Well, here we are. Just about a week away from the NFL Draft, and I cannot stop the obsessing. I am soaking up the articles, the podcasts, and YouTube videos. I’m dialed in!

A great Seattle rapper once famously rhymed that he liked big butts and he could not lie, and the same holds true for myself. I believe God made big butts to love, and I especially love big butts when it comes to the defensive tackle and nose tackle positions, which I still see as the Seattle Seahawks’ biggest need positions.

Last week, I drew up a mock scenario where the Seattle Seahawks have fallen so incredibly in love with a quarterback that they needed to trade up to get him. Could happen, probably won’t, but you never know.

This week, I’m going in a very opposite direction. No trade up, and no quarterback taken high.

I am working on a premise that all of Seattle’s outward interest in quarterbacks at their pro days wasn’t all that serious, and perhaps it was all partially motivated to get teams to trade up into the top five in order to gobble up all of the four dudes most commonly mentioned. In this scenario, I am going to paint a picture in which two teams move up into the top five to take a quarterback.

I have Alabama’s Bryce Young going first overall to the Carolina Panthers. Despite his slight size, he seems to be the player most believe has the surest traits to succeed right away in terms of his processing, accuracy, arm strength, character, and athletic abilities. Some people compare him to NBA superstar Steph Curry in terms of his natural abilities and instincts vastly outweighing his lack of physical stature.

Next, I have the Houston Texans punting on the quarterback position, and selecting Will Anderson at two overall, who I will buy into head coach DeMeco Ryans being completely in love with. Maybe Houston takes a shot on Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker with their next pick.

Now, with Houston throwing that fork ball, I have Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud landing to pick three, and the Raiders trading with Arizona in order to take “their guy.” Stroud is apparently keen on playing for Vegas, and nobody believes that Jimmy G is their answer to moving on from Derek Carr.

So then, I have the Colts scooping up Anthony Richardson right in front of Seattle, and taking the dude who probably has the highest overall upside out of any player in this draft, as raw as he might be. If new Colts head coach Shane Steichen wants to mimic what he did in Philly with Jalen Hurts, he couldn’t ask for a better physical specimen than Richardson to run that scheme.

Now, onto Seattle. What do they do?

Ring, ring, ring..

Multiple teams come calling Seattle, and the Atlanta Falcons offer up picks 8, 44, and 75 in order to out compete others for the opportunity to draft Kentucky QB Will Levis. Arthur Blank is an aggressive NFL owner, and his team was aggressively active bringing in quality veterans to fill out his roster in order for a rookie quarterback to step in now, and they believe Levis is a natural fit for their system.

In turn, Seattle gets an attractive haul in a small trade back, and now has six picks in the top 75 of this draft to play with. This, ladies and gents, might be their masterplan. Get teams to bite on the quarterback early in order to have talented players at other positions fall, and entice a handsome trade back.

With the 8th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks Select Jalen Carter, Defensive Tackle, Georgia

The Lions take Devon Witherspoon at 6, (getting the knee biting corner Dan Campbell coveted), and Arizona elects to take Tyree Wilson over Jalen Carter, who they feel is the safer choice. This allows Carter to fall into Seattle’s lap, and there it is.

Some fans will hate it, but Jalen Carter has the natural rare talents to wreck offensive game plans at defensive tackle, and that is a unicorn in the NFL. Very few men on this planet can do that, and he could easily become one of them. Think vintage Cortez Kennedy or Warren Sapp. Seattle roles the dice in the hopes of seeing him paired with Dre’Mont Jones to become the best interior pass rushing tandem in the league for years to come.

With the 20th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Kelee Ringo, Cornerback, Georgia

Seattle goes back to back Georgia defenders to fix their defense and pass rush. Ringo is a long, fast, physical freak who can be tough on receivers at the line of scrimmage, and is crappy in run support. Like Tariq Woolen last year, he will come in with blemishes to his game, but that won’t scare Pete Carroll. When you pair his traits falling within to what Seattle loves at corner with the fact that he’s a local kid from Tacoma, and has spent time training with none other than Richard Sherman, himself, I’m comfortable connecting a lot of dots with his potential of becoming a Seattle Seahawk. I can see this being a thing.

With the 37th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Mazi Smith, Nose Tackle, Michigan

What did I say about how much I like big butts? I cannot lie about that, and I especially love them on nose tackles. Mazi Smith is a big man at 6-3 323 pounds, and he’s a strong, athletic, speedy wrecking ball. When Seattle cut Al Woods, my first thought was that they have plan with this draft, and I think it’s could be this guy.

While some might feel like drafting Jalen Carter and Mazi Smith is an overkill at defensive tackle, I beg to differ. I think it would be super exciting. I also think they are different style of players. Smith is a natural nose tackle, and a highly athletic one. Carter is a classic 3 tech, and would allow Dre’Mont Jones to play big end. As Seattle probably leans further into a bear front defense, I think all three of these guys working together inside would provide optimal opportunities to be an extremely successful defensive line. In fact, I think this could be Clint Hurtt’s ideal group of starters up front.

With the 44th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Luke Wypler, Center, Ohio State

This is the second time in two weeks that I have mocked Wypler to Seattle in round two. I think Seattle wants to walk out of this draft with a starting center they feel really good about, and I think Wypler has an athletic profile that fits their zone blocking scheme really well. They have been directly linked to Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz, and Wisconsin center Joe Tippman, but I see those guys going sooner than pick 44. I can see them also being attracted to Michigan’s Olusegun Oluwatimi, as well. At any rate, I think all signs point to Seattle drafting one of these guys, and I don’t think they wait out the position very long.

With the 52nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Jack Campbell, Linebacker, Iowa

Seattle picks up an old school type linebacker built very much like KJ Wright, and who plays the game in a very similar solid if not totally spectacular kinda way. He’s long, big, instinctive against the run and pass with sound awareness, and has decent speed to play the game. To me, that’s KJ Wright, and with Bobby Wagner, Devin Bush, and Jordyn Brooks all not contracted beyond this year, I can see this guy being a very attractive prospect for Seattle.

With the 75th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Warren McClendon, Tackle/Guard, Georgia

Seattle takes another Georgia Bulldog, and this time, they pickup an offensive tackle who could transition well to guard in order to compete with Phil Haynes for a starter spot. Last year, Seattle had no problem picking up a couple offensive tackles early, and rolling with them as starters. I see a scenario where they want to come out of this draft feeling like they got a quality starting center and guard combo this time around. I think McClendon could become an ideal right guard in a zone blocking scheme like the one Seattle runs, and he’s a natural pass protector, as well.

With the 82nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Sam LaPorta, Tight End, Iowa

Seattle takes two Iowa Hawkeyes with Jack Campbell and Sam LaPorta, and they get two really good players. LaPorta is a classic pass catching “move tight end” with top end speed for the position. With Will Dissly coming off yet another serious injury, and Coby Parkinson, and Noah Fant becoming free agents next year, I think tight end is a sneaky need area for this team, and this is an exceptionally strong draft class for the position. I’m confident that Seattle is looking to land one of these talented players, the question is just a matter of where. I think at 82, if LaPorta is still there, this is a great spot to land a big talented pass catcher.

With the 123rd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Byron Young, Edge Rusher, Tennessee

On paper, the think the Seahawks are in decent shape with their edge rushers with Uchenna Nwuso, and Darrell Taylor. I also believe Boye Mafe is primed to take a big leap forward in 2023. Behind them gets a bit shaky, though, but I think they can address that in free agency with Frank Clark being still available, or even Leonard Floyd. In short, I don’t think this is as important of a spot to address for the team as I see the needs at DT and LB. That said, there’s athletic things about Tennessee’s Byron Young that I think are going to appeal to Seattle, and they only have Mafe under contract beyond this year. At worst, he’s a quality depth player, but he might be more. Good pickup here.

With the 151st pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Kenny McIntosh, Running Back, Georgia

Yet another Georgia Bulldog? Why, yes please. This time Seattle gets a fast, shifty, explosive runner to spell Ken Walker and maybe challenge for the third down back gig. Great pickup here, and great value.

With the 154th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Max Duggan, Quarterback, TCU

At this stage in the draft, Seattle has been fortunate to land quality players at a lot of crucial areas. Personally, if the draft breaks like this, I think here is a good spot for the team to take a shot on a quarterback prospect to develop, if they like one. I have them taking Duggan over some other guys. He is a twitchy athlete who played gutsy for TCU, has a decent arm, good touch, can spin it deep, and might be a decent fit for Shane Waldron’s quick passing attack scheme.

With the 198th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Anthony Bradford, Guard, LSU

Bradford is a massive man with solid strength and enough speed to pull on occasion. If he’s still sitting around, waiting for his name to be called during this late stage of the draft, I would be annoyed if Seattle didn’t take him. Damien Lewis is going to be a free agent in 2024, and Seattle needs depth behind him.

With the 237th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Jerrod Clark, Nose Tackle, Coastal Carolina

Seahawks close out their draft adding one more piece to their interior defensive line by adding one more pure nose tackle. At 6-4 334 pound, Clark is a huge massive bodied, big ole butted nose tackle who is just going to anchor down in the middle on early run downs. He’s in the Al Woods mold, and now gives Seattle great depth at the nose position.

Overall Thoughts About This Mock Draft

In many ways, this mock is representative of the ideal scenario I would like to see for my Seattle Seahawks. If I had my druthers, this is how I would like to see the whole draft play out for them. Four starting defenders out of the first two rounds of the draft? Yes, please.

As for Jalen Carter, I think a lot of things can be said. He has demonstrated things off field where it is very naturally to feel like he’s too much of a risk to take high. For me, I see it a bit differently, and there is a growing perception around the league that Seattle might be seeing it this way with him, as well.

I sense a guy who is incredibly talented, but who is also very young, and as it goes with a lot of young adults, there is immaturity issues at play. He allowed his immaturity to show through, and that is on him, but it is also within him to turn it around.

I could point to myself when I was in my very early twenties and list out countless deeds that I had done that had screamed gross immaturity at the time, as well. I could even point to many examples of when I was in my thirties, if I am to be honest.

Carter has rare talents that most people do not have no matter how hard they try to achieve them. Sometimes when you pair these talents with a young adult, they just don’t make the best decisions. Things come so easily for them that it can become inherent that they feel like they can phone it in. This is very true in sports and entertainment, and we have seen this play out a lot. I think this has been the case with Jalen Carter.

He has the chance to be drafted high, and make a lot of money, and he will. He also has a chance to develop as one of the best players in the league at a critical position, and in a few years down the line, make an obscene amount of money on a massive veteran contract. So, he has a lot to play for. Not very many men get paid like that at defensive tackle, but the great ones make a lot of cheddar. Therefore, he has every incentive to succeed in this league and not become a Malik McDowell situation.

If Seattle drafts Jalen Carter, I think it’s because they got enough stuff answered from his VMAC visit that they believe this is the right spot for him, and he is the best player for them. It’s that plane and simple. If that happens after a little trade back, that’s all the better, in my view. It just gives Seattle more options later.

Jalen Carter, for me though, if much like Anthony Richardson at quarterback. His upside is too tempting not to want to pass up. I would be completely cool with that kind of risky drafting high. When you are drafting high, go for the guy who could become a superstar, I say.

Mazi Smith in early round two not only provides an interesting partner up front for Carter, but I think also a decent security blanket for the team should Carter continue to be problematic off the field (not predicting that Carter will). Smith, I think initially, is probably an early down run defender as a nose tackle, but I think he has the toolsy traits to also play 3 technique defensive tackle, and develop as a pass rusher over time, much like Jarran Reed did.

At any rate, I love the idea of Carter, Smith, and Dre’Mont Jones being the interior stalwarts for years to come. They would give Seattle the potential of having an absolutely terrifying defensive line, and throw big ol’ Jerrod Clark into the mix, and yes, please, I will absolutely take that potential any time it is offered up. Pretty please, yes.

I also want for Seattle to aggressively go after more offensive linemen, and this mock does just that. Go get another starting guard and a talented young center. Double down at guard. Do it!

But the bottom line is take the most talented guys when you are picking. If you trade back some out of pick five, and Jalen Carter is still sitting there, don’t over think it, just take him. If the most talented guy at pick twenty is a corner, but you like these centers, and you feel alright at corner, fuck it, just take the corner, anyways. You can’t go wrong with that approach.

Lastly, I got no problems with the Seattle Seahawks drafting a quarterback high this year, if they chose. I trust John Schneider’s evaluation of the position, immensely. If they love Will Levis or Anthony Richardson at five, and take him, cool by me. If they shock, and take Hendon Hooker way earlier than many expected him to go, so be it. I will trust that, and be excited, and as I have mentioned many times before, I am a total Geno Smith guy.

That all said, if Schneider sees a guy that he likes a lot in the middle rounds that he believes other organizations are sleeping on like they did with Russell Wilson in 2012, that would be equally exciting. Personally, I kinda dig this Max Duggan dude from TCU. He’s not the biggest guy at 6-1 and 205 pounds, but he’s got a moxie to him, and just enough athletic traits where I think it’s worth a mid round flyer.

Fun stuff to think about, anyways.

I’ve done a number of these mock draft articles over the years, and I gotta say it, I really like this scenario for the Seahawks a lot. Ultimately, I don’t know if they would roll the dice on Jalen Carter, or not, but if they did, I don’t think there’s a player in this draft that I would get more excited about in terms of talent matching this team’s need.

So, that said, I say roll dice, Baby. Give me that big ol’ butt!

Go Hawks.

Ah, yes. Here it is, the thick of April.

For those extreme football obsessed dorks like myself, late April is kin to second Christmas. At the end of the month, it’s three solid days of the NFL draft where every fanbase across America believes their team is drafting players who will help bring home the Lombardi Trophy.

Outside of the actual NFL season, this is my favorite time of the year as a Seattle Seahawks fan. This is my time to pour over the players coming out of college, looking at who fits my team’s needs, and who might be players too good to pass up regardless of positional need.

For the next view weeks, I will provide a weekly article that includes a mock draft for the Seahawks. I see a number of ways they can go with the fifth overall pick, and each week, I will provide a radically different scenario. This is the first one, and with it, I want to focus on an area that can be a bit divisive amongst fans.

