Draft

[blstoker]

Right now the Seahawks have 8 picks, one in each round with an extra in the 4th (if Harvin stays on the Jets) or a 6th (if Harvin doesn't stay on the Jets). There's always gonna be a lot of speculation of what the Seahawks need, so let is start here.

 

[blstoker]

Just starting to look at people, but here's an idea:

1. Devin Funchess, WR Michigan
2. Laken Tomlinson, OG Duke
3. Xavier Cooper, DT Washington State
4. Nick Marshall, CB Auburn (David Johnson, RB Northern Iowa if harvin pick is here)
5. Blake Bell, TE Oklahoma
6. Tayo Fabuluje, OT TCU (Shaquille Riddick, DE WVu if Harvin pick is here)
7. Leterrius Walton, DT Central Michigan

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

D-line 1st please (if a good one is available). Our lack of decent DTs also allowed Brady to step right up and let Bennett/Avril go right by him a couple times. Mebane may not be ready to start the season and who knows if he'll recover anyway (same with Hill). Jesse Williams has been injured 3 straight seasons (including college) - that's done and Cassius Marsh also injured.

We need to stack up on DTs, it's amazing how many guys went down and it REALLY showed when you compare this years defense to last years.

Brady was doing jack crap until Avril went down. I don't want to be 'that guy' but if Avril stays in the game I doubt the Pats put up 28.

 

[flyerhawk]

Our D line really got murdered with injuries this year. It was impressive that the D was able to overcome so many injuries.

We really need a big target receiver.

 

[Judge Fudge]

I thought Matthews made a case for being that"big target". I think it all depends if Marshawn resigns.


If he doesn't then take Melvin Gordon or Best RB Available.


If he does. Defense Line or LB ( and kick Irvin to DE)

 

[blstoker]

If he does. Defense Line or LB ( and kick Irvin to DE)

Why move Irvin back? He's made huge strides as a LB, and made a case for being the second best one on the team this year. If Wright gets back to 2013 form, and Irvin and Wagner keep improving, the Seahawks will have the best LB corps in the NFL. If we go DL that's fine, but a LB would be coming in to replace Smith as the #4 backer and prepare for Irvin's possible free agency after next season.

 

[blstoker]

So, revising my picks slightly:

1. A.J. Cann, OG South Carolina
2. Xavier Cooper, DT Washington State
3. David Johnson, RB Northern Iowa
4. Vince Mayle, WR Washington State
5. Nick Boyle, TE Delware
5. Elis McCarthy, DT UCLA
6. Nick Marshall, CB Auburn
7. D.J. Humphries, OT Florida

 

[BoBlake]

I want to see our Offense improve. We should be able to maintain the a very high PPGA with our defense next year. I want more sustained drives (which will also help improve the def).

 

[FirebreathingMonkey]

Kinda want to wait until the after FA to see who they signed and who we loss before saying which pick should be first but man do we need help on D-line and O-line. GOD I hope if they do pick Oline that Cable doesn't have final say again. And I feel 100% confident that in round 4 to 5 they will draft another corner back. That's there move. I personally believe they are going to trade the 31 pick and gain more picks later in the draft like they did last year.

 

[Judge Fudge]

IMO. I think We should go after a RB in the 1st because the whole Lynch Situation is kinda scaring me a bit and getting a RB in the 1st would be ideal.

We can always pick a OL later in the 2nd

 

[blstoker]

IMO. I think We should go after a RB in the 1st because the whole Lynch Situation is kinda scaring me a bit and getting a RB in the 1st would be ideal.

We can always pick a OL later in the 2nd

Even without Lynch, I think our running game will be one of the best in the NFL. Until Lynch gives some indication about what he's doing there really isn't much reason to go into panic mode. Not to mention that RB is the one position that a starter can be expected to be taken in any round of the draft.

 

[blstoker]

I know some were high on Gurley, not sure what this says about his draft stock.

