Dee Ford, DE Auburn

[Jazzhawk]

Showing up big time in the North-South Senior Bowl.

6-2, 245. Could be a pretty nice compliment to our DE lineup.

 

[cover-2]

Ford did look good and he could come in and compete at LEO as a rookie.

I was highly disappointed with DT Ra'Shede Hageman, he played with poor leverage and looked very average. I have been high on Hageman all year because of the flashes of dominace and his size/athletic ability, but today he did not show up.

On the other hand DT Aaron Donald was by far the most disruptive DT on the field today. Donald put my boy Gabe Jackson on his a-- once, on another play he pushed him back about 7 yards into the backfield, he also put another OG on his backside as well. He got a lot of penetration today.

OT Billy Turner had a very solid game considering it was reported that he was struggling during the practices. While he did give up one sack, which could be argued that the QB was too deep in the pocket, the rest of the game Turner handled Hageman and some of the other DE's with ease. He got a couple of reps at RG at the end of the game and I would have liked to see him get more reps there during the game just to see how he looks there.


Princeton DT Caraun Reid I thought outplayed DT Will Sutton. Reid showed some nice quickness which I hadn't seen in one of his scouting clips that I had watched.

Daniel McCullers will be lucky if he gets drafted anywhere before the 7th round, the kid is a non-factor not only against the pass but also vs. the run.

 

[Lynch Mob]

Dee Ford looked like Cliff Avril on a few plays in the senior bowl. Great anticipation of the snap and explosion off the LOS. I did'nt think he would fit in a Seahawks scheme with the LEO's but he would do good standing up like Cliff does.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

I'm half wondering if Dee Ford might not be a darkhorse candidate for our R1 pick.

Obviously we have talent already at the LEO. But that talent is old and/or extremely expensive. If we consider Seattle seeks to cut Clemons in order to resign others this year, it's not altogether inconceivable that we aren't saying the same thing in 2014 when Avril's contract expires and we're looking at extending Wilson.

Clemons and Avril account for 20 million of our cap. Those are HUGE contracts that go a long way to extending other stars. While it would be nice to acquire a new, big WR talent to what we have -- we are also in a reload phase. Dee Ford looks like an very good reload candidate at a critical position on the team.

Dee Ford wouldn't be a pick to add or fix a need. It would be a pick to maintain excellence at our 2nd most critical defensive position, while allowing us to maintain excellence elsewhere too. We are already a great team. Ford's selection would be about sustaining greatness.

 

[cover-2]

Ford's selection would be about sustaining greatness.

I like it!

 

[ImTheScientist]

Avril has another year on his contract at a great price.....he is playing next year with us.

 

[Jville]

I wouldn't call Avril's 2014 cap number all that team friendly. A $9.25 million 2014 cap number is a big number for a specialist that is on the field for only 53% of defensive snaps.

By comparison, Michael Bennett had a 2013 cap number of $4.8 million and was on the field for 58% of the defensive snaps. He also contributed more on special teams. Bennett is the better bargain IMHO.

Discussions about adjustments look inviting.

Edit: Having said the above, a timely outcome changing forced fumble this Sunday would go a long way toward altering that view. Avril certainly seems to have the knack.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

I wouldn't call Avril's 2014 cap number all that team friendly. A $9.25 million 2014 cap number is a big number for a specialist that is on the field for only 53% of defensive snaps.

Exactly. Unfortunately his salary is guaranteed shortly after the Super Bowl. He'd have to be retained for 2014. And I would expect his snap count to rise dramatically with the expected loss of Clemons. Although it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that Seattle retain Clem and drop Avril. The age factor comes into play in a big way here though.

A Ford selection would be more about relieving cap space in 2015. That's the year Wilson will get his mega deal. Neither Clemons nor Avril will be on the team at that point. That 18m/year is going on the offensive ledger.