As it stands now, I gaze upon this Seahawk roster, and I immediately see a large gaping hole in the middle of the defensive line at nose tackle. That position, in my view, is the team’s biggest need with the release of Al Woods, and Poona Ford also not being brought back as of yet.

So, why then have they been so outwardly showing up to all of these quarterback pro days and taking selfies with these dudes?

Geno Smith just signed a big-ish three year contract extension, and they brought back a young Drew Lock who they continue to like as a developmental player. Sure, the Geno contract is team friendly, and they can eventually get out of it without much financial repercussions, but does a 71 year old defensive minded coach really want to spend a top five pick in this draft on a player who is going to have to sit behind Geno for a year (or more) when that pick could go to perhaps the best defensive player in the draft???

It isn’t difficult to cast doubt on this scenario. In fact, when I use the most rational area of my brain, the thing I sense most when looking at all these team visits with CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, Will Levis, and Anthony Richardson is that the Seahawks want to have a quarterback desperate team to jump in front of them for one of these guys, creating a rare scenario where all four of these quarterbacks go 1 through 4, and thus creating the situation where the best defensive talent falls to them at pick 5. Given the coach, and what is already assembled on this roster, that feels like the strongest likelihood. That’s what my logic says.

So, having said that, why is it that this other area inside my brain is starting to believe rumors that Seattle is especially enamored with Anthony Richardson, and may even consider a rare scenario of trading up with divisional rival Arizona in order to land him?

The simple answer is that he tantalizes too much. Outside of CJ Stroud, no other quarterback in this draft does it for me quite like Richardson does.

At 6-4 244 pounds, Richardson is an athletic superhero straight out of central casting. He runs a blistering 4.43 forty yard dash, and tests out as an incredibly explosive athlete in other ways, as well. In fact, no quarterback has ever been drafted before with his combination of size, speed, and explosiveness. He’s a faster athlete than Lamar Jackson with third extra pound of mass on his body.

You put that together with a rocket launcher arm that can spin a ball sixty yards down field with effortless ease, and it becomes easy to fantasize what he can do in a couple years paired with DK Metcalf, and company. As much of a Geno Smith guy that I am, I gawk at the possibilities of what Richardson could do in Seattle with the talents already on this roster.

It is also encouraging is that his game got better in college last year as the season wore on, thus demonstrating a vibe of being coachable, and also being able to overcome a shaky start in the very tough SEC conference. In games 7 through 13, Richardson threw 12 touchdowns to only 2 interceptions, and in throws twenty yards downfield or more, his passer rating was 132.7. In that final stretch of games, it has also been noted that he showed marked improvement in his short passing game, which is vital to Shane Waldron’s offense.

When you combine what he was able to do with this legs as a runner, with the fact that he played against the top defenses in the nation, in an offense for which he had to go through his progressions, and make reads, it becomes easy to day dream what he could eventually do at the next level. While his overall low completion percentage is alarming, many of those incompletions were intentional throwaways against those defenses, and balls that were dropped by receivers. In short, NFL GM’s are into this guy for a reason.

So, yeah, for me, he very much tantalizes, and in many ways, a team just like the Seattle Seahawks is probably the ideal landing spot for him. Pete Carroll has his starting quarterback in place. Richardson, who is just turning 21 in May, can redshirt, take his time learning this Waldron offense, and learn how to be an NFL ready quarterback under newly hired QB coach Greg Olson (who has a long history developing young quarterbacks).

Also, sitting behind Geno doesn’t necessarily mean not seeing any action. With Richardson, Seattle might see value in using Richardson on game days just to get his freakish physical skills on the field in certain situations as a duo threat quarterback. They could even have him on the field with Geno in order to create confusion for a defense.

In many ways, Geno Smith and Anthony Richardson together provides perfect quarterback security for the team. If Richardson needs longer time to develop, Seattle has Geno Smith. If Richardson is ready to go sooner, Seattle can quickly pass the torch over. If Geno gets injured or somehow regresses, Seattle has Richardson in their back pocket.

So, yeah, I can see Seattle taking a special shining to Richardson. I’m willing to buy this storyline.

He’s apparently an A+ character that Pete Carroll will probably be in love with, he has all the toolsy traits that John Schneider loves in a quarterback, and Seattle wouldn’t be wasting his time having him sit behind Geno. This dude is raw, needs time to correct his fundamentals, and to work within their system.

But would they love him enough to trade up to number 3 with division rival Arizona in order to get in front of quarterback needy Indianapolis picking at 4?

Would Arizona really want to do this with Seattle????

This is where it gets interesting to me. I think it’s possible, but here are to two variables that need to happen.

Seattle has to be in love with Richardson so much that they would surrender valuable draft stock to move up two spots, and they would have to feel certain that Carolina and Houston wouldn’t select Richardson. The other thing is that Arizona would have to have a specific defender in mind that they want at 3, and they would have to feel certain that player would still be there at 5 after a trade back. This is how I think it has to shake out for both clubs.

So, as I look at this scenario, it certainly does feel like the potential for a perfect storm to brew where a couple of rare things to happen with this draft. I can see a scenario where not only do four quarterbacks go off the board with the first four picks, but also a rare interdivisional trade happening between Seattle and Arizona as part of it.

Seattle gets its quarterback of the future, and Arizona gets the guy who can be the new cornerstone of their defense in a rebuild. Both teams feel secure in their decisions to make this happen.

So, what would it cost for Seattle to pull this off?

That’s a fantastic question! I’m glad I asked it.

I dunno, but I kinda think not that much, and Seattle has perhaps the best means to pull it off, I think. By using an online NFL draft calculator that measures the values of each pick, if Seattle sends picks 5 and 37 to Arizona for pick 3, Arizona slightly comes out with the better value by 30 points.

Maybe the Cardinals haggle a bit for more, but maybe they just take that deal, and are perfectly fine with that knowing all the teams are going to take quarterbacks in front of them, and Will Anderson or Jalen Carter will be there for the taking at 5. The security of having “their guy” is just too good to pass up even with an offer of more trade value from another team, and adding pick 37 isn’t too shabby, either, as they can further add to their defense.

For Seattle, having another first round pick at 20 is also key. Maybe there’s a defender at 20 who they think isn’t too far off from Anderson, or maybe they know they can trade back from 20 and add back another day two pick or more (likely in this scenario, I think). Day 2 of the draft is going to provide pretty decent value at tight end, center, edge rusher, defensive tackle, corner, receiver, and running back. If they can knock a need off in the later portion of round one, and three more of these needs in day 2, that feels like a decent win. You’re not likely going to fill every need through the draft, anyways.

Also, we have no idea who presently on this roster the team views as an emerging talent. Maybe they believe 2023 will be the year of Boye Mafe to step up in a big way as an edge rusher, or Dareke Young is going to take over the third receiver role. Maybe they think Coby Bryant is ready to shine as a boundary defender instead of being used as a slot corner.

Assuming that this scenario plays out between Seattle and Arizona, here’s a mock draft of how it could play out for Seattle should such a move up to take Richardson actually happen. Read it and weep, if you made it this far into this article, and dare.

The Mock

Seahawks trade to the Arizona Cardinals picks 5 and 37 of the 2023 NFL Draft for pick number overall.

With third pick of the NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Anthony Richardson, Quarterback, Florida

Seahawks get the player they loved more than any of the pass rushers or other defenders, and believe they have landed the next great franchise quarterback to groom behind Geno Smith.

Seahawks trade pick 20 to the Dallas Cowboys for picks 26 and 90

With the 26th pick of the NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Dalton Kincaid, Tight End, Utah

Seattle surprises by taking a tight end over a defensive lineman, but Kincaid has the skills to possibly become the next Travis Kelsey, and with Will Dissly coming off an injury and Noah Fant and Coby Parkinson set to be free agents next year, Seattle feels compelled to grab another the guy they love here.

With the 52nd pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Luke Wypler, Center, Ohio State

Seattle misses out on the best center in the draft in Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz, but I think they also like Wypler to fit their zone blocking scheme enough to comfortably take him here.

With the 83rd pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Daiyan Henley, linebacker, Washington State

Stunningly, Seattle waits until round three to grab its first defender, and it isn’t a defensive lineman, but an off ball coverage linebacker who they want to groom behind Bobby Wagner for a year.

With the 90th pick in the 2023 draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Zacch Pickens, defensive tackle, South Carolina

Pickens is an explosive defensive linemen who will likely fit well within Seattle’s hybrid bear front defense, and has the athletic traits to pair well with Dre’Mont Jones as an interior pass rusher over the years to come.

With the 123rd pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Sean Tucker, running back, Syracuse

Seattle needs depth behind K9 and Tucker provides enough shifty speed kind on the field to be another home run hitter anytime he sees enough daylight.

With the 151st pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Parker Washington, wide receiver, Penn State

Seattle needs someone to materialize as their primary slot receiver, and Dee Eskridge has not been able to stay healthy enough to take over. Washington is a short compact dude who displays a natural toughness after contact, can be used on jet sweeps, and has natural run after the catch abilities.

With the 153rd pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Andrew Vorhees, Guard, USC

Seattle takes their second offensive lineman here with Vorhees who they like enough to create a competition at right guard with Phil Haynes. Good value pickup here.

With the 198th pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Nic Jones, cornerback, Ball State

Seattle waits out a rich cornerback class and takes a twitchy athlete late who they might like as a potential starting nickel corner, if they look to move Coby Bryant outside more to battle for the left corner spot with Michael Jackson Sr.

With the 237th pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Karl Brooks, defensive tackle, Bowling Green

Brooks provides depth behind Jarran Reed, and Dre’Mont Jones, and Pickens, and could be tried at nose tackle, although he lacks the size of Al Woods. At this stage of the draft, Seattle could be looking for a defensive lineman who has enough traits to be able to backup multiple spots on the defensive line, much like Myles Adams, and this could be the guy to do that.

Thoughts about this mock draft and final thoughts about this piece.

So how would I feel if Seattle made the bold move of trading up to select this twenty year old raw yet incredibly talent quarterback?

Very torn.

I will be the first to admit how much of a Geno Smith fan I have become. Yes, I enjoyed his feel good story last season, but I really enjoyed his play, and I suspect he’s scratching the surface of what he can be as a starter moving forward. Not only to I think his play is sustainable, I think it’s likely to get better.

That said, if Seattle made this bold aggressive move for Richardson, it would signal to me that they believe he is destined to become a true superstar player at the most important position in football, and that is super duper exciting. Even if he had to redshirt a couple seasons to be fully ready to take over for Geno Smith, that would be well worth the pick, if he becomes a player on par with Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

At any rate, I wanted to present this draft scenario where Seattle shocks, and goes against the grains of most people’s expectations. In this scenario I have imagined, as an entire organization, the Seahawks absolutely LOVE Anthony Richardson, and they believe that bringing him to Seattle is ideal both for them, and him. He is their guy.

The other surprising element that I wanted to present is Seattle waiting until the third round to address obvious needs on defense. I don’t know if this is how it will actually go down, but I can see a slight case for it. John Schneider has said that the key for them drafting so well last year was that they avoided reaching for players, and just took best guys available at each spot, and it paid off big time.

In the later portion of round one, Seattle might see a tight end as the best player on their board, and they don’t want to miss out on him. In the mid portion of round two, they might view center Luke Wypler more worthy at pick 52 than a run stuffing nose tackle.

While I think it’s disappointing that Seattle doesn’t add another edge rusher, I think Zacch Pickens is the type of interior defensive lineman that will appeal to Seattle. He’s long, explosive, and like a lot of players they’ve been attracted to on the defensive line, he’s versatile enough play big end and defensive tackle. If he’s available in the third round, I can see Seattle wanting him there.

If I am to be critical of this mock, I would say that, on top of missing out on another edge rusher, I would be most bummed about Seattle not landing an athletic nose tackle type with Michigan’s Mazi Smith and Wisconsin’s Keeanu Benton both in this draft. Either player could become pretty ideal interior anchors in Clint Hurtt’s scheme.

But that is the nature of the NFL draft. It’s tough to fill out all your draft needs, and you don’t want to go chasing them. Mazi Smith might prove to be a dominant two down run defender, but might never blossom into much of an interior pass rusher, while Dalton Kincaid could become an all pro tight end. Which would you rather have on you roster if those scenarios play out?

Things to think about, certainly, and perhaps there exists a thinking in Seattle that, in order to surpass the 49ers as kings of the division, it is not to out compete them defensively, but rather to make the Seattle offense that much harder to defend. In other words, Seattle is already a better offensive team than it is a defensive one, and perhaps there is soundness with leaning further into your strengths, and to make a good unit an elite one.

A month ago, I would have almost entirely wrote off this exact scenario, but now I am not quite so sure. I think it’s entirely possible, frankly, and if they are absolutely in love with a specific guy like Anthony Richardson, maybe they do this sort of trade up to get him.

If they do, I think it would be exciting. I would celebrate that move.

Go Hawks.

Rejoice, Twelves. Bobby Wagner is a Seattle Seahawk again.

Things haven’t felt this right since David Lee Roth rejoined Van Halen. Who gives a rat’s ass if Bobby isn’t as fast as he used to be. David Lee Roth’s karate kicks weren’t exactly what they were when he finally came back to Eddie, either.

Bobby Wagner should be a Seattle Seahawk, and he needs to be a Seattle Seahawk. The fans want him, the players want him, and so do the coaches.

This team needs him, too. They have a young defense that needs to find itself now. With five picks in the top 80 of the draft next month, expect Seattle to add more young defenders to it.

Bobby Wagner is the only player left from Pete Carroll’s Super Bowl teams, and the dude can still play in the eyes of Pro Football Focus (who had him ranked as their top linebacker last season). As Seattle tries to further figure out its new scheme, Pete Carroll needs the calming presence of Bobby who has been there and done that at a very high level for a very long time. He needs his voice, his knowledge, and his skill.

Yes, he’s not as fast as he once was, but he can still call a defense and lead, and he can tackle, and get after a quarterback (if called upon). Let Devin Bush and Jordyn Brooks (when healthy again) be the speedy guys at WILL linebacker to make the splash plays. Let Dre’Mont Jones offer some playing making abilities at defensive tackle, and Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor get after it on the edges, and let the loaded safety rotation make their plays along with Tariq Woolen and the other young corners.

