As we draw closer to the April 18thNFL draft it looks more and more likely that the Seahawks have once again played just well enough to miss out on a much needed franchise quarterback. As much as I do not envy any Colts fan for what they endured this year, the consensus is that this one painful monstrosity will have set them up for yet another fifteen years of football prosperity. Take a look at the other teams around the league and you will see a playoff caliber Lions team led by another former #1 overall pick in Matthew Stafford, The winning ways of the Atlanta falcons that simply wouldn’t be happening without the #3 overall pick in the 2008 draft Matt Ryan. And of course we wouldn’t want to leave out that goofy bastard Eli who was also the top pick in his respective draft class. And that’s just the out of the QB’s that made the playoffs last year. Let’s not forget about Cam Newton, Sam Bradford (who might actually develop into a franchise guy if those hapless Rams get him some decent protection) Phillip Rivers, or Jake Locker (yes this UW fan is a believer…) all of whom were top ten picks.
The point is that in today’s NFL it is blatantly apparent that a premier signal caller is absolutely essential, and that the most surefire way to obtain one is to be “lucky” enough to be terrible at just the right time. Unfortunately the 2011 Seahawks were actually pretty damn good in the second half and have once again fallen into that magical land of 7-9, which in all but the most ridiculous years (see 2010) is not good enough for a playoff birth, while not quite bad enough to land a top 5 draft pick. The worst part about it is that a team could very easily get stuck in this cycle of mediocrity for many years, and to me, that would be even more painful than a singular 0-16 season. The fact of the matter is that by once again perpetuating this cycle the Seahawks will almost certainly miss out on Andrew Luck as well as RG3 and be forced to either address another need or make an ill-advised reach for a second echelon arm with the 12th overall pick. Of course there are a few other options as well, which will come into play as I lay out my 2012 Seahawks fantasy.
First let me say that the ultimate fantasy for me would be packaging a bunch of picks to move up and grab Luck or Griffin III, as I think both will become elite players at the most important position in the NFL. However, this article will be dealing with a scenario that I think is at least on the fringe of possibility (however slightly), and while it’s nice to think about, one of the top two QBs in this draft just isn’t going to happen (Damn you Barkley!!!). Luck is going to be a Colt, and RG3 will without a doubt be taken right behind him.
Griffin III looks to be the poster child of what Pete Carroll and John Schneider crave in a QB, most notably; above average mobility and a strong arm. T-Jack and Whitehurst were targets of the organization because both posses some degree of each of these traits. The problem is that they lack, the third and most important component; deadly accuracy, a trait that RG3’s 72.4% completion percentage would suggest he has in spades. Unfortunately, players are not simply awarded to the team that wants them the most, so barring the most shocking windfall in team history; Griffin III will not be donning the Seahawk Blue.
The problem for the Seahawks is not that they would have to trade up so far; we saw an example of that last year when the Falcons jumped 20 spots to snag Julio Jones, rather the dilemma is that so many other teams are in a better position to pull off such a trade. The leading candidate has got to be Cleveland. They posses the #4 pick and if necessary the 22nd (acquired in the aforementioned Julio Jones trade) could also be used to move up to #2. That is already likely to be more than the Seahawks have to offer, not to mention that the #4 pick is almost certainly where the Rams would like to end up as it would guarantee them a selection of either Matt Kalil or Justin Blackmon, either of whom would fill a dire need. Not to mention the Dolphins, Redskins, Chiefs or Jaguars (yes I think Blaine Gabbert is that bad…) who are all ahead of us in the draft order and could be contemplating a move for RG3. Finally, throw in the fact that the Rams won’t likely want to face the guy twice a year for the next decade plus, and any rational mind can conclude that Griffin III to Seattle is doomed only to take place on my Madden 12 virtual Seahawk team. With that said and done, here are the 3 things that would happen if my own little dream for 2012 and beyond comes true.
