2019 Offseason

Is there anyone who's surprised that snuggles doesn't like what the Seahawks did in the first round?

Seahawks_3 said:

I refuse to pay for his opinion, but if you want to take a snap shot and post that would be cool ;-)

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No idea if this will format properly...


"There was no surprise at the very top of Round 1 of the 2019 NFL draft, and then Jon Gruden came along and messed up my final mock draft, reaching for an edge rusher at No. 4 overall. After that, we saw several trades that shook up the order, and the Giants ended up with three first-round picks.

Here are the picks (and trades) I liked and didn't like from the first round. If you don't see your team here, remember, I'm going to break down all 32 teams in my post-draft grades on Saturday night. Check out the best available prospects as we head into Round 2 on Friday, as coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN App.

Winners from Round 1

Washington Redskins
The picks: Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State (No. 15); Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State (No. 26)

The board fell perfectly for the Redskins at No. 15. There have been rumblings that they wanted to trade up to get Haskins -- maybe even as high as the top five -- but he fell right into their lap in the middle of Round 1. With Alex Smith's future uncertain, Washington had to get its quarterback of the future in this draft.

Haskins is the most accurate passer in this class, and he's a natural touch thrower. He's going to sit in the pocket and drop dimes. He's raw -- he started only one season at Ohio State -- but he could be a star, and he was No. 7 overall on my board. Now we're going to get Haskins and the Redskins vs. Daniel Jones and the Giants in the NFC East for years to come. And can you believe Haskins is the first Big Ten quarterback to be drafted in the first round since Kerry Collins in 1995?

Washington then traded back into the first round, surrendering the No. 46 pick and a second-round pick in 2020, to get Sweat, one of the best pass-rushers in this class. He was ranked No. 12 on my board. Though I don't always love these kinds of trades, this isn't too much to give up for a prospect like Sweat. I like what Washington did on Day 1.


Arizona Cardinals
The pick: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma (No. 1)

Kliff Kingsbury got his guy. It's as simple as that. This is about the Cardinals giving their coach the best chance to succeed right out of the gate.

I had a high grade on Josh Rosen last year, and I believe in his talent. But if you're going to hire Kingsbury, you need to get a quarterback -- and leader -- who fits what you want to do. That's Murray, one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks I have ever scouted. Yes, he's 5-foot-10, but I don't care. This is 2019, and almost every offense is geared toward the spread (though the Cards' offensive line is still not great). Murray can make every throw, and he's going to make a few defenders miss on runs this season.

Meanwhile, GM Steve Keim needs to get something in a trade for Rosen. I'm interested to see what happens next.



Jacksonville Jaguars
The pick: Josh Allen, OLB, Kentucky (No. 7)

Credit the Jaguars for going with the best player available here. I thought they might go with tight end T.J. Hockenson or even an offensive tackle. But Tom Coughlin & Co. went with Allen and got tremendous value. Jacksonville didn't have an immediate need at defensive end, but Allen went from good to elite in 2018, racking up 17 sacks and forcing five fumbles. Now he joins Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue to form an outstanding edge rush group.


Pittsburgh Steelers
The pick: Devin Bush, ILB, Michigan (No. 10)

My pal Louis Riddick called Bush pound-for-pound the best player in this draft. Though I won't quite go that far, I love this fit, and I love Pittsburgh being aggressive in getting its guy, trading the Nos. 20 and 52 picks plus a third-round pick in next year's draft to get the sideline-to-sideline linebacker. Bush is going to slot in at the weakest spot on the Steelers' roster, as the team hasn't been able to replace the production of Ryan Shazier.


San Francisco 49ers
The pick: Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State (No. 2)

Consider the Niners' front seven fortified with the addition of Bosa, my top-ranked overall prospect, and trade for Dee Ford this offseason. Yes, the 49ers have now taken four defensive linemen in the first round since 2015, but Bosa is the real deal. He should be a leading candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year.