Just let Bobby lead, and quarterback this defense. He knows, better than anyone, what Pete Carroll wants on this side of the ball. I don’t care if it’s 4-3, 3-4, 5-2, or what have you; when he talks, players will be listening, and responding. This, I feel very certain about.

Seattle’s run defense was crap last year, and we all saw it. Sure, it could have been questionable scheme stuff mixed with bad personnel fits. I sure wasn’t a fan of that 2-4-5 stuff they ran a bunch out of.

It could also be that they didn’t have Bobby as the MIKE linebacker, and Jordyn Brooks, as talented as he physically is, just isn’t Bobby in regards to handling the calls, and getting guys seeing the right things, and lined up the right way. For all we know, Bobby Wagner could have been missed in ways many of us didn’t consider as we watched defensive linemen get blown back and Cody Barton late on getting to a ball carrier.

Football is a game where split second decisions matter, confidence matters, and instincts need to take over. Reaction time needs to be immediate, and the decisions need to be right, and when shit isn’t working, strong voices need to vocalize.

However you feel about this signing, one thing is for certain; this team wanted him back. Pete and John wanted him back, and they were talking to him the moment they could. Quandre Diggs, the team’s defensive captain from last year, relentlessly pounded the table for his return to Seattle all over Twitter, daily.

That said, I saw some folks on Seahawks Twitter (who are much more studious of the game than I ever will be) practically beating their chests in lamentation over Seattle bringing him back, and frankly, I don’t know what to think. I respect and appreciate their views, but I also am kinda more inclined to trust the Seahawk brain trust more on this one.

All I know is that I believe Pete, and John, and Quandre probably know what this team needs better than most of the football footbally Mister Footballersons on Twitter know. These dudes all wanted Bobby back, and I don’t believe it’s to fill some feel good storyline for the club, either. They want to win, and they think he’s a key to it.

My hunch is that Bobby with Jarran Reed, and Dre’Mont Jones, and Devin Bush, all signal the likelihood of them morphing this defense back into more of the aggressive front they had in 2020 and 2021, and I think they are a couple more defensive tackles away from making finishing out the most of the roster on that side of the ball. My hunch is that either Poona Ford or Al Woods comes back, and they add someone from the draft, and maybe even one more defensive tackle for good measure, or so forth, and so such.

Bobby, in my mind, is probably key to bringing it along because he’s played in it here before, he did very well in the role that the Rams defined for him in LA last year, and Seattle sees him in a similar role here. You put that together with his obvious leaderships intangibles, and yes, I think this makes a lot of football sense.

And it is also very much giving this fanbase exactly what it wants.

Bobby Wagner is LOVED here. He is Edgar Martinez loved here, Lenny Wilkins loved here, Sue Bird loved here, and Steve Largent loved here. If the City of Seattle wanted to name a street around the stadium after him someday, I don’t think you would get many arguments.

Bobby Wagner will be a first ballet Hall of Famer, and he might be the only player out of the Pete Carroll era who will see his number eventually retired.. and he never wanted to leave Seattle in the first place.

So, yes, absolutely it makes sense that they should bring him back. It was a great move, and I’m excited about him leading this team again. In fact, I’m pumped!

Go Hawks!

We are one week into NFL free agency for the Seattle Seahawks, and oh, what fun it has been, thus far. After the playoff loss in Santa Clara, the mission for this team was clear. Sign back Geno Smith, and then fix the front seven of their defense. So far, so good.

Actually, it’s been pretty damn good. Like, holly smokes good!

Plus, the best part of it is that I don’t think they’re done, and we still have the draft in a little more than a month to which Seattle has the fifth overall pick, and such. Make no mistake about it, the Seahawks are starting to sit pretty once again.

A week before free agency began they agree to a 3 year contract with pro bowl quarterback Geno Smith that is a shockingly team friendly one, and has been hailed across the league as the first true middle class contract given to a second tier starting quarterback. We can all debate just how good Geno Smith is or isn’t (I think he’s pretty good), but one think I think it is really hard to debate, even for the sharpest Geno skeptics, is how good that deal is for Seattle. It’s full of escalation clauses, and outs beyond this year. The fear of Geno regressing and Seattle being stuck with this contract is now nonexistent scenario. Bravo.

But again, that was before the March madness first week of NFL free agency began, what happened this last week is the what I think is the real fun for a lot of folks who follow this team with big passions. As we entered this week, I think most Seahawk fans braced for the reality that John Schneider was going to sit back and wait out all the big spending for initial frenzy of signings. Shockingly, he did not. He embraced an aggressiveness entering the market not felt in Seattle since the early seasons of Paul Allen owning the team.

On Monday, he signed former Denver defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones to a whopping 3 year $51 million contract full of guarantees to which, unlike Geno’s contract, Seattle is pretty locked into it. I have already written a piece on the Jones’ deal and what it all likely means for the club, but in a quick recap, I’m happy to break it down into a nutshell.

Dre’Mont Jones is going to be a significant piece to Seattle’s interior pass rush. Like Michael Bennett in past years, he will probably move around like a chess piece, playing some big end in base defense, and a lot of 3 technique DT on obvious pass downs. In football terms, he’s a gap penetrator, and he will attack with elite quickness and agility. To me, this signing signals a strong likelihood that Seattle will be returning to the more aggressive bear front again in their base defense, and that is exciting.

Seattle wasn’t done on the market, however, and on the very next day they brought back a familiar face to the defensive front in defensive tackle Jarran Reed, and that brought an immediate smile to my face. The signing was met with a little mixed reactions from fans, but I have always liked J Reed. I think he brings a nastiness a defensive front that Seattle was lacking in since he left in 2021.

J Reed is willing to do a lot of dirty work with guards and centers and tackles, can bring a violent tackling style to running backs, and has been a capable inside pass rusher in the past. Like Jones, I suspect that his signing suggests that Seattle will return to a more aggressive front, but we will see. Either way, a 2 year $10 million contract suggests that he is returning to become significant piece of the pie, and not a mere role player, and I like it.

Within the next following days, Seattle also agreed to one year contracts with former Lion center/guard Evan Brown, and former Steeler linebacker Devin Bush. Both players are only 26 years old, so there’s run to feel like there’s the potential of good upside left in their games, but the short term contracts also suggest that they are likely hedges for players they like in this draft class. That said, Brown has earned high markets as a pass blocker (especially at center), and Bush is a ultra speedy linebacker who was former top ten pick.

The addition of Bush, to me, shows that they want to add more speed to the front seven with guys who can cover the flats quickly and get on tight ends and ball carriers right away. I look at this as yet another signal to what Seattle is hoping to become on defense.

I would look at Washington State linebacker Daiyan Henley as a guy Seattle likely covets in this draft who Bush might be a hedge for. Henley is a pure cover LB who’s game is built on speed and understanding of routes due to his college conversion from wide receiver, but we will get more into draft conversations over the next few weeks.

For the purpose of this piece, let us continue with the splashy splash splashiness of Seattle Seahawk 2023 NFL free agency. After the Evan Brown, and Devin Bush signings, on Friday last week, Seattle did something a bit surprising and maybe even shocking. Seattle signed former Giant safety Julian Love to a handsome 2 year $12 million contract. Seattle was already fairly loaded up at safety with Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams, and Ryan Neal, who when healthy, I think we would all say are three pretty good players.

Love’s signing brought immediate intrigue into what Seattle’s designs are. Many speculated that Adams could become a cap casualty cutting in the near future. Some reports have sorta squashed that as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times noted on Twitter that his understanding of the signing is that Love serves as insurance of Adams being ready at the start of the season coming off of his quad surgery, and when returning, Adams will play a more expanded linebacker roll with the team.

This scans to me. Adams was already in a hybrid safety/linebacker roll with this team in past years, and maybe they envision him being more exclusively a nickel weak side LB along with Bush or whoever they draft. They could also move Love into the nickel corner role and allow Coby Bryant to work exclusively as an outside corner like he was all throughout college.

At any rate, Julian Love was not brought in as a hedge for any player in this draft. He was a really good starting strong safety for the Giants last year, was a tackling machine and made plays in coverage. He’s only 25 years old, too, Whatever this team has up their sleeves in terms of further revamping this defense, they see Love as a big part of it moving forward, and that is interesting stuff.

Oh, yes. I almost forgot. Mixed in with all these interesting moves, the Seattle Seahawks brought back Drew Lock on a handsome one year contract worth $4 million dollars with incentives that could push it to $7 million. A lot of fans were pretty “meh” about this signing, but to me, it clearly shows that Seattle really likes Lock a lot, and they are willing to pay him good NFL backup money to see what is still there with him in year two of being inside Shane Waldron’s system.

This Lock signing could also, of course, be nothing more than an expensive hedge for a quarterback they covet in this draft, but it could also as likely mean that Seattle wants to go another direction with their first few picks, and they very much see a potential scenario of Lock being the quarterback of the future for this team. He’s still quite young, and Seattle has already demonstrated with success, that they approach the quarterback position differently than many other teams in this league. If anything, this signing add more intrigue in what their thinking is at this position, and perhaps that is exactly what they want at this time. Stay tuned..

So what next for the Seahawks?

I don’t think they are done in free agency yet, and that’s exciting. John Schneider went on the air last Thursday on his afternoon show in 710 Seattle Sports, and stated that they are still in conversations with more veteran defensive linemen.

My guess to that is they want to add a veteran edge rusher, if they can, and probably one more DT or nose tackle to back up Al Woods. The draft is supposedly deep with edge defenders and not so hot with DT, so I kinda suspect that there is one more interior D-liner that they want make a play for. I wouldn’t rule out a trade for that guy, either.

I think they are still going to try to bring back Bobby Wagner. If they are returning to more of the aggressiveness of a bear front, Wagz can still be a pretty good blitzing linebacker in that front, and maybe he gives way to Adams (or Bush) in the nickel. However you slice it, Wagner is an invaluable team leader, and to me, the move feels destined, but we will see.

I also think this team wants to add a proven veteran running back to mix in with Ken Walker. Rumor has it that they have made an offer to Leonard Fournette. That would be a great type of back to mix in with K9, and add a bit more physicality to the position. I think this is a spot that they also want to draft at again.

Three things are certain in life; death, taxes, and Pete Carroll wanting a loaded backfield of runners on offense. IMO, Seattle didn’t have that enough last year. I doubt Carroll wants to feel that again in 2023.

How about the rest of the league?

Outside of Seattle, I think the Dolphins and Giants are the other clear big winners in this first week of NFL free agency with the aggressive signings and trades they made. Seattle, the Giants, and Miami were all surprising teams in 2022 that fought their way into the playoffs as wildcard teams, and are all now making aggressive moves to challenge for their divisions this Fall.

For the Giants, I love that they traded little for former Raider tight end Darren Waller, and were aggressive adding and bringing back receivers. They are trying to build around Daniel Jones, and giving him a big lightening fast tight end is a fun idea.

For the Dolphins, I love the trade for Jalen Ramsey and the fact that they gave away peanuts to the Rams for him. He’s declining a bit as a cover corner, but is still pretty talented and will be playing for Vic Fangio. He will know that defense they are trying to run down there, and he will be playing across another really good corner. I love that the Dolphins are signing back their top running backs, and are going to keep players who play well in their system run by mastermind Mike McDaniel. They also brought in good young linebackers in David Long and Malik Reed.

Mark my words, the Dolphins are not going to make it easy for the Buffalo Bills in 2023. As it stands now, they are my team who I think are most likely to be what the Eagles were last year in coming out of nowhere and taking the league by surprise. I’m weirdly sorta there for it, too. Sure, the owner is a dick, but the coach is so damn likable. I’m intrigued.

Speaking of the AFC East Division, it amuses me to no end how ridiculous the Aaron Rodgers to the NY Jets saga has become. What a stupid train wreck!

The doofus goes into a darkness retreat run by a bunch of Oregon Country Fair folk for a week, and comes out ready to be convinced to become a NY Jet, has them sign a bunch of his former Green Bay buddies, and then Green Bay decides they want more than the NY offer. Brilliant!

Folks, the smug one isn’t as smart as he thinks he is, and it is playing out in real time. The Green Bay Packers hold all the leverage in this. The Jets, as a stupidly run organization would do, showed their whole hand when they hired his bestie to run their offense, balked at signing Derek Carr when he was available in favor of a trade for Rodgers, and then starting bringing in former Packers per his suggestion.

Word has it that league sources believe that a trade for Rodgers is worth a second round pick plus a conditional seconder rounder if he decides he’s going to stick around and not retire next year. The Packers reportedly now want a first round pick and change. They know they have the jets by the short hairs with the Jets owner being desperate for Rodgers.

A huge part of me wants nothing more than this saga conclude with a massive impasse that involves no trade happening, and Rodgers deciding to sit out the first eight games of the season before he has to report to the Pack in order to collect his 2023 earnings. This would be a fitting conclusion to his legacy in Green Bay and who I kinda have always thought this dude is.. a total asshole.

As for the Jets in this scenario, gee, I don’t know. Maybe stick with the young quarterback you drafted and figure out how to finally develop one instead of constantly kicking these dues to the curb for another after a few seasons in their young careers. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Jets screwed over the Seahawks in the Jamal Adams trade, I would almost feel sorry for their fans, but screw ’em! Can’t teach stupid, yo!

In other NFL musings, it’s fun watching the mass player exodus happening with the LA Rams. They went Florida Marlin big chasing a ring by making big move after big move expensive player acquisitions, it paid off, but now they are paying the expensive price. They traded away Jalen Ramsey for pennies on the dollars, can’t afford to keep other key vets, and are without any first round pick yet again this year. As Jesus once famously said, live by the sword, die by the sword. I’m enjoying watching what is happening with this team right now, and I’m wondering why Sean McVay is even sticking around. Maybe they have designs to trade for Lamar Jackson, eventually. That would be a very Rams thing to do.

Staying in the NFC West, the 49ers have terrified me with the Javon Hargrave signing to their already stacked defensive line. Seattle better have plans in this draft to land a really good center and guard combination.

