Mel Kiper's First Mock Draft Seahawks Picks.

[sdog1981]

The article is behind a paywall for ESPN+ subscribers. Here is who he has going to the Seahawks.

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9. Seattle Seahawks (via DEN)​

Evan Neal, OT, Alabama

This is another team that ends up with an ideal scenario. Veteran left tackle Duane Brown is still unsigned, so Neal could start from Day 1. It just makes too much sense. I'm not a huge believer that Drew Lock will be Seattle's quarterback answer for the long term, but Neal could be a stalwart on the left side for years to come.

40. Seattle Seahawks (via DEN)​

Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati

Here's a landing spot for the third quarterback in this class. Are the Seahawks really going to start Drew Lock all year? I don't buy it. Ridder is an experienced, savvy signal-caller (43 college wins) who can be a little erratic at times. If he can get his accuracy issues under control, he could be a starter, especially with the type of targets Seattle has. This might be the best-case scenario for the franchise, because Ridder won't have the expectations of a first-round pick while playing in the shadow of Russell Wilson.

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41. Seattle Seahawks​

Quay Walker, LB, Georgia

The sixth Georgia defender off the board so far, Walker is a big and tough linebacker who could try to fill the void left by Bobby Wagner's departure. I was a big fan of the Seahawks taking Jordyn Brooks in Round 1 in 2020, and this would give them two off-ball linebackers to crush ball carriers and get their hands in passing lanes.

 

[sutz]

Legit 3 picks. I could live with that.

 

[sdog1981]

Legit 3 picks. I could live with that.

Not a fan of Ridder in any round, however, the other picks would be starters right away.

 

[olyfan63]

I like it. No idea if Ridder will fall all the way to #40.

 

[seabowl]

Neal would be a great pick at 9. Still think though 90% chance they trade down.

 

[sutz]

Neal would be a great pick at 9. Still think though 90% chance they trade down.

History says you're right, but I suspect there will be someone there they can't resist.

 

[GeekHawk]

Mel Kiper gave our 2012 draft an F-. I'd say that whatever PC and JS are cooking up, I don't want it to be a Mel Kiper recipe.

 

[Appyhawk]

Have ANY of these draft mockers EVER come even close to what the Seahawks actually picked? I sure can't remember ever having seen one that did.

 

[Smellyman]

If Neal falls to the Hawks that is the start of a great draft. Walker and Ridder too.

Almost perfect first 3 picks.

 

[balakoth]

I mean people keep talking about "if history serves us" but.. if we do look at history we tend to keep our 15 and above round picks and actually use them.. we've only seen that history because we were picking so late so many years.

 

[JayhawkMike]

Have ANY of these draft mockers EVER come even close to what the Seahawks actually picked? I sure can't remember ever having seen one that did.

And why would they be able to? The stupidity of our first picks has been one of our defining characteristics for years. There are usually 3-4 right picks we could make and 100 stupid ones. We pick the stupid ones mostly with our first picks.

 

[Maelstrom787]

Have ANY of these draft mockers EVER come even close to what the Seahawks actually picked? I sure can't remember ever having seen one that did.

Ifedi was widely mocked to Seattle.

Irvin too... Just not in the first.

 

[Lagartixa]

Mel Kiper gave our 2012 draft an F-. I'd say that whatever PC and JS are cooking up, I don't want it to be a Mel Kiper recipe.

I agree that we shouldn't worry about what the "draft-expert" talking-head mediots say, and we definitely shouldn't be upset if the actual players the Seahawks draft aren't the ones the "draft experts" had said the Seahawks should draft.
That said, let's get this right. Kiper did not give the Seahawks' 2012 draft an F-. He gave it a C-. Still very wrong, but not an F-. Let's take a stroll down Memory Lane and see how right the "experts" were about that Seahawks draft.

Donald Wood from Bleacher Report gave the Seahawks' 2012 draft an F and said drafting Wilson was the worst move of the draft. Oopsie.

Jason Cole from Yahoo! Sports gave the Seahawks' 2012 draft a D- and said Russell Wilson would "be lucky to be Seneca Wallace." Pro-football-reference's AV stat has its flaws, but I find it entertaining that Wilson's single-season average AV of 15.8 is so close to Wallace's total career AV of 16. If we look at FootballOutsiders' numbers, Wilson has produced 1034 rushing DYAR and 7214 passing DYAR. Wallace, meanwhile, produced 2 net rushing DYAR and 25 net passing DYAR. Less production in his whole career than Wilson in any single season. Yikes.

