Personal Draft grades

[sc85sis]

Pete Carrol is getting paid $10 million a year and John Schneider is getting paid about $4 million, so they had a great draft, no matter how they look at it. lol

In all seriousness, I think they look at it a little different, than the average fan. They are building a system and have certain metrics, they are looking for. They probably got the best player available in each pick, in their system. So, they probably scored themselves an A+, or an A.

As a someone who casually follows the Seahawks, I would give them a B. They don't get a top 5 pick very often and Witherspoon isn't a top 5 pick, in my book. I would say, a top teen pick, but I'm not a drafting expert, or anything like that. I would of like them to have picked Jalen Carter at 5 and maybe Will Levis at 20.

If Jalen Carter becomes a top 5 defensive tackle in the NFL, gonna be bummed. We are gonna miss all the magic. I read that Jalen Carter is rated as a pro-bowl player and can be compared to Jeffrey Simmons on the Titans. I watched Simmons highlight reel and.......Don't want to talk about it any more. lol

Also, wouldn't have gave Geno a fat contract, made the Jamal Adams trade, resigned Russel Wilson to his second contract, made the Percy Harvin trade, but Pete Carrol won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks, so I will shut up now. Let's Go Seahawks!

Even if Carter succeeds in Philly, that doesn’t guarantee he’d have done so anywhere else. Fit matters. And Pete and John clearly felt he was not the right fit for them due to his red flags.

 

[WarHawks]

I'm not nearly as enamored with this draft as I was with our 2022 draft. Here's why:

We did not get our QBOTF. If this is because we were of the belief that he didn't exist in this draft or couldn't be had for a somewhat reasonable trade up, then I'm good with it. But anytime you go into a draft with a long-term need at the most impactful position on the field with a class that is relatively decent, a ton of draft capital, and come away empty handed, it has to be considered a failure. My Plan B if that QBOTF wasn't within our grasp would have been to trade down...and with all the wheeling and dealing in the first round, it's hard to believe that wasn't an option...and reap a future #1 pick that might be parlayed into that goal in next year's draft.

However, I was very pleased with what turned out to be Plan C, Devon Witherspoon. He was at the very least one of the two top cornerbacks at a critical position on a defense that desperately needs improvement, and for what we didn't do, which would have been to select Jalen Carter, of whom I regard the riskiest top 10 ten pick in recent memory.

I did not like two out of our next three picks, ie WR Jaxon Smith-Njiba and RB Zach Charbonnet, not because of the player but because of the position. Great teams are not built around great wide receivers, they're built around great quarterbacks, offensive lines, and defenses. Good but not great wide receivers, like our SB WR's Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse, are a dime a dozen and teams do just fine with those types of receivers. And what the hell happened to Dee Eskridge? Wasn't he supposed to be our 3rd receiver? We're spending one helluva lot of capital, both in terms of salary and draft picks, on a non essential position.

A similar situation exists with running backs, but it's even worse as it's compounded by the fact that it is the most injury prone position on the field and they typically don't play on all three downs. Additionally, as good as these two players are, neither of them is projected to be starters, so they were luxury picks, and in the case of Charbonnet, an expensive insurance policy.

We continued to ignore our center position, a spot that has been a revolving door ever since we traded Max Unger without a plan in place to replace him. This was somewhat mitigated by drafting Olusegun Oluwatimi (try saying that name three times as fast as you can) in the 5th round, who has 45 starts at a FBS level and a nice trophy case of Outland and Rimmington awards. We had a chance to select a very good center in John Michael Schmitz with our #52 overall, but opted for a running back that won't be a 3 down player. It reminded me of our 2021 draft where we bypassed Creed Humphrey for a wide receiver that has already been given up on.

Last year, we didn't come out with our QBOTF, either. But it was an unusually barren draft class for QB's and we had the knowledge that we'd be armed with 2-#1 picks for the next season. This draft had much better prospects, as evidenced by QB's being the first 3 picks off the board vs. none in the top 19 last season, and we don't have the 'wait until next year' hope following the 2022 draft.

Sorry to rain on everyone's parade, but at least until I see how these draftees perform in the preseason, I can't join you in your summersaults and handsprings that many of you are turning in response to our draft.

​

Pretty much this. Especially so if Geno regresses. I voted A in the draft grade forum, but after thinking about the qbotf situation, I give it a B+. Fingers crossed.

 

[nwHawk]

It wasn’t a strong draft. Several teams supposedly said there were less than 20 players with first round grades. I think we got two of them. There wasn’t a consensus on rankings from 20-80 or even more. I think they should have gone with Schmitz at #52 And a RB at#154 (Chase Brown?).