Who the fuck cares what the Cardinals are doing, really. Looks like they are going to trade away their best receiver. They might trade back from the third overall pick for more picks in order to conduct a quick rebuild. If I were a Cardinal fan, sticking with Kyler Murray and building around him would make me very nervous. Ultra moody attitude and injury proneness doesn’t sound like positive traits for the most important position in the game.

I like what the Texans, the Bears, the Panthers, and the Detroit Lions are all doing in free agency and trades. These are all four teams that I’m intrigued to see how their seasons unfold this Fall.

The Raiders remain a shit show that I have no idea what to make out of. Cut Derek Carr in favor of injury prone and significantly less athletic Jimmy G? This is the team I expect to either trade with the Cardinals or Seahawks to move up for a quarterback next month, but I also could see them stay at pick 7 and take a cornerback, or some weird shit like that.

Anyhoo. Fun offseason so far!

Waiting for the Seattle Seahawks to do anything in the initial phases of free agency over the past decade has become a bit of a fun self depreciating joke for fans on Twitter. To make light of the frustration of seeing big name players get gobbled up off the market signing elsewhere, the witty sorts on Seahawks Twitter offer up memes expressing their f’d up emotional states. It’s a bonding experience.

With the exception of 2011, when they were still roster building, the Seahawks MO in free agency has mostly been to wait it out, and not get caught up in big splashy signings. In 2013, when they made the splashy signings of the legendary pass rushing duo of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, they waited out the first initial week of signings to see who they could lure in on short term bargains, and the rest was history.

After paying Russell Wilson, however, even these sort of maneuverings became more scarce. The players that they would lure in would generally range from former first round busts who they would try to see if there was any potential left in them (there wasn’t), or older players who could serve as decent role players such as defensive tackle Al Woods. Whichever category a player would fall into, the general consensus with fans would usually comprise of a big fat disappointing “meh.”

Last offseason, however, something shifted in the front office. Days after trading away Wilson, Seattle made a surprise initial signing of promising young edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu who was coming off a rookie contract and career year for the LA Chargers. That signing felt fun on many levels, and smart.

Nwosu was seen as an emerging veteran talent, and a good fit for their new system which would feature more 3-4 in their base defense. This was the type of signing I had been begging for years for this front office to make, and they made a serous financial investment in him, too, which to me, signaled more aggressiveness to build properly with free agency as a tool. Better yet, it paid off as Nwosu proved to be their best pass rusher in 2022.

Enter former Denver Bronco defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones in 2023. This is the free agent signing that I dreamed for Seattle to make, but was bracing for a reality that he would go elsewhere. Like Nwuso last year, Jones is coming off his rookie contract, and a career year. He’s an ascending talent at a position that is very hard to fill in the NFL, and that is a true pass rushing defensive tackle. At 3 years and $51 million dollars, Seattle is making an investment in him, too.

What I think this means moving forward is a few things. I think with Nwuso and Jones, Seattle’s front office is shifting focus towards investing in promising younger veterans much like they did with Avril and Bennett a decade ago. I don’t think it’s any small coincidence that these two players positionally can be compared to Avril and Bennett, as well.

Pete Carroll loves to coach a defense that has explosive guys up front who can disrupt the gaps, and harass the quarterback. I think, in Clint Hurtt’s first season as a Seahawk defensive coordinator, the Seahawks got away from that for the first time under Coach Carroll, and they now want to get back to that.

I don’t think it matters if this means more 4-3 again, or staying with 3-4, or doing the 46 bear front stuff again. With this investment in Dre’Mont Jones, I think we are going to see Seattle be more aggressive up front again, and that is exciting.

Jones is not a big hulking two gab defensive lineman. At 6-3 and 281 pounds, his game is attacking the gaps, and his best attribute to a defense is as an interior pass rusher. In short, he’s a classic pass rushing three technique who can also play the four and five technique spots, as well, a la Michael Bennett.

I think what this means for the Seahawks is very little passive two gapping stuff up front, for the most part. It would be a waste of valuable dollars to ask Jones to be that sort of player. In all likelihood, I think Seattle is probably heading back to the bear front stuff again which they ran mostly out of in 2020 and 2021 (aka 46 defense, aka stick front, aka 5-2-4, aka 3-3-5).

It is a growing trend in the league with defenses nowadays, and it takes me back to some stuff that Coach Carroll said during his last few presses conference of the season. When asked about how to best get his pass rush going again, Carroll said the key was the inside rush, and on another occasion when asked about his defense moving forward, it said that it wasn’t going to be someone else’s scheme, but rather they are going to make it their own scheme.

That last part stood out to me most. Much was made last year about Carroll embracing Vic Fangio’s unique 3-4 defense last year with the hiring of Hurtt and defensive assistant Sean Desai, who are both Fangio disciples. We don’t need to rehash the disaster that followed because we all know how bad this defense instantly became against the run, but during the four game win streak they went on in October and November, Carroll had them switch back to the bear front they had been running in previous seasons. The improvements were immediate, but they weirdly went away from it after their second game against the Cardinals.

Personally, I don’t think it’s a big surprise that Desai is no longer in Seattle. I think Carroll is dumping the Fangio thingy and is getting back to what he knows better. Dre’Mont Jones, to me signals that. Without getting super weighted down in football jargon, I think Jones is a return to the Michael Bennett role in Carroll’s defense. A guy who can play multiple roles in multiple fronts, and a guy who is going to make his hay attacking from inside.

Moving forward, I would love to see Seattle add one more bright young talent inside to play right along with him. I would be stoked if it was former UW Husky Greg Gaines to play the nose tackle spot beside Jones, and essentially become the Brandon Mebane to Jones’s Mike Bennett.

I also want to see them add a linebacker, and a center. It would be fun if it was Bobby Wagner coming back, but I just need a proven productive middle linebacker to fill the void of Cody Barton leaving and Jordyn Brooks coming off his knee injury. I prefer a quality veteran center playing in front of Geno Smith.

If Seattle can make these three additions to go along with Jones, then it really opens up the draft for them next Spring. They could go a few different ways with pick five. They could go quarterback, defensive line, offensive line, or trade back.

If an early run of quarterbacks happen, Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson at five is a reasonable projection for Pete Carroll, and it is probably his dream. A pass rush that includes Anderson, Nwuso, Jones, Gaines, Darrell Taylor, Boye Mafe, and Quinton Jefferson sounds like a lot of fun to be had in Seattle. I would love that fun.

This, I think, would be Pete Carroll’s dream scenario, as well. I’m excited to see how it all plays out.

Go Hawks.

The other day, in celebration of Geno Smith agreeing to a 3 year $105 million dollar contract, I decided to write up an expletive filled response aimed towards those who negatively responded to the deal on Seattle airwaves and social media. It was an impulse I couldn’t resist.

Geno Smith is an extremely unique situation in professional football. The closest other situation he can be compared towards is Rich Gannon of the Oakland Raiders in the early 2000’s. Both quarterbacks toiled through the league as backups after failing as starters early in their careers, but eventually found themselves successful quality QB1s in their thirties. The biggest distinction, however, between Gannon and Smith is that Gannon sustained his success, and Smith has yet to do that.

As the details of his contract are now revealed, what he has essentially signed is a three year contract with the Seahawks full of up front guarantees and escalation clauses. Most of the guarantees are attached to year one of this contract, while the remaining guarantees roll into 2024, but the team has the ability to escape those guarantees if they cut him in February of 2024, if he is not injured. They can completely move on from him in 2025 without financial penalties.

It is also worth noting that this contract has not incentives, but rather escalators. If he betters aspects of his 2022 performance in 2023, his 2024 salary increases. If he does that again in 2024, his 2025 salary increases. In totality of the potential of meeting all of these clauses, Geno Smith can make as much as $105 million in three seasons.

This is an incredibly team friendly deal that he signed with the Seattle Seahawks. I think it is very fair to say that he probably could have found a more player friendly deal on the open market. He wanted to remain in Seattle, though, and was more than comfortable signing this deal. More specifically, he was more than comfortable betting on himself again.

Personally, I think there’s pretty strong reasons why he should feel that comfort. He did really well in year one as a full time starter in Shane Waldron’s system in 2022. There’s no reason for him to believe he won’t do anything but be better in 2023 with all of his main weapons coming back, and a chance for Seattle to further bolster the offensive line in front of him.

He has a full offseason to dig deeper into the playbook with Waldron and to work with new QB coach Greg Olson to clean up some of his issues that led to fumbles and turnover worthy throws later in the season. I would not bet against his devotion to get better in this system.

I also would not assume that this automatically means that the Seattle Seahawks are going to draft a quarterback at the top end of the draft this year. I do think it is pretty likely that they are going to draft the position this year (and next), but I am skeptical as to how much they are into a guy like, say.. Anthony Richardson.. and maybe a few other of these quarterbacks being touted highly.

Seattle is very adept at sending out smokescreens when it comes to players that they are interested in. Last year at this time, they flaunted interest in Ole Miss QB Matt Corral who had certain connections to Pete Carroll. They let Corral slide, and slide, and slide his way down the draft. In 2012, it was Kirk Cousins who was connected to Seattle, and they shockingly chose Russell Wilson over him in the third round.

Seattle might really like a quarterback in this draft, and they have him as a target, but it might not be a guy most are talking about for them right now. I’m not saying this to be a contrarian to the notion of drafting Anthony Richardson (or Will Levis). I’m just saying that this front office is really good at poker, and be prepared to potentially be surprised.

I also think a deeper meaning with this Geno deal is that Seattle isn’t interested in getting stuck with a big time quarterback contract if the player isn’t able to sustain a high level of play. I think they felt burned by the last Russell Wilson extension, and they don’t want to blindly go down that road again.

I doubt that the Seahawks are going to do to Geno what Vegas did to Derek Carr and bench him late in the season just to escape having to pay him in 2024. Sure, if Geno has regressed to the point of warranting a benching, that can easily happen, but that’s a whole other thing. If he competently has this team in games, Carroll is going to roll with him, and not risk a mutiny situation in his locker room by switching to a rookie to get him reps.

This, I think, is the real deal with Geno Smith, and the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle has chosen to bring back a player who the locker room LOVES, and Geno Smith is no dummy. He has probably looked at how this locker room has embraced him, and has studied enough tape on Will Levis and Anthony Richardson, and he knows those dudes are not likely to beat him out of this gig anytime soon. CJ Stroud and Bryce Young probably wouldn’t either.

So for Geno, this contract is nothing more than a comfortable bet on himself again, and for the Seattle Seahawks, this is a great way to bring him back into their program, to protect themselves should things go scud for whatever reason, and to give them an out if a young quarterback is ready to take over for him sooner rather than later. In a nutshell, this is what both sides agreed to, and this is a really great deal for both sides.

Go Hawks!

I am giving you fair warning. I’m about to get a bit ranty through these following passages, but I hope you stick along. If a few F bombs slip out, well, just know that I could give two F bombs whether that offends.

The Seattle Seahawks signed Geno Smith to a three year $105 with $52 Million, and it was absolutely the right fucking thing to do for this franchise moving forward, if you want to see them win football games. He knows this scheme, runs it well, and the players absolutely love him here. Geno Smith is ADORED in the locker room of the Seattle Seahawks, and he’s a leader of this team. Of course he should come back.

“Can Geno Smith win you a Super Bowl?”

Honestly, that has been the single dumbest fucking question constantly to asked on Seattle sports radio airways over the past fucking month, and with this signing, I can only hope it gets asked less, and motherfucking less over time. Yeah, honestly, I hope that can be more laid to rest.

That said, of course he can win a Super Bowl with a good defense, if his 2022 play sustains over the next three years, and there is absolutely no reason why anyone should think that it can’t. I have asked people to list their reasons why he cannot do that, and their answers have come up generally as a bunch pretty lame ass nonsense.

“It’s an intuition I have about him.”

What intuition is that?

“He doesn’t have an it-factor.”

What is your ideal it-factor?

“He’s 32 years old.”

Ah, you’re agist, and you want a rookie starter. Got it.

These are the types of exchanges I have had with folks, and I don’t necessarily mean to make fun of anyone, but I have yet to see a detailed explanation as to how it is impossible for Seattle to win a Super Bowl with Geno Smith as their starting quarterback. Keep Geno and draft heavily on the defense for fuck sakes. Add another key vet like they did with Uchenna Nwuso last year.

Really, though, it’s pointless getting caught up in debates about Geno Smith with folks. I think most Seahawk fans dig the dude (at least in my wide circle), but those who don’t really do not have any single belief in him, even though he put up historic pass numbers last year for the club, and guided this team into the playoffs (a feat to which very, very few thought he would do when the season started).

Sure, these people can point to all the quarterbacks over they years who have had one decent season and then quickly faded away. Cool, I get it. I’m not exactly a Spring chicken to the sport, and I can easily add to their lists of examples.

I can also point to Rich Gannon, and Steve Young who sucked turds as starters when they were young, but had eventual second chances, became late bloomers, and had nice sustained careers in their thirties. I can also point to Jeff Garcia, and Kurt Warner getting late chances. I can even point to the fact that Matt Hasselbeck almost fizzled out of Seattle, was benched for over a year, and only got a second chance because of an injury to Trent Dilfer. Fortunately, for him and Seattle, Matt made the most of his second chance.

People are going to see whatever they want with the uniqueness of this Geno Smith situation. For me, I really dig his potential to remain a quality starter in Seattle for a while.

The truth of the matter is that Geno Smith doesn’t tackle ball carriers, or block for them, he doesn’t sack quarterbacks, or cover tight ends, and he doesn’t catch. Geno Smith quarterbacks in a system that he seems to know pretty well, is pretty accurate in it, and seems like a pretty good fit for how it is supposed to run.

With this signing, Seattle can now focus their off-season on shoring up the defense so that their front seven is formidable over the next three season. Believe me, that is going to now be their MAJOR focus for the rest of this off-season between free agency, possible trades, and the draft.

Coming out of the this recent NFL combine, it appears as though this draft class is deep at edge rusher, cornerbacks, and defensive tackle. All areas on the Seattle’s defense where they need to add more.

If there is an early run on quarterbacks, as it is expected to be, Seattle could be in line to take one of Will Anderson, Jalen Carter (yes, I’m aware of his sketchy reckless driving), and Tyree Wilson (assuming that he’s a freaky athletic tester at his upcoming pro day). Any one of these guys could be an immediate jolt of energy to their front seven, and could become cornerstone players. At pick twenty, they could add an explosive linebacker, or a run stuffing force of nature at defensive tackle like Michigan’s Mazi Smith. They could also go corner to create a dynamic bookend duo with Tariq Woolen.

