Can We Possibly Grade The Seattle Seahawks’ 2014 Draft?

<![CDATA[Many of the analysts at ESPN, including Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, have graded the Seahawks’ draft as a C+, at best, with the caveat that no organization in the NFL is as adept at developing talent as Seattle.  The criticism that the Seahawks didn’t extract much value from this year’s draft, often reaching for players that would have been on the board in later rounds, is tempered by a belief that Pete Carroll and the coaching staff will get more from these players than other teams.

Generally speaking, I tend to be somewhat skeptical of these so-called experts’ ability to accurately predict the professional careers of football players, as football tends to be the most resistant of the major sports to being easily measured.  As opposed to baseball or basketball, where much of the game can be broken down into single events (ball or strike, hit or out, hits the shot or misses the shot – with where and how attached) football is comprised of the interplay of 22 individuals all doing very different tasks, and the interplay of those tasks leading to success or failure on each and every play.

This fact alone is probably why scouts and analysts try to layer metrics on each player at the combine or pro day.  How fast do they run the 40?  How many bench presses can they do with 225 lbs.?  How big are their hands?  How long are their arms?  As though offensive linemen ever run 40 yards, or that the double overtime tie breaker would ever be a bench press competition.  So, with my skepticism in tow, I decided to go back three years and see what Mel Kiper thought of some recent Seahawk draft classes.

In 2011, Mel Kiper graded the Seahawks as having the worst draft in the NFL.  His D+ grade included bewilderment at how the ‘Hawks would pass on Andy Dalton.  Andy Dalton?  Seriously?

The most notable pick in that year’s draft was, of course, All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, who is widely regarded as the best shut down corner in the NFL.  Sherman was chosen 154^th in the 5^th round.  That draft also yielded starting LG James Carpenter (25^th), third string LB K.J. Wright (99^th), starting CB Byron Maxwell (173^rd), and Super Bowl MVP LB Malcolm Smith (242^nd).  Not bad for a D+ draft class.

2012 saw Kiper at it again, grading the Seahawks’ draft last for the second straight year with a C-.  This class included starting LB Bruce Irvin (15^th), starting LB Bobby Wagner (47^th), some guy named Russell Wilson at QB (75^th), heir apparent to Beast Mode, Robert Turbin (106^th),  and nickel CB Jeremy Lane (172^nd).

Ironically, the 2013 class that Kiper graded as a B has produced no starters, with only DT Jordan Hill, TE Luke Wilson, and G Michael Bowie still on the squad.

So with the 2014 draft in the can and already analyzed to death, Seahawks fans eagerly await OTA’s and the chance to see the Kevins (Norwood and Pierre-Lewis), the undersized but explosive Paul Richardson, and “deep sleeper” Jimmy Staten.  But do keep in mind, we may have the next Super Bowl MVP or just some kid you’ll forget in a heartbeat, and you won’t know that until they get out on the field and start playing in the NFL.]]>