10 most valuable Seahawks draft selections of the last decade

8th best Seahawks draft selection of the 2010s: Frank Clark, DE

Seattle has never been a team to shy away from a controversial talent. Frank Clark had mid-first round pedigree. However, thanks to some off the field incidents he fell all the way to the end of the second. Clark ends up as Seattle’s 8th best selection thanks to their incredible vetting processes.

The Michigan Wolverines threw Clark out of their program after his domestic violence allegations were exposed. The NFL community shunned Clark in the pre-draft process. Despite having elite traits, and solid production in college, teams attached a stay away yellow tape to his name on the draft board. The Seahawks decided to end his free fall and selected him at the end of round two.

Many fans and experts were upset with Clark’s selection. Understandably so. However, the Seahawks felt that the man they interviewed was truly someone who wanted to change and was remorseful for his actions. They felt it was a blimp on radar and didn’t indicate the man as a whole.

Clark spoke to the media about the pre-draft process with the Seahawks:

"“I simply kept it real with them,” Clark said about what he told the Seahawks when they grilled him about everything. “One thing I don’t do, is I don’t pride myself in lying. I tell the truth, because once you lie, it’s followed by a lie and followed by another lie.” “I believe I was wrong, and I am sorry,” he said. “And the main reason I am is that I put myself in a position where I shouldn’t have been.”"

The Seahawks so far appear to be right. Clark has been nothing but a stellar teammate, player, and member of society since his selection.

Clark’s production in Seattle

Clark was mostly hidden on the roster in 2015. However, once he fell into a more prominent role as first man off the bench in 2016, he began to make some big waves.

Year       2016       2017       2018

Starts:     5             12             16

Tackles: 47            32             41

Sacks:    10             9              13

TFL:        11           10             10

FF:            2              2               3

From 2016 to 2018, Clark has the 9th most sacks in the NFL at 32. This number has him ahead of players like Yannick Ngakoue, Everson Griffen, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Jadeveon Clowney. He was truly a player who could provide a spark both off the bench and as starter.

I fully believe if he was a free agent any other year, he would still be a Seahawk. It was simply poor timing with DeMarcus Lawrence’s monster extension breaking the market open. Seattle having two other superstars threatening holdouts/ trades in Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner. The final nail in the coffin, Seattle had virtually no draft capital in the 2019 draft.

One thing is certain, Seattle took a massive risk drafting a player with Clark’s off the field issues. They were heavily rewarded with a phenomenal player who has been nothing but extraordinary on and off the field. This gets the number 8 spot thanks to a risky maneuver, that ended up being a heist.