There is a path moving forward where Seattle does build back a dominant defense again while paying Geno Smith, but here’s another real beauty of signing Geno as they enter this draft; because of the nature of this contract, if there is, in fact, a quarterback that Seattle really loves sitting there at five, they could take him, and not feel any need to throw him into the fire right away.

If they love Anthony Richardson (as reports suggest that they do), and he is there at five, Seattle with Geno Smith is probably the most ideal landing spot for the raw yet tremendously talented quarterback. He can redshirt 2023, and learn how to become a quality NFL quarterback, and they could open up competition in 2024, or 2025.

The full details of his deal won’t be revealed for a few days probably, but my guess is that it is designed to give Seattle a way to move off of the deal in a couples seasons, if they so chose. This is what smart teams do. This is the way to handle the unique situation with Geno Smith. They approach it from the perspective that they love the dude like a quality pro bowl starter, and are willing to go down this road with him, but also keep the possibility of developing a talented young quarterback behind him, if they can.

So let’s be very real about all of this. Geno Smith was never going to make $25 million APY with the season that he just came off of, breaking franchise passing records in his first year as a full time starter for this club, guiding Seattle to the playoffs, getting voted into the pro bowl, and earning an MVP vote (something to which Russell Wilson has NEVER EARNED). The Seahawks were supposed to be an ass team in 2022, perhaps the worst team in the league, and Geno Smith carried them to the playoffs as a top ten performing quarterback in the league. He was due this contract, and if Seattle wasn’t going to pay, another team would have, abso-fucking-lutely.

There is absolutely no middle class at all for starting quarterbacks in this league. Good veteran ones who have made pro bowls and led teams to winning records get PAID A LOT OF MONEY, and guys who are on cheap rookie contracts are working their asses of to eventually get PAID A LOT OF MONEY. If they league was truly interested in setting a middle class up for veterans with lesser talents than Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, they would. Plain and simple.

Geno Smith is being paid the fair market money that he has earned, and the truth of the matter is that football contracts are not baseball contracts, and the initial sticker price is usually not the actual price. Let’s be really clear about that.

So, let’s stop this garbage debate as to whether or not Geno Smith can take this team to a motherfucking Super Bowl. Obviously, Seattle thinks he can, otherwise they would not have made this motherfucking deal, and if people want to point to John Schneider about how well he scouts and assesses quarterbacks in terms of the draft (as many love to point out these days), then perhaps they should trust that John Schneider believes Geno Smith is pretty fucking good in this league.

At the very least, John likely believes that Geno Smith is good enough to lead them to a Super Bowl in this coming three year window should they not find a quarterback that they love enough to take this year, or next. That is ultimately what this deal is.

They know they can win with Geno Smith now. Geno has proven that to them, otherwise, this deal would not have gotten done.

Yes, Geno definitely provides them a three year window to find the next young franchise quarterback on a rookie deal, most likely. Maybe that guy falls to them in this draft this year, maybe it’s next year with Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Junior, or Drake Maye, or some other dude in 2025.

Maybe, also, if you can fathom this idea, Geno just gets better and better over the next few seasons. Then maybe in 2025, they believe he’s too good to move away from, and they sign him to another three year extension.

Did you mind just explode as you read that? God, I kinda hope it did. I can go on.

Maybe, just maaaaaybeeeee we are at the earliest stages of a fucking fantastically glorious era of Seahawk football where they win titles with Geno Smith as their MVP quarterback. That would be pretty cool, and maybe in that, every single year he says that he’s still not writing back to all the dumb asses who continued to talk shit about him, year in and year out, as if he was the same punk 22 year old who threw a bunch of interceptions for the Jets over a decade ago.

Because that’s what I think the real issue is with some people who continue to have hang ups about him. They cannot fathom, in their minds, for one fucking second, that his 2022 season wasn’t anything more than fluky. They cannot fathom that he’s a legitimate franchise quarterback who is here to stay.

“How come he’s been a backup for the past seven seasons if he’s really that good?”

Well, I don’t know. Maybe because the New York Jets are an extremely shitty organization that’s gives up on young quarterbacks too soon, and they kinda fucked him over. Maybe there was a nasty stigma that followed Geno with front offices, and maybe there’s a little inherent fucking racism involved in white cultured front offices with that nasty little stigma. Maybe Seattle, with Pete Carroll who is willing to take chances on players that others aren’t, was the perfect place for him to finally land, and get rooted with.

All, I know is this. I really enjoyed watching Geno Smith quarterback last year for my favorite team. Yes, his first eleven games were better than his last six (MVP worthy, in fact), but I am not in the least worried about his drop off in performance back in December. His offensive line was battered, the defense was wet turds against the run, and there was a struggling run game. I think he gutted through it fine. I see a guy who is a good quarterback who can get better in this system, and a better Geno Smith sounds really, really good to me.

If you doubt that, fine. Doubt away. Be pissed off about this deal.

If you hate this deal, I drink your tears of rage and sadness. Beat chest, cry to the heavens for Pete and John to be fired if you want, but I think this was the right move for the Seattle Seahawks to make on many levels. The players love him, the coaches and front office believes in him, and if they were to pick up a young quarterback with a high pick this year, or next, I think Geno Smith is the perfect quarterback for that dude to learn from.

Geno Smith is a really cool fucking story, and if you cannot get behind that, then I do not think you understand the culture of this team, nor do you really care. Sad. I hope you at least like puppies, though, or kittens.

For me, I think this news is awesome. I’m excited for this off-season, I stoked about this draft, and I’m thrilled that Geno Smith is staying as my quarterback.

Go Hawks.

Another day, another ditty about the pending Seattle Seahawk quarterback situation. Well, why not, right?

Right now, the Seahawks have no quarterback on their roster, and while most signs point to Geno Smith probably signing back with the club, until that happens (or doesn’t), fans, writers, and radio show hosts are going to speculate and debate what the team will, or should do. Like it, or not, this is the top issue on most of the minds of those who follow this team.

While I have firmly been on Team Geno’s Coming Back Y’all, I’m willing to explore the possibility that he isn’t. After all, recent news has added a shade of doubt in the minds of some, so let’s explore that.

One of the bits of news that has added fuel to speculation is that Dave Canales, Seattle’s long time offensive assistant and quarterback coach, got swept away from the PNW to coach the offense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; a team in the Sunshine State to which Geno Smith is from. Doesn’t it seem logical that Geno should want to follow?

Sure! The Bucs have some nice offensive weapons, a pretty good defense, and they are in need of a starting quarterback due to Tom Brady finally hanging it up. It would make perfect sense for Geno to be, at the very least, intrigued.

Here’s the thing, though, the Buccaneers are in ninth ring of salary cap hell because of that massive Tom Brady contract being still on their books. They are going to have to cut players and rework a bunch of salaries just to get out of the negative $50 million hole they are currently boiling in.

Simply put, they cannot afford Geno Smith, and there is now word that they want to eat the costs of Brady’s contract this year in order to have money to spend in 2024. In other words, the Bucs are sailing towards a rebuild.

I believe Canales was hired most likely to try to get the most out of former second round pick Kyle Trask. They are probably hoping that Anthony Richardson somehow falls to their pick at 19, or maybe they got Stanford QB Tanner McKee in their designs later in the draft.

I’ve seen it suggested that maybe Tampa would be willing to part with Vita Vea and a high draft pick for Geno Smith, and that would be a way they could afford Geno’s salary. This is certainly a fun thought for Seahawk fans, but I just don’t see it happening.. at all.

Vea is a rare defensive tackle with the size of two adult humans along with the athleticism to be a true disruptive pass rusher. There is not many beings on this planet outside of a yeti capable of doing what he can do, and he’s young. Why would Tampa part ways with that for a 32 year old quarterback who has had only one really good season of NFL football in his career?

I don’t even see a straight across player for player trade happening here, and I love me some Geno Smith. You don’t successfully construct a rebuild by trading away your best young players for older players. If Tampa is willing to offer Vea straight across for Geno, well then sign me up for that, but it’s not happening. No way. No how. Sorry.

So, I would say that, if any veteran quarterback is heading to Tampa Bay, it’s likely to be Drew Lock, who won’t be expensive, and also has a connection with Canales. They could bring him in, create an open competition between him and Trask, and also see whatever the draft brings. If I were to lay a bet, I would drop cheddar on this being their most likely move.

The other bit of news, of course, is that the Seahawks just replaced Canales with long time NFL QB coach and offensive coordinator Greg Olson, who helped develop Drew Brees, and has also gotten the best out of Jared Goff and Derek Carr in more recent years. It took all about a few moments on Seahawks Twitter after the news broke for folks to speculate what the addition of Olson means.

Are they going to bring in Derek Carr? Draft Will Levis? Just stick with Geno? Ride with Lock? Make a trade?

Hmmmmm.. I think they just stick with Geno, but for the purpose of this piece, let’s suppose that I am waaaaaaay over-reading the love fest between Geno and the team. Let’s say that they appreciate each other, and want to continue down this NFL road together, but they have reached an impasse, and he finds a deal elsewhere greater than Seattle’s offer.

Well, what would Seattle then do? Do they bring back Drew Lock, or draft someone, or add a different veteran to the mix?

Maybe they do do all three, or two of the three. Maybe they shock us and make a splash trade for a big time vet. We will, in earnest, look at all of these, and try to figure out what feels probable if Geno bails.

Let’s shoot for the moon first and work our way back to reason.

Seahawks go big and trade for Lamar Jackson

This is the really, really big exciting scenario, right? Right?????

I mean, come on. Imagine Lamar Jackson doing his Lamar Jackson stuff with DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Noah Fant, and K9 all together on this offense.

His contract will prove insanely expensive, and Seattle will have to fork over serious draft capital given his young age and upside. Maybe they tag Geno and ship him to Baltimore in the package to lessen the amount for high draft picks, but right now, envisioning a healthy Lamar in this offense in Seattle is about as tantalizing a thought as it gets in Seahawk football.

The main problem is his health, though, and the style of his play that invites injuries. If Seattle were to make this bold investment in this guy, and tailer their offense around him, they would probably need to develop someone behind him who would offer some similar skillset because this dude is likely going to miss games as a starter, especially if he’s going to do his Lamar things against that 49er defense.

They would also have to surrender the idea of building this defense up with top end talent on the defensive line with the draft picks they would be giving up in order to acquire him. In short, say goodbye to the idea of drafting Jalen Carter, Will Anderson, or Tyree Wilson fifth overall, and because of his massive contract, they aren’t likely to be heavy shoppers in free agency, either.

So what’s my verdict on this scenario?

I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance on a Haitian nudie beach that Seattle trades for Lamar Jackson. He’s going to expect a fully guaranteed contract, and he gets injured.. too much.

I think the only reason why Seattle would entertain this is if owner Jody Allen is pushing for it to make this team more attractive in an eventual sale. However, for all we know, she intends to hang onto this club for another decade (or more) to maximize the price tag in any sale. That could very easily be her aim.

Nope, sorry. As fun as it would be to see Lamar in Seattle, I do not see this happening. I’m happy to eat a bug if I’m wrong.

But in chase you’re not totally convinced that they won’t pull off a trade for another top end quarterback in place of Geno Smith, let’s explore another scenario.

Seahawks trade for Aaron Rodgers

If this goes down, expect half of the Seahawk fan base to vomit in their mouths. While Rodgers is a folk hero to the anti vaxxer crowd, he’s as smug of an egotistical athlete as there is in sports.

He’s the dude who thinks he’s smarter than everyone else in the room, and has no problem with throwing teammates under the bus after a loss. You think Pete Carroll wants that in Seattle with his locker room full of merry men?

Rodgers would cost less in draft capital than Lamar Jackson would, and that’s the big plus. Perhaps, again, Seattle could franchise Geno Smith and package him to Green Bay, and they could hang onto the fifth overall pick.

Admittedly, he would also be a pretty damn good fit for their system, and John Schneider was the guy in Green Bay who reportedly was chiefly behind drafting him. Hate this idea if you will, but there are some compelling reasons why Seattle could try to do this, if the cost is right.

So, what’s my verdict?

There’s not a nudist’s chance in Nome, Alaska that the Seattle Seahawks trade for Aaron Rodgers. After dealing with the challenges of Russell Wilson and his agent, do you really think Pete Carroll wants to then deal with the most moody, high maintenance quarterback in the league? No f’ing way.

Rodgers is not a culture fit for this team, he’s old, and he’s expensive. Not going to happen. Let him go be a Raider.

But I got an idea about another vet Seattle might be willing to trade for.

How about the Seattle Seahawks trading for Justin Fields?

Hmmmm..

If the rumors are true that the Chicago Bears are willing to trade him away because they are more sold on another quarterback, first overall, this gets way more interesting for Seattle than Lamar Jackson or Rodgers, in my view. It feels more possible, anyways.

Fields has undeniable flash on the field as a duo threat quarterback. Right now, I would say he’s more of a runner than thrower, but the same thing was kinda said last year at this time about Jalen Hurts. Interestingly enough, in college, Fields was thought to be more of a thrower than runner. With Greg Olson as the new QB coach, could Seattle unleash his full potential as a thrower?

I don’t know what to make of Fields. I’m also not totally sold he’s as a guy who will blossom into any big time QB, and it’s not just because he’s a former Ohio State dude. Let’s think about this.

If Chicago is willing to deal him, and not take possibly a generational defensive tackle in Jalen Carter, with a defensive minded head coach at the helm, what does that say about Justin Fields as a developing player? Excuse me if I sense a red flag here.

Maybe they believe Bryce Young will be the next Patrick Mahomes, and has traits at the most important position in sports that are too rare to pass up on. This is certainly possible, or maybe after two seasons with Fields, they just sense a ceiling that isn’t likely going to be very high in this league, and they want to correct a mistake made by the previous regime.

That said, maybe with the addition of Greg Olson on their coaching staff, Seattle would be intrigued to take a shot with Fields. After all, their system is supposedly pretty quarterback friendly, and maybe Olson is able to get the most out of him like he had done with Derek Carr and Jared Goff.