Baltimore Ravens
The pick: Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma (No. 25)

Baltimore secured the draft's best receiver, and it added extra picks by trading down three spots with Philadelphia. That's a win for new GM Eric DeCosta. Brown will make Lamar Jackson's life easier this season.


Detroit Lions
The pick: T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa (No. 8)

Detroit passed up the edge rushers to grab the best tight end in the class -- a complete player who will make Matthew Stafford's life easier. GM Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia saw the impact Rob Gronkowski made in their time in New England, and though Hockenson isn't Gronk -- my comp for him was longtime Steeler Heath Miller -- he has a chance to be a 10-year starter.

Seattle Seahawks
The pick: L.J. Collier, DE, TCU (No. 29)

As ESPN's Adam Schefter pointed out, Seattle came into the day with two first-round picks but not much capital after that. After trading back twice, GM John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll will now have nine picks, including four fourth-rounders. And after dealing away Frank Clark, they got a capable edge rushing replacement in Collier, who fits Seattle's scheme and plays with tremendous energy.

The biggest head-scratching moves

New York Giants
The picks: Daniel Jones, QB, Duke (No. 6); Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson (No. 17); Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia (No. 30)

I said earlier this week that the Giants were the team that had to nail this first round. They had to get impact starters. This is after an offseason in which they let Landon Collins leave in free agency, traded Odell Beckham Jr. and committed to Eli Manning for another season. GM Dave Gettleman needed to get everything back on track.

Did he do that in Round 1? I have questions, particularly around value. Are Jones, Lawrence and Baker -- for whom they traded up to finish with three first-rounders -- going to make the Giants better in 2019?

I like Jones' potential, and I picked him to go to the Giants in my final mock draft ... at No. 17. I had Dwayne Haskins and Drew Lock ranked higher. So this is high for him, but the Giants clearly identified Jones as their guy. Lawrence is a solid player, but he's not going to provide much as an interior pass-rusher as a 342-pound nose tackle. Baker is a good, solid player, but his technique was sloppy last season, and he dropped a little on my board. Again, he was clearly No. 1 on the Giants' board, as he was the first cornerback taken in the draft.

So the jury is still out here, and New York doesn't pick again until the 95th pick because of the trade up for Baker.



Oakland Raiders
The picks: Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson (No. 4); Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama (No. 24); Johnathan Abram, S, Mississippi State (No. 27)

Let's just focus on Oakland's first pick as the head-scratcher. Ferrell is a reach at No. 4. He is a good, solid player who had 27 career sacks in college. Can he be a great player? Based on the player I've studied and where he landed on my board, his ceiling is lower than edge rushers such as Josh Allen, Rashan Garyand Montez Sweat. This is reaaalllly high for a guy who was ranked No. 25 on my final Big Board.

Now, this is Jon Gruden not overthinking value. If he likes a player, he's going to get him and not worry about what guys like me have to say. And we know the Raiders, who had a league-low 13 total sacks last season, needed an edge rusher. But this is the very definition of a head-scratcher in terms of value.

As for Jacobs and Abram, I like those selections much better. We knew Gruden was a prime candidate to take Jacobs, the best running back in this class, and we knew Oakland had a huge need at safety. Jacobs could be in line for a ton of touches as a rookie, and I expect Abram to be an immediate starter.


Green Bay Packers
The picks: Rashan Gary, DE, Michigan (No. 12); Darnell Savage Jr., S, Maryland (No. 21)Let's be clear: I like the prospects Green Bay got. Gary is a top-five talent, and Savage is a versatile defensive back who fills a need. But does Aaron Rodgers like these guys? I have been saying all along that the Packers needed to help out their superstar quarterback in Round 1. How can they not take a pass-catcher or an offensive lineman with one of these picks?

The Packers for years have tried to get by with midtier talent at skill positions, and though there's not an elite, No. 1 wideout on the board, Marquise Brown could have really helped. GM Brian Gutenkunst also traded up to get Savage, dealing two valuable fourth-round picks in the process.



