Is Boone to Seattle next year a foregone conclusion?

[Hasselbeck]

Prescient comments here; I'm afraid the cynicism is warranted. We could have kept Unger and used the first round pick... but no, another free agent bust with Graham: Square peg-round hole.

Well Graham is/was not a free agent..
Unger can't stay healthy..
Unger was rumored to be on his way out anyways..

Max has started in all 6 of the Saints games, and will pick up Start #7 this Sunday. I know, hindsight is 20/20, but the fact is that so far, the Saints are holding onto the long end of the stick on this trade.

How?

Unger was going to be cut.

We basically got Graham for the 31st pick.

 

[hawknation2015]

Boone is a good player, but I don't get the feeling they would choose to invest in him over Sweezy. And I don't think Sweezy will be re-signed. Therefore . . .

 

[Hasselbeck]

Boone is a good player, but I don't get the feeling they would choose to invest in him over Sweezy. And I don't think Sweezy will be re-signed. Therefore . . .

I just don't think we will have the money to pay him in general.

 

[hawknation2015]

I just don't think we will have the money to pay him in general.

I'm excited about the two guards they have in the pipeline . . . Mark Glowinski and Kristjan Sokoli. They have taken things slowly with them, which might help with their confidence going forward. Those are two high ceiling prospects.

 

[Pie Romania]

Slightly off topic, but what are your guys' thoughts on Kelechi Osemele & Brandon Brooks? Bigger bodies, so not quite sure how they'd fit in our system. Brooks moved extremely well in the combine, but those numbers can be deceiving. There isn't anything really scheduled to be appealing at Offensive Tackle in Free Agency and guard looks to be the best spot to look at if we're talking O-Line. Get an upgrade there, use our 1st on an offensive tackle (there are a few I really like), and then draft the BPA at Center or Guard sometime in the 3rd-5th range to compete at that position. At this point, I'd definitely be happy about moving up in the first round for one of Laremy Tunsil or Ronnie Stanley....Might be others I like just as much like Jack Conklin, but I haven't seen enough to be confident that they're worth trading up for (and this is assuming we have a pick in the 20's).

Thoughts?

 

[pmedic920]

Reminder: any time we talk about players that are NOT Seahawks, we do it in the NFL forum.
Thanks for keeping this in mind.

 

[RiverDog]

Max has started in all 6 of the Saints games, and will pick up Start #7 this Sunday. I know, hindsight is 20/20, but the fact is that so far, the Saints are holding onto the long end of the stick on this trade.

Do you REALLY believe that?

I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe it.

The only game so far that Jimmy Graham has made a significant difference in was the Carolina game, a game we eventually ended up losing. We let go a really good blocking tight end in Zach Miller and replaced him with a very poor blocker in Graham. We gave up a Pro Bowl center without even a decent back-up or any kind of a plan to replace him, plus we relieved ourselves of a huge asset in a #1 draft pick.

I acknowledge the injury status of both Unger and Miller, which has to be taken into consideration. But my biggest problem was that on a run first, defensive orientated team we did not have any kind of a plan or devote any resources, either in FA (we didn't even make an offer to Evan Mathis) or by dedicating anything higher than a 4th round draft choice, to mitigate what they had sacrificed to obtain a soft, skill position player.

I do reserve the right to change my opinion. Graham could start lighting it up or this current offensive line could suddenly gel like Pete claims they will and we go on a 9-1 run, storm through the playoffs and get back to the SB. But as it stands now, this trade was a lemon.

 

[CodeWarrior]

Slightly off topic, but what are your guys' thoughts on Kelechi Osemele & Brandon Brooks?

Thoughts?

Osemele is a phenomenal run blocker. Would love him on the Hawks, but he will be much too expensive.

 

[massari]

Slightly off topic, but what are your guys' thoughts on Kelechi Osemele & Brandon Brooks? Bigger bodies, so not quite sure how they'd fit in our system. Brooks moved extremely well in the combine, but those numbers can be deceiving. There isn't anything really scheduled to be appealing at Offensive Tackle in Free Agency and guard looks to be the best spot to look at if we're talking O-Line. Get an upgrade there, use our 1st on an offensive tackle (there are a few I really like), and then draft the BPA at Center or Guard sometime in the 3rd-5th range to compete at that position. At this point, I'd definitely be happy about moving up in the first round for one of Laremy Tunsil or Ronnie Stanley....Might be others I like just as much like Jack Conklin, but I haven't seen enough to be confident that they're worth trading up for (and this is assuming we have a pick in the 20's).

Thoughts?

It sounds like Osemele and Brooks are good fits for ZBS and are going to be among the highest paid at their position. Would be nice though since they're considered among the best. It seems like they should go after some good solid vets that'll be relatively affordable like RT-Joe Barksdale, G-Mathis, G-Incognito, C-Wisniewski, re-sign Okung then pickup a couple high draft picks. Maybe they could trade Graham or Baldwin if they really want to spend big money on OL or if Frank Clark breaks out, trading Bennett could be a possibility.

But they've always neglected the OL so I have little faith they'll be willing to do anything significant to improve it.

