Post regular season Hawk needs

Well the regular season is officially over. I think the biggest area of need is the offensive line. I don't know who will be available at the Hawks pick, but they have to do something to address this. It's affecting Wilson and Lynch in a negative manner. I hope JS will attack it the same way he attacked the defensive line last year by throwing the kitchen sink at it.

In no particular order, I'd agree on the OL, but also look for some size at WR, and more DL depth. I'd take the best from one of those positions, and not be afraid of trading up if there's a potential star at one of these positions that the FO likes.

It's a little difficult to asses this considering there are some key pieces that will go into the offseason as either pending free agents or guys under contract but that are being paid too much and will be cut or renegotiated. Having said that here is my wish list:

1. Offensive Guard > Tackle (could change if Breno leaves in FA)
2a. Bigger possession wide receiver -- BIG FAN of Kelvin Benjamin, 6'5" 235 WR from Florida State if the Seminoles win and he declares (he's a RS Sophomore)
2b. Big time pass catching tight end (only need one of these two in my opinion)
3. Defensive Tackle depth

I think we should look for an upgrade at left guard if there Is one. If there isn't one, I'm content with carpenter (because the way he excels in the running game and the fact that he was a first round pick). I like sweezy for the future. He may make the switch to right tackle one day but that's all speculation. I like giocomini and his attitude and I hope we can get him back. Okung and Unger are both All Pro/Pro bowlers.

As for our pass catchers, Tate is our guy for the future. Cut rice, lock up Tate for the next +5 years. As for doug Baldwin, if we can get him for under 4 million, that'd be great. Maybe we place a 2nd/3rd round tender on him to lure a team to take him from us (because honestly, I'd take a 3rd round pick for Doug Baldwin in a heartbeat). I'd love to have the next A. Jeffrey on our team. If we lose Tate or Baldwin, then I'm all for drafting a 6'1+ WR in the first 2 rounds. Basically, WR in the first round and a LG/RT in the 2nd round (depending on Breno Giocomini). Then in the later rounds, get a TE, get a corner, get a DT (to replace the potential losses of McDaniel, McDonald, and even Bennett), get a LEO, find some defensive gems. Build this team for a future.

We have guys that are ummm cough cough on the IR we drafted last year for some of the line positions and CB. What seems like a need now may already have been looked at and these guys working and getting NFL bodies whilke not being on the game day field.

chris98251":vab7gpz6 said:

We have guys that are ummm cough cough on the IR we drafted last year for some of the line positions and CB. What seems like a need now may already have been looked at and these guys working and getting NFL bodies whilke not being on the game day field.

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Those guys are all on D though right? I believe it's YOLO and Simon on IR. Scruggs also showed some promise late last year before hitting the IR this offseason. I can't think of any OL that would be waiting in the wings, unless you count Bailey. I really think he will be a starter for us next year, I just don't know which position.

The Aussie Kid, and another DT as well we brought back on PS that showed a lot of promise in pre season, we had a O lineman but he got grabbed by the 49ers off the PS if memory serves.

We have a future in guys like Jordan Hill, Jessie Williams, Humble Thug (Tharold Simon), Scruggs. My only defensive concern is our future Leo. Chris Clemons is 32 years old off an ACL tear and his Seahawk career may be slowly coming to an end. We could possible let him go after this season and put Cliff Avril at the Leo next year and situational rotate Red and Bennett at the 5 tech. I hope we resign Tony McDaniel.

We need to upgrade the depth on the offensive line and get a big playmaker at wide receiver. Those are our biggest needs IMHO.

I'd separate needs into 2 distinct classifications:

1. Immediate needs

DL
OL
WR

DL is potentially kind of dire. We have a ton of salary committed to players here. And that will go up significantly if we want to keep the more productive players on this unit.

UFAs: Bennett (age 28), McDaniel (28), McDonald (26), Morgan

5m+ Salaries:

Clemons 32yr. (9.6m/2.1m dead)
Avril 27yr. (9.2m/7.2m dead)
Bryant 29yr. (8.5m/3m dead)
Mebane 28yr. (5.7m/0.4m dead)

Clemons is an outlier. Both the oldest and most expensive contract. Also accounting for dead money the biggest value in terms of cap relief.

Seattle's DL is somewhat older. Still in the midst of their primes. But we should expect a more significant injury risk associated with players with that kind of wear.

Youth is somewhat missing on this unit: Mayowa (22), Williams (23), Scruggs (23) and Hill (22) are the only players aged 25 or younger.

Overall, this unit is top heavy. We haven't infused this unit with good young talent, but instead have built it from the top down with veterans. The salary cost and expected availability going forward is not healthy.


OL

This unit is overall fairly healthy. It's been invested in regularly and we hit big on quality late in the draft.

UFAs: McQuistan (30), Jeanpierre (25), Giacomini (28)

5m+ Salaries:

Okung 26yr. (11.2m/4.5m dead)
Unger 27yr. (5.6m/3.3m dead)


Okung has a pre CBA contract but it's in line with pro bowl caliber LTs. Unger similarly. There aren't really any bad contracts on this unit. It's also not really an old unit either. Resigning McQuistan would probably be a bad contract in terms of age and cost.

The issue here, is that if you want it to remain a healthy unit, you need to find successors for McQuistan/Giacomini. If you elevate Bailey/Bowie, then you are needing to replace them.

