Seahawks 2018 NFL Draft Review

Seahawks 2018 NFL Draft Review

Seahawks 5th round pick Shaqueem Griffin making a play in college at UCF.

The Seahawks had what looks to be their best draft since the legendary 2012 class last week. Despite not possessing a 2nd round pick because of the Sheldon Richardson trade and having quite a few roster spots to fill, the Seahawks nailed it at every turn and we may look back on this draft as the basis for the team's next Super bowl run. Although they flirted with trading future Hall-of-Fame FS Earl Thomas, the Seahawks didn't pull the trigger on a bad deal and it looks like Thomas will be back in 2018.

Here's a pick-by-pick analysis:

Round 1 #27 - Rashaad Penney, RB San Diego State

Comp: Marshawn Lynch

The Seahawks traded down from #18 for this pick and picked up the Packers 3rd and 6th round selections while giving back a 7th. Penney is an powerful, explosive runner who will surely upgrade the Seahawks weak running game for 2018. Although criticized for being "too early" to select Penney, a quick glance at his highlights shows he's every bit in the class of Saquon Barkely, who went #2 overall to the Giants. Cleveland wanted Penney badly, and actually offered the Seahawks 2nd and 3rd round picks AFTER they drafted him. The Seahawks said no and will reap the benefits. The amusing things is listening to all the East Coast draftnicks mock the pick when we all know full well if the Patriots had taken him at #31 they would have called it genius. this move might also allow the Seahawks to move the explosive but fragile CJ Procise to flanker where he will take fewer big hits.

Grade: A+

Round 3 #76 - Rasheem Green, DE USC

Comp: Michael Bennett

After sitting out round 2, the Seahawks cashed in the 3rd round pick they got from the Packers on Green, a Michael Bennett clone who instantly replace... Michael Bennett. An inside/outside pass rusher, Green plays almost exactly like Bennett style wise. We'll see if he's as effective but he has Pro Bowl potential. 

Grade: A

Round 4 #120 - Will Dissly, TE Washington

Comp: Zach Miller (Raiders/Seahawks)

Pete and John finally broke their no Washington players policy and took Dissly, who fills a depth need and will step right in to a role as a blocking tight end. The Seahawks are committed to re-establishing their running game and now have 3 excellent blocking TE's on the roster. May have gone a little early but he fits the mold of the player they wanted at the position. 

Grade B

Round 5 #141 - Shaqeem Griffin, LB UCF

Comp: Bruce Irvin

The Steal of the Draft. The Seahawks filled a need on special teams and LB by taking the super versatile and athletic Griffin. Not only is it a great story - he is Seahawks CB Shaquille Griffin's twin brother and overcame an amputated left hand - but he will contribute right away and may even slide in as a nickel safety. Will probably line up at WILL when KJ Wright slides over to SAM in certain 4-3 base sets. Great pick at a perfect value. 

Grade: A+

Round 5 #146 - Tre Flowers, DB Oklahoma State

Comp: Richard Sherman

Typical Seahawks pick. Just like Sherman, Flowers was considered to big to play corner in the NFL, so many draft analysts downgraded the pick because the Seahawks "failed to address their need at corner." The fact is the Seahawks see a ton of Sherman in Flowers, height, arm length, intelligence and study habits, and think they have struck lightening in a bottle for the second time. Perfect fit.

Grade: A

Round 5 #149 - Michael Dickson, P Texas

Comp: Johnny Hekker

The Seahawks received harsh criticism for trading up in the 5th round and then taking a punter, but Dickson is widely regarded as the best punter in college football history.  He will replace overpaid/under-performing loudmouth John Ryan on the roster and save the Seahawks $5 million on the salary cap over the next 2 years. 

Grade: B, only because he's a punter.

Round 5 #168 - Jamarco Jones, OT Ohio State

Comp: Cam Robinson

Jones is huge and fairly mobile, with good feet and great strength. Will back-up Duane Brown at LT right away and probably be a starter in a few years. Shows Seahawks are moving away from the "athlete" model on the OL to solid football players from big schools, hopefully with better results. Great value in round 5 as he was generally rated a 2nd or 3rd round pick.

Grade: A

Round 6 #186 - Jacob Martin, DE Temple

Comp: Chris Clemmons

Solid college edge with excellent athletic ability. Can evolve into an OLB and situational pass rusher. Solid pick at a need position.

Grade: B

Round 7 #220 - Alex McGough, QB Florida Atlantic

Comp: Austin Davis

Big, athletic signal caller who can run and fits in an offense designed for Russell Wilson. May develop into something in a few years. Fills a need.

Grade: B

Overall, this is the best Seahawks draft in years, at least on paper. They filled specific needs at value positions and upgraded the roster. Penney and Flowers especially have the chance to be difference makers, and Green and Griffin add quickness to an already quick defense.

Overall Grade: A

Top 10 Moves the Seahawks Should Make this Off-Season

With the combine and NFL free agency fast approaching, it's time to take a look at what moves the Seahawks can/should/ought to be making this off season to get back into Super Bowl contention. Considering they aren't far off assuming they get back some of the walking wounded from an injury plagued season, the team needs to stop building for the future and adopt a win now mentality. With that in mind, here's the list.

