If you're like me and hope we address the receiver position in the draft, you should be excited in this class with where we'll be picking in the late first round. I'd say there's legitimately 8 guys who deserve at least late-first round consideration and a few who could sneak into the discussion before its all said and done.

Besides just the depth of this class, there's a good mix of size and talent, too, which should give Pete and John a great chance to choose the perfect fit. It also means there's going to be some differing opinions on who's the best pick for the Seahawks which make for some fun discussion until the draft.

My top 6 right now:

Keenan Allen, Cal
Justin Hunter, Tennessee
DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson
Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee
Brandon Coleman, Rutgers
Robert Woods, USC

Other possibles:
Terrance Williams, Baylor
Da'Rick Rogers, Tennessee Tech
Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia
Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State

An added bonus is that with this depth there's a chance some solid prospects fall to the 2nd or 3rd rounds if we address other needs in the first round.

Bottom line - If the front office decides to draft a WR with their first pick, there's going to be some great options.

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I got passion for my Hawks and I ain't afraid to show it

Great year for free agent WR's too.

Remember last year when Hawthorne, Lofton, and Tulloch just sat in FA for weeks without getting major offers? Carroll had a tweet explaining that their market was non-existent because of a great LB class in the draft and that's where GMs were looking. Could be a similar deal this year for WRs, and guys like Mike Wallace or Greg Jennings could end up signing bargain deals.

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"I believe there’s merit to the idea that once something in life becomes conventional, it’s no longer the safest path to success." -Matt Waldman
"If everyone's thinking alike, no one's thinking." -Bill Walsh

Mike Wallace in this offense? Yes please

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Team Hansen

It's also worth noting how middling the WR market was last off-season (Vincent Jackson aside) and yet a lot of mediocre receivers got way over paid. Teams love to bid for WR's.

The problem with drafting a WR is that they are usually not very productive their first year(s). There are exceptions, but the exceptions are usually the higher draft picks...like someone like AJ Green.

Fortunately, we don't need him to be extremely productive year 1. Rice and Tate are a good 1-2 combo, but we're lacking depth and theres a good chance of landing a player in the back end of round 1 who could possibly develop into a Top 10 receiver in the league. The two receivers from Tennessee, Patterson and Hunter, come to mind.

This front office has shown by drafting Irvin they aren't afraid of drafting a role player in the first round who can develop into an every-down player, as long as their skill sets are near elite. And that's those two receivers (plus add Coleman to that list).

I also think this group has a couple of guys who can be day 1 highly productive guys, even if their skill sets don't seem elite. Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins are both guys I could see stepping into a starting role if they have to and play near as good as Sidney Rice could and at the same time, play in a 3 or 4 receiver set that compares to what Green Bay has in how dangerous it is.

I see the argument against drafting a receiver in round 1 who doesn't start, but we are getting to the point where our draft picks are addressing depth and not necessarily starting roles. We really can go BPA.

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I got passion for my Hawks and I ain't afraid to show it

And exactly the same statement can be made for FA WRs.

They rarely produce in the first year or two anywhere near what they are being paid.

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"Wilson will come in there pissing lightning and crapping thunder! Watch out!" ... Tech Worlds, 5/9/2012

Endzorn, 3 min. later... "Football aside, I would pay money to see that. I'm serious."

Moved to Seattle in 1980. Hawks fan for 33 years and counting.

I feel like that was true 10 years ago but not anymore.

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"??? How do you know he's awful? We've seen the guy play 2 regular season games." -SoulfishHawk
"16 starts in 9 years is all you need to know." - Tsizzle
"OMFG! LOL! Are you for real?" -ivotuk

I agree, but remember that it was a middling WR class. This is a loaded FA class followed by a loaded draft. Green Bay, New England, and Pittsburgh have all been remarkably quiet on the new contract front when it comes to their star receivers. I think the moneyball concept is catching on and a lot of teams are looking for chances to improve their wins per dollar, and that is really going to hurt FA wide receivers. I think a lot of teams will find a 2nd round pick to being a lot more preferable an expenditure than a $50 million contract, including the Seahawks.

When I say bargain contract, I don't mean something like 3 years $15 million. I'm thinking Sidney Rice territory. But for a player like Jennings or Welker, a Sidney Rice contract is a very reasonable price.

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"I believe there’s merit to the idea that once something in life becomes conventional, it’s no longer the safest path to success." -Matt Waldman
"If everyone's thinking alike, no one's thinking." -Bill Walsh

Could you imagine a Wilson bomb to Wallace burning a CB? LAWWWWWWWWWWD

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Official Tharold Simon Fan Club Member

I'd rather "GROW" a WR from the draft they sign another Free Agent. We spent a good deal of money on Rice and yet for our money Tate is far more valuable. Tate has the same # of TD's and is just 5 catches and 60 yards behind Rice. Meanwhile Miller and McCoy. McCoy is 100 yards behind Miller dispite catching 20 less balls and both have 3 Td's.

The point is that Miller and Rice are critical to our team and have great. But Tate and Mccoy have been equally valuable when factoring the amount we're paying them.

So i'd prefer to draft 2-3 Wr's/Te's, in this coming draft.

some good TE's coming out this year too.
1st round pass rush DT
2nd round WR
3rd round TE
Trade Flynn for 3rd round and draft a LB
4th round WR

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Beastquake with epic commentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd_Vd43Vxa0