Houston Texans
The pick: Tytus Howard, OT, Alabama State (No. 23)

I get that Andre Dillard had just been picked, but there were better offensive linemen available on my board. Howard was my eighth-ranked offensive tackle, and I ranked him No. 70 overall. That's a third-round grade. Jawaan Taylor was still there. Same with Cody Ford. Howard is a work in progress with some upside. But he's not a first-round prospect.


Los Angeles Chargers
The pick: Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame (No. 28)

I see what the Chargers are doing here. Their biggest need is at defensive tackle, and they felt as if there might not be a guy they like left in Round 2. So they reached for Tillery, whom I had No. 56 overall, behind two other interior players in Khalen Saunders and Dre'Mont Jones. Again, I see the fit, but this is about value. Tillery is a talented but inconsistent player. He also has a torn labrum and could miss some time in training camp."

kcden said:

Seattle Seahawks
The pick: L.J. Collier, DE, TCU (No. 29)

As ESPN's Adam Schefter pointed out, Seattle came into the day with two first-round picks but not much capital after that. After trading back twice, GM John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll will now have nine picks, including four fourth-rounders. And after dealing away Frank Clark, they got a capable edge rushing replacement in Collier, who fits Seattle's scheme and plays with tremendous energy.

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Imagine that... A 5-tech DL... And a player who fits Seattles scheme quite nicely...

MrSnuggles2k2 said:

last year we should have take vander esch, fucked that up BIG TIME



we missed out on some top level talents, all for a bunch of low round picks that we HAVE NOT been good drafting with in the last 5 years.

collier is a huge downgrade from clark, this defense is going to be even worse this year.

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I've got an idea, Snuggies:

You've been a member of this website for almost 6 years. This would be your 6th Seahawks draft here. I have to guess that you've made proclamations like this about our picks, trade-backs, drafting player X over player Y at least twice a year, if not more. Why don't you go back through your posts, quote all of those proclamations here and we can all analyze if you are, in fact, a better scout than JS, PC and co. Maybe it it will be enlightening for you... maybe it will be enlightening for the rest of us.

What do you say?

kcden said:

I've got an idea, Snuggies:

You've been a member of this website for almost 6 years. This would be your 6th Seahawks draft here. I have to guess that you've made proclamations like this about our picks, trade-backs, drafting player X over player Y at least twice a year, if not more. Why don't you go back through your posts, quote all of those proclamations here and we can all analyze if you are, in fact, a better scout than JS, PC and co. Maybe it it will be enlightening for you... maybe it will be enlightening for the rest of us.

What do you say?

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We did that last year... Needless to say, glad we went with JS and PC's picks...

Anointed One said:

We did that last year... Needless to say, glad we went with JS and PC's picks...

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Ooooh... please bump?

blstoker said:

Is there anyone who's surprised that snuggles doesn't like what the Seahawks did in the first round?

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i guess i just dont love passing on real talent like the rest of you guys do.

we could have had vander esch last year, but who needs a future all-pro LB.

MrSnuggles2k2 said:

i guess i just dont love passing on real talent like the rest of you guys do.

we could have had vander esch last year, but who needs a future all-pro LB.

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I just don't think you have any idea what "real talent" is. You read what pundits say and then complain that the Seahawks don't agree. Break down what makes you think they reached - show me some game film that proves your analysis - and maybe I'll start thinking you understand football enough to be taken seriously when you complain about "real talent".

blstoker said:

I just don't think you have any idea what "real talent" is. You read what pundits say and then complain that the Seahawks don't agree. Break down what makes you think they reached - show me some game film that proves your analysis - and maybe I'll start thinking you understand football enough to be taken seriously when you complain about "real talent".

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I wish R. Wilson, Kam, Wagner, Sherman, S Griffin, C. Carter, J. Reed, Q. Jefferson, F. Clark, T. Lockett, J. Britt, L. Wilson, S. Ware, A. Collins, JR Sweezy, KJ Wright, B. Maxwell, M. Smith, to name a few, were some 'real talent'... I'd like to know his definition of, 'real talent'... First round talent?