Fields would have three years left on a rookie contract (if Seattle were to pick up the fifth year option), and therefore, he would be significantly cheaper than Geno Smith. Essentially, Seattle would have a three year window with him to see if he can be their long term franchise quarterback, and he would come here with some pretty nice offensively weapons around him.

I do not see Seattle willing to deal the fifth overall pick for him, that’s not happening, but the twentieth pick becomes possible. Here’s the thing, though, Washington picks at 16h, the Jets pick at 13, the Titans pick at 11, and Tampa picks at 19. All of these quarterback needy-ish teams could make a better play for Fields than Seattle, if Seattle isn’t willing to surrender pick number 5.

How likely to I think this could possibly happen?

It’s a maybe, but not super duper likely.

So, if no big splashy trade for a veteran quarterback, how about free agency?

This is potentially a more interesting question, and I think there’s going to be a few out there worth exploring. Let’s start with the biggest name first.

Seahawks sign Derek Carr to the multi year deal offered to Geno Smith

Say what you will about Derek Carr, but I kinda like him.. at the right price.

I think he’s a decent starting quarterback who was a dedicated player for a crap organization, and who had to cycle through six different offensive coordinators for nearly a decade. Who knows how he might have blossomed in a more stable situation.

I think he could be a really good scheme fit for Seattle, and a solid culture fit. He’s tall, athletic enough, and he can make every NFL throw with decent enough accuracy. I think he’s a genuinely a really good dude, and I don’t think it would take long for players to embrace him here in Seattle.

Call me crazy, but I see him as a perfect guy for Pete Carroll to put his arms around him, and love him up after being dejected in Vegas. I think it’s likely Carroll could get the most out of him here for a while. I think it’s also very interesting that he had two of his best seasons being coached under Greg Olson.

So what are my feelings on the likelihood of this happening?

It’s an interesting idea. If he is willing to take what Seattle was going to offer Geno Smith, I wouldn’t be upset, to be honest.

In my mind, though, I think Carr’s likely going to have a hot market. I can see most of the NFC South being interested. I could also see Washington being interested, and we already know that the Jets are into him. If Seattle is intrigued, they would have to probably compete with these teams now.

Would Seattle be willing to entertain bring him in while they are negotiating with Geno? Supremely doubtful, in my opinion.

I think Derek Carr only becomes an option if he is still on the market when free agency begins, and Seattle has elected not to use the franchise tag on Geno Smith. I seriously doubt Carr would still be available on the market by then.

But wait a second, how about Jimmy Garoppolo in Seattle?

Well, well, well. An old friend is back. Here we go on the Jimmy G to Seattle train again.

This was a big rumor during training camp last year, right?

There were reports that Seattle had done due diligence on Pretty Boy, and felt like he would be a fit, but then Pretty Boy decided to take a significant pay cut to stay in Santa Clara. My guess is that he probably because he knew Trey Lance would struggle and he would get his starter job back and be able to reset his 2023 market.

I will make this one short. I don’t think Seattle will have interest in Garoppolo this time around. Maybe they did last August when they weren’t totally sure how Geno or Drew Lock were going to sustain the 2022 season, but not likely anymore.

For one, this dude can’t stay healthy enough. However, I think the bigger reason is that frankly, Geno Smith is a superior quarterback with better arm talent and mobility, and he’s proven significantly more durable in his time as a starter.

If anything, what the 49er season proved last year is that their system is so damn good and they got so much talent, that almost any capable quarterback who knows how to run it can have success. Sam Darnold could end up there next year if Brock Purdy isn’t good to go, replace a struggling again Trey Lance, and find himself success.

So what about Sam Darnold in Seattle, then?

Well, this is kind of an interesting one to me, to be honest. I can kinda see Seattle being interested if he’s out on the market, and things have broken apart with Geno and the team.

This is just a hunch, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle has always taken at least a bit of a fancy to him. He seems like a Pete Carroll type of quarterback from the old USC days, and there’s an obvious USC connection between the two.

I also think that in this Shane Waldron offense, Darnold has traits that could make him an interesting fit, and like Derek Carr, I think he’s genuinely a good dude who Carroll would probably love to coach up, if he had to do it.

For me, I think the main issue with Sam Darnold isn’t lack of talent, but lack of an ability to stay healthy. Every year, this guy gets injured. I think this has been the biggest hampering factor to his overall development.

At best, I think he’s a guy you bring in along with Drew Lock, and you have both of them compete for the starter spot like Drew and Geno did last year. This is not a super appetizing prospect, but truthfully neither was letting Drew and Geno battle is out last year, and look what happened.

This is a scenario that wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Seattle do if they allow Geno Smith to walk away, frankly. It just feels very.. Seahawky.

But what about Drew Lock who they supposedly were impressed with all season in practices? Can’t he just be the guy moving forward?

Yeah, there’s that. Sure, he could be the guy.

John Schneider apparently dug him coming out of the 2019 draft class. He’s big, athletic, and has the arm talent capable of making pretty NFL passes. Physically, he’s got everything you are looking for in today’s NFL quarterback.

Mentally, though, I think there’s still a lot of questions. He came out of college in an offensive system that was bad at developing quarterbacks for the NFL. In the third preseason game against Dallas, he looked truly awful (although, he was coming off covid), but maybe, as the season went on, he genuinely was showing signs though practices of picking up the Waldron offense, and was impressing.

I’m skeptical about how much, though. Let’s think this through for a moment.

If he was really impressing his coaches like Carroll suggested in the press, that he’s going to do big things in this league when he gets his chance to start again, then why have they been so outwardly determined to say they want Geno back?

I will call this bluff. I think if they truly believed that Drew Lock is ready to take off as a starter, Pete Carroll wouldn’t have been so eager to talk up Geno after the playoff loss to San Francisco. He would have been much more measured. Carroll used that presser to campaign for Geno’s return, you could feel that.

I think the most likely situation between Drew Lock and Seattle is that they like his upside, and they are hoping that he will come back and develop further behind Geno Smith. I think talking up Drew was more likely their recruitment tool for him to return as a developmental player, and that’s how I think they view him.

So, no, I do not think it’s Seattle’s Plan B to just bring back Lock and think they are in good shape if Geno departs. I think Plan B is mostly like Lock and someone else.

Right now, I’m calling this scenario of Drew Lock poised to become Seattle’s new QB1 a definite “yeah, I dunno.. maaaaaaybe.”

So how about this draft then? Why wouldn’t they just draft their next franchise quarterback at fifth overall when they will be in position to do so?

They could do this, certainly. Maybe they really like Will Levis a lot, and just want to see him workout to confirm their belief in his potential.

He’s a big, athletic dude with a strong arm, and he’s played in a system at Kentucky that is similar to Seattle’s. They could see him as the most natural fit out of any quarterback in this class.

Levis also had to gut through a tough SEC conference playing on a team with significantly less talent than others in the that conference, and he completed over sixty percent of his passes last year going against those defenses. It’s possible Seattle sees him as being battle tested enough, along with his natural fit.

Or maybe they really love Anthony Richardson, or it’s CJ Stroud, if he falls (doubtful he does). Yes, this is certainly all very possible, and they just want to see how these guys perform at the NFL scouting combine next week.

Here’s kinda what I think. Regardless of what Seattle does with Geno, they have to look long and hard at these quarterbacks. They also have to look long, and hard at any pass rushers who would be available at five.

They have to study all of these guys, and if they determine that a guy like Levis or Richardson would be a better player than Jalen Carter, or Will Anderson, or Tyree Wilson, then they have to take that guy. They have to do it even if Geno Smith is back.

My question is this. How likely they see these quarterbacks this way?

This isn’t a question meant to dismiss them as QB prospects. There’s processing and accuracy concerns with Levis that sound a lot like what Drew Lock’s issues have been in this league, and there’s accuracy and lack of experience concerns with Richardson. You can look at their big upsides, but you also have to weigh what their floors might be, and on the surface their floors look dicey, to put it mildly, and perhaps too dicey for fifth overall.

If they take one of those guys at five over a premier defensive lineman, and they bust out of the league, while Geno Smith plays pretty good ball elsewhere.. woof. That’s not going to be good for this franchise at all, on any level, if they are hoping to compete for a title in a few short seasons. It will set their designs backwards.

But maybe they feel that with the addition of Greg Olson on the staff coaching quarterbacks, they can feel more secure taking one of these dudes and rolling with him early. That could be a thing.

However, I do think the final thing you also need to ask is how much does a 72 year old defensive minded coach wants to use that fifth overall pick on a quarterback instead of taking a defensive lineman he’s probably pretty excited about? That’s probably the biggest question to ask.

I’m hugely skeptical about this idea. If it was a different coach, either an offensive minded coach, or just a younger one, maybe I would feel differently.

With Carroll, he would have to be convinced that he could win right away by taking rookie QB fifth overall. That’s a big ask, in my view.

At his age, I don’t know how much he is willing to run through the growing pains of a raw rookie passer even if he thinks Olson might be the right QB coach to bring him along. Carroll is only signed through 2025, and therefore, I think there’s a natural push to get this thing going right away for serious contention.

I would say though, if Seattle does love one of these quarterbacks and takes the plunge with him at pick five, that would be pretty damn exciting. There is perhaps nothing more thrilling in professional sports than getting blessed with a young quarterback on a rookie deal, and if Seattle were to take Stroud, or Levis, or Richardson at five, it wouldn’t take long for me to get the excitement juices flowing, even if they brought back Geno Smith.

I’m just skeptical that this is what is going to go down. If anything, I’m more willing to wager that Seattle will walk back Geno either on a multi year deal or the franchise tag, and they will hope that a quarterback needy team like maybe Vegas, or Carolina, or Atlanta comes calling for the fifth overall pick with an offer that they can’t refuse.

Seattle has many areas to improve on this roster whoever the QB is. There’s defensive line, linebacker, guard, and center. Those are probably the big four, but then there’s also third receiver, running back behind K9, and maybe corner opposite of Tariq Woolen. That’s seven potential spots of need on this team to compete in a tough NFC West next year. So, yeah, I can see a trade back (or two) being a very real thing for this club, especially if Jalen Carter and Will Anderson are snatched away before pick five.

So what do I think is the most likely scenario that happens if Seattle doesn’t sign Geno Smith, you ask?

If that occurs, I think the prospect of bringing back Drew Lock becomes the most likely thing. I think they probably add another vet to the mix, but it won’t likely be anyone of great significance. Maybe it’s Sam Darnold and Drew Lock battling it out next August and Lock is given the leg up because of his familiarity with the offense like Geno was last year.

I think, if this happens, it increases the likelihood that Seattle really likes someone in this coming draft, and maybe they are willing to take them with that first pick. The thing of it is, though, if that’s the case, Seattle would have to be careful not to telegraph it too much, and that could be a challenge.

At fifth overall, with only four quarterback thought to have the talent to be worthy of top ten selections, Seattle runs a risk of a team jumping in front of them if Drew Lock and say, Andy Dalton are their only rostered quarterbacks. If they have spent big money in free agency to bolster their offensive and defensive lines, it would also be a pretty big telegraph what their intentions are at five.

While it sounds crazy that a run of quarterbacks happens in the top four, it is not completely out of the realm of possibility. All it would take for that to potentially happen is if Arizona sees two quarterbacks go in front of them, and then for them to sense that Seattle has designs on one or both of the other ones, and they maybe drop back to the Vegas pick. Then maybe Carolina has an urge to jump right in front of Seattle at four.

This is why you don’t ever want to go into any draft being quarterback needy, if you do not have to do it. Ideally, you would want to feel like taking a quarterback high is a luxury pick, kinda like when Green Bay took Rodgers when they still had Brett Farve in his prime.. and John Schneider was in that front office.

This perhaps not only circles back to a need to sign Geno, but it strengthens it. If they love Anthony Richardson and they don’t want anyone sniffing that scent, having Geno Smith on a four year contract is probably strong camouflage. Having Derek Carr probably would be, as well.

Anything less in this free agent market would probably be more of a tell. Injury prone Jimmy G, injury prone Sam Darnold, or Jacoby Brissett, or Baker Mayfield aren’t likely to convince GMs that Seattle isn’t thinking quarterback at some point.

Honestly, though, for every avenue I see Seattle going as an alternative to bringing back Geno Smith, I see a stronger argument for them to bring back Geno Smith, even if they just franchise tag him for 2023 (which I think is likely if they don’t reach a contract with him in the next couple weeks). So, yeah, I think they will probably just bring back Geno Smith, and maybe, just maybe they draft a quarterback either this year, or next year (cough, cough Michael Penix Junior) and they develop that dude behind him.

This is the natural conclusion that I come back towards given all these variables around this team from the head coach, to Geno as a system and culture fit, and where this team is at. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am.

And if I am wrong, I am happy to eat a bug.

And yes, if they draft Anthony Richardson, I will probably get pretty damn excited.. because that’s what happens when your team drafts a quarterback high. Everyone starts daydreaming about what can happen for the club next.

If that happens, however, let’s hop Richardson blossoms into something closer to Josh Allen than Jamarcus Russell.. because drafting a quarterback in round one is a genuine crapshoot every single damn year, and that is just another reason to bring Geno back, and make the dude happy.

Go Hawks!

“Can the Seattle Seahawks win a Super Bowl with Geno Smith?”

This seems to be the popular question used these days to debate whether or not the Seattle Seahawks should sign Geno to a long term contract.

Seattle Sports 710 morning talk show host Mike Salk uses this question on callers and guests in support of his belief that Seattle should not pay him a lot of money, but instead, they should add an expensive pass rusher like Vita Vea (via trade) and go with Drew Lock as QB1. If I were a caller or a guest on his show, I would probably counter that Vita Vea and Drew Lock sounds a lot like the Tampa Bay Bucs when they had Jameis Winston and a great defense was wasted because of it, but that’s just my view.

But I’ve seen other people asking this question lately on blogs and social media, as well. For me, I don’t know how useful of a question it is other than to hang onto prior beliefs about Geno Smith, and then perhaps use it as future ammo against Seattle brass, if they fall short of a Super Bowl title with him at quarterback on a bigger contract.

