The NFL Draft is set to begin Thursday evening. Here is everything you need to know, from where to watch it, to who to watch for when the Seattle Seahawks pick.
Basic Info (Seattle market only)
Start Time 5:pm
Radio Coverage: The draft will be broadcast live on 710 ESPN
TV Coverage: Both ESPN and NFLN will have live coverage of the draft
Seahawks Picks
Seattle currently has pick No. 26, though history tells us that they’re very likely to trade down from that spot.
Given the average time per pick in round one, it is unlikely that the Seahawks will be a part of anything, be it a pick or a trade, until at least 7:30 pm.
Draft Needs
The Seahawks could go in a number of different directions with their pick on Thursday. That is assuming they make one, and don’t trade completely out of round 1 again.
The most likely scenario appears to be Seattle taking a defensive tackle to replace Brandon Mebane, who left for San Diego in free agency. DT is a position of great depth in this draft class though, so waiting to address that position is definitely a possibility.
If they don’t pick up a DT, then going offensive line would be the next option. We all know they need help there, but the quote from Pete Carroll and John Schneider appear to indicate that they’ll take until Day 2 to tackle that problem.
The only other position that makes sense in Round 1 would be linebacker. With Bruce Irvin gone, finding an athletic LB that can cover TEs as well as rush the passer would be a nice addition.
Players to Watch
It is just about impossible to predict what Joh Schneider will do during the draft. No one would have predicted Bruce Irvin would have been the pick back in 2012, or that Frank Clark was even on their draft board last year? All we can do is look for the correct athletic profile and then guess.
With that in mind, potential round 1 DTs would be Vernon Butler, Kenny Clark, Chris Jones and Andrew Billings all fit Seattle’s needs. There has been a lot of talk about Robert Nkemdiche, but it now seems unlikely that he’ll drop to Seattle.
Offensive line predictions are all over the board. Many seem to think Germain Ifedi is the target, but the team cannot afford to draft Justin Britt again, and that is exactly what Ifedi appears to be. If his medical evaluation worked out well, Shon Coleman would be a nice selection for the Seahawks.
Next: John Schneider's 1st round history
Linebacker is extremely difficult to judge where guys will go because different defensive scheme can project the same guy into vastly different parts of the draft board. Leonard Floyd would be nice pickup if he drop to 26, but he likely won’t. A dark horse for Seattle at the position would be Su’a Cravens out of USC. He’s a freakishly athletic LB/S combo, and the type of player the Seahawks typically covet.