Here are all of our 1st round "real talent" picks the past 15 years...

R. Penny
G Ifedi
B. Irvin
J. Carpenter
R. Okung
E. Thomas
A. Curry
L. Jackson
K. Jennings

"real talent" isn't always a given in the 1st round... Not enough sample size to effectively evaluate Penny...

I personally feel like this could be one of our best drafts in years... Excited for the future...

Seattle Seahawks expected to pursue Ezekiel Ansah/Nick Perry

Seattle Seahawks expected to pursue Ezekiel Ansah/Nick Perry

For those who feel we didn't do enough to help the D-line after losing Clark.

FirebreathingMonkey said:

Seattle Seahawks expected to pursue Ezekiel Ansah/Nick Perry

Seattle Seahawks expected to pursue Ezekiel Ansah/Nick Perry

For those who feel we didn't do enough to help the D-line after losing Clark.

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if we sign ansah, do we lose a comp pick?

blstoker said:

I just don't think you have any idea what "real talent" is. You read what pundits say and then complain that the Seahawks don't agree. Break down what makes you think they reached - show me some game film that proves your analysis - and maybe I'll start thinking you understand football enough to be taken seriously when you complain about "real talent".

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I dont know about you, but i would take vander esch over penny every day of the week. RBs are dime a dozen, easily drafted in round 5-7, use for a few years and move on. no bigger waste of a 1st round pick than on a RB.

if it offends you that i have an opinion, unlike yourself who seems afraid to express one, thats on you.

Everyone has a right to their opinion snuggles, No one has to like your opinion so just let it roll off your back.

Hell i get attacked often for my opinion even after stating that it's MY OPINION like me stating that to them makes them think i am saying AND IT"S RIGHT when in fact i am just pointing out that IT'S MY OPINION. lol

But you seem t be a bit wishy washy lately. YOur passion for the Hawks is there we all see it but i think your foundation is a little shaky because you let the passion over rule your knowledge. Hey it happens. :P Offseason is hard on everyone and some people here don't feel comfortable unless they are attacking fellow Hawk fans even if right or wrong they just want that conflict.

MrSnuggles2k2 said:

if we sign ansah, do we lose a comp pick?



I dont know about you, but i would take vander esch over penny every day of the week. RBs are dime a dozen, easily drafted in round 5-7, use for a few years and move on. no bigger waste of a 1st round pick than on a RB.

if it offends you that i have an opinion, unlike yourself who seems afraid to express one, thats on you.

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Can you please stop with the "RB's are a dime a dozen" comments... It's ignorant to continue to state such a thing... It obviously was not easy to replace Lynch when he got hurt... Also, look at the top 10 producing RB's last season... And this list doesn't include L. Bell (2nd rounder) who sat our the year and Kareem Hunt (3rd Rounder) who was suspended... Both more than likely would've bumped Lindsay and Chubb...

Below lists the top 10 consisting of (5) first rounder; (3) second rounders; (2) UDFA... The likely hood of Lindsey and Carson sustaining this is unlikely...



Top 10 in 2017 consists of (5) first rounders; (2) second rounders; (1) 3rd Rounder; (1) 5th rounder; (1) UDFA...



It obviously isn't as easy 'drafting in rounds 5-7" and plug them in while getting high productivity... I'll be surprised if we don't see Penny in the top 10 in the near future... 75% of that list above has RB's drafted in rounds 1 and 2 in the fold...

This guy looks like an interesting prospect... Productive WR turned to Safety in his senior year... Shows me he's a hard worker, team first mentality, smart, adaptable and athletic... Pete's type of guy... He could be one helk of a special teamer for the time being...

