Football Friday: Seahawks Draft Preview

The Seahawks come into the 2009 NFL draft in an unfamiliar position. They are drafting in the top 5 for the first time since 1997. Like most 4-12 teams, the Hawks have holes on both sides of the ball. Let’s be honest, they could use depth at every position on the field. Heading into Saturday the Hawks have glaring needs at the following positions:

Running Back:
Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett are horrible. Are we really heading into the season with these two knuckleheads toting the pigskin? The Cowboys couldn’t wait to get rid of Julius and now I know why. He isn’t even the best running back in his immediate family. Thomas Jones holds that title. Plus, he's 30 years old (the dreaded age when NFL RBs hit the wall, with very few exceptions). T.J. Duckett is just a specialist for third and short and goal line situations . We paid him a cool $4 million last year to carry the rock 68 times for 172 yards. Are you kidding me, 59K per carry. Our best back, Mo Mo bailed on us in the off-season.

Safety:
I can’t stand Brian Russell. He lacks size, speed and tackling ability. He blows assignments quicker than a Las Vegas escort. It’s safe to say that we need a change. But who can fill in for him? Jordan “Big Play Babs” Babineaux and ex-Husky C.J. Wallace are the back-ups, but neither are NFL starter quality. This position is screaming for help in the draft.

Corner Back:
Kelly Jennings and Josh Wilson are smurfs. Both defensive backs lack the size to handle the larger receivers in this league and the speed to cover the burners. Jennings, drafted #31 overall in '06, and Wilson, drafted #55 overall in '07, have not lived up to expectations. The Hawks need a corner with size, speed and versatility to cover Fitzgerald and Boldin who the Hawks face twice a year.

Quarterback:
I think Hasselback can still lead this team for the next two years if he can stay healthy, and that’s a big if. It would be wise to think about finding his replacement. Seneca is a decent quarterback, but he will never be more than a .500 player. He can lead the team to an 8-8 record but not to the playoffs.

Now, here is the much anticipated Football Friday dream mock draft (what I think we should do), including my picks for the Hawks in the first three rounds, plus a late-round dark horse selection

Round 1, pick #4:
I would prefer to trade this pick. If a trade is not an option I would go with Virginia OT Eugene Monroe. He is arguably the best tackle in the draft (but most pundits have Jason Smith slightly higher). He could anchor the left side of the line once big Walt calls it quits. It’s not a sexy pick, but it’s a stable one. He may not start in '09 but neither would Sanchez or Crabtree. I would love Wake Forest super LB Curry at #4 but I doubt he lasts past KC which picks third. Draft the big fella and the Hawks will have a great player for the next decade.

Round 2, pick #37:
Darius Heyward–Bey WR (Maryland). He is 6’1’’, 210 lbs, with a 40’’ vertical and a 4.3 forty. He has the speed to get past the defense and the leaping ability to go up and catch the ball in traffic. He is very athletic. Unfortunately, I doubt he will still be on the board, but I can hope right? The more likely choice is Hakim Nicks (WR) out of North Carolina, who's draft stock has dropped him into the second round. He is big (226 lbs) and fast enough with 4.5 speed to make an impact.

Round 3, pick #68:
William Moore SS (Missouri). He is the premier safety in the college game and a first team All Big 12 selection. He is 6’0’’, 221 lbs and runs a 4.51 forty. He is big, tough and can run sideline to sideline. He is a ferocious hitter but also knows when to wrap up and make the tackle. If Moore is no longer on the board, Patrick Chung out of Oregon is a close second at the safety position.

Dark horse: Keep an eye on Graham Harell. Assuming Ruskell stays away from Sanchez, I predict the Hawks select the stat-machine QB out of Texas Tech in the 7th round. Why not grab a guy who threw for 5,111 yards and 45 TD’s last year? His career stats are 15,793 yards, 134 TD’s and only 34 INT’s. It’s hard to ignore that kind of production. I know, I know, he is supposed to be a product of the spread system, but hey, we are talking about the 7th round.

