A busy Saturday
Welcome to the third day of the NFL Draft, which will be a busy one for the Seahawks.
In addition to having seven picks in the final four rounds, first-round draft choice James Carpenter will be introduced during a news conference this morning. Just saw Carpenter in the hallway, and he is one XXXL-sized young man. His parents made the trip with him, and it was difficult to tell who had the biggest smile – mom, dad or son.
The Seahawks also will start picking early, as they have the second and 10th selections in the fourth round, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Here’s the lineup of the Seahawks’ remaining picks after yesterday’s trade with the Detroit Lions to move out of the second round and back into the third round – when they selected Wisconsin guard John Moffitt:
Fourth round (2) – 2nd pick, 99th overall; 10th pick, 107th overall
Fifth round (2) – 23rd pick, 154th overall; 25th, 156th overall
Sixth round (1) – 8th pick, 173rd overall
Seventh round (2) – 2nd pick, 205th overall; 41st pick, 242nd overall
Seahawks select Moffitt in 3rd
With the 11th pick in the third round of the NFL Draft – a choice obtained in the trade with the Detroit Lions during the second round – the Seahawks selected Wisconsin guard John Moffitt.
The pick continued a rebuilding of the offensive line, after Alabama tackle James Carpenter was selected in the first round Thursday night.
The 6-foot-4, 319-pound Moffitt started all 13 games at left guard for the Badgers last season. After starting six games at left guard in 2007, he moved to center in 2008 and stared all 13 games. He then started 10 games in 2009 – eight at left guard, two a center.
Seahawks’ new lineup
GM John Schneider consults with Coach Pete Carroll in the draft room tonight just before the Seahawks made a seven-pick trade with the Lions. [Photo by Rod Mar, Seahawks.com]
After trading their second-round choice and two others in the NFL Draft to the Detroit Lions for four selections, the Seahawks now have the following eight picks:
Third round (1) – 11th pick, 75th overall
Fourth round (2) – 2nd pick, 99th overall; 10th pick, 107th overall
Fifth round (2) – 23rd pick, 154th overall; 25th, 156th overall
Sixth round (1) – 8th pick, 173rd overall
Seventh round (2) – 2nd pick, 205th overall; 41st pick, 242nd overall
Day 2, one pick
The second round of the NFL Draft is scheduled to start at 3 p.m., and the Seahawks hold the 25th pick – or 57th overall.
The third round also will be conducted today, but the Seahawks used their pick as part of the deal last year to acquire quarterback Charlie Whitehurst from the San Diego Chargers.
So, who’s left? Here’s a list of some of the players still on the board after Thursday night’s first round:
The Top 10 (according to Scouts Inc.)
DE Da’Quan Bowers, Clemson
DE/OLB Brooks Reed, Arizona
TE Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame
CB Aaron Williams, Texas
RB Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech
DE Jabaal Sheard, Pitt
RB Mikel Leshoure, Illinois
DT Marvin Austin, North Carolina
CB Ras-I Dowling, Virginia
QB Andy Dalton, TCU
Another 12 (according to Sporting News Today):
DT Stephen Paea, Oregon State
QB Colin Kaepernick, Nevada
C-OG Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State
WR Leonard Hankerson, Miami
WR Jerrel Jernigan, Troy
OLB Bruce Carter, North Carolina
WR Randall Cobb, Kentucky
DT Drake Nevis, LSU
WR Torrey Smith, Maryland
OLB Ross Homan, Ohio State
DE/DT Christian Ballard, Iowa
WR Titus Young, Boise State
Also available:
LB Mason Foster, Washington
RB Taiwan Jones, Eastern Washington
Where’s the QB?
The Seahawks emerged from the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night without selecting a quarterback, but four were taken before they made the 25th pick.
But as far as coach Pete Carroll is concerned, the Seahawks already got a QB from this draft: Charlie Whitehurst, who was acquired last year in a trade with the San Diego Chargers. The deal cost the Seahawks their third-round pick in this draft.
“John (Schneider, the GM) and I are of the mindset that we always have to look at the quarterback position – every year, every draft we’re going to continue to do that,” Carroll said after the Seahawks had selected Alabama tackle James Carpenter.
“This year’s draft, Charlie is our third-round pick. I don’t know if you guys (reporters) realize that, but that’s something we’re very well aware of.
