Seahawks are ready for changes, starting with the NFL combine
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks have some needs. And several sites anticipate the NFL combine is where they find fixes. Here is what is happening in the world of Seattle football on Tuesday. Plus, links for more interesting conversation.
The Seahawks seem pretty interested in this NFL combine thing. This is where aspiring professional football players showcase all kinds of interesting talents that have very little to do with football.
How fast can this guy run a 40? How high can he jump? Etc. All while no one is in their face. At least not directly. How much does this ever happen on the football field? Not much.
Still, we know what Seattle needs and what they will be looking for at the combine: Pass rushers, offensive linemen. You know, the regular stuff.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson writes that the Seahawks must focus on the two position units above. Henderson actually gets more specific and says Seattle will look extremely closely at three players: Harold Landry, outside linebacker from Boston College; Geron Christian, offensive tackle from Louisville; Durham Smythe, tight end from Notre Dame.
Henderson includes Smythe because of his strong blocking ability instead of his pass catching ability.
The great Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune says if Pete Carroll gets what he wants, the Seahawks will focus on getting back to players who can help run the ball. And based on all the coaching changes that Seattle has done this offseason, this absolutely must be what Carroll wants.
Bell also says that Seattle needs pass rushers. If I had to guess, I would think Seattle chooses a pass rushers with its first pick, wherever that ends up being.
Finally, the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta ranks Seattle’s positions of need for this draft. Not surprisingly, Condotta ranks the defensive and offensive lines at the top of his list.
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The bad part is, if a team is in need along both lines, that does not portend future success for some time. Hopefully the Seahawks are in a better position than most.