*Check back here at Wetland Sports at the end of every week for Football Friday, where we'll discuss all the important and intriguing football-related issues facing the Seahawks and Huskies.

Monday Morning Musings, April 20

This is the newest feature from Wetland Sports: a bunch of random thoughts that you may or may not find interesting, entertaining or just plain absurd. Let's get Muse-ical. Ok, that was cheesy. We'll work on the intro.

-Welcome to the NBA playoffs Blazers. There's a deer on I-5 that says it wants its look back.

-I miss Raul Ibanez. He might have been the consistent run producer the M's are increasingly lacking.

-Erik Bedard looks like he hates his $8 million job. Judging by his disposition on the mound, you'd think he'd rather be doing anything else, like mowing his lawn or getting a colostomy.

-I'm wondering if those "people in and around the league" who are telling Todd McShay that the Hawks will draft USC QB Mark Sanchez are actually dudes in his fantasy league.

-If top OTs Eugene Monroe and Jason Smith are off the board, I'd love to see Ruskell give us the nastiest receiving corps in the league by drafting superstar-in-the-making Michael Crabtree. The Texas Tech WR, as a redshirt sophomore, was physically dominant last year -- while playing with a stress fracture in his foot! With TJ, Crabby, Branch, Burleson and Carlson, and a healthy Hasselbeck, watch out.

-Love Chris Jakaubuskas' story. Damn it, I knew I wouldn't spell it right on the first try. Sorry Chris. All together now: it is J-a-k-u-b-a-u-s-k-as. The next John Lackey. He's the kind of tough, hungry player that will the help M's stay in contention -- for at least the next two months. Great story by Seattle guy Jim Caple.

-Hear that thud. It's the sound of Seattle fans falling back to earth following the Sounders shutout loss and the M's losing two straight games that made their offense look exactly like it does on paper.

-Couldn't stop laughing when reading about Griffey, wearing black robe, thick 24 medallion and swinging a gavel, holding kangaroo court in the M's clubhouse yesterday. Hilarious. Another reason the M's will win at least 78 games. (As you can see I'm wildly adjusting my expectations after getting entirely too excited on Wednesday night. Get used to it. This will happen at least once a week, especially if I've been drinking.)

-When do you pull the plug on Carlos Silva? On the plus side, I see a promising post-baseball future for Carlos -- as the fattest yoga instructor in the world.

Should the Hawks take Mark Sanchez in the NFL draft?

Assuming Matthew Stafford is off the board, should the Seattle Seahawks select Mark Sanchez with the #4 pick in the 2009 NFL draft? The answer is, absolutely not.

At some point in the near future the Hawks need to think about finding the successor to Matt Hasselback. He is 33 and coming off a season where he missed 9 games due to a back injury. Matt’s health issues indicate his most productive years are behind him. Still, Sanchez is not the solution.

Last year the Raiders selected Darren McFadden with the #4 pick. They signed him to a six-year contract worth 60 million, 26 million guaranteed. I’m not ready to commit this kind of money to a player who has had one full season as a starter under his belt. He’s started 16 games his entire collegiate career. Selecting Sanchez is far too risky. Hawks GM Tim Ruskell tends to favor four-year starters. Hopefully Sanchez’s slim body of work is enough to get his name thrown out of the war room.

The Hawks have had zero success drafting quarterbacks in the first round. Two names come to mind, Rick Mirer and Dan McGwire. In 1991 the Hawks drafted McGwire with the 16th pick in the first round. He played 12 games in a Hawks uniform over a four year period. He completed a combined 74 passes for 745 yards. Two years later, desperate to erase the McGwire debacle, Seattle drafted Mirer #2 overall. He threw 41 TD’s and 56 INT’s in four seasons with Seattle. His highest QB rating in a season was a paltry 70.2. Not exactly the production the Hawks expected out of either player.

On draft day, I’ll be praying for one of three players, OT Eugene Monroe, OT Jason Smith or LB Aaron Curry.