 

[RiverDog]

Slightly off topic, but what are your guys' thoughts on Kelechi Osemele & Brandon Brooks? Bigger bodies, so not quite sure how they'd fit in our system. Brooks moved extremely well in the combine, but those numbers can be deceiving. There isn't anything really scheduled to be appealing at Offensive Tackle in Free Agency and guard looks to be the best spot to look at if we're talking O-Line. Get an upgrade there, use our 1st on an offensive tackle (there are a few I really like), and then draft the BPA at Center or Guard sometime in the 3rd-5th range to compete at that position. At this point, I'd definitely be happy about moving up in the first round for one of Laremy Tunsil or Ronnie Stanley....Might be others I like just as much like Jack Conklin, but I haven't seen enough to be confident that they're worth trading up for (and this is assuming we have a pick in the 20's).

Thoughts?

It sounds like Osemele and Brooks are good fits for ZBS and are going to be among the highest paid at their position. Would be nice though since they're considered among the best. It seems like they should go after some good solid vets that'll be relatively affordable like RT-Joe Barksdale, G-Mathis, G-Incognito, C-Wisniewski, re-sign Okung then pickup a couple high draft picks. Maybe they could trade Graham or Baldwin if they really want to spend big money on OL or if Frank Clark breaks out, trading Bennett could be a possibility.

But they've always neglected the OL so I have little faith they'll be willing to do anything significant to improve it.

I don't think there is any way in hell that we'll resign Okung. First of all, he's hurt a lot, and we've shown a reluctance to put a lot of faith in players with an injury history when it comes to retaining them (Zach Miller, Sidney Rice, Unger, to name a few). Secondly, Okung is not all that good. The Rams quite frequently spin him around like a top. Third, Pete has shown a big reluctance to resign or retain any offensive linemen, and has let 4 OL starters go in two seasons. And lastly, even if we wanted to, Okung is going to be more than we can afford. He's going to be the biggest FA LT on the market, and someone is going to pay him. It rules out slapping the FT on him, too.

 

[massari]

I don't think there is any way in hell that we'll resign Okung. First of all, he's hurt a lot, and we've shown a reluctance to put a lot of faith in players with an injury history when it comes to retaining them (Zach Miller, Sidney Rice, Unger, to name a few). Secondly, Okung is not all that good. The Rams quite frequently spin him around like a top. Third, Pete has shown a big reluctance to resign or retain any offensive linemen, and has let 4 OL starters go in two seasons. And lastly, even if we wanted to, Okung is going to be more than we can afford. He's going to be the biggest FA LT on the market, and someone is going to pay him. It rules out slapping the FT on him, too.

If Okung ends up out of their price range, I guess I'd still feel good about going into next season with a 1st round pick LT and one cheaper alternative FA LT like a Kelvin Beachum (if healthy)/Jake Long (if healthy and has a good season)/Cordy Glenn/Donald Stephenson.

EDIT:Actually Beachum (if healthy) and Glenn will probably get around the same cap hit Okung gets so they probably won't be any cheaper.

 

[RiverDog]

I don't think there is any way in hell that we'll resign Okung. First of all, he's hurt a lot, and we've shown a reluctance to put a lot of faith in players with an injury history when it comes to retaining them (Zach Miller, Sidney Rice, Unger, to name a few). Secondly, Okung is not all that good. The Rams quite frequently spin him around like a top. Third, Pete has shown a big reluctance to resign or retain any offensive linemen, and has let 4 OL starters go in two seasons. And lastly, even if we wanted to, Okung is going to be more than we can afford. He's going to be the biggest FA LT on the market, and someone is going to pay him. It rules out slapping the FT on him, too.

If Okung ends up out of their price range, I guess I'd still feel good about going into next season with a 1st round pick LT and one cheaper alternative FA LT like a Kelvin Beachum (if healthy)/Jake Long (if healthy and has a good season)/Cordy Glenn/Donald Stevenson.

The problem with drafting one is that most of the top LT's are gone in the top 10. They're a hot commodity. If we miss the playoffs and end up with a #18 or so overall, I doubt that we could get anything better than the #4 LT. Otherwise, we're looking at some sort of a trade. So we're probably looking at shopping in the FA bargain basement as you have suggested.

This goes back to the problem with neglecting the OL during the past several drafts and opting instead to trade draft picks for guys like Harvin and Graham. We don't have any depth along the OL, no one ready to step in when Okung leaves. I thought that when we drafted Britt, that he might be the eventual LT once Okung left as he played it in college, but they seem to have thrown in the towel on him as a tackle.

 

[massari]

The problem with drafting one is that most of the top LT's are gone in the top 10. They're a hot commodity. If we miss the playoffs and end up with a #18 or so overall, I doubt that we could get anything better than the #4 LT. Otherwise, we're looking at some sort of a trade. So we're probably looking at shopping in the FA bargain basement as you have suggested.

This goes back to the problem with neglecting the OL during the past several drafts and opting instead to trade draft picks for guys like Harvin and Graham. We don't have any depth along the OL, no one ready to step in when Okung leaves. I thought that when we drafted Britt, that he might be the eventual LT once Okung left as he played it in college, but they seem to have thrown in the towel on him as a tackle.

There are some top LT's that were picked a bit later like Jason Peters (undrafted) , Andrew Whitworth (2nd round), Duane Brown (26th overall), Joe Staley (28th overall), Anthony Castonzo (23rd overall). Those are the really great/elite ones but there are a lot of good starting LT's that were drafted late 1st or later as well.

I'm just hoping they load up on the OL early in the draft with a CB, DT, OLB mixed in there as well.