Vinny Iyer of The Sporting News gave the Seahawks' 2012 draft a D and said the Seahawks "went for defensive head-scratchers when more reliable prospects were on the board." Yeah, head-scratchers like future first-ballot HoF linebacker Bobby Wagner, eight-season starter Bruce Irvin, plus Lane and a few guys who became rotation players. I Even if they had been drafting Sweezy to continue playing as a DL, it would have just been a 7th-round pick. So even allowing for the "experts" not to have known the Seahawks intended to use Sweezy as an OL, I don't think even Sweezy in the 7th classifies as a "head-scratcher."

Matt Miller from Bleacher Report gave the Seahawks' 2012 draft a D and said the Seahawks "messed up" by taking Wilson in the third round.

[Kiper's grade of C- would fall here]

Dalton Johnson of Bleacher Report also gave the Seahawks a C-, saying the Seahawks' 2012 draft was "full of reaches," including their top three picks, Irvin (again, eight-year NFL starter), Bobby "Wager" (sic), and Wilson.

SI.com gave the Seahawks a C for a "blah" draft. They correctly stated that Wilson had a bright future, but added "even if Seattle didn’t really need him." Wow, the "draft experts" really thought a lot of Flynn, huh?

Prisco gave the Seahawks' 2012 draft a C+ and called Wilson in the third round "a strange pick"

 

[SoulfishHawk]

While those would be solid picks, I couldn't care less what Smell Diaper thinks.

 

[JayhawkMike]

That was one of the best drafts for the Seahawks and the pundits got it wrong. We should do the same thing for a few of the more recent drafts. Penny over Chubb. Eskridge over the Chiefs center. I wonder if the pundits have gotten it wrong since the draft from 10 years ago. Yes, we have to go back 10 years

 

[Lagartixa]

That was one of the best drafts for the Seahawks and the pundits got it wrong. We should do the same thing for a few of the more recent drafts. Penny over Chubb. Eskridge over the Chiefs center. I wonder if the pundits have gotten it wrong since the draft from 10 years ago. Yes, we have to go back 10 years

Penny over Chubb was a good decision, even if we can see with the benefit of hindsight that Chubb worked out better. Chubb had had major injury issues in college, and Penny had not. It went the other way in the NFL, but I think the Seahawks front office made the right decision (in terms of Penny vs. Chubb, but definitely NOT in terms of choosing a running back in the first round of the draft), given the information available to them at the time.

 

[JayhawkMike]

What you are failing to consider is that we were looking to replace Carson if he ended up not getting resigned. Chubb was a much closer player in style than Penny. Penny was a run around the end which PC seems to like to have around. There is a laundry list of oft injured backup around the end RBs that PC refuses for years to get rid of. Yes. Chubb had his college injury issues but it was clear to everyone that Chubb was a much better talent. We also have a front office that does not seem to mind drafting injured players - even a few that miss their entire rookie years.

I agree that drafting ANY RB in the first round is usually a stupid move (though Jonathan Taylor would have been nice) but this was a prime example of a front office that thinks its smarter than everyone else and it burned them.

I am of the opinion that the pundit are generally unbiased about the players picked and while they get them wrong at times they have their sources with the scouts, teams and talent evaluators that gives them some credibility. But the instant we draft player X there is a certain group here that declare them the second coming and a great pick overlooked by everyone and that PC and JS know better than the world. I am at the point I do not think JS and PC know jack crap and when everyone is screaming for Creed Humphrey, a position of need and highly rated, and they pick a THIRD receiver (position not player) I think they are dumb arses.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I'd love Neal, but I don't think he's going to be there at 9.

If I was betting on what happens is Neal goes top 5, then we drop down to 12 or 13 and pick one of the top CB's or another top tackle like Ekwonu, Penning or Cross.

 

[WmHBonney]

Hard pass on Ridder. I would be interested in Carson Strong if we could get him after the 2nd round. I would be ecstatic if we were able to grab Neal at #9. I think he will be gone by then.

 

[Maelstrom787]

A good read, I think, for anyone who still cares what Mel thinks.

(Not that you shouldn't read him. I just wouldn't use Kiper's stuff to judge decisions against.)