With the free agent signing frenzy just beginning, the Seattle Seahawks have remained pretty quiet aside from re-signing Marshawn Lynch. With around $20 million dollars in cap space for 2015, Seattle will turn to the draft to address certain needs they have on the team. One of those needs is at the cornerback position.
The Seahawks will be in need of another cornerback for the 2015 season even if the face (and possibly the mouth) of the franchise, Richard Sherman, does need Tommy John Surgery. Also, news is being reported by Jayson Braddock that Byron Maxwell is closing in on a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles for approximately $25 million dollars in guaranteed money. If Maxwell does indeed sign with Philadelphia, that leaves Seattle with a few more options in the defensive backfield.
The next man up is Jeremy Lane, a sixth round pick out of Northwestern State who spent the first half of the season on the injured reserve. Then there was the horrific arm injury he suffered while getting his first career interception in the Super Bowl and it looks like that is just the beginning of Lane’s injury problems. It was revealed during this year’s scouting combine that Lane also injured his knee on that play and will require surgery. The word from Lane’s camp is that he could miss the beginning of the season. Anyone who follows the NFL closely knows that injury revelations reported to the media are almost always downplayed.
Seattle also has Tharold Simon, a fifth round pick out of LSU who may have had surreptitious shoulder surgery. Simon also has an injured past, having been placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list for his entire rookie season. The last man on the list is the recently acquired Marcus Burley who went undrafted out of Delaware and has bounced from practice squads coast to coast until being thrust into action late last season.
There are still some hot names in the free agent cornerbacks market. Seattle could open their wallet for guys like Darrelle Revis or Antonio Cromartie (and all of his kids). There are some average corners out there such as Davon House and aging players like Tramon Williams or Terrance Newman. Even if the Seahawks sign a top or middling level cornerback, they might want to take a gamble on Marcus Peters.
Marcus Peters is projected to go in the late first round or early second round of this year’s draft. If it were not for Peters’ disciplinary issues, he would probably be projected to go a lot sooner in the draft. Peters’ best year at Washington was as a sophomore where he recorded 5 INT’s along with 55 tackles and a sack while starting every game that year but one. Marcus was suspended for a game because of a sideline tantrum, and he was eventually dismissed from the team last November due to disciplinary issues. Despite his problems at Washington, Peters has a lot of potential as an NFL cornerback because of his size, his special teams skills and how he plays off the ball.
While there is some trepidation from NFL teams to take Marcus Peters in the first round because of his behavioral issues, Seattle may have a way to control his temperament in the form of his mentor Marshawn Lynch. Lynch and Peters are very close and from the same town in the Bay Area. It will be interesting to see how free agency plays out and how the draft develops but if Marcus Peters is still on the board at #31, it could be a risk worth taking.
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