Seahawks will look at quarterbacks in NFL Combine – but not to replace Wilson
When the NFL Combine kicks off, the Seahawks will be as busy as any team. They’ll take a long look at the quarterbacks; just not to replace Russell Wilson.
For a few days, the rumors were swirling about Russell Wilson leaving the Seahawks for New York. Thankfully those rumors have been extinguished like the utter trash fire they were. Unfortunately, they’ll rev right up again the moment Pete Carroll or John Schneider make a note about quarterbacks Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State or Missouri’s Drew Lock.
The Seahawks won’t be looking at quarterback prospects in the first round to draft for themselves. While Seattle just has four picks in the draft now, they’ll certainly trade down to add more picks. Even then, they seem to have a pretty good quarterback in place. Carroll and Schneider will not spend an early round pick on a quarterback with all the more pressing needs the team has.
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No, they’ll be assessing the quarterbacks of 2019 with an eye toward what other teams want. One thing that will seriously play against Seattle in this game is that the teams drafting after them in the first round are just as set at the position as they are. Of the 10 teams drafting after the Seahawks (the Raiders have two picks), only Oakland (or Vegas, or Outer Mongolia, wherever they end up this year) might consider a quarterback in the first round. Yes, the Raiders have Derek Carr, but Coach Chucky is on the far side of crazy, if you haven’t noticed by now.
Seahawks will be scouting for what other teams want
So when the Seahawks scout this new crop of signal-callers, they’ll be eyeing the talent for what other teams may want after the top few are taken. The fun thing about this draft is there is so little consensus on who the top players are. Lock and Haskins are in the top three of almost any draft projection you can find. After that, it’s a free-for-all.
One prominent draft site, walterfootball.com, has Duke’s Daniel Jones as their number one pick among quarterbacks. According to both cbssports.com and drafttek.com, he’s a second-round pick, the fourth signal-caller to go. Take Will Grier of West Virginia as another example. You’ll find him slotted anywhere from a late second rounder to a day three selection.
Finally, be prepared for the uproar when the Seahawks watch Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray. The Heisman Trophy winner has too many similarities to Wilson for the interwebs not to explode. Like Wilson, he started at one school and found his role at his next. Like Wilson, he played baseball in college. Murray was drafted in the first round, while Wilson was drafted in the fourth. And of course, like Wilson, Murray is considered undersized by most scouts, generously listed as 5’10” and 195 pounds.
Yes, Murray is the obvious heir apparent to Russell Wilson. Except for a few little details, that is. Like Wilson isn’t going anywhere, and Seattle needs a lot of other positions filled. Blowing their first-round pick (or a second-round pick when they do trade down), for a quarterback would be the worst thing they could do. So when you see the Seahawks scouting quarterbacks as if their lives depended on it, well, they do. Just for information, though.