They keep harping about it on TV but, they don't have 14 roster spots available. The 49ers may end up cutting some real talent, unless of course they hit on a few more AJ Jenkins type players Carrying 2 kickers throughout the season is always a good idea too

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Joe Vellano, DT, 6'1", 300lbs, 61 tkls 14 TFL, 6 sacks" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc_yzeVi-eU, Mike Catapano 6'4" 271
QB Jordan Rodgers 6'1" 212# 2539 Yards, 60% completion 15td/5int

But, they are in a good position to have all those to either package them to move up or to trade for picks down the road... a la the masterful job the Patriots have done through the draft. But, let's hope they blow it, of course. They should pick 2 kickers in the 1st round to compete for that job! THAT would be the difference maker right there.

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Team of the Century!

Yeah well they lost Sopoaga,Walker and probably goin to lose Gholston so they lost main pieces of their team. Sopoaga logged major snaps for them and rarely came out of the game and Walker did alot of things great thats why i'm glad he won't be doing it in the NFC west anymore. Gholston was their Kam the enforcer that made big hits and set the tempo for their secondary so yeah they gonna need them 14 picks i think the hawks will gladly have a rookie or another vet on the market to take over for them this year.

I hope the do draft like Belicheck. That means they'll draft 2 or 3 DBs that will soon be off the team.

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Joe Vellano, DT, 6'1", 300lbs, 61 tkls 14 TFL, 6 sacks" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc_yzeVi-eU, Mike Catapano 6'4" 271
QB Jordan Rodgers 6'1" 212# 2539 Yards, 60% completion 15td/5int

I hope they send half of them to the jets for Revis and then they way overpay him and make for some crazy showdown between SEA and SF in the prime time games this year but next year SF completely crashes cause their team is too old.

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

They have a seriously old team though. They need those picks to get younger- even if most of those picks end up as backups this year.

Plus, this draft is insanely deep. If there was ever a draft you wanted as many picks as possible for, it's this one.

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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

The Patriots trade and draft later approach is so overblown its comical. They actually draft fairly poorly.

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The don't have that many roster spots available. My guess is they try and trade up for Austin.

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"We all we got, we all we need"

That would be perfect. People seem to think cause of his name he can stop Harvin. Nope, couldn't do much matched up on him. Going to be Gilligan's Island if the SF FO bites on him specifically for Harvin.

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So, we have Calvin Johnson as Megatron, and Richard Sherman as Optimus Prime...when will Jim Harbaugh be anointed for the role of Starscream?

If Austin doesn't end up in SF, he probably will land in St. Louis.

The arms race in the NFC west puts every other division to shame.

AJ Jenkins was the whiners first round pick last year. What he did? Nothing!
Talk about a reach. Where's Kiper on that?

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<--><--><--><--><--><--><--><--><--> GO SEAHAWKS <--><--><--><--><--><--><--><--><-->

The problem that they have is that they do not know if the players they are drafting are going to be suitable replacements because they play their starters 95% of the game.

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I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

They have a lot of work to do on their DL with the FA Losses, I'm not sure how Dorsey will do but I expect at least 2 of they first 5 picks to go towards DL.

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

Man, this would not be good. I hope Austin is coveted enough by some team outside the NFC West to not land in our division. That would be a nightmare for years. I hope he goes to some team we really don't have to deal with.
Sorry about mentioning the Patriots draft strategy and trading for picks down the road. But, overblown or not... they've done something right to put themselves in the position to have more picks later when they could use them rather than using excessive picks for teams with limited roster spots available. That was my point. I've personally felt envious of the Patriots number of picks in the draft (and while they're winning their division.) The Niners having the 14 picks is just wrong. That shouldn't be the case for a team in their position. They've done something right there. All we can hope for in the draft is that they don't make the most of this opportunity.

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Team of the Century!

Just as I thought all along. Tavon Austin rising up in 1st round projections and now being mentioned as a possible top 10 pick. I agree with this http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/0ap ... op-10-pick He's been invited to the Draft - which is another indication that he is likely to be selected higher in the first round (not a guarantee, but there's not too many who are not labeling him the best offensive player in the draft.)

For me, this draft is becoming not so much about who the Seahawks select... but, not seeing Tavon Austin go to an NFC West Opponent. Dollars to donuts the Niners are targeting him and may try to trade up.

The teams I could see drafting him if all stays put (no trades)...
4. Philly (Chip Kelly probably could draw up a thing or two to do with Tavon Austin)
5. Detroit (though they just picked up Reggie Bush. They need to do something in an improving division and get a "new breed" of NFL player like this.)
6. Cleveland (Terry Metcalf 2.0, only better? Chudzinski could get creative with a player of this caliber and make an immediate statement in the division)
9. NYJ (Austin could pick up any butt fumbles and still make a positive play out of it)
11. San Diego (Phillip Rivers would love an electric player similar to what he had in Darren Sproules and give his career a needed spark)
13. Tampa Bay (too good to pass up for offensive help if he's still on the board. I don't think Austin makes it past Tampa or this 13 slot.)

This is going to get some howls of protest and get me labeled as a certified lunatic, but I would actually be ok with trading away all the Seahawks picks (though, I don't know if that would be enough - maybe even a pick next year) to trade up for Tavon Austin - just to keep him away from other NFC West Teams. Percy Harvin Insurance or even better. Still could sign a bunch of UDFA's. There will be more cuts in June and there's always players that come available who could fill in or upgrade any perceived position of need. Even on final cuts or other teams' practice squads once set. I don't think there are any actual glaring weaknesses that couldn't be addressed later.

Not panicked, but I don't like hearing of the 49ers and Rams interest in Tavon Austin one bit.

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Team of the Century!