1. The Seahawks make Mario Williams an offer he can’t refuse. I don’t care if they have to over pay more than the Tigers did for Prince Fielder, The guy is that good and this is football so only 50-60% of it would be guaranteed anyway. Oh did I mention that he is 6’6″ 283 lbs with the best quickness and athleticism this side of Julius Peppers? He would also fit perfectly into what Pete Carroll and John Schneider want for this defense as far as his build and age go, since he won’t even be 28 until next years playoffs start. The benefit of this move would be two fold, as it would not only give us an elite and versatile pass rusher capable of consistently recording double digit sacks, but also with Chris Clemons still on the payroll for one more year, he would be able to move across the line and go against right tackles for every passing down of the season. I don’t know how far from the realm of possibility this move actually is, considering the geographic problem that Seattle always seems to present. I also am not sure where Williams stands on playing in what is still mostly a 4-3 Seattle defense vs. the 3-4 that the Texans ran quite successfully last year with the arrival of Wade Phillips, but a truckload of cash can certainly ease some of those concerns, and the Hawks have a pretty good chunk of cap space. 2. Pete and John pull a draft move similar to the only good one Tim Ruskell ever made. I am of course referring to the trade that sent the Seahawks 2nd round pick (37th overall) in the 2009 NFL draft to Denver in exchange for the Broncos 1st round pick in 2010 (used by Carroll and Schneider to draft Pro Bowl free safety Earl Thomas). The biggest road block here would be trying to find someone as dim-witted as Josh McDaniels to take out behind the wood shed and abuse. Yes McDaniels is a very talented offensive coordinator, but he made terrible personnel decisions, singlehandedly stripping Denver of what little talent they did have, and drafting Tim Tebow in the first round… Need I say more? Well I will… The pick that we sent him was used to draft 5’9″ (nickel size at best) CB Alphonso Smith who recorded a grand total of 9 tackles and 3 passes defended in a Bronco uniform before being traded to the Lions (where he actually played pretty well last year, haha). Anyway… The point is that Josh McDaniels is dumb, but this article is about the Seahawks so let’s get back on track. In my dream scenario the Hawks front office would find themselves picking at #12 with some star inexplicably falling down the draft board out of circumstance and team need. I could easily see this happening to Blackmon if he doesn’t run well at his pro day (his path to the draft reminds me a little of Michael Crabtree’s) or Trent Richardson as the positional value of the running back continues to decline. Enter our 2012 draft sucker who is going to give us way too much to jump up and catch him. Ideally this package of picks would include a lower 2012 first round pick (consequently used to select Cordy Glenn as a replacement for the underachieving and oft-injured Robert Gallery), and their first rounder for the following year. In a perfect world the team would be one somewhere in the same circles as the 2010 Broncos or 2011 Buccaneers, who would expect to contend but somehow just have the wheels fall off. The Bengals, who hold the 17th and 21st overall picks, could be that team. They might be looking to round out the passing attack by lining Blackmon up across from the dynamic A.J. Green, or taking aim at Richardson to replace the rapidly declining 29 year old Cedric Benson. While it may be far fetched, and depend on quite a bit of luck, achieving this kind of move on draft day would set the team up perfectly for the third and final part of the master plan… 3. Move up in the 2013 draft to finally get that “franchise QB”. This QB class is ridiculously top heavy, and outside of Luck and RG3, I don’t see a single player in this year’s draft that would present a substantial upgrade of the Seahawks Quarterback position. However, the 2013 draft may be a different story. While it may lag 2012 in truly elite talent, I believe it has a good chance to surpass it as far as depth is concerned. Barring catastrophic injury or a Cam Newton like emergence, Matt Barkley will be the top choice next year. While the Hawks certainly don’t look inept enough to gain the selection outright, there is a good chance that (given the theoretical moves made above) they can at least maneuver into sniffing range. Landing in the top 5, while not enough to reunite Carroll with his highly coveted golden boy, should position Seattle to take someone worthy of the selection. The #2 QB of 2013 could very well be Tyler Bray; who, although hampered by injuries last year, has already broken a few of Peyton Manning’s records at Tennessee, or a more seasoned Landry Jones who wisely returned for another year at OU. A few more names that I will be keeping an eye on this season are Georgia’s Aaron Murray who went 20-32 for 288 yards and 2 TDs vs. Michigan State in this years Outback Bowl, and the 2011 first team All-SEC Quarterback Tyler Wilson of Arkansas. That’s five signal callers that could potentially warrant a first round pick, and of course even more could enter the conversation as the year unfolds. As a Seahawks fan I just pray that Carroll and Schneider find someone in this fray that can take the reigns and finally deliver the franchise to the promised land of a Super Bowl victory.
So to sum up, if I had my druthers, the Seahawks would…
1. Sign Mario Williams to address the pass rush predicament 2. Avoid a reach this April and set themselves up for draft day 2013 3. Finally draft a QB high next year