If Richardson were available at 5, would the Hawks have selected him?

[IndyHawk]

I guess they didn't want Anderson either since they didn't give up picks to get him.

Maybe so..The thing is they sat and didn't go up or down so they got who they wanted.

 

[MORGULON]

I say yes but curious what others think.

My guess ( that's all it is) is no. I think they were making a smoke screen for what they actually wanted to accomplish. Richardson is a phenomenal athlete but so raw , I think it's going to be a problem for Indy. The mob is going to be calling for him to play sooner than later and it's going to be cool at first , but then NFL coordinators will get a grip on what he does and shut him down.

 

[TwilightError]

I would have wanted them to. But the answer is no.

 

[CactusJack]

I guess they didn't want Anderson either since they didn't give up picks to get him.

Or maybe, they liked both guys (Anderson & Spoon), and we're fine with either guy falling to them. While not having to pay a high price to land one of them.

Seems logical.

 

[AnimeAmore]

I certainly hope not.
While I am personally a fan of letting the rookie QB sit for at least part of his rookie season, when the rookie contracts were redone a while back it made it cap-prohibitive to draft a QB early in round 1 and let him sit. There is simply too much money tied up in the rookie to let him sit for a year or two. Then even if the QB develops into a quality starter you're forced to give him a $50M/yr deal after only seeing him play well for a season or two.
With how often QBs fail, there simply isn't enough upside to drafting a project QB that early. Either you get one that is expected to start day 1 or you move on to plan B, C, D, etc.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

I've heard only if Will Anderson or Witherspoon weren't available.

 

[Jac]

I certainly hope not.
While I am personally a fan of letting the rookie QB sit for at least part of his rookie season, when the rookie contracts were redone a while back it made it cap-prohibitive to draft a QB early in round 1 and let him sit. There is simply too much money tied up in the rookie to let him sit for a year or two. Then even if the QB develops into a quality starter you're forced to give him a $50M/yr deal after only seeing him play well for a season or two.
With how often QBs fail, there simply isn't enough upside to drafting a project QB that early. Either you get one that is expected to start day 1 or you move on to plan B, C, D, etc.

If you see a QB play well for two seasons and deem him worthy of a $50M/year contract, that is a huge win for the franchise. That means you found your guy. If you don't, you don't pick up the 5th year option and give him another chance to prove it.

 

[Jac]

I've heard only if Will Anderson or Witherspoon weren't available.

I don't know...a few posters here read some tweets and have been able to reconstruct Seattle's draft board, scouting reports, trade talks, and scenario analyses.

 

[JPatera76]

I don't know...a few posters here read some tweets and have been able to reconstruct Seattle's draft board, scouting reports, trade talks, and scenario analyses.

Some have linked video/audio clips if JS saying as much.. as well as there was an article from someone INSIDE the draft room.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

Personally I wanted them to take a quarterback because they definitely setup Geno's contract for it but when Houston mortgaged their future the Seahawks obviously pivoted to BPA

 

[Recon_Hawk]

I suppose this would also mean Pete and John were passing on Young and Stroud if they were available.

I think Pete really likes Geno and feels they are in a superbowl window with him, but it seems a bit short-sighted to pass on a Heisman winner and candidate. I would love to know if John had any difference of opinion on drafting the QBs, with Pete thinking more short term and John looking at the future.

 

[AnimeAmore]

If you see a QB play well for two seasons and deem him worthy of a $50M/year contract, that is a huge win for the franchise. That means you found your guy. If you don't, you don't pick up the 5th year option and give him another chance to prove it.

I didn't say the QB was deemed worthy though. Mediocre-to-average QBs get crazy deals. Teams hate giving up even average QBs, so they overpay by 20-40% just so they don't lose them.
Also remember that paying someone 50M doesn't mean they will have even one good season on their new contract. The team is on the hook no matter what, but the player is not required to actually live up to the deal.
Wasting one of the top picks in the draft so you can drastically overpay after 1 or 2 *decent* seasons is the kind of move that teams at the bottom make.

