If you've been following this blog, then you may know (or not) that I'm a fan of spectator sports, especially baseball (see: all the April & Lydia interview posts) and football (the American kind). You may also know that I have a fair amount of knowledge about each sport, but not to the level of most sports-related bloggers out there (of which I am definitely not one. A sports-related blogger, that is). As a Seattle Seahawks fan, I rely on the expertise of sites like the wonderfully-named Field Gulls as well as those of Seattle-based and national sports media.
That said, tonight is the annual NFL draft, in which professional football teams select college players to become the newest members of their respective squads. Each year, I probably spend more time than is prudent thinking about the draft in the weeks leading up to it, so I figured I'd finally share my thoughts with all of you in this inaugural Mostly Underinformed Seahawk-Centric Mock Draft. Here we go!
Round 1 (5th pick): John Schneider, the Seahawks' general manager, has said that (I'm paraphrasing here) the team's approach will be to select the best player available and not draft for "need," meaning positions where they are currently lacking depth. This approach makes sense to me, because you'd be surprised how often positions you thought you were set at suddenly and unexpectedly become positions of need due to injuries, ineffectiveness, or contract expiration. So with that in mind, despite the fact that the team needs defensive (especially the front seven) and probably offensive line help (and assuming that Will Anderson Jr. is off the board by this time) I'm going to say... Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas. I mean, if both he and Kenneth Walker III are healthy, can you imagine? (One writer from the aforementioned Field Gulls hates this idea. But one of the Seahawks' own players apparently favors it. Who's right? Who knows! Either way, it'll probably be a moot point when the team ends up drafting Jalen Carter.)
Round 1 (20th pick): I'm going to guess that "best player available" and "need" meet up here, and that the Seahawks end up with Nolan Smith, Edge Rusher, Georgia.
Round 2 (37th pick): Eventually you do kind of have to draft for need, though, right? After all, who is playing nose tackle for the team right now? Well, I don't know if this guy is an actual nose tackle or not, but from what I've heard, he's good at stopping the run, so that works for me... Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan.
Round 2 (52nd pick): Back to best player available, which kind of fits a need as well, I'm going to say... Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina.
Round 3 (83rd pick): How about Ricky Stromberg, OL, Arkansas?
After that, I lack the knowledge about the remaining prospects to make even a wild guess, so I'm just going to stop here, except to say that I kinda hope the team will be able to grab Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener with one of their later picks. Apparently he's considered undersized, but he got a high score on a cognitive test that the 49ers' Brock Purdy also got a high score on last year, so...
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