Thanks, Kearly.

I always appreciate all your insight! This is the first draft that I've really followed and prepared for, and I can't wait!!!

Very nice article there Kearly! Appreciate the efforts.

So I've been soaking in all this stuff you've been writing about Ryan Swope ... mulling it over ... watching as many highlights of him as I can find ... and trying to get a real grasp on him. I'll fully admit that I didn't watch a whole lot of college football this past year (just flat out no time), so I'm trying to get a real sense of some of these prospects.

On Swope, you mention his cutback/change of direction ability and compare it to Steve Largent. Now that really says something if that is in fact true. For those who are too young and never saw him in person, that's one of the things that really made Largent truly great. He was only about 5'11" (more like 5'10" though, I met him once) ... and could only run a 4.7. Because of that, people gave him the "slow footed white guy" label. But time and time again, this guy was constantly open on the field and turning DB's around. Why? Because of exactly that cutback/change of direction ability. He was a bit like Barry Sanders in some ways in that he could go full speed forward ... and then literally cut on a dime 90 degrees, weaving and bobbing his way through traffic. He also had very good leaping ability and absolutely incredible hands. For those who never saw him, here is an old NFL Films Highlight of Largent. One cut in there (around 2:26 in to it) shows some of that ability -- though even that cut doesn't do him justice ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya0X6B_0cok

So Kearly, are you honestly saying that Swope seriously has THAT kind of change of direction ability AND 4.34 Speed to boot? Because if he does, he ain't gonna last until the middle rounds. He'll be gone in the 2nd. Thoughts?

Great article, it's real hard to judge the amount of heart and desire each player truely has for the game, big money muddys up the water most of the time.

The good news is that with as many teams (Seahawks, Niners, Cards, ???) as you cheer for, kearly, there is a really good chance you don't go away empty-handed.

I kid (primarily).

The idea of giving Russell Wilson a WR he can grow with (given all the other weapons already at his disposal) for the next 6years and more is beyond exciting to me. Be it Swopes or one of the other heralded targets in this draft, the thought is just so appealing to me as a fan.

Good job, Kearly. After watching the film on Simon, he's tied on my wish list with Khaseem Green and both are considered 2-3 round prospects. These are the type of defensive players I love--hard workers with a nose for the football, who are disruptive on most plays and considered leaders by their coaches and teamates. Both can play LEO, but Simon does seem like he can be moved around and play DL if the need arises. I like both players equally and hope that we can get one of them.

Great read. I'll have to look at Simon a little closer. I will have to disagree with you on Swope, however. I don't think he gets out of the 3rd round if he even gets that far. I wouldn't even be at all surprised if a team snags him late 2nd though I think 3rd is where he'll go.

Watching Simon I see a smaller, less athletic version of Sheldon Richardson. he's a lineman that plays the game like a linebacker. Very active and instinctive. He deliberate in his movement. Plays with his head up, watching the ball. He's not as explosive as Richardson, and is more of a read and react defender. Doesn't seem like the disruptive force we need, but he actually reminds me a bit of a free agent we've talked about . . . Henry Melton.

I'll try and use some voodoo mind tricks to get inside of Schneider's head for ya, Kip. It'll go...

Round 1) Trade up for Richardson
Round 2) Ryan Swope
Round 3) John Simon

That's as far as my voodoo mind powers go. The rest is on Schneider. Hopefully he reads the boards here and goes with some combination of Matt Scott, Micah Hyde, Jamoris Slaughter, Darius Slay, Cooper Taylor, and Armonty Bryant.

Good call on Simon and Swope though. Love the tape on them. Although in my head I've got Richardson and Swope as guys I don't want to leave the draft without. What can I say, I have an affinity in my heart for white wide receivers.

Do you guys really think that Swope will go in rounds 1-2? I know we're getting excited, but the dude is not in anyones top 10 rankings for WRs.

No homo but I have a thing for white WRs. I really wanted Kris Durham to succeed as a seahawk

SeahawksFanForever wrote:No homo but I have a thing for white WRs. I really wanted Kris Durham to succeed as a seahawk

Ehhh, for some reason Durham wasn't "white enough" for me. Kinda like how Griffin isn't black enough for some.

I don't know, he didn't ooze "teacher on the field" or "tough as nails" or "lunch pail guy who spends his entire life locked in the film room."

Also, he was too fast and too athletic for the prototypical white wide receiver. Sure, Swope's fast as all hell and a great athlete, but are there any pictures of him jumping over his own mother? Didn't think so.

NYCoug wrote:

SeahawksFanForever wrote:No homo but I have a thing for white WRs. I really wanted Kris Durham to succeed as a seahawk

Ehhh, for some reason Durham wasn't "white enough" for me. Kinda like how Griffin isn't black enough for some.

I don't know, he didn't ooze "teacher on the field" or "tough as nails" or "lunch pail guy who spends his entire life locked in the film room."