 

[JMR]

When I was younger I was always hopeful for spending early picks on WRs and RBs. Now I'm much more of the belief that those earlier picks are better used on linemen. They get hurt with a great deal of frequency, and you play many of them at the same time. Don't really care much about need, either. Every team needs lots of good linemen. Improve the offense? Sounds good; get more guys who can protect our QB and block for our runners and it will improve.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

When I was younger I was always hopeful for spending early picks on WRs and RBs. Now I'm much more of the belief that those earlier picks are better used on linemen. They get hurt with a great deal of frequency, and you play many of them at the same time. Don't really care much about need, either. Every team needs lots of good linemen. Improve the offense? Sounds good; get more guys who can protect our QB and block for our runners and it will improve.

You make a good point, but don't reach for a OL. That bits you in the butt.

 

[JMR]

You make a good point, but don't reach for a OL. That bits you in the butt.

What qualifies as a reach? An NFL team drafts a player earlier than where Mel Kipper thinks they should be drafted? An NFL team drafts a player earlier than where the fans think they should be drafted?

The trap many of us are going to fall in over the next couple months is to allow 40 times and bench presses and cone drills to overshadow what prospects actually did on the field. Players are going to "rise" or "fall" on fictitious draft boards due to things that don't really drive or change how well they can play, and then we're going to say that somebody reached or make the false conclusion that a player "fell" because of a 40 time or some other non-football reason.

All that really matters is if the player ends up being good. I think our team could be helped most by some more good linemen.

 

[SonnyCID]

BPA

 

[blstoker]

Seahawks open to trading down from 31

per cbssports.com

"Seahawks general manager John Schneider held his press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, and as you might expect, there were plenty of questions about Marshawn Lynch’s future. Schneider said there’s still no clarity from Lynch on his plans for 2015.

“Not yet,” Schneider said. “Everybody needs time away, especially at that position, the way he runs the ball, a little time to hit the reset button. I’ve talked to his people a bunch, he knows we want him to play, so we’re just going to wait.”

Schneider was asked if he would be shocked if Lynch decided to retire, and said he wouldn’t be: “Not really. He’s a guy who just kind of beats to his own drum. He does what he wants, and he would never let you know one way or another. There’s been a lot of great running backs who have just walked away, so I have no idea.”

That’s not to say, however, that Lynch has given any indications that he plans to walk away.

“No he hasn’t really,” Schneider said. “He’s the ultimate teammate. Players love him, he’s awesome with everybody in the building, so he’d really be missed. He hasn’t given us an indication that he would leave or anything, I was just asked a question of if it would surprise me, and it wouldn’t just based on the individual. He works his tail off; that’s a hard job he has.”

Schneider wouldn’t say when the Seahawks need an answer from Lynch, but indicated they’ve relayed that information to Lynch’s representatives, saying, “We’d like to know soon. I’ve talked to his people, so they know.”

--Also of note, Schneider said the Seahawks hope to keep cornerback Byron Maxwell, who will be a free agent when the new league year starts in March, but he also sounded like somebody resigned to the fact that the Seahawks might not be able to keep Maxwell.

“Byron’s one of ours, it would be hard to see him leave, but I would think his market would be pretty strong,” Schneider said. “He’s a heck of a kid and a heck of a player. We’re going to keep doing things like the way we started here. We’re going to keep drafting people and playing young people and trying to keep the players we can keep—try to identify the players that we have to reward—then make those tough decisions about players who are under contract you may have to let go to create some cap room. Those are tough decisions as you go, but we’re not changing anything we do. So if Byron does move on, we’ll be hopefully having another young Byron Maxwell out there.”

--When asked about having the last pick in the first round last year—a pick Seattle traded, moving back into the second round—Schneider made no secret of the fact that Seattle is willing to move back again this year from the 31st pick. That’s hardly a surprise considering the Seahawks have traded back from their first pick in each of the past three drafts.

“The 31st is even more valuable,” Schneider said with a smile when asked about pick No. 32. “It’s worth a lot, if anybody’s listening. You can come get it, it’s worth a lot. We’re in the trust tree.”

--On a potential Russell Wilson extension, Schneider said there’s “no timeline. I’ve talked to his people, they know where we’re at.”

--After his press conference, Schneider told some members of the media that cornerbackJeremy Lane suffered a knee injury in addition to his broken arm on his Super Bowl interception return and may not be ready for the start of the season. Given the lack of optimism on Maxwell, that only further underscores Seattle’s need to add depth at cornerback.