“We’re going to continue to deal with the quarterback position. Remember last year, the first big thing we did was to go get Charlie. He’s already come in and won a big game for us (the season finale against the Rams) as our pick in this year’s draft. So we think we’ve already been paid back on that front.
“But by no means are we done. We’ve got some question marks there, obviously.”
The QBs that went in the first round: Cam Newton, at No. 1 to the Panthers; Jake Locker, at No. 8 to the Titans; Blaine Gabbert, at No. 10 to the Redskins; and Christian Ponder, at No. 12 to the Vikings.
“It surprised me,” Schneider said of four QBs going in the first 12 picks.
The draft continues Friday with the second and third rounds. The Seahawks have the 57th pick overall in the second round. The final four rounds will be conducted Saturday, when the Seahawks have six picks.
Rang dang doodle
Just when we thought we’d posted our final item on mock drafts, Rob Rang has updated his.
Rang, a comrade and contributor to Seahawks.com’s series of articles previewing the draft, now has the Seahawks opting for Wisconsin left tackle Gabe Carimi with the 25th pick in tonight’s first round.
Rang’s rationale on the 6-foot-7, 314-pound Carimi: “The Seahawks could certainly use a young quarterback or a top defensive lineman, but coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider have been adamant that they need to get bigger and stronger on both sides of the ball. They don’t come much better in the running game than Wisconsin’s Carimi, who won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top lineman. To repeat as NFC West division champs, the Seahawks must address their offensive line.”
Hard to argue with that argument, or even the pick because Illinois defensive tackle Corey Liuget (No. 14 to the Rams), Florida guard Mike Pouncey (No. 15 to the Dolphins), Mississippi State tackle Derek Sherrod (No. 22 to the Colts) and Baylor guard Danny Watkins (No. 23 to the Eagles) are off the board in Rang’s final mock for NFLDraftScout.com. As are four QBs: Cam Newton (No. 1 to the Panthers), Blaine Gabbert (No. 7 to the 49ers), Andy Dalton (No. 12 to the Vikings) and Jake Locker (No. 16 to the Jaguars).
Rang has the Seahawks addressing the other side of the ball in the second round, with the 57th pick overall, by selecting Iowa defensive end Christian Ballard. Says Rang, “Character concerns could push Ballard down the board a bit, but at 6-4, 288 pounds he has the size potential to fill the Seahawks’ need as a penetrating three-technique defensive tackle.”
Deja mock
Happy Draft Day. Or at least Day One of what is now a three-day extravaganza that continues tomorrow and concludes Saturday.
Back in the day, as they say, the Seahawks’ PR staff began conducting a mock-draft competition between the reporters who covered the team. That’s when Gil Lyons, Craig Smith, Larry Stone, Les Carpenter, Percy Allen and Jose Romero were on the beat at various times for the Seattle Times; John Clayton and Mike Sando were launching their careers at the Tacoma News Tribune; Todd Frederickson, Bill Williamson and Scott Johnson had the duty for the Everett Herald; and that guy with the girl’s name was the beat writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
That’s also when John Clayton was on his way to becoming JOHN CLAYTON, but he still dominated the friendly competition. Yours truly won for the first time in 1998 – the first year Clayton had officially moved on to ESPN – and also in 2001 and 2005.
Times have changed, and so have the beat writers. Here’s who they are projecting for the Seahawks with the 25th pick in the first round tonight (click on their names for the complete first round):
Danny O’Neil, Seattle Times: CB Jimmy Smith, Colorado
This would address the secondary, which is a primary concern for Seahawks.
Eric Williams, News Tribune: DT Marvin Austin, North Carolina
Could be the pick if guys like Corey Liuget and Mohammad Wilkerson are gone. Did not play all of last season because of NCAA suspension for taking improper gifts from an agent, but has shown accountability for his actions and could be another reclamation project for Pete Carroll.
John Boyle, Everett Herald: Smith
GM John Schneider has made no secret of the fact that he’d like to trade down, but if a talent like Smith, a big, fast, physical corner, is still on the board, look for the Seahawks to use this pick. Smith has top-15 talent, but character concerns could cause him to fall to Seattle.