Also, he was too fast and too athletic for the prototypical white wide receiver. Sure, Swope's fast as all hell and a great athlete, but are there any pictures of him jumping over his own mother? Didn't think so.

Haha Good reply.

I am a huge fan of Brandon Stokley, Wes Welker, Jordy Nelson, etc. I was so bummed when Stokley left. He is my all time favorite slot receiver.

I like Simon a lot, he is smaller and won't fit every team but damn is he good at getting to the QB. I think Rob has had him going to Pitt in the second round for a while. Reminds me of Clay Matthews actually, looks a lot like him in the game tape. I hope to holy hell he doesn't end up in SuckFest.

Swope is a guy I like as simply a playmaker, I think both have the potential and upside and Swope adds something we don't have insane speed on the outside and he is big enough to tangle with the monster large CB in the NFL. The point you make about being productive under both Tannehill and Manziel is awfully Wilson-esq, also different coordinators as Sherman went to Miami the year prior, that raises a flag IMO.

Wasn't John Randle a bit 'undersized' for a DT? He had some success.

bigdaddydave wrote:Do you guys really think that Swope will go in rounds 1-2? I know we're getting excited, but the dude is not in anyones top 10 rankings for WRs.

And we care about "rankings" why...?

Signed,
Russell Wilson & Bruce Irvin



This front office doesn't give a rat's ass about rankings, round projections, etc. They don't need airbag Kiper to tell them where to look for talent. They rank players by how they fit into their system vice how they fit into convention.

FlyingGreg wrote:

bigdaddydave wrote:Do you guys really think that Swope will go in rounds 1-2? I know we're getting excited, but the dude is not in anyones top 10 rankings for WRs.

And we care about "rankings" why...?

Signed,
Russell Wilson & Bruce Irvin

This front office doesn't give a rat's ass about rankings, round projections, etc. They don't need airbag Kiper to tell them where to look for talent. They rank players by how they fit into their system vice how they fit into convention.

I think that's a bit harsh. Of course our F.O. cares. They have to care, so they know when to swoop in and make the steal.

Sarlacc83 wrote:

FlyingGreg wrote:

bigdaddydave wrote:Do you guys really think that Swope will go in rounds 1-2? I know we're getting excited, but the dude is not in anyones top 10 rankings for WRs.

And we care about "rankings" why...?

Signed,
Russell Wilson & Bruce Irvin

This front office doesn't give a rat's ass about rankings, round projections, etc. They don't need airbag Kiper to tell them where to look for talent. They rank players by how they fit into their system vice how they fit into convention.

I think that's a bit harsh. Of course our F.O. cares. They have to care, so they know when to swoop in and make the steal.

Or in this case, "Swope" in and make the steal?

Alas, you missed my point. They have their own system of evaluation and value ranking. They don't subscribe to someone elses.

FlyingGreg wrote:

bigdaddydave wrote:Do you guys really think that Swope will go in rounds 1-2? I know we're getting excited, but the dude is not in anyones top 10 rankings for WRs.

And we care about "rankings" why...?

Signed,
Russell Wilson & Bruce Irvin



This front office doesn't give a rat's ass about rankings, round projections, etc. They don't need airbag Kiper to tell them where to look for talent. They rank players by how they fit into their system vice how they fit into convention.

Yeah... What I meant by that was that some of you guys are saying that we need to take him with a FIRST or maybe even a second... I like the dude, but if he's on no one elses radar until the 4 or 5th rounds, lets be realistic!

bigdaddydave wrote:

FlyingGreg wrote:

bigdaddydave wrote:Do you guys really think that Swope will go in rounds 1-2? I know we're getting excited, but the dude is not in anyones top 10 rankings for WRs.

And we care about "rankings" why...?

Signed,
Russell Wilson & Bruce Irvin



This front office doesn't give a rat's ass about rankings, round projections, etc. They don't need airbag Kiper to tell them where to look for talent. They rank players by how they fit into their system vice how they fit into convention.

Yeah... What I meant by that was that some of you guys are saying that we need to take him with a FIRST or maybe even a second... I like the dude, but if he's on no one elses radar until the 4 or 5th rounds, lets be realistic!

Oh yeah, right on. I can't see taking him in the 1st or 2nd.

What I noticed most about Simon was his focus on where the ball was at all times, and even with his quick spin moves, his eyes drew right back to the ball.
His spin is executed with textbook precission.
What the Huston Oilers were mistaken with on Steve Largent, was that it wasn't Largent that was lacking ability to catch the ball, it was that they didn't have the Quarterback neccessary to get the ball to him.
Swopes numbers at the Combine (especially his 40 times) will make scouts and other talent evaluators go back and review his game tapes, and like some others, I too believe that he won't make it to the 3rd round either.

Sounds like a badass!