1. Franchise Tag Sheldon Richardson - The Seahawks are about $14 million under the cap for 2018 right now, and $81.4 million under for 2019, which is when the real rebuild will begin. Richardson is a key component of that, with the team regarding him as the best 3-tech tackle they've had here during Pete Carroll's tenure. While he didn't put up gaudy numbers, he also didn't play that many snaps, but made some big plays when he was out there, especially in big games. The roughly $13.9-$14.1 million tag for a DT will put the Seahawks at or over the cap by a small amount, but that situation is only temporary and may lead to an extension with a lower cap number later.
2. Pick up Justin Britt's 2018 Option - This will save $5 million on the 2018 cap, and Britt has played at a Pro-Bowl level the last two seasons at center. He's a keeper.
3. Cut John Ryan, Jeremy Lane and Cliff Avril - None of these players would appear to be in the teams plans (or shouldn't be) and cutting them would be a huge cap savings. Slicing the declining Ryan would save $2 million on the cap, Lane $4.75 million, and Avril $7.125 million. These simple moves leave the Seahawks at $13,541,361 under the cap for 2018 and 92.3 million under for 2019. 
4. Do a "simple restructure" on the contracts of Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner. This is where the team simply takes the non-guaranteed portion of the player's remaining contract (at least 2 years left) and converts them to a signing bonus and hands the player a fat check to clear cap space. Wilson and Wagner are the Seahawks two highest cap hits, and restructuring them would clear $7,355,000 and $4,605,000 respectively off the 2018 cap, leaving them with $26 million in 2018 cap space. While reporters often claim this is just "kicking the can down the road," these moves would still leave almost $80 million in cap space for 2019, which is of course, plenty.
5. Trade for Marcus Peters - Kansas City is currently $12,000 over the cap and the Chiefs have made it clear that their super-talented problem child is available in a trade. He'd be a perfect fit for the Seahawks in many ways, and while there are some reasons to think that the organization wants to rid themselves of the distractions (see Michael Bennett and Doug Baldwin), Pete Carroll has always prided himself on handling high maintenance players like Peters. From a football standpoint, Peters is a perfect fit, as he could cover for Richard Sherman for a few weeks if Sherman isn't ready week 1, or he could start opposite him, giving the Seahawks the best pair of corners in the NFL. If the Seahawks decide to move on from Sherman in 2019, he can slide over to the left side and impressive rookie Shaq Griffin can move back to his starting slot on the right side. Peters is also a perfect scheme fit, having been raised in the Seahawks system in college at Washington. Along with Justin Coleman and Byron Maxwell, this would give the Seahawks the best group of corners in the NFL, and a good mix of youth and experience. The price for Peters would probably be the Seahawks 1st round pick at #18, but that's too high a value for Peters and they could and probably would want the Chiefs 2nd rounder at #54 or the 3rd rounder at #78 they got from the Redskins and the Alex Smith deal. this would have the added effect of reducing the Seahawks 2018 cap still further by saving money on draft pick slotting. Peters cap number of only $3,049,506 is easily absorbable, leaving the Seahawks at $22.950 in cap space for 2018.
6. Tender Justin Coleman and Dion Jordan at the Original round tender level - They would cost $1.908 million under the cap, but Coleman was a top 5 slot corner last year (thanks Patriots) and Jordan had 5 sacks in only 4 appearances. They are both worth bringing back on the cheap. This leaves the Seahawks with $19,134,000 in cap space.
7. Trade for Bruce Irvin - Hints out of Oakland indicate that Jon Gruden plans to make Irvin a cap casualty, and he'd be a perfect fit to return to Seattle. He and new Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton love each other, and he would fill the gap at the SAM spot the Seahawks have been trying to fill since he left. He's also had 15 sacks over the last two years to add to his value. Trading for Irvin would probably be cheap (give Oakland back their own 5th round pick they gave us in the Marshawn Lynch trade), and again, his contract could be adjusted to make the cap hit minimal. Doing a simple restructure on the contract he signed with Oakland 2 years ago would bring his cap number down to $4,645,000 for 2018, leaving the Seahawks with $14.489 in salary cap space and $67 million in 2019. This is also classic Seahawk cap manipulation. Get the early years out of player, let another team overpay for him, then bring him back on the cheap a few years later. 
8. Extend Earl Thomas - Thomas carries a 2018 cap number of $10.4 million, and giving him an Eric Berry level contract would reduce that by about $3.85 million, pushing the Seahawks cap space to $18.339 million.
9. Extend Duane Brown - Brown carries a $9.75 million cap charge for 2018 and giving him an extension along the lines of the contract Russell Okung signed with San Diego last year would reduce that number to $6 million, clearing another $3.75 million under the cap and leaving the Seahawks with about $22 million in cap space to spend.
10. Sign a veteran OL - $22 million is plenty of space to sign a top interior offensive lineman like Josh Sitton or Andrew Norwell. They might also look for a running back or kicker. 

Making these 10 fairly simple moves would give the Seahawks a starting defense of Frank Clark (10 sacks) Sheldon Richardson, Jarran Reed, Michael Bennett (8 sacks), Bruce Irvin, (8 sacks), Bobby Wagner, KJ Wright, Richard Sherman, Marcus Peters, Earl Thomas and a Strong Safety to be named later (probably Bradley McDougald). Their rotational players would be Shaq Griffin, Naz Jones, Dion Jordan and Justin Coleman. That's easily the best defensive roster in the NFL. They would also have $22 million in cap space to spend on say, Eric Reed to play SS, a veteran running back, and a WR.  And that doesn't include the extra $5 million they could get from picking up Britt's option.

Do it.