--Schneider also confirmed that Seattle won't use the franchise tag, which is no surprise considering franchising Maxwell would cost around $13 million. None of the Seahawks' other free agents would really even be in consideration for the franchise tag. "

 

[blstoker]

http://www.seahawks.com/news/articl...-me-here/18b262d5-4ea6-4561-8491-a0921f659323

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Before Xavier Cooper played football, he played futbol.

An alum of Tacoma's Wilson High School, Cooper grew up at forward for club teams in the Puget Sound region.

"That was my first sport," Cooper said on Friday from his podium inside Lucas Oil Stadium, headquarters of the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine. "After I got too big for soccer they kind of kicked me off the field. Parents didn't like me out there pushing their kids."

Cooper took his size to the basketball court, hooping at power forward for AAU squads in the Seattle area. It wasn't until his first year at Wilson High that Cooper found his way to the gridiron.

"I fell into football my freshman year at high school and since then I've been running the race," he said.



That race included a four-year stop at Washington State University, where Cooper played defensive line for the Cougars. In his stay on the Palouse Cooper racked up 121 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks. He chose to forego his final year of eligibility in order to enter this year's draft.


"I sat down with my family, my mom and dad and I also talked to my coaches and I felt like I was physically and mentally ready to chase my dream," Cooper said. "Now I'm here and I'm just blessed to have the opportunity to showcase my ability."

But the decision to enter the NFL didn't come easy, something Cooper expressed in an open letter to Wazzu fans two days into 2015.

"I just wanted to let Cougar nation know that it was a tough decision for me," he said. "It took me a long time. I just didn't jump right after the season and say I was leaving. It took all the way to the end of new years."

Even with professional football in his near-future, Cooper already has plans for what he wants to do once his NFL career pans out.



He's currently eight credits away from graduating with a degree in criminal justice from WSU, which Cooper said he hopes to finish "real soon." A masters in education is the goal after that, an achievement Cooper said he'd use to seek out a position as a principal in the Tacoma area to help inner-city kids.


"It's important because I was once in their shoes," Cooper said of his after-football aspirations. "I think we all were. I think we all growing up had a dream, wanted to do something we were passionate about, and I believe those kids deserve that opportunity."

Cooper, who said he's sent gear he's received from this week's combine back to kids in his hometown, has already molded the message he'd deliver to Tacoma's youth.

"I just tell the kids to dream, really," he said. "Don't let anybody stop you from what you want to do. There's nobody in this world that's self-made, but there's a lot of people that are self-motivated. I believe that's me.

"A lot of people helped me, but I've always been the one to wake up every day and go out there and get what I deserve. Hard work has got me here."

 

[Screamin12th]

What i believe the Hawks need and in which order.
1. Oline, they need another top flight Olineman and you don't get those normally in the 2nd round or later.
2. CB, Lane might miss at least Half the Season and Maxie most likely is gone. The Position is thin.
3. WR, They need to get another body in the mix with Richardson most likely missing the first half of the season.
4. DL, a big nose tackle to fit into the rotation.
5. TE, the Hawks need another TE. No if ands or buts about it. ( could swap with the WR in need )
6. LBer, a solid back-up for the Hawks here would help them, Coyle did well and we need another guy like him that is a little bigger/stronger/faster.
7. AT, The Hawks just need some athletes to add to the mix that have unique skills.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

What qualifies as a reach? An NFL team drafts a player earlier than where Mel Kipper thinks they should be drafted? An NFL team drafts a player earlier than where the fans think they should be drafted?

The trap many of us are going to fall in over the next couple months is to allow 40 times and bench presses and cone drills to overshadow what prospects actually did on the field. Players are going to "rise" or "fall" on fictitious draft boards due to things that don't really drive or change how well they can play, and then we're going to say that somebody reached or make the false conclusion that a player "fell" because of a 40 time or some other non-football reason.

All that really matters is if the player ends up being good. I think our team could be helped most by some more good linemen.

Eagles LB Malcom Smith was a reach in the first round. He was projected late second to mid third round. Desperation makes teams reach for players earlier then normal.