Last year I was really dialed into the draft, but this year I'm completely clueless. It probably has something to do with not really feeling any huge glaring needs that need to be addressed in the draft like I did last year, and the fact that the one thing I think we DO need - a real bad ass penetrating 3tech - doesn't seem to have a lot of great candidates this year. So thanks for giving me some names to keep an ear open for in the draft this year.

As for your reservations on screaming Russell's name from the mountain top before the draft last year... it's human nature to hedge your bets. I wouldn't beat yourself up too bad on that. I (like a lot of other people I think) didn't get on the Russell bandwagon until the KC game in pre-season (though I musered the courage to at least go stand next to it after the Denver game). It's very well documented that you were likely one of the first people outside of the Hawks FO or Russell's immediate family to get on the Russell Wilson bandwagon, so you've still earned crazy mad internet street cred for calling that shot long before anyone else.

Meh, to me he sounds like the perfect Steeler/Raven in the making. The people up there would love the way he speaks about the game. He's very robotic. Most of the Hawks have a ton of personality, so while he'd be a great player and possibly fit in, he wouldn't even get more airtime than John Moffitt, and that's a fact haha...


As far as Russell Wilson being a robot is concerned, he's allowed to be a robot on this team because he's the franchise quarterback and that's EXACTLY the type of personality this team needed to take them to the top. Can 2 robots coexist in one locker room?

Maybe we'll find out.

CANHawk wrote:Last year I was really dialed into the draft, but this year I'm completely clueless. It probably has something to do with not really feeling any huge glaring needs that need to be addressed in the draft like I did last year, and the fact that the one thing I think we DO need - a real bad ass penetrating 3tech - doesn't seem to have a lot of great candidates this year. So thanks for giving me some names to keep an ear open for in the draft this year.

As for your reservations on screaming Russell's name from the mountain top before the draft last year... it's human nature to hedge your bets. I wouldn't beat yourself up too bad on that. I (like a lot of other people I think) didn't get on the Russell bandwagon until the KC game in pre-season (though I musered the courage to at least go stand next to it after the Denver game). It's very well documented that you were likely one of the first people outside of the Hawks FO or Russell's immediate family to get on the Russell Wilson bandwagon, so you've still earned crazy mad internet street cred for calling that shot long before anyone else.

Truth.

CAN, I think your lack of interest in the Draft this season probably has to do with the fact that no one really knows who's going to be good from this group for sure. *I'm part of this group, just wanted to clarify* They could all be a pile of crap or a pile of gold and no one really knows right now, so people are throwing out every name possible so that just in case we do draft the dude, we at least won't say "who the !?!? is that?!?!" or "really?! Him?! At that value?!?!" for the 4th year in a row.

I'm getting hyped for the draft because it's a Seahawks Draft and I follow/think about this team at a frightening level and what else is there really to do in late April, really? And it's NYC so I get to go to it and sit there in a lifeless sea of humanity.

But if these factors weren't in play I'd probably be just like you. Uninterested in the draft.

I didnt see a single thing that impressive with John Simon in those highlights. I saw a guy getting through the line against Illinois and getting no tackles, getting pushed to the ground etc..

Regarding Largent, it wasn't really meant to be an exact comparison. I didn't say he was a "Largent clone." They have a ton of similar traits and I see a lot of "special" when I watch Swope.

kearly wrote:Regarding Largent, it wasn't really meant to be an exact comparison. I didn't say he was a "Largent clone." They have a ton of similar traits and I see a lot of "special" when I watch Swope.

Granted -- there is (and ever will be) only 1 Steve Largent. But what I am most intrigued by is whether or not he has that same (or similar) kind of cutting ability -- say on running an out route, the ability to go full bore ... and then on a dime cut 90 degrees to the sideline. If he's got that (or close to that) ability ... good hands (maybe not exactly Largent stick-um hands, but close) ... and 4.35 Speed -- sign me up baby! What about his cutting ability? Are we talking something similar for Swope?

NYCoug wrote:

CANHawk wrote:Last year I was really dialed into the draft, but this year I'm completely clueless. It probably has something to do with not really feeling any huge glaring needs that need to be addressed in the draft like I did last year, and the fact that the one thing I think we DO need - a real bad ass penetrating 3tech - doesn't seem to have a lot of great candidates this year. So thanks for giving me some names to keep an ear open for in the draft this year.

As for your reservations on screaming Russell's name from the mountain top before the draft last year... it's human nature to hedge your bets. I wouldn't beat yourself up too bad on that. I (like a lot of other people I think) didn't get on the Russell bandwagon until the KC game in pre-season (though I musered the courage to at least go stand next to it after the Denver game). It's very well documented that you were likely one of the first people outside of the Hawks FO or Russell's immediate family to get on the Russell Wilson bandwagon, so you've still earned crazy mad internet street cred for calling that shot long before anyone else.

