Some love for Tony McDaniel

[Missing_Clink]

A really underrated signing. Remember how no one really knew what the plan was at DT for a while, because Branch was a free agent who hung out there for a while, and the Seahawks didn't make any quick moves. Eventually Branch signed with Buffalo and the Hawks signed Tony McDaniel. The general consensus was that he was an enormous dude with some talent who had just never really capitalized.

Then he is hurt pretty much all camp and it looked like maybe he will not even make the team. He got healthy at the end of camp, made the squad and went on to start every game (I believe) for an all-time great defense in relative anonymity. He is a true hard ass out there, and he plays very tough. Outside of one stupid personal foul and the TB game in which he and others just didn't tackle very well, he was great all season. Great in the playoffs.

I would imagine he probably gets raided by a team with money to spend looking to capture some seahawk magic, but I hope we can keep him. If he goes, he deserves to be remembered as one helluva 1 year rental.

 

[EverydayImRusselin]

I would love to re-sign him. I think he has earned a nice contract though and he will be one of the guys we have to say goodbye to. I'm trying to remember which game it was, but there was one where he murdered the RB at the handoff. It was awesome.

 

[HawkFan72]

I was thinking of him last night and wanted to make this same thread. He was a great signing for us and really helped to plug up the middle.

He was solid all year, though he never really got any recognition.

I would love if he came back on a reasonable deal.

 

[NorthDallas40oz]

Indeed one of the most underrated signings of last off-season. McDaniel finished with +16.1 grade for the season from Pro Football Focus, which puts him well into the upper tier of 4-3 DT's. In fact, among all interior DL's (incl. 3-4 NT's) who are FA's this off-season, only Randy Starks and Jason Hatcher finished with a higher grade this season from PFF than McDaniel.

With that said, I don't expect McDaniel to land a 'big money' deal elsewhere. McDaniel is a situational player on running downs (i.e. a "2-down player"), whom the Seahawks maximized in that role, and who benefitted from the talent around him. Teams simply do no shell out large contracts to relatively one-dimensional run-defending DL's, never mind those who will soon be on the wrong side of 30 and who had no real previous track record of success. I expect McDaniel to re-up with the Hawks for something in the range of $1.5-$2M in AAV, where he can continue to succeed in his rotational role in Seattle.

 

[jimbojones31]

I expect McDaniel to re-up with the Hawks for something in the range of $1.5-$2M in AAV, where he can continue to succeed in his rotational role in Seattle.

I really hope this is true. Of the guys hitting FA I've got him high up the priority list to re-sign if we can make the cap work. Bennett is the No 1 priority for me, but he's right up there with Tate and Giacomini as guys I'd like to see back (at the right price). If you're right and we could get him for $2m that'd be an absolute steal.

 

[niveky]

also remember they will still be developing jordan hill and jesse williams and they will definitely be kicking the tires on that position as well as others throughout the offseason

 

[thebanjodude]

Man, McDaniel was awesome. Major upgrade over Alan Branch.

 

[Hawks46]

I remember when we signed him from Miami, the word was that he was decent as a pass rusher, but I hadn't heard that he was a good run defender. At his height, I was assuming he'd be rushing the passer from the 3 tech spot. Nice thing about his height is that he disrupts throwing lanes and makes the QB move around.

I was pleasently surprised by his run defense. He's not only good against the run, but he gets a ton of pocket push and penetration on early down pass plays. I've also seen him make plays downfield, so he shows good effort.

I don't pretend to know what his market value will be, but if we could sign him back without breaking the bank, I'd take him over unproven guys like Hill and Williams.