Seahawks mock draft: pre-Combine and including trades

I expect the Seahawks will make some big trades in the draft since they have just four picks. Here’s my first look at who they’ll take after trading down.

As I’ve noted before (and as every child in Seattle over the age of three knows), the Seahawks under Pete Carroll and John Schneider have a long history of trading down to get exactly the players they want. This year will be no different. Well, there’s one difference. With just four picks, Seattle almost has to move down to address all their needs.

When everyone knows you want to trade, that’s normally not a strong bargaining position. Of course, there’s always a trading partner that just has to have the one player the owner fell in love with. I have absolute faith that the Seahawks will pull off more of their slick trades this year. In fact, I expect them to pull off at least two big moves.

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I’ll start with the assumption that the Hawks will trade down twice and pull off exactly the moves I listed in that previous piece. Including those new picks and their own selections, this would give the Seahawks a much more palatable eight picks in all. Those selections would give Seattle two picks each in the second, third ran fifth round, plus one each in the fourth and sixth.

I don’t know about you, but if I can get three extra picks in the top three rounds instead of one late first-round pick, I’ll take that every time. Especially when I need top talent at the edge, defensive back, and the offensive line. I’m pretty sure Chuck Bednarik retired a few decades ago. These days you need a different player for each of those positions.

Seahawks will load up in this draft

So what will Seattle do with all these glorious picks? Wait no longer, dedicated 12s. My fever has broken, and the wisdom of the ages has poured forth. Or to be honest, these are my best guesses for now. All links are to thedraftnetwork.com for in-depth player ratings.

Round 2, 49th via Cleveland: Brian Burns, DE, Florida State, 6’5″, 235 pounds. Burns is all over the map on a lot of boards, mainly because of that weight. It’ll be hard for the Seahawks to pass on a guy who totaled 23 sacks and nearly 40 tackles for a loss in three college seasons.

Round 2, 61st via Kansas City: Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State, 6’5″, 310 pounds. You may think it’s a stretch for Dillard to fall this low but I’ve seen him as low as 139th on one board. I’ve mentioned him before as a top target for Seattle, and I think the Hawks would love to nab him.

Round 3, 80th via Cleveland: Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame, 6’5″, 306 pounds. I swear, at some point, the Seahawks will draft someone who isn’t 6’5″. Tillery has some question marks regarding motivation, but he has too much upside for the Hawks to pass up.

Round 3, 84th own: Joe Giles-Harris, LB, Duke, 6’2″, 240 pounds. See, we got a shorter guy. Great tackler, relentless in pursuit. Sounds like Ken Norton Jr. has already been coaching him. Trust me, I’m going to catch a lot of grief for picking a Dukie, but this guy is a machine.

Round 4, 124th own: Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa, 6’6″, 225. He isn’t just 6’6″, he’s a looong 6’6″. So how could the Seahawks still get him here? Like many playes, he’s all over the map, some boards rating him as a fifth-round pick. He’s relied on his size in college too often, and hasn’t shown the best hands. Still – what a red zone target.

Round 5, 159th own: Marquise Blair, S, Utah, 6’2″, 195 pounds. The Seahawks get someone to compete at free safety, although Utah used him in the box, even at slot corner. Who knows, Pete Carroll could pull another Tre Flowers move and try him as a replacement for Justin Coleman.

Round 5, 167th via Kansas City: Beau Benzschawel, OL, Wisconsin, 6’5″, 317 pounds. Has the strength of a team of oxen, but apparently not a lot more agility. Mike Solari can fix that pretty quickly. You know he’s only ever going to be called, “Beau”, right?

Round 6, 189th via Cleveland: Montre Hartage, CB, Northwestern, 6’0″, 195 pounds. Always around the ball, known as a heady player. He’ll need some coaching up, but listen, if he was Richard Sherman, he’d have gone in the…oh, yeah, that’s right. I am in no way saying he’s the next anybody. Just saying that guys in the later rounds can definitely pan out.

And that’s it for my initial mock draft. The Seahawks address all their major needs in this dream. I’m sure a lot of things will change after the Combine; like probably every single pick I made here. That’s okay; hopefully, you’ll catch a name during the draft and think, “Oh yeah, I heard of that guy!”