Post Preseason 2013 Draft Review

[Timmahawk]

During the draft, I stated we had room for about five rookies on the roster. This was before losing Percy, cutting MRob, and the rash of dline injuries. Lets see how we look so far, your thoughts are welcome.

1. Traded for Percy Harvin, TBD if this was the right move. The drafts perceived lack of offensive "skill" players make the loss of Percy negligible for now.

2. 30 (62) Michael, Christine RB: Had a pretty solid preseason. He has the look of our future #1 back, and we have the luxury of grooming him for the next year or two (which is more to say than Green Bay and Denver).

3. 25 (87) Hill, Jordan DT: At times looks solid, other times disappears. I think he gets better with better edge rushers and a healthy dline with all of our weapons back. I want him to be the DT that collapses the pocket on passing downs. Right now he isn't quite ready but has shown enough to remain on the team.

4 26 (123) Harper, Chris WR: Cut/signed by the Niners. With the emergence of Kearse and Williams, this did not surprise me. He didn't look good at all and really only deserved to be on our PS as a work in progress with the depth we have. We can say he was a miss by the coaching staff.

5 4 (137) Williams, Jesse DT: IR, to my untrained football eye, he didn't impress, probably due to his injury problems. I want him to get healthy and be another fifth round hit, but I just don't see him ever cracking the field as a Hawk.

5 5 (138) Simon, Tharold CB: PUP, this was one of my favorite picks in the draft. Taking an area of perceived strength and picking the one CB that really fits the teams blueprint for the position. It looks like he gets a redshirt year. Time will tell if he is BB's replacement.

5 25 (158) Willson, Luke TE: 2nd TE, love the athleticism and what he can bring to the table in our passing game. He got better each preseason game after looking like crap against SD. He can become a great weapon for the other Wilson if he keeps progressing.

6 26 (194) Ware, Spencer RB: 4th RB, half of the board was in shock at this pick. Another area of perceived strength, and we selected two RBs? Not only did he make the team against all odds, I actually really like him as a ST and backup RB. I don't think he will ever be a feature back, but he could be a niche short yardage/goal line guy.

7 14 (220) Seymour, Ryan G: PS. Don't know much about him.

7 25 (231) Powell, Ty DE: PS. Has great athleticism, looked the part at times, but would also disappear, glad he is on the practice squad and has a year to get coached up to NFL standards as he came from a small school.

7 35 (241) Smith, Jared G: PS, another Cable special convert. Good to have on practice squad for a year of coaching up.

7 36 (242) Bowie, Michael OT: backup. Really great value pick here, Elite OT's are usually picked up in the first round. Will he become elite? He has shown flashes at times, and with Cable as his coach, I believe he can and probably will start for us someday.

So I was kind of right, 5 of 11 picks made the team. Draft experts would probably call this a terrible draft...but, we have the deepest team in the league, and all of us Hawkaholics knew it would be tough for the late round guys to make the team...

What about the other rookies on the roster you say....the UDFA's:

Benson Mayowa: we need pass rush help with our injuries, and he beat out Ty Powell and a number of other guys for one of the last spots on the roster. I think he sticks on the team when Irvin comes back, you don't let go of Leo's that have shown the potential he has. Is he going to keep improving and become Clemons replacement? My absolute favorite new addition to the Hawks since I'm an Idaho alum.

Alvin Bailey: Another guy that looks like he can sub in for multiple positions. I love the versatility of him and Bowie. It makes the possibility of losing McQuistan and Giacomini as cap casualties easier to cope with knowing we have these guys in the pipeline.

John Lotulelei: he was probably the last spot on the roster and I do think he is gone when Irvin comes back barring an injury to one of our other LB's. I like his play, but he isn't ready for prime time just yet.

8 rookies still on the roster, with IMO some potential game changers that might look like first rounders in the future. 1 complete miss.

Go Hawks!

 

[kearly]

Michael Brooks was also a UDFA, looked mostly great and made our practice squad. He was originally signed by the Lions after the draft but only lasted there a week or so before being let go and signed by us.

This draft always felt "flat" to me, it seemed like we drafted a ton of role players and fringe starters.

Michael: I loved this pick and I haven't made it a secret that I think we'd be better off if he were the #2 RB. Insanely explosive with plus balance and good bulk. I think he's got a 1500 yard season in his future. His preseason was very good, but actually fell short of my expectations.

