Seattle Seahawks Post Draft Commentary

The Seahawks entered the 2008 season with high hopes as the team went through its final season with Mike Holmgren at the helm. But, injuries began to rear their heads and decimated the receiving corp and even shelved Matt Hasselbeck for a number of weeks. The team never seemed to recover from the multitude of injuries and ended up being a shell of their collective selves during the season.

However, there were also some issues raised as the team got to see a good number of its backups in action. The Seahawks do not have a dominant edge rusher other than Patrick Kerney who is 32 and has missed significant time with injuries during his career. Daryl Tapp has been consistent since his rookie year, but has never recorded a double digit sack season. Lawrence Jackson does not look to be a great complementary player at this stage. The team still relied on the blitz far too often; giving up big plays in the process. Adding another pass rusher could have been the way to go early, but the team elected to replace Julian Peterson with Aaron Curry; a do all type player. Curry should be able to come in and handle coverage and run stopping duties, but he is not the same pass rusher that Peterson was and that may show up on Sundays this fall. Nick Reed was added in the 7th round, but he will in all likelihood struggle to make the roster on opening day. The Seahawks will have to address this issue sooner rather than later in the future.

Safety has also been a problem area as has the secondary as a whole. Courtney Greene was brought in the 7th round to compete for a roster spot as both starters are 30 or older and only Jordan Babineaux has any real experience as a backup. If Greene can prove that he can handle the job, it could allow the Seahawks to use 3 safeties on the field to help cover their lack of solid depth behind the starters at corner. Kelly Jennings has not proven to be worthy of his first round selection thus far into his career.

Another area that could have seen an infusion of talent would be wide receiver as the team has a bunch of number 2 receivers and no true number 1. T. J. Houshmandzadeh was signed in Free Agency to help remedy that situation. But regardless, the team added Deon Butler to the ranks as another weapon for the offense. Butler will have to be a slot receiver in the pros as he just may be big enough to play outside. Butler has great quickness and could prove to be a real weapon as the team looks to find a receiver that can do the same things Bobby Engram used to do. The team did add the versatile Max Unger to the fold, and his versatility could make him very valuable as Mike Wahle is getting old and Chris Spencer is coming back from a season where he missed the final 5 games of the season. Unger can play 4 positions along the offensive line if need be.

The team did add some pieces to the roster that should help to make them competitive, but they also left some a little under addressed. Adding a pass rusher and safety earlier than they chose to may have been an idea, but Curry is a fine pick. However, as mentioned, he is not a great pass rusher leaving the team still looking to replace the production of Julian Peterson. If the Seahawks continue to blitz as often or even more so than they have done in the past, it could put their secondary in trouble as the corners will be playing man to man a great deal. This team is still a few pieces away from being a serious contender in my opinion.

Pre Draft Needs: WR, OL, CB, S, DL