Another couple of reasons trading away all of the Seahawks picks (or even more) to trade up for Tavon Austin:

1) perhaps they could concentrate more on new contracts for current players

2) Kearly suggested that it could be possible that the Seahawks could draft very well and others wouldn't know it because there's a possibility that none of the drafted players may make the final roster. viewtopic.php?f=18&t=67024

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Team of the Century!

There are a lot of spots on the roster that could be upgraded.

But beyond upgrading, we are going to have to embrace the notion of reloading. While I think the deal will likely get done, the Kam Chancellor example should be an accurate foreshadowing of the difficulties this team is going to face and soon. We have Kam to resign and not much beyond that this year. When we try to extend 3-4 contracts at a time, that effort becomes exponentially more difficult.

Just on offense, here are positions that could afford to have some competition or replacement contingency enacted this year and next:

WR (Tate)
WR (Rice)
OT (Giacomini)
LG (Carpenter)
RB (Lynch/Turbin)
TE (McCoy)

Tate is going to be a difficult resign. It's unknown what Rice will command, but I suspect it'll be significantly less than what we're paying him on the open market. Getting a SE with size and skill is difficult as those are rare. I don't see us resigning both of these guys. Which means taking a WR this year or next to replace one of them. Schneider has said publicly that he likes the quality of the WR position in this draft. I'd take that to mean probably 2 wideouts are selected. Last year, he didn't like them and didn't take any. For a guy who admittedly likes taking a WR every year, I'd say that thus far he's been very transparent about how he regards these positions. WR is a prime candidate for a proactive reload of talent. And if we get lucky and score a replacement for both Rice and Tate -- that's probably going to be close to 14 million in combined 2014 salary that we aren't on the hook for.

Carpenter is difficult to gauge. On the one hand, he looked extremely good at LG. On the other, that was for about 2 quarters until he gimped himself for the season again. If he gets healthy, he's going to be difficult for us to resign. He'll have a hefty price tag that others will pay (just like we paid for Rice even though Minnesota balked because of his extensive injury history with them). If he doesn't get healthy, then he needs to be replaced because he's never available. Either way, keeping him is going to be next to impossible.

Giacomini. Well I can see Breno becoming this generation's Chris Gray. The guy that we annually try to replace for a decade and like Rasputin, he just won't die.

Power running back. It's a core function on this team. I'm not convinced Turbin is up to taking 200 carries should Lynch go down. And he is going to go down at some point. This position should be three deep at all times. Now that Leon is gone, we can carry that.

McCoy. He's been productive. But we need more. He can be more. Seems like a perfect position to infuse some competitive fire at.

On defense:

LDE (Bryant)
1T (Mebane)
LEO (Clemons)
WLB (Smith)
SLB (Wright)
Nickel (Lane)
SS (Chancellor)
Backup FS (Maragos)

Bryant and Mebane are getting towards the peak of their athletic primes. It's not time to put them out to pasture. But they've also been heavily abused. And their penchant for acquiring minor injuries that sap their effectiveness is now becoming a regular occurrence. We need to add depth there. We should add quality there for depth and for when it's time to let them go. Bryant's and Mebane's contracts expire after the 2014 season if memory serves. Which happens to coincide with the first year we can extend Wilson. If we have their replacements on the roster, that's money we can roll over.

Clemons is getting along. And to be honest, I'm stunned he's been this reliable because his history before coming to Seattle was injury plagued. At any rate, this is a position we've shored up with short term UFA band-aids. This is the year we can take a project and hope he shows something by next season. I'd expect a 5th to 7th round pick to be used on just such a project player this year.

WLB. Well the use of the term "USC Backup Crew" should tell us all we need to know. We have backups here. Quality backups. But they weren't trusted enough to supplant Hill. It's another position that could use another face.

SLB. Wright is going to get expensive. He's a prototypical good player who is going to be too expensive to keep for what he does. He's a guy that I admire a lot -- but we are going to have to say goodbye to some of these fan favorites. I love Tate too. Big fan and I love how he struggled and came out the other side. But Tate and Wright are easier pieces to effectively replace than Okung or Thomas or Wilson. We need the next Tate and Wright so we can keep the core of the band together.

There are a whole host of roster spots that should be considered in play. This is the year where the depth guys have to make their move. Scruggs, McDonald, Howard, Baldwin, Moffit, Sweezy, Turbin, Lane, Maragos, Maxwell, Smith etc. Either they need to challenge for starter positions or we need to replace them with prospects that will. Because there are going to be some starters that are going to have to roll off the payroll. That reload process starts this year. These guys' roster spots are imminently in jeopardy as it should be.

I see a lot of opportunity for new players to make this team. I could see 6-7 of our draft picks sticking with the team.

I like how this went from 49er draft picks to Hawk draft picks.

But they more than likely will package some of those for future picks after filling a lot of needs on defense.

I thought the same thing and that was definitely a secondary intent of my 2 recent posts! The Hawks are a much better topic, of course.

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Team of the Century!

Since I can't attack the poster and call you a certified lunatic, I'll attack the post and call it certified lunacy. I think you're seriously overvaluing Tavon Austin. To give up that much draft capital, you better be getting an elite player that fills a huge need.

No team should ever draft someone just to keep him away from their rivals, and especially not trade up to do so. You draft to make your team better, not to keep your opponent from getting better. The 49ers and Rams will draft good players no matter what we do.

We also don't need him. We have one of the best playmaking WRs in the game. I would much rather have a diversified skill set in the WR corps than insurance for Percy Harvin. We already have 3 or 4 good WRs (depending on how you value Baldwin). I wouldn't be opposed to drafting a WR if a good one fell to us, such as Robert Woods, but there's no need to trade up for any WR.