Hill: If Craig Terrill was a more decent run defender, you'd have something pretty close to Hill. He's active, has good hand use and is under-rated as a pass rusher. He works his tail off to get to the QB. He may not always get to the QB in 3 seconds or less, but like Bruce Irvin you can't hope to contain him forever. Hill is a "hustle sack" type pass rusher. His preseason was pretty good, it slightly surpassed my expectations.

Harper: As bad as he looked this preseason, his tape at Kansas State was far worse. He constantly quit on routes, dropped passes, gave up on plays. Basically he did everything a WR could do to piss off his QB. Which is ironic, since Harper was a converted QB. You'd think he'd know better.

Williams: If healthy and if he were the same player at Alabama, Williams would have been an excellent run stuffer and a long term replacement for Red Bryant. Unfortunately, it looks a lot like he might already be an injury bust.

Simon: He was uneven in his play at LSU, but when he wasn't screwing up, he looked incredible. He had some of the best measurables at the combine. If Seattle was drafting purely for a Browner replacement, Simon was their man all the way.

Willson: Solid but "meh" in college, he was mostly solid but "meh" in the preseason. I did like seeing him slowly improve every game though. Whenever you see a player with the measurables of an all-pro who interviews like a future head coach, you should pay close attention to those players because fairly often big things are in store for them. FWIW, when I watched him in college he generated more targets than his higher drafted teammate (Vance McDonald) did. So I don't think getting open will be too much of a problem. Lets see if he can hold onto the football and do all the little things well.

Ware: Loved this pick and still like it. Like Lynch, Ware has great balance, excellent agility, a ton of raw strength and above average vision. Both are pretty good receivers too. Lynch has a faster top gear, but Lynch isn't great because of his speed. Ware just seems like a natural fit for our running scheme. Next preseason could be pretty interesting.

Seymour: Looked like you'd expect a 7th round rookie guard to look in the preseason.

Powell: Good athlete with a nice pass rush repertoire but he gets swallowed up by blocks too often, and he has the physique of a LB more than a DE. I think he gets moved to SAM next offseason and takes Malcolm Smith's job.

Smith: Looks very athletic as a run blocker but has so much to learn. A guy like Fat Rabbit is exactly the kind of player I love having on the practice squad.

Bowie: Bowie's strength really showed up this preseason, often shoving pass rushers to the turf and knocking them on their duffs when run blocking. He doesn't have the quickest feet and when moved to guard he looked unnatural there. You don't often get a tackle as good as Bowie with a 7th rounder, and Bailey was even better.

 

[Lady Talon]

At this point I'm tempted to wish we had our first round pick back and went after Eiffert or Ertz with it. I got told a lot that we didn't need a TE then, but what is our most pressing right now? lol.

Will probably change my mind once PH gets on the field, whenever that happens.

 

[RichNhansom]

I don't look at Harper as a bust pick. If Williams and Kearse both don't break out and heavily surprise, he makes the 53 and begins development. Most 4th round receivers don't break out immediately and that is what it would have taken for Harper to get past Kearse or Williams.

I still love the trade for Harvin also. I really don't see anyone in the first round I think will have a comparable impact over the course of his contract and we were picking late. Odds are just as good we ended up with a fringe player that takes time to develop or even another player who never really pans out. Harvin won't spend his Seattle contract on the IR and when he does get on the field he will open things up for our offense and give DC's massive headaches. It is already difficult enough for DC's to game plan against our offense. Add in that most of them will be playing from behind and then throw in Harvin. The potential to break games wide open is scary.

I look for our 3rd down and redzone efficiency to improve when Harvin hits the field and that is saying alot from what I believe will already be one of the most efficient in the league without him. Adding his presence for the playoff push and playoff run will be very helpful and it will really hurt DC's who now have to try and compensate for the changes in offense with very little to no tape and I guarantee the offense will change when he is on the field.

 

[McGruff]

Hard to bang on the Hill pick at at. He was looking like one of our top 2-3 tackle and top 3-4 linemen. Very disruptive and tenacious and surprisingly good against the run. I think the average fan is always going to be disappointed in a DTick unless they are Tez or Suh. Hill to me looks similar to Geno Atkins, and that's pretty damn good in the 3rd round.