 

[AnimeAmore]

I suppose this would also mean Pete and John were passing on Young and Stroud if they were available.

I think Pete really likes Geno and feels they are in a superbowl window with him, but it seems a bit short-sighted to pass on a Heisman winner and candidate. I would love to know if John had any difference of opinion on drafting the QBs, with Pete thinking more short term and John looking at the future.

My take is that the Hawks are trying to build up the players around Geno, which makes sense.
If the Hawks end up with a top-8 NFL roster (QB excluded) and it turns out that Smith is the weak link then they know they need a new QB. Having a strong roster would make it easier to attract a FA QB if they go that route, or would allow a rookie to step in.
Last year smith played at a level where it would be very difficult to go out and get a better QB, so they might as well focus on improving other areas and see how the Geno Smith situation unfolds.

 

[Jac]

Some have linked video/audio clips if JS saying as much.. as well as there was an article from someone INSIDE the draft room.

Yep, it's remarkable that every GM in the first round gets exactly who they were targeting. It's a phenomena that goes back decades.

 

[Jac]

My take is that the Hawks are trying to build up the players around Geno, which makes sense.
If the Hawks end up with a top-8 NFL roster (QB excluded) and it turns out that Smith is the weak link then they know they need a new QB. Having a strong roster would make it easier to attract a FA QB if they go that route, or would allow a rookie to step in.
Last year smith played at a level where it would be very difficult to go out and get a better QB, so they might as well focus on improving other areas and see how the Geno Smith situation unfolds.

It's definitely a good plan. And they very well may have been prioritizing Anderson and Witherspoon at #5. But some here delusionally/absurdly think they definitively know that Seattle wouldn't have chosen Richardson at #5 if those two players weren't available. They clearly had draft season interest in him.

 

[Jac]

I didn't say the QB was deemed worthy though. Mediocre-to-average QBs get crazy deals. Teams hate giving up even average QBs, so they overpay by 20-40% just so they don't lose them.
Also remember that paying someone 50M doesn't mean they will have even one good season on their new contract. The team is on the hook no matter what, but the player is not required to actually live up to the deal.
Wasting one of the top picks in the draft so you can drastically overpay after 1 or 2 *decent* seasons is the kind of move that teams at the bottom make.

The $50 million QB club is still pretty small with everybody there or on the verge (besides Wilson) having earned their keep. Geno Smith would be a good example of an average QB earning average QB money.

 

[CactusJack]

I suppose this would also mean Pete and John were passing on Young and Stroud if they were available.

I think Pete really likes Geno and feels they are in a superbowl window with him, but it seems a bit short-sighted to pass on a Heisman winner and candidate. I would love to know if John had any difference of opinion on drafting the QBs, with Pete thinking more short term and John looking at the future.

Rumor was they liked Young. But they weren't willing to give up the farm for the #1 pick. Not with Geno in the fold.

If Young was available at 5, would they have taken him? It's highly likely.

From speaking with Seahawks sources, it did not sound like the Seahawks were going to move on from Smith and give up the farm to move up for Young. However, Seattle is said to love Young, and if the franchise loses Geno Smith in free agency, that could change the organization's thinking.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

I suppose this would also mean Pete and John were passing on Young and Stroud if they were available.

I think Pete really likes Geno and feels they are in a superbowl window with him, but it seems a bit short-sighted to pass on a Heisman winner and candidate. I would love to know if John had any difference of opinion on drafting the QBs, with Pete thinking more short term and John looking at the future.

I think would have done Stroud or maybe Richardson but the board didn't break as rumored at the top and Houston went totally stupid and totally helped us this year and basically guaranteed Arizona Caleb Williams and more next so incredibly stupid.

 

[rjdriver]

I've heard only if Will Anderson or Witherspoon weren't available.

Holy blast from the past.

Welcome back.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

But they were definitely targeting Anderson but in my opinion plan worked out wonderfully and probably is better longterm.