Wow! I don’t know if it’s just me or the NFL Draft has rolled up on us awfully quickly. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that we were suffering through watching a horrible Pro Bowl. Is it bad that a game played the week before the Super Bowl stands out more to me than the biggest game of the year? Maybe they need to think about moving it back again.
The important thing is that the draft is here, but without the excitement of having two picks in the first half of the draft – this year isn’t quite as exciting. One thing that is clear to me is that if your team picks in the bottom half of the first round, there’s no way in hell to possibly predict the player your team is going to go after.
The Seahawks have a need in four areas in particular: quarterback, offensive line, defensive line and cornerback. If Seattle is going to pick one of the top names at the quarterback position, they’re going to have to take the guy with the first pick unless they are able to trade into the bottom half of the second round.
Offensive or defensive line seems like the smart play to me where Seattle falls in the draft, and I happen to think that even with Matt Hasselbeck’s future uncertain that o-line is the biggest need for the team.
But I’m also optimistic that Charlie Whitehurst could be effective with some additional playing time. I’m not ready to write a guy off who hasn’t had a chance to start more than a few games. But I was also pretty sure that after Rick Mirer’s first season that he would continue to grow into a good quarterback for the Seahawks.
It just seems to me that a solid offensive line can turn an average quarterback into a playoff quarterback. It’s hard to get excited about a lineman though, especially on offense – every other position on that side of the ball is far more exciting.
Fortunately Seahawks fans have a coach the feels our pain of not having any idea of where the team will go in the draft. Pete Carroll is apparently leaving “clues” on who the team will draft tomorrow through song titles. The three titles so far: “I’m Alright” by Kenny Loggins, “Not Afraid” by Eminem, and “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins.
I just don’t think I can waste a whole lot of time guessing, because it could mean he’s looking at drafting a golfer overcoming a drug addiction or a Navy pilot coming off a couple tours in the Gulf.
Why Carroll is so big on Kenny Loggins, I have no idea. I enjoy Top Gun and Caddyshack like everyone else, but it makes me think we need to look at other Loggins titles to see what we might be missing out on.
“Footloose” is conspicuously missing from the list, so he must not be looking at a guy with any kind of speed. “Nobody’s Fool” also missed the list, so it’s possible that the potential draft pick didn’t do so well on the Wonderlic. With that in mind, I’m leaning toward them going defensive tackle. Corey Liuget would be great if he happened to fall that far, Oregon State’s Stephen Paea could be available at that spot, and maybe Phil Taylor from Baylor.
I’m not holding out hopes that the draft this year goes nearly as well as last year’s, but who knows what Carroll and GM John Schneider have up their sleeves. I just know I’ll be watching.