While I wanted JMS, Olu was my #2 choice, and then Juice #3. Juice went way earlier than micks had him going. I think we be just fine. I didn’t love Brown enough to pick him. I like the UCLA kid. He will be our AJ Dillon.

 

[hoxrox]

QBOTF was never really in play this draft. Carolina wasn't giving up Young and Houston wasn't giving up Stroud. Best bet would be trade with Indy for Richardson, the rawest of all top QB prospects. He would be sitting for 2-3 years, pretty much negating the rookie QB contract advantage. They obviously didn't love Levis.

 

[Chawker]

Passing on Carter was a smart move, and drafting spoon was the right move. Where I see the draft mistake was not thinking run support at 20, here are Pete and John starring at Mazi Smith in the face 6'5" 323 pound defensive lineman, (the stroungest DL in the draft) and saying we need a WR ???

WRs are a dime of dozen, we could of got a dandy WR in the third round or second if it was that important.

Now M.Smith is a Cowboy at 26. What were they thinking ? That he would be there at 37 ? Smart money would say HELL NO ! Pete's run defensive is in serious trouble and due to finish in the bottom half of the league in 2023.

GO SEAHAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[12th Dimension]

B

Tough draft with “upsets”. Took the talent that was available when it was our turn.

Felt like all the other GM’s knew exactly who we had targeted and moved in front of us for that guy.

I like the last half of our draft better than the 1st half, however the 1st 4 picks offer tons of upside. Nimble and well played given the situation.

 

[Jazzhawk]

I liked the draft overall, but could only give it a B. We can out with no stud on the D-line. Rotational or 'solid' starters on the D-line and zero.... say that again... ZERO LBer help for now or the future. That is a huge hole looming. Sure, Brooks is coming back, but certainly not for the first 1/4 of the season, and we already know Bush is a shell of his former self before his injury a few years back. Rattigan? Bellore? I mean, nice, high effort guys, but come on.

Anyway, I digress.

Love the guys we got, but don't like that there is really no dynamic player in the front 7 on defense that will require game planning or special care from the other team. Good thing we bulked up on Offense, because it looks to me like we are gonna have to outscore everyone to win again. At least it will be exciting games to watch, tho I fear I'll be tearing out my hair watching teams run all over us again. (For the record, I would be overjoyed to have them prove me wrong).

 

[pmedic920]

Passing on Carter was a smart move, and drafting spoon was the right move. Where I see the draft mistake was not thinking run support at 20, here are Pete and John starring at Mazi Smith in the face 6'5" 323 pound defensive lineman, (the stroungest DL in the draft) and saying we need a WR ???

WRs are a dime of dozen, we could of got a dandy WR in the third round or second if it was that important.

Now M.Smith is a Cowboy at 26. What were they thinking ? That he would be there at 37 ? Smart money would say HELL NO ! Pete's run defensive is in serious trouble and due to finish in the bottom half of the league in 2023.

GO SEAHAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!

Every position is “dime a dozen” once you get past the top talent drop off point.

The kid we took is probably the best WR in this class, he has potential to be the best WR drafted in several years.
We’ll have to wait and see how things go but it’s not a fair statement to say the kid falls into the “dime a dozen” category because it’s simply not true.

Think about for 1 second, DK, Tyler, and this kid. We have a couple of solid TEs, and an amazing stable of RBs.
This kid at his talent level is an amazing addition our offense. It’s going to be hard for any defense to cover all 3 of our WRs.

I see a huge plate of crow coming your way for the “dime a dozen” label.
If I’m wrong, I’ll eat the crow but I recommend you don’t fill up on snacks before dinner.

 

[RiverDog]

QBOTF was never really in play this draft. Carolina wasn't giving up Young and Houston wasn't giving up Stroud. Best bet would be trade with Indy for Richardson, the rawest of all top QB prospects. He would be sitting for 2-3 years, pretty much negating the rookie QB contract advantage. They obviously didn't love Levis.

We don't know that for sure, but if that was the case, I'm good with it. But regardless of the reason, the fact remains that our #1 goal in this draft was to come out with our QBOTF, and we didn't get him, so that should temper our enthusiasm somewhat. And yes, it's apparent that they didn't want Levis as we passed on him at #20, also, so I'm good with that move, too.

 

[nivs]

Passing on Carter was a smart move, and drafting spoon was the right move. Where I see the draft mistake was not thinking run support at 20, here are Pete and John starring at Mazi Smith in the face 6'5" 323 pound defensive lineman, (the stroungest DL in the draft) and saying we need a WR ???

WRs are a dime of dozen, we could of got a dandy WR in the third round or second if it was that important.

