Draft season, a time of rebirth and overflowing exuberance, is upon us and it couldn’t have come any sooner. Technically, it began after the … well you know, but for Seattle Seahawks fans (this Seahawks fan anyway) the last two weeks were weeks for healing. Now, revitalized, I am prepared to scour over the draft and unearth the targets that, I think, the team should be honing in on.
For my inaugural address I am going to highlight the wide receiver prospects that I believe would substantially improve the Seahawks current group. In the Super Bowl we saw a breakout performance from unheralded receiver Chris Matthews, who I like to call Seahawk Squared as he is the only player that I’ve ever heard of that has played on two teams with a Seahawk mascot (go L.A. Harbor College Hawks!). At 6-5, Matthews gave the Hawks something that they haven’t seen since big Mike Williams was on the scene in 2012, and that’s height.
While it is true that the Seahawks have had some big wide receivers in the past (BMW and Sidney Rice to name a few), they have never found consistent production from big bodied guys that can win on plays with a mere shift of their girth. I earnestly hope that the Super Bowl was the coming out party for Matthews, but on the off-chance that it was a one game wonder performance, here is a list of big receivers that would be dynamic in Seahawk blue:
DeVante Parker, Louisville (6-3, 209)
When I think about Seattle WR’s I think about the ability to win outside the numbers down field, or “winning the redline” as Pete Carroll puts it. It is an inherent ability in almost every receiver that has entered the locker room in the Carroll era. All our WR’s must have the grittiness and ability to win 50/50 balls down the field. DeVante Parker may be the best 50/50 receiver in the draft. While not exceptionally quick, he is sudden and big enough to create separation on short routes and is deceptively fast chasing the deep ball with his long strides. His closest pro-comparison is a smaller/slighter Brandon Marshall. He is physical and focused and if you decide to single cover him he has the ability to dominate a game. The only downside is that, given all his superb attributes, he is likely to be drafted in the first 15-20 picks of the draft, but I wouldn’t put it past the Seahawks to move up and make a splash if he drops to a reasonable and cost effective range.
I’ve posted his highlight video which is a six minute high-pointing showcase, enjoy!
Dorial Green-Beckham, Oklahoma (6-6, 225)
Ah, to be freakishly large and fast. Dorial Green-Beckham played on the Missouri Tigers for two years until he was kicked off the team for various misdeeds (included is a burglary allegation that he was never charged for, which is strange because for a man of his size it is amazingly impractical to steal, unless he was stealing fruit from trees or something) and ended up transferring to Oklahoma for the 2014 season, only to be deemed unable to play due to transfer requirements. Putting aside his off the field antics, Dorial Green-Beckham’s film from the 2013 season is impressive. He towers over DB’s that try and cover him and is sudden enough to create good separation on routes when teams play off coverage. He is exceptional at making plays on the ball down the field and has moments when he shows that he is a more than willing blocker. As far as a pro-comparison, he looks like a faster Plaxico Burress. At the current moment his draft stock is largely unknown. He is a superb physical specimen that produced good numbers in his 2013 season, but it is hard to tell how much his off-field antics and attitude will impact his draft status. Whatever the case may be, if the Seahawks feel that they can contain and manage DGB, then he is certainly worth a pick in the first two rounds of the draft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei7USo7lq8Q
The play at the 00:36 second mark showcases the benefits of his large frame, speed, and box-out ability.
Devin Funchess, Michigan (6-5, 230)
Remember in the Super Bowl when Gronkowski was matched up on an island against KJ Wright? I want that matchup against another team’s KJ Wright. The man to give you that backbreaking size/speed mismatch is Devin Funchess. While he has many areas of his game that he needs to improve (i.e. blocking and drops), Funchess is a killer chess piece that you can use to create mismatches all over the field. He is very similar in stature to Jared Cook and matches up similarly in terms of speed. He is a master of my favorite route (tragically underused by the Seahawks): the seam route. Unfortunately, these types of big WR’s/move TE’s are always difficult to project in the NFL and have a high rate of underperforming (Jared Cook, Jermaine Gresham, Eric Ebron, Gavin Escobar, etc.) He is an immense size and is very talented but can he overcome his penchant for drops and develop into the third down presence that the Seahawks are starving for? Only time will tell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R2P9a-Xtf8
Above is a link to Funchess v. Ohio State which showcases his ability to create mismatches and punish smaller defenders in intermediate routes.
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