Personally, I prefer to lean towards reality, and realistically right now, I think there is about a ninety percent chance that Geno signs a contract to stay in Seattle. I also believe that contract is probably going to be longer termed, and it’s going to induce sticker shock with some folks. I’m not fighting it, and I’m not sweating it, either.

If Seattle signs Geno Smith to a three or four year contract, I am taking that as a positive sign that they believe that they can win a Super Bowl with him at quarterback, and if we trust John Schneider to properly evaluate a rookie quarterback (as many people love to say he’s pretty good at), then we should probably equally trust him about Geno Smith. Again, this is just my view on it, but don’t let my novice football insight sway you.

Pro Football Focus also believes that Geno’s high level in 2022 wasn’t fluky, and there’s nothing to indicate that his play isn’t sustainable. If we are to use advanced analytics as a measure as to what a player is worth, PFF’s analytics say that Geno is worth a lot and a big four year contract could be in his future. Here are their exact words regarding his production.

“Nothing about what he’s doing is fluky or excessively bolstered by things like play action, an outlier performance in unstable metrics like passing grade against pressure, or any other method you use to try to poke holes in his production this season. Smith’s 79.8 overall grade and 87.6 grade from a clean pocket this season ranked ninth and 12th, respectively.. His 14 passing touchdowns on throws of 20-plus yards were two more than the next-best quarterback, and his 5.6% big-time throw rate ranked fifth.. There’s no current indication we should expect some massive regression, either..We can go on and on, but the fact of the matter is that Smith played like a legitimate top quarterback in the NFL in 2022.”

Okay. Cool kids love to look at analytics to support their views, right?

Well, you are certainly free to disagree with Pro Football Focus, but the entire basis of their business is to break down all the minuscule deets on individual player performances. With quarterbacks, it’s not just about throwing for 300 yard, 3 TDs, and O INTs in a game; it’s also about the player throwing an accurate ball that was dropped, going through progressions, and throwing to the right read on the given play, etc.

PFF is quite fond of Geno Smith as a quarterback. They were fond of him during the 2022 preseason when a lot of fans felt “meh” and pined for Drew Lock, and they stayed fond of him through the regular season, as well.

Essentially, they’re now saying dude is pretty good, and should be paid as such. Pretty good in the current quarterback market is probably greater than $25 million a year. That’s just the facts, Jacks.

Now, you can say “thanks for everything Geno” and wish him well somewhere else. You can hope for Seattle to give Drew Lock a shot and/or draft Will Levis or Anthony Richardson. Your beliefs are yours, and I’m not one to say they’re wrong, or stupid, or whatever. I’m just going to ask this line of questioning as it pertains to these 2023 Seattle Seahawks looking to improve.

What does 72 year old defensive minded head coach Pete Carroll want to do at quarterback right now with his team that just made a surprising playoff run?

Does Pete Carroll want to continue with a guy he knows really well, and knows can play well for him in his system as he adds a few more pieces around him with the high draft picks he has?

Or does he want to bring along a raw highly drafted rookie, or a raw inexpensive veteran like Drew Lock and spend more in free agency with hopes of catching the 49ers?

Call me crazy, but my hunch is that Carroll really wants Geno Smith back. On top of that, I kinda think that at the VMAC, Carroll tends to get whatever he wants more times than not.

And for those who doubt how much Carroll wants Geno back, and think that his 2022 production, while good, is not the end all be all, I suggest you look a little bit farther into what is really, really, REALLY important to Pete Carroll. It’s his culture.

Pete Carroll is many things as a head coach. He’s a master motivator, he’s defensive minded and believes in protecting the ball, taking the ball away, yadada yadada yadada da.. right?

Above all of this, Pete Carroll is a supreme culture builder and maintainer. Geno Smith is a big time Pete Carroll culture guy, make no mistake about it.. BIG TIME.

The locker room LOVES Geno Smith. On top of proving more than capable in the Shane Waldron offense, Geno has demonstrated that there’s no substitute to hard work and endurance in the face of doubters and odds makers. I would not underestimate how much that means to Carroll as he continues to build this program.

For every cheap vet they take a flyer on, or late round rookie they draft, or undrafted rookie they sign, Coach Carroll can now point to Geno Smith and say “look, the whole league gave up on this guy, but I believed in him, and gave him a chance.. and look at him now.”

Do not think for a second that Carroll doesn’t believe that is vitally important to his way of coaching. I am not certain about a lot of things, but I feel pretty certain about this.

So, yeah, as I weigh all this out, I think the very safe bet is that Geno Smith is going to be the Seahawk QB1 for the next few years, or more. This is what my gut tells me, and I believe that not only is his play likely sustainable, I think it’s likely only going to get better. I bet Seattle believes this, as well.

I don’t think they’re too hung up on his age. Yes, he’s 32, but he’s only been a starter in this league for a totality of three seasons. now. Of course, he’s got room to grow as a passer. Why wouldn’t he?

And why should we assume that he’s got only two or three seasons left of quality play? On what basis?

He’s not taken a lot of hits over the years, and judging from the naked eye, he keeps himself in peak conditioning. In fact, at this point, he looks like a much better athlete than the quarterback he replaced here in Seattle.

If we are to give a younger quarterback the benefit of the doubt about growing and getting better as a passer after his first few seasons starting, why wouldn’t we give Geno Smith the same benefit?

My hunch is that Seattle is preparing to give his this benefit of doubt, and I think it’s likely for a three or four year contract. I think Seattle believes that they can win a Super Bowl with him, and frankly, I think they can win a Super Bowl with him, as well.

I think the plan is straight forward. If they cannot reach a deal with him before the start of free agency, they will use the franchise tag on him.

I think they would love to get the deal done before free agency in order to know how much remaining cap dollars they will have available to be shoppers at other positions. If they cannot reach a deal before free agency, that likely hinders what they can do, and I think they would prefer to avoid that.

That may not matter so much in the bigger picture because I think, big picture, the draft haul that they have from Denver is going to truly define their future Super Bowl chances. In short, I think the Seattle plan is to do the inverse of what you would do with a quarterback on the rookie contract; I think they want to pay Geno and build around him mainly through the draft.

The Seahawks have ten picks in this draft class and four picks within the top sixty. They pick 5th overall and 20th in the first round. In round two, they pick 37th and 52nd. They can and might likely will trade back in the first round for more picks with either the 5th or 20th (or both). They could end up with five or six picks in the top sixty.

Seattle’s biggest needs (assuming that Geno will be back) are interior defensive and offensive linemen, and probably off ball linebacker. Low and behold, judging from what has come out of Senior Bowl week, this draft looks potentially very good at defensive tackle with some good interior offensive linemen and linebackers, as well. With two picks in the top twenty of this draft, and four in the top sixty, Seattle has ample flexibility to attack this draft for these needs.

I won’t go through all the scenarios in my mind about what Seattle could do (there’s a lot, actually), but let me throw out one example of what Seattle could do in this draft. I think this is a good one.

Let’s assume that they didn’t make any big splashes in free agency, but got a bit of work done adding to the roster with some value signings. Maybe they added a DT, a running back, a linebacker, and shelled out a bit more cheddar on a decent veteran guard. At five, Seattle selects Texas Tech edge rusher/defensive lineman Tyree Wilson.

At 6-6 276 lbs, Tyree is a guy getting a lot of buzz right now for Seattle at five. If you look at his highlights online, you can see why.

He’s super long with 36 inch arms, he looks crazy explosive, and maybe most importantly for Seattle’s needs, he can line up all over the front seven either in a three point stance (like an end or a tackle) or a two point stance (like a linebacker), and make splash plays against the run and pass. He also has a frame to which he can add more mass over time. He can grow to become a Richard Seymour or Arik Armstead type, or he can stay closer to where he’s at, and be like Michael Bennett. If he is a good combine tester, he’s going to appeal to Pete Carroll greatly, and as they continue flirt between using 3-4 and 4-3 stuff, a versatile explosive dude like him up front could become quite invaluable.

Now say at twenty, Seattle drops back a bit towards the back end of round one. Let’s say the Giants are hot for a receiver and offer Seattle picks 25 and 89. At 25 and 37, Seattle lands Minnesota Center John Michael Schmitz and Wisconsin DT Keeanu Benton, two of the brighter stars that came out of the Senior Bowl week. Seattle gets a talented athletic center who fits their zone blocking scheme, and a DT who is big enough to play nose and yet athletic enough to play three technique and can pass rush at both spots.

Boom. Two significant pieces added to the front seven and a significant piece added to the offensive line. Maybe 2023 will bring some growing pains for all three players, but maybe all three make early impacts like Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Tariq Woolen and Ken Walker had in 2022.

Either way, with Geno Smith signed for multiple years, a picture can be easily painted for Seattle to make a Super Bowl run, especially if they additionally find bright young talents at picks 52, 83, and 89. Speedy, hard hitting Washington State linebacker Daiyan Henley could be there at 52, and maybe they add a couple quality offensive weapons in round three, or a really good guard or corner.

This is but one scenario worth fantasizing about, and who knows? Maybe Seattle does take a swing on a quarterback at some point who they think can developed into having a bright future as a starter. Illinois QB Tommy DeVito drew praise at East West Shrine Bowl practices for showing the ability to pick things up quickly from coaches and throwing with good anticipation and placement. Perhaps, he’s a guy they low key like and are willing to take a shot on later in the draft.

Regardless, having the quarterback situation taken care of prior to free agency, and definitely before the draft is likely critically important to them. If Seattle believes that they have that position solidified with Geno Smith, I am more than trusting that, and if his contract prevents them from being big free agent spenders, I’m not going to sweat it.

At the end of the day, I would rather see this team built up through this draft, anyways, and if next season we see Tyree Wilson, John Michael Schmitz, Keenu Benton, and Daiyan Henley are all Seahawks along with Geno Smith and what’s also on this roster, well then, bring on the f’ing 49ers. Maybe the Seahawks aren’t Super Bowl winners next year, but I’m going to like their chances a lot greater in 2024 and 2025 with a young roster built up quality talent, and a cagey, mature, well conditioned veteran at quarterback who knows how to get it done within their scheme.

I have to think they’d like the prospects of that, as well. In fact, I think this is the likely plan.

And yes, I believe that they can win a Super Bowl with that.

Go Hawks!

Well, the 2022 Seattle Seahawk season came and went like a flash, and now so have the playoffs. We learned a lot about this team, and a few of these other playoff teams I think, as well.

We learned that John Schneider can still draft really well, and we learned that Geno Smith can quarterback pretty well after all. We also learned that Pete Carroll can still coach up a young team.

Additionally, we learned that year two of Shane Waldron’s offense looked a lot more promising than year one did. Let’s hope that in year two of Clint Hurtt’s defense in 2023 finds the same good step forward because, let’s face it, year one of his D was a hot mess akin to a 26 year old thespian trying to shake their midwest roots in New York City.

We also learned, and maybe most importantly learned, that a surprise team from last year who went 9-8 and snuck into the playoffs interestingly enough had themselves a very aggressive offseason last Spring, and have now earned themselves a Super Bowl trip. Yes, I’m talking about these Philadelphia Eagles, and let them be a model for these Seattle Seahawks, and how to attack their offseason this year.

The Eagles kept with their quarterback who many still had questions about, designed their offensive further around him, added more around him, and then completely loaded up on their defense. Therein lays the blue print for which I think the Seahawks should follow, and here is my wishlist for them as follows.

Extend Geno Smith to a reasonable multi year deal

I want Geno Smith back. I think too many fans are trying to convince themselves that he isn’t very good and that largely has to do with the sticker shock of the quarterback market along the other needs on this team. That’s fair to a point.

For me, I think Geno Smith is proven to be a really good quarterback in this offense, and don’t get me wrong, I completely understand the desire to draft a young quarterback. I just don’t know if that quarterback needs to be taken high (or this year).

I get it that a golden ticket in this league is to get a talented passer on a cheap rookie contract. I just don’t think that Seattle’s roster is built up enough with blue chip players to which a rookie passer is going to find the same success that Russell Wilson did when he was a rookie.

I also don’t frankly know if there is a quarterback in this draft who will truly be better than what they already have with Geno Smith, and I’m the sort who would lean more towards the known commodity over the unproven, especially at this position. Call it fear of the unknown, if you will, but I personally think there’s an advantage to having good insight on the known commodity.

In short, if the Seattle Seahawks want Geno Smith back, I’m taking that as a positive sign that they believe they can win a Super Bowl with him. Why else would they want to sign him back?

Having said that, I also think that the big caveat to this idea is that they want to sign him to a deal that will allow them to spend money at other positions to give him the best possible roster to work with. In other words, I don’t think they want to get sucked into another big inflated quarterback contract that forces them to play musical chairs with the rest of the roster like they’ve done with Russell Wilson over the years.

My gut tells me that means they don’t want to sign Geno to a Dak Prescott type of contract. I think they probably want to sell him on more of a team friendly deal in the spirit of what Jimmy Garoppolo signed a few years back with San Francisco; one that will have multiple years, will offer security for the player, stability to the position, and affordability so the team can acquire and retain other really good players around him.

I don’t know what the market will hold for Geno, if he tests it. I could see a team step up and offer a big contract for sure, but I could also see GMs being nervous about Geno’s situation, given his age, and only having one year of success. Would they offer a guy who will be 33 in October a multi year contract significantly greater than $30 APY and sell their fanbase on him being the guy to lead them to a Super Bowl title after seeing how expensive and older Ryan Tannehill fizzled out in Tennessee and expensive and older Derek Carr fizzled out in Vegas?

I’m not so sure.

There is a real possibility that Geno’s best deal available is in Seattle, and I would be completely comfortable if Seattle signed him to a three or four year contract. I won’t get caught up in the dollars. He said that he wants to return and finish his career here, and Pete Carroll and John Schneider say that they want him back.

I also won’t get too caught up on his age either. I think there’s every bit the chance he’s like the 1993 Ford F-150 that your uncle keeps in his shop and drives three times a year to go fishing and hunting with. He’s older, but his mileage is low, and he’s got good tread on his tires.

Maybe most importantly to all of this, the locker room wants him back, and if Seattle trots out Drew Lock and, say, Will Levis next Fall, there might be a mutiny amongst players, especially if Geno Smith is balling out elsewhere while Lock or Levis is struggling. So, I do very much believe it is in Seattle’s best interest to reach a fair deal with him.