Now M.Smith is a Cowboy at 26. What were they thinking ? That he would be there at 37 ? Smart money would say HELL NO ! Pete's run defensive is in serious trouble and due to finish in the bottom half of the league in 2023.

GO SEAHAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!

NFL's highest paid wide receivers (average salary per year):​

• 1. Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill: $30 million
• 2. Raiders WR Davante Adams: $28 million
• 3. Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins: $27.3 million
• 4. Rams WR Cooper Kupp: $26.7 million
• 5. Eagles WR A.J. Brown: $25 million
• 6. Bills WR Stefon Diggs: $24 million
• 7. Commanders WR Terry McLaurin: $23.2 million
• 8. Panthers WR D.J. Moore: $20.6 million
• 9. Chargers WR Keenan Allen: $20.03 million
• 10. Chargers WR Mike Williams: $20 million
• 10. Browns WR Amari Cooper: $20 million
• 10. Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin: $20 million

 

[AgentDib]

IMO, the difference between Robinson and Charbonnet is bigger than Witherspoon and the next CB or JSN and the next WR.

That might be fair when it comes to talent alone, but the complete picture should also include cost. Can we agree that the most talented team every year is necessarily the one with the highest talent per dollar spent?

Bijan's cost:
406 draft capital (RH)
2023: $4.2m
2024: $5.2m
2025: $6.2m
2026: $7.3m

Charbonnet's cost
109 draft capital (RH)
2023: $1.3m
2024: $1.6m
2025: $1.9m
2026: $2.2m

McIntosh's cost
2 draft capital (RH)
2023: $0.8m
2024: $0.9m
2025: $1.1m
2026: $1.2m

I do like Bijan at #8 way more than Gibbs at #12.

 

[Chawker]

Every position is “dime a dozen” once you get past the top talent drop off point.

The kid we took is probably the best WR in this class, he has potential to be the best WR drafted in several years.
We’ll have to wait and see how things go but it’s not a fair statement to say the kid falls into the “dime a dozen” category because it’s simply not true.

Think about for 1 second, DK, Tyler, and this kid. We have a couple of solid TEs, and an amazing stable of RBs.
This kid at his talent level is an amazing addition our offense. It’s going to be hard for any defense to cover all 3 of our WRs.

I see a huge plate of crow coming your way for the “dime a dozen” label.
If I’m wrong, I’ll eat the crow but I recommend you don’t fill up on snacks before dinner.

Thats fair enough, but that plate of crow will be there for all when the Seahawks finish in the bottom half of the league in run defense and gets us beaten in the play offs.

I do like JSN.

Cheers

 

[pmedic920]

Thats fair enough, but that plate of crow will be there for all when the Seahawks finish in the bottom half of the league in run defense and gets us beaten in the play offs.

Cheers

Ok but you have to understand that they did make some moves that will improve run defense.
Probably won’t be top 5 run defense but I’m predicting that it will be significantly better than last season.

Guess time will tell huh?

 

[RiverDog]

Every position is “dime a dozen” once you get past the top talent drop off point.

The kid we took is probably the best WR in this class, he has potential to be the best WR drafted in several years.
We’ll have to wait and see how things go but it’s not a fair statement to say the kid falls into the “dime a dozen” category because it’s simply not true.

Think about for 1 second, DK, Tyler, and this kid. We have a couple of solid TEs, and an amazing stable of RBs.
This kid at his talent level is an amazing addition our offense. It’s going to be hard for any defense to cover all 3 of our WRs.

I see a huge plate of crow coming your way for the “dime a dozen” label.
If I’m wrong, I’ll eat the crow but I recommend you don’t fill up on snacks before dinner.

No, not every position is a dime a dozen, at least not from my POV. Think of it like this: Rank all the positions on the field, from quarterback at #1 to place kick holder at #30 (or so), in terms of importance, and see where you'd rank wide receivers. They are not in my top 5. Quarterbacks, left tackles, cornerbacks, and defensive linemen are. You don't build a great team around a great wide receiver.

The other point about wide receivers, and one of the reasons why I rank them below other positions, is that they aren't very often significant contributors in the running game except as decoys, so that takes them out of the equation in roughly 45% of all offensive plays. It's similar to my argument about running backs being 2 down players. You don't get as much bang for the buck.

Who were our wide receivers in our Super Bowl years? Answer: Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin, and Jermaine Kearse. None of those guys were Pro Bowl players during our Super Bowl years. Additionally, Baldwin and Kearse were undrafted free agents. Granted, Tate was a 2nd round pick (at #60 overall, a low 2nd rounder), but he had the added value of being a very good kick returner.

Bottom line is that for me, wide receivers and running backs are the Rodney Dangerfield of football positions.