Truth.

CAN, I think your lack of interest in the Draft this season probably has to do with the fact that no one really knows who's going to be good from this group for sure. *I'm part of this group, just wanted to clarify* They could all be a pile of crap or a pile of gold and no one really knows right now, so people are throwing out every name possible so that just in case we do draft the dude, we at least won't say "who the !?!? is that?!?!" or "really?! Him?! At that value?!?!" for the 4th year in a row.

I'm getting hyped for the draft because it's a Seahawks Draft and I follow/think about this team at a frightening level and what else is there really to do in late April, really? And it's NYC so I get to go to it and sit there in a lifeless sea of humanity.

But if these factors weren't in play I'd probably be just like you. Uninterested in the draft.

Word.

Thing is... I really WANT to be interested, but every time I go to look at the draft sites, mock drafts and such that i had so much fun looking at this time last year, I just kind of look at all the names and say 'who are these dudes anyway?'. I guess all the big names in last years draft kinda spoiled this year. That and I started scoping out hawks draft picks in about November last year on account of the holes. No holes this year. Good problem to have. Obsessing about the draft hoping for the saviour is something fans of crappy teams need to worry about. We got our guys now.

I think Pete was right when he said that last years draft will be the defining draft of his tenure here.

Swope is definitely growing on me and I do feel like I'm watching Welker when I watch his film, and not just because he's white as you pointed out. Not sure I like him at #25 but I certainly wouldn't mind him at #58.

Simon however I just don't see it, at least as a DT. He'd make a fine 3-4 OLB though and as stated earlier he looks like he'd be right up the Steelers/Pats alley.

SuperHawks wrote:Simon however I just don't see it, at least as a DT. He'd make a fine 3-4 OLB though and as stated earlier he looks like he'd be right up the Steelers/Pats alley.

I think he'll be drafted by a 3-4 team to play OLB. But I also think 4-3 teams that overlook him might be making a big mistake.

CANHawk wrote:Last year I was really dialed into the draft, but this year I'm completely clueless. It probably has something to do with not really feeling any huge glaring needs that need to be addressed in the draft like I did last year, and the fact that the one thing I think we DO need - a real bad ass penetrating 3tech - doesn't seem to have a lot of great candidates this year.

That's too bad. This is the most exciting draft ever for me. Excluding Irvin and Wilson, who I didn't expect to be 1st round options, there might be 10 players I like more this year at #25 than I liked of any of the #12 options last year. Extremely strong late first round this year, and some really good players will go early 2nd as well. SF is really set up having two picks in that range. Going to be hard for Baalke to screw it up like he did last year.

kearly wrote:

CANHawk wrote:Last year I was really dialed into the draft, but this year I'm completely clueless. It probably has something to do with not really feeling any huge glaring needs that need to be addressed in the draft like I did last year, and the fact that the one thing I think we DO need - a real bad ass penetrating 3tech - doesn't seem to have a lot of great candidates this year.

That's too bad. This is the most exciting draft ever for me. Excluding Irvin and Wilson, who I didn't expect to be 1st round options, there might be 10 players I like more this year at #25 than I liked of any of the #12 options last year. Extremely strong late first round this year, and some really good players will go early 2nd as well. SF is really set up having two picks in that range. Going to be hard for Baalke to screw it up like he did last year.

Well i will defer to your wisdom my draft wise brutha. I'm sure that now that the draft hype machine is about to hit it's post combine stride, i'll likely get more interestrd as the coverage starts picking up.

Seems like the best players are the least hyped this year. I think that's often the case, but never to this extent. Reminds me a lot of 2009 when the top 12 picks or so were mostly disasters, but after that it was a hit parade.

I really liked this play by Swope going up to grab the ball in traffic and then not just going down because of a big hit. It probably was a little lucky because he got hit from behind as well, but still, great play. I like his acceleration after the catch too. He gets up to speed fast.

bigtrain21 wrote:I really liked this play by Swope going up to grab the ball in traffic and then not just going down because of a big hit. It probably was a little lucky because he got hit from behind as well, but still, great play. I like his acceleration after the catch too. He gets up to speed fast.

Reminds me a bit of Anquan Boldin

Haven't watched or read to much about Swope, but I def remember when watching A&M beat Alabama and kept hearing his name late whenever a big play was needed and made.

Two q's for people who've watched him; Whats his route running like? also anyone consider him body catcher with those tiny hands?

I hadn't run any tape on Simon yet, until you published this article. He really jumps off the tape. High motor guy. I love him.

Not sure as a 3/5 tech but I believe he could be if he added 10 lbs.

hawksman53 wrote:I didnt see a single thing that impressive with John Simon in those highlights. I saw a guy getting through the line against Illinois and getting no tackles, getting pushed to the ground etc..

Go watch Penn St 2012 and Nebraska 2012 then.