Seattle Seahawks Draft Review

After a short break,here is our look at the Seattle Seahawks draft from a few weekends back.

The Seahawks traded down three spots in the first round,but still wound up with the probable successor to Patrick Kerney in Defensive end Lawrence Jackson from USC.
Jackson is one of those players that is not dominant at any one thing,but is so well rounded that you can still use him in every situation.
Jackson can also help Kerney last longer as bringing him in can help Kerney play fewer downs and therefore last longer.

The Seahawks then made a bold move to move up in the second round via trade with Baltimore to nab Notre Dame tight end John Carlson.
The trade cost Seattle their third round pick to attempt to upgrade the tight end position from its less than productive past when Jerremy Stevens and Marcus Pollard were far from stellar.
Carlson comes with the Notre Dame tag (read overrated),but could be the pass catching tight end that has been needed for years.
He certainly is not going to be a blocker for sure,but if he pans out-his effect on the offense makes him worth the high cost.

Seattle continued to add to their defensive line depth with Texas A&M defensive tackle Red Bryant as their 4th rounder.
This pick makes sense as the Hawks love to rotate their interior linemen to keep them fresh and Bryant has impressive size to at worst help stop the run and at best,maybe develop into a Rocky Bernard level player down the road around the time that Bernard is near the end.

The Seahawks grabbed West Virginia fullback Owen Schmitt in Round 5.
Schmitt is a devastating blocker that helped Pat White and Steve Slaton run up huge numbers for the Mountaineers.
Schmitt will likely push Leonard Weaver off the roster and should help the running game that was so hampered by the career ending injury to Mack Strong.
I would not look for Schmitt to carry the ball often and I doubt that he will even be a pass catching fullback right away,but he will help the ground game quickly.
Definitely a need pick.

In round 6,Seattle took long snapper Tyler Schmitt of San Diego State,which apparently completed their need for every player named Schmitt in the draft.
Schmitt was thought of as the best long snapper available,but in my opinion,Schmitt could have been signed as a free agent.
Schmitt could be around for years and it is just a 6th rounder,but still a mild reach.

Seattle owned two seventh rounders and came away with a very intriguing player and a reach pick.
Cal running back Justin Forsett is small,but fast and catches the ball well.
I dont think he will be an impact back,but could turn out to be a handy third down back.
Georgia kicker Brandon Cantu was the final selection and with the loss of Josh Brown,I can see a flyer on a kicker to challenge signee Olindo Mare.
At the same time,there was a few players available that I liked better,notably Ohio State tackle Kirk Barton.

Overall,I liked the Seahawks draft even though there was some gambles.
Lawrence Jackson was very safe in the first round and I liked Red Bryant in the fourth,but how productive this draft is comes down to the gambles.
If John Carlson is the tight end Seattle fans have been waiting for and if later picks at fullback,long snapper and kicker all make the team and prove to be solid players,this could be an excellent job for the men from Puget Sound.

Photo Credit
Jackson:Terry Pierson-The Press Enterprise