They like him, and he likes them. He knows this offense, runs it well, and he gets what Pete Carroll wants. He likely won’t be a headache moving forward, and can be a great leader moving forward.

What I am really hoping for is that they will find a solid middle ground, and this will get done. I completely get that Geno needs to do what is best for himself, but my hope is that Seattle offers him enough money and years so that he feels like he is reasonably compensated, and in turn, he offers enough of a deal so that they can utilize free agency enough to solidly build around him, and not just depend on hitting with every pick in the draft every year.

My hope is that this is the sweet middle ground both sides reach with each other. So, let’s get this one done, and get to the other big task at hand.

Fix this defensive scheme, improve the talent up front, and be like the Eagles!

Pete Carroll talked about needing more in the front seven of their defense, and that to me suggests that they would absolutely love to draft a Jalen Carter or Will Anderson at five overall if either lands there to them. I think there’s also a chance that they are glued into many other front seven players in this draft, as well. There could be multiple players they want in the first, second, third, and into the middle rounds.

This means little to me, though, if the Seattle defensive coaches don’t better sort out their scheme. By the words of Carroll, it sounds like that not only did they perhaps not use certain players the right way, they also put too much on their plates in terms of doing too many different things.

Can’t have that. Can’t win with it.

In terms of defensive scheme, I’m going to say this plainly. Be like the Eagles!

Watching the NFC championship game, I could not notice how much it appeared like the Eagles ran a lot of bear looks (aka 5-2) against the 49er offense, and took them to task. The Seahawks ran this style of defense against the 49ers the last couple years of with pretty decent success. They just had better players at certain spots like Carlos Dunlap, and Jarran Reed making impact plays.

Seattle started this season out moving away from it, and were terrible on defense in result, but shifted back to this front during their four game winning streak last year. Then weirdly, they shifted away from it when they started losing again.

It’s been a total mystery as to why this all happened, but judging from Carroll’s own words about wanting to go back to being heavier up front again, it makes me think he wants to dump the whole 2-4-5 thing they used with way too much frequency, and get back to more bear. Praise be the Football Gods if that proves true for the 2023 season because that front drove me nuts as a fan.

My super big hope is that they will, in fact, run more bear again, and this Eagle defense has to be the model for them to follow. Make no mistake, the Eagles front seven is a LOADED group.

In order to run this style of defense, you need really good 3 technique defensive tackles and bad ass nose tackles, as well. You have got to be LOADED UP FRONT. Jalen Carter would be the dream in this draft, but I think it will probably be unlikely that he lands to Seattle at pick 5. This is partly why I think we likely see a trade back.

What might be available for Seattle a little further down in the draft is a talented DT like Clemson’s Bryan Bresee, who is young and raw, but also has undeniable physical tools for an interior defensive lineman. They could also be compelled to select Michigan’s Mazi Smith later on, who is a huge athletic guy that might be the perfect fit for Hurts up front if they want to run more bear fronts.

Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson will get talked up about a lot as we near the draft, and is increasingly intriguing. He’s a 6-6 275 lb long freaky dude who projects to play inside and out like Michael Bennett did. Some think he’s got the frame to add more weight to play inside. If he’s a big combine tester, he might be the guy to watch for Seattle over anyone else. He honestly might be “their guy” right now with the way he can be moved around, and how much Carroll loves that sort of versatility up front.

In terms of free agency, there might be a few decent young-ish DT types on the market who could attract Seattle. KC’s Khalen Saunders could be an interesting young get, or Denver’s Dre’Mont Jones. Seattle could take a dip here, and double up in the draft like they did last year at edge with Uchenna Nwuso in free agency, and Boye Mafe in early round two.

In terms of edge players, I actually kinda like what Seattle has brewing with Darrell Taylor, Nwuso, and Mafe, but in no way do I think this position group is set. I think they have to continue to draft this spot, and if Will Anderson happens to land at 5 to Seattle with Carter off the board, I don’t know how you pass that up. Will Anderson can be lethal in this league as an edge rusher, and would probably be the ideal fit for Seattle.

In terms of linebacker, I think Seattle has to look at free agency and the draft. Jordyn Brooks is coming off a serious knee injury that might not have him ready for the start of the season, and Cody Barton is a free agent.

I don’t know how invested Seattle would be with Barton. I think he’s better than what some fans suggest, but I don’t see him as any major difference maker. I also think Tanner Muse is probably just as good and might become better if given the opportunity, and Seattle has club control on Muse.

If I were Seattle, I would probably try to bring in a veteran from the outside who could be a real thumper for a more aggressive front seven. I would try my hand at Pittsburgh’s Devin Bush because of his youth and speed, but I might settle for Miami’s Elandon Roberts who showed nice production but is a bit older and probably way more affordable.

In terms of the draft, if Oregon’s Noah Sewell ends up picked by Seattle at some point, I wouldn’t scoff at that selection. Sewell looks like a classic old school thumper at middle linebacker.

The real linebacker draft target for Seattle might be Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders who might remind Carroll of some of his old USC linebacker, Clay Matthews. Sanders can play off ball, cover and hit, and he can line up as a rusher, and I have to admit, the idea of landing Tyree Wilson, this cat, and a freakishly athletic big bodied DT like Mazi Smith has me salivating. That’s a lot of size, speed, and strength added to the front seven on rookie contracts.

Regardless of how this all shakes out, Seattle needs to improve the front seven and better simplify the scheme. Get better and be better at it. Defensive tackle, edge, and linebacker need to be major targets in the draft, MAJORLY.

Be like the Eagles!

GET BETTER ON THE INTERIOR OF THE OFFENSIVE LINE

Notice I did that heading in caps. Weird that this isn’t top of the list by the aggressive nature that I typed this out. Truthfully, this is a majorly major need for me, as well, and it directly ties in the importance of Geno Smith.

Geno Smith needs a better pocket to throw out of, y’all!

This cannot be over stressed. If Seattle is going to sink a decent amount of cheddar on this dude and call him the franchise quarterback for the next few years, protect him better up front; plain and simple. Schneider did an excellent job drafting two starting tackles last year. Now, he needs to go get a really good center and guard.

My preference is that they invest more in a proven quality veteran center, and then use one of their top picks on a guy coming out of college who will project towards being a really good guard. This, in my mind, is what Mike Holmgren would likely do, and I’m for it.

One veteran center who might be hitting the market is former Seahawk center Ethan Pocic who Pro Football Focus graded out really well this year. Twelves will scoff at this because of his time in Seattle blocking for Russell Wilson, but Seattle obviously knows him well, and he’s still young enough to think that he can stick around for a while and maybe solve the revolving door issue in a second stint. He’s also a player who won’t likely break the bank in a signing, and Seattle can still take a shot at a center in the mid rounds of the draft this Spring. Oregon’s Alex Forsyth could be a decent option.

One thing’s for certain, though, and that is Seattle needs a better situation at right guard than an aging gimpy Gabe Jackson, and an injury prone Phil Haynes. Haynes would be alright to bring back as an inexpensive edge for drafting someone there, but they need to draft high at least at one of these interior offensive line positions, and my vibe is that maybe pick twenty is the sweet spot for that to happen, if they take defensive line with their first pick.

However they go about it, I want Seattle to get better here, and if they decide to spend most of their remaining free agent dollars on two good young vets to solidify center and right guard, I will not be disappointed. More dollars spent on the offensive line probably means more draft picks spent on the defense, and this might actually be the best way to go.

Get K9 a running mate

Ken Walker III is an exciting player for the Seahawks moving forward. There can be no denying that. He could easily blossom into the best player on the team next year, and that’s saying something.

Having said that, I did find myself rather desperately wishing Seattle had more behind him at running back as last season wore on. That’s taking nothing away for DeeJay Dallas, either. I like Dallas, but I want to see Seattle returning back to being more of a dynamic running team. I think it’s going to help Geno Smith out at quarterback, but it’s also going to greatly help out the defense next year.

I would not mind seeing Seattle bring in a veteran who isn’t likely going to be very expensive. I personally don’t know how much Seattle can rely on Rashaad Penny coming back, but if it’s for a cheap deal, I would be fine with that. I would still want them to draft the position, though.

I think my actual preference is for Seattle to draft the position again, and if UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet is sitting there for them in round three, I would be through the roof with excitement if they drafted him. He’s a big fast tough runner who could easily be the thunder to K9’s lightening and that would be fun to watch for years.

Figure out the third receiver and build more depth behind DK and Tyler

Right now, Seattle has one of the best receiver tandems in the league. So, I get it if some think this is a selfish ask out of me, but I can’t help but feel greedy at this spot.

I just think Seattle needs more behind DK and Tyler. Dee Eskridge has yet to really show much, and I know a lot of that is due to injury, but even when he’s been healthy, he just hasn’t really seized anything. I don’t even know what he is. I assumed a slot receiver but maybe he’s just a Percy Harvin type of gadget guy.

He’s got to take a big leap forward in 2023, or the funky little 2021 draft class is going to look like a massive disaster.

Behind him isn’t much, but I do like Dareke Young’s potential as a run after the catch guy I assumed Eskridge was supposed to become. Young is a big physical freak too, and could blossom into a role that can be used in multiple ways like a Cordarrelle Patterson type who’s a receiver and a running back.

But that’s kinda what Seattle has on the roster right now behind their superstars. A couple of guys with interesting potential, but are still unknowns.

This might be the single biggest reason why I wouldn’t mind seeing Seattle drop out of 5 into the back half of the top ten. If they get an offer from quarterback needy Carolina to drop back to 9, and get picks 37, 60, and their first round pick next year, Seattle still might be able to land a really good defensive lineman at 9, and then have two extra picks in round two that would make taking a receiver at some point early-ish a fun luxury. Plus they would have two first round picks next year, if they want to pursue a young quarterback in 2024 to groom behind Geno.

Also, this draft appears to be loaded at receiver and it would be wise for Seattle to take advantage of that. The best way to Seattle to take advantage is after a trade back.

The type of receiver that I would love to see Seattle grab is a pure route runner with good quicks and sure hands. In short, I want another Doug Baldwin.

As I watched Geno this year in this offense, I couldn’t help but think how much Doug would have enjoyed playing in this style of quick passing. Tyler feasted well this year in it. Doug would be devoured. There looks like their are players in this draft that fit Doug’s mold as a quick short area pass catcher.

Be selective on who to bring back in 2023 and be prepared to make tough decisions

Days after their season ended, Seattle locked up their pro bowl kicker, and that was a wise move. Their pro bowl quarterback should come next.

I think Seattle should also bring back Ryan Neal at safety because he’s a leader and a good player. I think Seattle should bring back restricted free agents in cornerback Michael Jackson, and linebacker Tanner Muse. Both have performed well enough to think they can be a part of this thing in the future.

After that, I don’t know who else feels like a need to be brought back. I don’t know if Poona Ford and Coby Barton fit this scheme any longer. I think they might be better served in more of a traditional 4-3.

I’ve already said that I would prefer this team to bring in a better center option than Austin Blythe. I don’t need another journeyman center situation. Spend more on a better player, and have him be the guy here for a few years.

At right guard, I think Gabe Jackson is a likely cap casualty, but I don’t know if Phil Haynes warrants more than a veteran minimum deal to return as a hedge for someone else in the draft. Haynes has teased as being a decent player, but has never been able to stay healthy, and he clearly wasn’t good enough to beat out Jackson at right guard. Is it important to therefore bring him back? I dunno.

Shelby Harris was a good player for Seattle but is he worth $11 million next year? It would be good to keep him around if they can add an extra year or two to his deal in order to drop his 2023 salary down, but maybe he becomes a cap casualty if the want to sign a younger DT on the market with more upside.

The massive elephant in the room is, or course, Jamal Adams. As talented as he is, he’s expensive and has never stayed healthy enough in Seattle. Do they try to rework his deal or designate him as a post June 1st release if the Geno Smith contract is pricey?

There’s other elephants in the room like Will Dissly’s expensive contract, and Bryan Mone’s, as well.

I’m not saying that Seattle to slash the contracts of all these guys, but Geno Smith won’t likely be cheap (even if he does cut Seattle a deal), and if Seattle wants to invest in some free agent solutions to fixing their front seven, they’re probably going to need to open up more money somehow. There’s going to have to be decisions to be made, and maybe some tough ones.

Make the tough decisions, Seattle!

In conclusion, how likely is it that Seattle can fulfill this my wish list?

I honesty don’t know. I think it’s going to be a real challenge.

I recently posed a question to Seahawk beat reporter Corbin Smith on Twitter for his podcast as to how Seattle can sign Geno Smith and still replicate the Eagles defense in 2023. His response on his podcast was that it would most likely have to be done by nailing the draft again, and that after a Geno signing, it’s unlikely Seattle will do much big time shopping in free agency.

In short, they probably won’t go after the big name DTs on the market like Fletcher Cox, Da’Ron Payne, and Javon Hargrave. At best, they might move enough money around to find a decent mid tier DT, maybe a younger guy like Khalen Saunders who was rotational with the Chiefs but showed promise, sign him to a moderate two year deal with a chance to establish himself as a quality starter and hit the market again, and hope to hit on another DT in the draft.

The key is finding a good comprised ground with Geno Smith, and therein lies my hope. Of course I want what is best for him whatever he decides it to be, but my hope is a reasonable.. let’s just call it what it is; a “team friendly” deal in Seattle.

If he is unwilling to entertain this, and wants to max out his earnings, and finds a better deal elsewhere because Seattle was unwilling to go beyond a certain number, then of course the team needs to have a solid plan B in place. We will discuss Plan B options in a later piece, as I’m sure many others will or already have, as well.

Assuming that they do reach a contract with Geno, though, if all Seattle does in free agency is add a decent center, linebacker, and defensive tackle, that should be enough to set this draft up nicely to start picking good players without feeling the need to be desperate for a specific position. This draft will have good defensive linemen and edge rushers, and it will have guards, corners, receivers, and running backs.

But it all hinges on finding that sweet middle ground with Geno. Hopefully, they get that done.

I’m here for it. I eager to see this offseason get underway.

See the Eagles. Be the Eagles.

Go Hawks!