Anointed One said:

Can you please stop with the "RB's are a dime a dozen" comments... It's ignorant to continue to state such a thing... It obviously was not easy to replace Lynch when he got hurt... Also, look at the top 10 producing RB's last season... And this list doesn't include L. Bell (2nd rounder) who sat our the year and Kareem Hunt (3rd Rounder) who was suspended... Both more than likely would've bumped Lindsay and Chubb...

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"replacing" a HOF RB is simply an unfair expectation. you could spend 10 first round picks on RBs and still not replace what lynch did. we did however find a nice RB that fits our scheme in the 7th round. we will use him for 4 years and if we are smart let him go and replace him with another late round pick.

Below lists the top 10 consisting of (5) first rounder; (3) second rounders; (2) UDFA... The likely hood of Lindsey and Carson sustaining this is unlikely...

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and to that i say, so what? is it worth a top 10 pick to get marginally better production than lower round players? no, its not. not when more important and difficult to obtain positions are available in round 1. the jags taking fournette at #4 was a total joke and a stupid pick. same with elliot, gurley, barkley etc.

btw the likelihood of ANY of them sustaining this is unlikely, thats the nature of the position. just look at gurley, he is already close to done. same thing happened to alexander, just hit a wall and it was over. i wanted them to resign him, and it was a mistake. i learned from that.

It obviously isn't as easy 'drafting in rounds 5-7" and plug them in while getting high productivity... I'll be surprised if we don't see Penny in the top 10 in the near future... 75% of that list above has RB's drafted in rounds 1 and 2 in the fold...

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now you are putting words in my mouth, i did NOT say it is "as easy 'drafting in rounds 5-7". if you want to get marginally better production you waste a pick in round 1. if you want value, you take them later.

as i said, RBs have a very short life cycle, very few of them are highly productive into a second contract. i believe a 1st rounder on them is a total waste. even if penny becomes a star, which i doubt (i hope im wrong), i wouldnt resign him.

MrSnuggles2k2 said:

"replacing" a HOF RB is simply an unfair expectation. you could spend 10 first round picks on RBs and still not replace what lynch did. we did however find a nice RB that fits our scheme in the 7th round. we will use him for 4 years and if we are smart let him go and replace him with another late round pick.



and to that i say, so what? is it worth a top 10 pick to get marginally better production than lower round players? no, its not. not when more important and difficult to obtain positions are available in round 1. the jags taking fournette at #4 was a total joke and a stupid pick. same with elliot, gurley, barkley etc.

btw the likelihood of ANY of them sustaining this is unlikely, thats the nature of the position. just look at gurley, he is already close to done. same thing happened to alexander, just hit a wall and it was over. i wanted them to resign him, and it was a mistake. i learned from that.



now you are putting words in my mouth, i did NOT say it is "as easy 'drafting in rounds 5-7". if you want to get marginally better production you waste a pick in round 1. if you want value, you take them later.

as i said, RBs have a very short life cycle, very few of them are highly productive into a second contract. i believe a 1st rounder on them is a total waste. even if penny becomes a star, which i doubt (i hope im wrong), i wouldnt resign him.

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MrSnuggles2k2 said:

if we sign ansah, do we lose a comp pick?

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Not if we sign him after May 7th... UFA ends on May 7th then all UFA's become Street Agents so we can sign anyone after that without risking losing comp picks...

We can also sign Nick Perry at anytime without losing Comp picks because he was cut by the Packers...

Why are you talking about a draft pick from last year. What does that have to do with your claim that the Seahawks passed up on a lot of talent THIS YEAR?

Who are the players that you say we passed up that we will regret?

MrSnuggles2k2 said:

if we sign ansah, do we lose a comp pick?

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Depends when he gets signed. The deadline for CFA signings is May 7, so anyone signed on May 8 or later will not go against the formula.

MrSnuggles2k2 said:

if it offends you that i have an opinion, unlike yourself who seems afraid to express one, thats on you.

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Not offended by you in the slightest - but if you have read anything I've posted over the last 5 years and not been able to figure out what my opinion is, then that's on you - cause my opinions are pretty much spelled out by this point.