Here’s who others are projecting for the Seahawks in just-released mocks:
Mike Mayock, NFL Network: DL Marvin Austin, North Carolina
Pete Carroll is not afraid of Marvin Austin. He didn’t play last year, but he’s rehabbed his image. He played great in the East-West Shrine Game and turned it on at the NFL Scouting Combine. He’s a gifted specimen, and he’s the ideal 3-technique. He fits, especially if the Seahawks don’t re-sign Brandon Mebane.
Don Banks, SI.com: QB Andy Dalton, TCU
As one NFL personnel man told me, “Seattle at No. 25 is about where things could start getting whacky with trades.” I’m buying that, because I think this slot will be targeted by the teams chasing quarterbacks like Dalton, (Florida State’s Christian) Ponder and maybe even Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett. Seattle could still wind up taking Dalton, or maybe even Ponder, but a quarterback of some sort is going 25th overall to somebody. How’s that for clarity?
Clark Judge, CBSSports.com: DT Muhammad Wilkerson, Temple
Seahawks have a raft of needs, and they’ll start with defense.
Todd McShay, EPSN.com: OG Danny Watkins, Baylor
Watkins is the best available player at a position of need. He is a tough, nasty player with good strength who is NFL-ready.
Mel Kiper, ESPN.com: Dalton
There is talk that Seattle would be happy to move off this pick, but if not, Dalton is a guy who makes a lot of sense. A darling of the draft process, Dalton has impressed with his accuracy, smarts, better-than-average arm strength and the suspicion that he might be as ready or more than any other QB in the draft to step in and manage and NFL offense. Seattle might need a guy like that sooner than it’d like given the question mark at quarterback. (Jake) Locker is clearly an open here if he’s still around, but for this exercise, he’s isn’t, and Dalton is the fit.
Let’s see, that’s eight mocks, with six different players at three positions projected for the Seahawks.
Me? I’ll defer to something Carroll said the other day: “We’re going to take the best player available that we need.”
Unless, that is, Schneider is able to work a trade – a scenario we examined in this story.
Fantastic experience
The Seahawks’ pick in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday will be announced by Matthew Sumrell, a fan who “won” the opportunity by applying at Seahawks.com.
Sumrell, who was born in Portland and now lives in Everett, has been a season-ticket holder since 1998 – and already has renewed for the 2011 season. Included in his draft prize package are airfare to, and hotel accommodations in, New York City for two. He will be accompanied by his wife, Joy.
They will be at the draft all three days, but Matthew’s moment in the spotlight will come when the Seahawks make the second pick in the fourth round – No. 99 overall, and a selection acquired from the Denver Broncos.
Sumrell’s favorite player: Cortez Kennedy.
Favorite memory: The 2005 NFC Championship game at Qwest Field.
“It was unbelievable,” he said of the 34-14 win over the Carolina Panthers, which sent the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl. “The entire 2005 season was incredible. We also went to the Super Bowl, but that was not as memorable as the NFC Championship game.”
Sumrell might have to update his “favorite/most memorable” list after the draft to include an offseason moment.
QB questions
Pete Carroll and John Schneider fielded 36 questions on Tuesday afternoon during their session with reporters to preview the NFL Draft. Eleven involved quarterbacks, including five in a row at one point.
Not surprising, since incumbent starter Matt Hasselbeck is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent when the league calendar year begins and the Seahawks have been linked to a QB in several mock drafts of Thursday night’s first round – when they hold the 25th pick.
Carroll’s responses to some of those QB questions definitely are worth repeating as he and Schneider head into their second draft as coach and GM of the Seahawks.
Historic stuff
We’ve used Mike Mayock’s input extensively to preview this week’s NFL Draft – a series of articles that concludes tomorrow with a look at the defensive backs.
In his latest effort for the NFL Network, where Mayock is an analyst, he is predicting what would be a draft record: Eight quarterbacks selected in the first three rounds. Mayock shimmies out on the limb even farther by suggesting that all eight could be gone by the end of the second round on Friday because so many teams are in the market.
Included in this QB group is the University of Washington’s Jake Locker, and Mayock sees him going as high as No. 8 to Tennessee Titans on Thursday. If not there, Mayock says Locker could be a fit at either No. 10 to the Washington Redskins or No. 12 to the Minnesota Vikings.
The other QBs among Mayock’s historic eight: Auburn’s Cam Newton, Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert, Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett, TCU’s Andy Dalton, Florida State’s Christian Ponder, Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick and Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi.