Simply from a numbers perspective, Seattle is going to need at least one, if not two OL prospects. Possibly requiring prospect quality capable of starting day 1.

Looking medium term, we have to make a decision on Carpenter. He will be in the final year of his contract next year.


WR

This unit is a case of haves and have nots. And the have nots are getting paid this year.

UFAs: Tate (25), Baldwin (25)

5m+ Salaries:

Harvin 25yr. (13m+)
Rice 27yr. (9.7m/2.4m dead)

Tate and Baldwin have been our most productive and most available players the last 2 seasons. Dropping Rice seems a forgone decision. If so, there is already a vacant spot there that needs to be filled.

Outside of Kearse, this unit will be populated with players in their second deals. Cap wise, it's top heavy like the DL unit. But unlike the DL unit, it's dominated by players not really even entering their prime years. It's a very young group.

This unit needs to reload the Rice roster spot with a rookie deal.



2. Long term needs:

DB
LB
TE


DB unit:

Very healthy and young. This unit is the blueprint for how the Seahawks/Packers model operates. Plug in players and let them season and rise to opportunity when it comes.

Our ability to develop talent here is amazing. We are in a position where we can let a starter with pro bowl credentials walk away, and could even absorb the loss of his backup and our 3rd corner in the same offseason. Wouldn't change a thing here other than to keep feeding the conveyor belt. I do think we probably need to get capable alternative/backup players for our safety positions because we don't have guys that can seamlessly man either position like we have at corner.

LB unit:

Wright is entering his final year. As is Malcolm Smith. Irvin is not a guy I think has shown the quality to feel comfortable giving him a second deal when it comes up. If a quality LB is available that we like, it would be drafting ahead of 2015 need. It fits with the development blueprint for this team.

TE unit:

This unit is actually very healthy from an age and salary perspective. Miller is still entering his prime and his contract is shrinking in 2014 and 2015. He's productive and his unique quality as an everydown TE is highly necessary for our particular team. Willson is developing very well and I'd expect bigger things next year. McCoy is a UFA, but could pretty easily be retained. If not, adding a late round replacement is certainly appropriate.


Overall:

This draft is pretty deep in WR and OL talent. Seattle can get day 1 starters for both of those positions in rounds 1 and 2 this year. The bigger issue is, our biggest cap/age need is the defensive line. Outside of round 1, we're probably having to settle on Scruggs/Hill's backup and that's not going to alter the outlook of that group.

If a prospect like Hageman drops, I'd see us taking him and quickly. He is a guy who can factor in the mix immediately and relieve us of a 5m+ contract in the process. Seattle needs to roll over the DL corps OR completely rebuild a different unit because they won't be able to afford second contracts (LB/DB/WR). We haven't infused the DL unit with day 1 or early day 2 quality since Pete's arrival.

Failing that, I can see us moving back multiple times and still adequately addressing OL and WR with the talent that's available. Our bigger needs happen to coincide nicely with the deepest parts of this draft. Seattle is in the enviable position of not needing day 1 starter rookies and our ability to develop players is outstanding.

Attyla the Hawk":33ljbqlb said:

Failing that, I can see us moving back multiple times and still adequately addressing OL and WR with the talent that's available. Our bigger needs happen to coincide nicely with the deepest parts of this draft. Seattle is in the enviable position of not needing day 1 starter rookies and our ability to develop players is outstanding.

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This is what I'd like to see. Unless a top OL or WR falls down to us, I'd really like to see us move back and recoup some picks. We're going to need them to help fill the gaps.

Look at what we have sitting on the sidelines, I'm pretty sure some of these guys are slated to ummm step up next year when they are not as badly injured and or gain that NFL body they may have lacked and some experience.


IR

93 Boatright, Kenneth DE 6-3 254 23 R Southern Illinois
38 Fenner, Chandler CB 6-1 189 23 2 Holy Cross
32 Johnson, Jeron SS 5-10 212 25 3 Boise State
85 McCoy, Anthony TE 6-5 259 26 4 USC
18 Rice, Sidney WR 6-4 202 27 7 South Carolina
44 Ware, Spencer FB 5-10 228 22 R LSU
90 Williams, Jesse DT 6-3 325 23 R Alabama


PS

36 Auguste, Akeem DB 5-10 185 24 R South Carolina
13 Bates, Phil WR 6-1 220 24 2 Ohio
70 Brooks, Michael DT 6-3 276 22 R East Carolina
90 Cherrington , Dewayne DT 6-3 335 23 R Mississippi State
14 Clark, Arceto WR 5-10 180 24 R Mississippi State
5 Daniels, B.J. QB 5-11 217 24 R South Florida
48 Helfet, Cooper TE 6-4 240 24 2 Duke
94 Smith, D'Anthony DT 6-2 300 25 4 Louisiana Tech


PS INJURED

66 Smith, Jared G 6-4 302 23 R New Hampshire

Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform

98 Scruggs, Greg DE 6-3 284 23 2 Louisville
34 Simon, Tharold CB 6-3 202 22 R LSU


Reserve/Non-Football Injury

59 Toomer, Korey LB 6-2 234 25 2 Idaho

Reserve/Suspended by Commissioner

39 Browner, Brandon CB 6-4 221 29 3 Oregon State