Player Breakdown: Golden Tate

I've recently put some thought into Golden Tate and the fact that 2013 is the last year on his contract. Throughout the 2012 season, Tate proved to be a playmaker capable of making defenders miss and picking up extra yardage. Unfortunately for him, he is the third receiver on the roster and Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin will already have a combined $23.1 million cap number in 2014 (33% of the total offensive cap number). Factor in another $4-5 million that Tate will likely demand, and the receiver group becomes around 40% of total offensive spending. It’s hard to imagine a run-heavy team like the Seahawks spend $25+ million on wide receivers, which makes the possibility of Golden Tate in an opposing team's uniform starting 2014 more probable.

Earl Thomas and The Deep Middle

Russell Wilson is the most valued and irreplaceable Seahawk, with little doubt. But when it comes to the second most valuable Hawk, cases could be made for many players. Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch are well known players and first team all pros. Russell Okung is a pro-bowler at the most important position on the offensive line- left tackle. Max Unger is the brains of the offensive line, and also a first team all pro. However, I believe it is fellow first-team all pro Earl Thomas that allows Seattle’s defense to have the success it does, and is thus the second most valuable Seahawk.

2013 NFL Draft Part 3: The Mock

Round 2, Pick 56   Brandon Williams, DT, Missouri Southern State, 6’1, 335

At pick 56 it is extremely difficult to know who will be available, let alone who the Seahawks will be interested in. I could make a list of my top 50 players in the draft and have not a single one available at the ‘Hawks first pick. So with this pick I decided to go with a small school prospect who will fit in at the Hawks biggest area of need.

Williams is a monster tackle at nearly 340 pounds, but has good speed and quickness considering his frame. He gets off the ball relatively quickly and is able to generate some push as an interior pass rusher. He certainly would be an upgrade to Alan Branch as a pass rusher. He doesn’t have ideal lower body strength though, despite his massive upper body.

Williams would need to have his snaps monitored due to limited endurance. He would likely be able to play somewhere around 20-30 snaps a game as a rookie and hopefully develop into a 35-40 snap player in the NFL.

2013 NFL Draft Part 2: The Players

Pete Carroll and John Schneider have their own opinions on players that are often differing from the general consensus. Because of this it is very difficult to predict if the Seahawks will be interested in any particular player. Here are some players that could potentially fit in the positions mentioned in part one:

1)   Three Technique Defensive Tackle

Player Type: In Carroll’s three years in Seattle he has preferred size and run stuffing ability at three-technique. His two three techniques during his time, Brandon Mebane and Alan Branch, weight 311 and 325 pounds, respectively.

Sylvester Williams, North Carolina

 Brandon Williams, Missouri Southern State

Kawann Short, Purdue

Bennie Logan, Louisiana State

Jordan Hill, Penn State

Montori Hughes, Tennessee-Martin 

Nick Williams, Samford

2013 NFL Draft Part 1: The Positions

With the first day of the 2013 NFL Draft just 5 days away, I still find myself questioning how Pete Carroll and John Schneider will prioritize positions and players almost daily.  Throughout their three seasons with the Seahawks, Carroll and Schneider have tipped their hat over what positions might be targeted in various ways. Just last year the Seahawks brought in mid-tier free agents (Barrett Rudd, Matt Flynn, Kregg Lumpkin) in positions they knew they would want to target in the draft, and then proceeded to draft players at those positions (Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, Robert Turbin). In 2011 Pete Carroll talked a lot about how they wanted to solidify the offensive line, and then went on to pick two linemen (James Carpenter, John Moffit). Last year, Carroll talked about how they wanted to add speed to their defense, and took two absurdly fast defenders (Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner).

Unfortunately, it often doesn't become clear over the hints Carroll and Schneider are releasing until after the draft. So, here is my best guess over how Carroll and Schneider will prioritize the positions in this year’s draft.