With your first pick in the NFL draft, you select a pass rusher who will collect 19.5 sacks in his first three seasons, good for the third-best start in franchise history behind only Jeff Bryant and Cortez Kennedy. With you second pick, you take a middle linebacker who becomes an All-Pro. Your third pick is a franchise quarterback who makes the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons and helps you go to two Super Bowls in his first three years in the league. You go on to select seven more players. Each of them proves talented enough to remain on an NFL roster heading into their fourth season. That was the Seahawks 2012 draft. They did not just select great talent. They selected great talent at precisely the positions they needed it at most. It was as close to perfect as a front office can get. Imagine if John Schneider and crew can pull that off again when the draft opens in a few days. It would look something like this…
With their first selection, the Seattle Seahawks take…
Matchup Nightmare Wide Receiver
This player stands at least 6’1″ and has elite leaping ability. He specializes in highpointing the football, and is big enough to create his own space either in the red zone or in tight coverage. His hands are reliable, and he runs solid, if not spectacular, routes. He averages 10 receiving touchdowns in each of his first three years.
With their second selection in the 2015 draft, the Seattle Seahawks take…
Future Pro Bowl Defensive Tackle
A wrecking ball in the middle of the line, this player specializes in disrupting the run. He demands double-teams, and has the ability to beat them. Teams must account for this player on every snap. His emergence allows the team to move on gracefully from Brandon Mebane without any dropoff.
With their third selection, the Seattle Seahawks take…
All-Pro Center
Seattle strikes gold in the middle rounds with an athletic and powerful interior lineman. He possesses above average football acumen and is durable. He can anchor the middle of the line for the next decade, and helps the Seahawks run game stay among the league’s best even after Marshawn Lynch eventually retires.
With the fourth selection of their draft, the Seattle Seahawks take…
Starting Caliber Defensive End
Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are both nearing 30 years-old. Bruce Irvin is better suited to play SAM linebacker than defensive end, and the team may not be able to afford to keep him around after this season. Cassius Marsh and Greg Scruggs may factor in, but the Seahawks are thrilled to add a player who can take meaningful and productive snaps in the defensive end rotation. This could be a guy who gets 6-8 sacks per season or a stout run defender who gets 2-3 sacks per year.
In their remaining seven picks, the Seattle Seahawks find at least one…
Starting Caliber Cornerback
This would be a Byron Maxwell-level player who could take a couple of years to break into the lineup, but has the athletic ability to start opposite Richard Sherman so the Seahawks do not need to pay free agent dollars for another corner.
Rotational Guard
It would be great if this guy had starting upside, but the most important thing is that he can provide depth at the position. Someone like Lemuel Jeanpierre is a great comparison.
Rotational Tackle
Russell Okung may be leaving soon due to cap constraints. It would be great to get a player who could provide depth at the position, and possibly challenge for a starting role if he really takes to Tom Cable’s system. Players like Garry Gilliam and Alvin Bailey will represent competition for this player.
What does your perfect draft look like?
I won’t even bother with names this year, but feel free to if you have some on your wish list. Share what your ideal Seahawks 2015 draft would look like and why. This is a crucial year for adding new young talent. If Seattle can some combination of two of my first four selections above, it will be a great draft.
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