 

[Jac]

We don't know that for sure, but if that was the case, I'm good with it. But regardless of the reason, the fact remains that our #1 goal in this draft was to come out with our QBOTF, and we didn't get him, so that should temper our enthusiasm somewhat. And yes, it's apparent that they didn't want Levis as we passed on him at #20, also, so I'm good with that move, too.

Houston spent a lot of capital to move back in for Anderson. They were dead set on starting their new regime with Stroud/Anderson. It would have taken a mountain to get them to budge. And Indy appeared dead set on Richardson, so again it would have taken a mountain to get them to consider it. After we see how it played out, it's obvious that the three QBs just weren't really ever in play for us. And, in retrospect, it was three (not four) QBs at the top of this class. They will have to solve for QBOTF at some point but unfortunately probably won't have the draft capital going forward to do it inexpensively (unless there's a viable prospect in the 20's).

 

[pmedic920]

No, not every position is a dime a dozen, at least not from my POV. Think of it like this: Rank all the positions on the field, from quarterback at #1 to place kick holder at #30 (or so), in terms of importance, and see where you'd rank wide receivers. They are not in my top 5. Quarterbacks, left tackles, cornerbacks, and defensive linemen are. You don't build a great team around a great wide receiver.

The other point about wide receivers, and one of the reasons why I rank them below other positions, is that they aren't very often significant contributors in the running game except as decoys, so that takes them out of the equation in roughly 45% of all offensive plays. It's similar to my argument about running backs being 2 down players. You don't get as much bang for the buck.

Who were our wide receivers in our Super Bowl years? Answer: Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin, and Jermaine Kearse. None of those guys were Pro Bowl players during our Super Bowl years. Additionally, Baldwin and Kearse were undrafted free agents. Granted, Tate was a 2nd round pick (at #60 overall, a low 2nd rounder), but he had the added value of being a very good kick returner.

Bottom line is that for me, wide receivers and running backs are the Rodney Dangerfield of football positions.

Evidently you skipped over the part where I said once you get to the talent drop off point ?

Every position has the top 1-3 guys, then a few good quality/value guys.
After that point every position has guys that are available (dime a dozen).

Maybe just a matter of perspective, certainly not something I’m going to argue over.

 

[Jac]

No, not every position is a dime a dozen, at least not from my POV. Think of it like this: Rank all the positions on the field, from quarterback at #1 to place kick holder at #30 (or so), in terms of importance, and see where you'd rank wide receivers. They are not in my top 5. Quarterbacks, left tackles, cornerbacks, and defensive linemen are. You don't build a great team around a great wide receiver.

The other point about wide receivers, and one of the reasons why I rank them below other positions, is that they aren't very often significant contributors in the running game except as decoys, so that takes them out of the equation in roughly 45% of all offensive plays. It's similar to my argument about running backs being 2 down players. You don't get as much bang for the buck.

Who were our wide receivers in our Super Bowl years? Answer: Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin, and Jermaine Kearse. None of those guys were Pro Bowl players during our Super Bowl years. Additionally, Baldwin and Kearse were undrafted free agents. Granted, Tate was a 2nd round pick (at #60 overall, a low 2nd rounder), but he had the added value of being a very good kick returner.

Bottom line is that for me, wide receivers and running backs are the Rodney Dangerfield of football positions.

I mean that's fine...but I think that JSN will have a bigger impact on this team/league over the next 5 years than Mazi Smith will have with the Cowboys. Most of these "dime a dozen" receivers completely wash out.

 

[Grahamhawker]

But regardless of the reason, the fact remains that our #1 goal in this draft was to come out with our QBOTF, and we didn't get him

Are we so sure that was ever the goal? I mean, it makes sense to most fans, but who knows what PC/JS are thinking >50% of the time?

 

[Lennie]

I’m hearing “Seattle and Philly won the draft” all over twitter so I guess they nailed it again 2 years in a row now.

i liked it better when the pundits gave us c- grades.

 

[bileever]

I mean that's fine...but I think that JSN will have a bigger impact on this team/league over the next 5 years than Mazi Smith will have with the Cowboys. Most of these "dime a dozen" receivers completely wash out.

I tend to agree with this take. I wanted to get Mazi Smith, mainly because I felt desperate to get D-line help, but no one thinks Smith is a top-level talent. He wasn't even a consensus first round pick. Here are some of his weaknesses as a prospect listed on nfl.com:

• Hasn’t made many plays behind the line of scrimmage.
• Motor runs out of gas when tempo heats up.
• Slow reaction to movement gets him sealed.
• Struggled against Iowa’s zone scheme attack.
• Surprising lack of anchor consistency against double teams.
• Unlikely to see many passing downs as a pro.

Overall, I think Cameron Young is a better value.