Seattle Seahawks Draft: Final Thoughts

The 2016 Seattle Seahawks draft class lacked sexy picks, but it was full of the in-the-trenches warriors that the Seahawks needed in order to continue to contend for championships.

Lets face it, there isn’t anything sexy about the 2016 draft class from the Seattle Seahawks. Offensive linemen, a nose tackle, relatively unknown running backs: it just lacks sizzle. This draft class lacks the  electric highlights that Tyler Lockett and Frank Clark brought to the table a year ago.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. This draft class was exactly what the Seahawks needed. After years of giving up draft picks for flashy players like Percy Harvin and Jimmy Graham, it was time to invest in the big-uglies again.

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One of the advantages of drafting 10 players almost every year is that the Seahawks can afford to miss a lot. On average, you have to add 3-4 starters per draft, and not all of those have to be starters in year 1.

Using that as a bar, the 2016 draft result is “mission accomplished.” Reed will be a starter from day 1 at NT. At least one of the three offensive linemen will develop into a starter. At least one of the three RBs will too, likely 2 since Prosise will be the team’s third down back.

That’s 3-4 starters in this draft class without even really trying, and with no major expectations on two of the most talented players they selected: Germain Ifedi and Nick Vannett.

If you’re a regular reader here, you know that I’m not excited about Ifedi being taken by Seattle in round 1. Dan disagrees, and I’m sure most fans do as well. I just know that the Seahawks have been burned by this player-type over and over. Ifedi is a heavy footed RT; just like Justin Britt, James Carpenter and Breno Giacomini were.

It is the last name on that list that tells us why the Ifedi pick will likely work out better than my initial reaction may have suggested. The Seahawks were able to hide many of Giacomini’s flaws by sticking TE Zach Miller next to him. Miller was an excellent blocker, and he repeatedly was asked to make sure Giacomini didn’t get burned by speed rushers.

Miller is long gone, but Seahawks drafted Nick Vannett in the third round this year. Vannett is the best blocker at TE to come out of college in a long time. He’ll make an immediate impact in the running game by allowing the Seahawks to keep their blocking-challenged TEs (Graham, Willson, and Helfet) away from the point of attack.

On top of that, the Seahawks will be able to use Vannett to help Ifedi in the same way they used Miller to help Giacomini. That will minimize Ifedi’s weakness in a way that will also allow him to maximize his strengths.

Basically what I’m saying this that the Vannett pick makes the Ifedi pick work. That tandem will allow Seattle to get back to physically dominating teams with their running game. Throw in a trio of RBs that are built to run in Seattle’s system, and you have a good draft class that’ll leave its mark on the franchise over the next few seasons.

Next: Did the experts like Seattle's draft?

The Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2013 by being a physically imposing team that punished their opponents. They’ll be back to that level of physicality again in 2016 because of this draft class. There is simply no way to complain against that.