Parris Campbell could give Russell Wilson a playmaking option that the team hasn’t seen since Percy Harvin.

Well folks, we are officially one week away to the 2019 NFL Draft, and we all know well what that means. We got a new mock draft!

Yay!

So what do we know about these 2019 Seahawks right now?

Well, for one thing, and it’s the biggest and best-est thing, we know that Russell Wilson has just signed a blockbuster extension that will keep him in Seattle for the next five seasons. So, I think we can say that drafting a QB seems pretty unlikely now.

Another fairly big situation with the team is that it’s star pass rusher, Frank Clark, is sitting on a franchise tag, and has given the team a June deadline to reach a lucrative long term deal with him, or he won’t report for training camp. There are reports out there suggesting that he might be on the trade block. We shall see if the team deals him in a effort to get cheaper there.

And the other potentially big situation for our beloved Seahawks is the health concerns with Doug Baldwin, and his potential retirement. Wide receiver could be a big need for the team.

It is also worth noting that this 2019 NFL Draft is considered to be historically deep at defensive line, and a deep draft in general for wide receivers, tight ends, safeties, and offensive guards.

Oh, yeah, one final thing. The Seahawks only have four picks in the draft this year. General Manager John Schneider loves to trade down to get more picks regardless of how many they have in any year. So, with only four this year, the Seattle Seahawks are, like, 99.999999 percent sure to be trading down to get more.

So, with all that hashed out, here we go. Folks, allow me to introduce to you our second 2019 Seattle Seahawks mock draft.

With the 21^st pick in the 2019 NFL Draft – TRADE!

The Seattle Seahawks trade pick 21 to the Kansas City Chiefs for picks 29, 92, and 167. The Chiefs jump ahead of the Ravens to select a edge rusher.

With the 29^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft –TRADE!

The Seattle Seahawks trade pick 29 to the Buffalo Bills who want to get ahead of the Green Bay Packers to also grab an edge rusher, and they send picks 40, 112, and 131, and 181.

With the 40^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks draft Parris Campbell, Wide Receiver, Ohio State.

What does Campbell offer?

He’s a playmaking offensive weapon that can be used in a smorgasbord of ways. I’m a defensive minded Twelve, one hundred percent, but Campbell’s highlight tape makes me feel warm and mushy inside. He is a bigger version of Percy Harvin without the baggage. As a running back converted to receiver, he can line up in the slot, be in the backfield, used as an explosive threat on end arounds, and has the speed to get deep, but the real treat is his spectacular run after the catch ability. If Seattle is looking to replace Doug Baldwin’s production in the slot, Campbell is a fascinating option.

Why is he still available at 37?

As a running back converted to receiver, he’s not the full package yet, and ran a limited route tree in college. If you are taking him high, you are drafting for his upside.

With the 84^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Jace Sternberger, Tight End, Texas A&M

What does Sternberger offer?

He is a legit pass catching tight end that showed good production at A&M. Watch his highlights and tell me if Number 3 wouldn’t enjoy having him as a pass catching option. Seattle has tight ends that can block, but they don’t have much of a receiving threat at the position.

Why is he still available at 90?

He’s not considered much of a blocker at the position, and needs to get stronger.

With the 92^nd pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks Select Joe Jackson, Defensive End, Miami

What does Jackson offer?

He is long lean quarterback harassing machine. Well built at 6-4 and 275 lbs, he can play the strong side end, and his highlights give a Michael Bennett vibe. On top of showing good pass rush, he appears to be a sturdy player against the run, as well.

Why is he still available at 92?

In a draft that is deep at defensive line, Jackson is not the twitchiest athlete. He’s more of a power rusher than speed guy. He’s more brute, but I like brute. Jarran Reed is a brute.

With the 112^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Marvell Tell, Safety, USC.

What does Tell offer?

Length, and athleticism at safety. He’s a good coverage safety who is versatile enough to play the slot, and has traits that could make him a playmaker on the ball.

Why is he still available at 108?

He doesn’t have the biggest frame, and he is not regarded as much of an intimidating tackler.

With the 124^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Dru Samia, Guard, Oklahoma

What does Samia offer?

He is a big, strong, athletic, an aggressive run blocking guard with potential to grow as a pass blocker.

Why does he last until 124?

Well, he’s not a nuanced pass blocker.

At pick 131 of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Armon Watts, Defensive Tackle, Arkansas

Why does Watts offer?

Length and strength that Seattle seems to appreciate at DT, with some pass rushing potential.

Why is he at 143?

He didn’t grow into a starting role until his senior season, and is a bit raw.

With the 159^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Bryce Love, Running Back, Stanford

What does Love offer?

He was a big time playmaker in college with explosive home run hitting ability as a runner. With Mike Davis moving on, and CJ Prosise often injured, Seattle might want to add another runner, and this guy was big time in college.

Why is he at 159?

He’s a small framed runner who had injuries all throughout his senior season. He’s probably not going to be regarded as a workhorse back in the pros, but a change of pace back. Those guys tend not to get drafted early.

With the 167^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Greg Gaines, Defensive Tackle, Washington

What does Gaines offer?

He’s a squat high motored nose guard that can disrupt the run game and offer pass rush. The team is thin at defensive tackle and this is a deep defensive tackle class. It makes sense for them to draft a couple of them.

Why is he still at 167th?

Gaines lacks ideal arm length and needs to win with quicks to beat his blockers. A good rotational player might be his ceiling.

With the 181^st pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Drew Lewis, Linebacker, Colorado.

What does Lewis offer?

Speed and athleticism at linebacker that the Seahawks covet. He also has the ability to play inside and outside linebacker, and a great special teams player. It was also observed during his pro day that the Seattle coaches were working him hard.

Why is he at 181?

His fundamentals still need work, and he is not exactly a punishing tackler. He could stand to get stronger. He’s a project with upside more than plug and play.

Thought about these picks.

Seattle uses the great depth of this class to address the defensive line three times later, and takes a playmaking receiver early. There aren’t thought to be a lot of top end receiver prospects in this draft. So, given the Baldwin situation, if Seattle is looking for a replacement, they’d probably have to select one early, and Campbell seems like a player that could be special and unique. Carroll loves to grab these guys early.

The selections of Campbell, Jace Sternberger, Bryce Love, and Dru Samia fulfill the “Build Around Me Damn-it” clause in Russell Wilson’s new mega contract. Go Hawks.

Joe Jackson has starter potential at end, and if Seattle doesn’t trade Frank Clark, they need someone to come in and own the spot opposite of him. Jackson, last year’s third round pick Rasheem Green, and third round pick from the year before that Nazair Jones could all be in an interesting battle of third round picks fighting for that spot.

Colin Cowherd can bite me.

Go Hawks.

The Good 

Savor this news. This is a grand day in Seattle sports history. Russell Wilson is the team’s best player, most important player, and he has been for years. The Anti-Russ crowd needs to come to terms with this now. Russ was the difference between that 10-6  playoff team being 6-10 last year. That’s what a franchise quarterback does for your team.

The “no trade” clause in this contract runs extremely counter to the speculation of Russell wanting out of Seattle. Pretty interesting stuff.

General manager John Schneider said on the ESPN 710 the other week that the two most important people in the building are the head coach and quarterback. That should have been a pretty strong hint that a deal would, in fact, get done. Seattle now has Pete Carroll for three more years, and Russell Wilson for five. Massive advantage for them to stay in solid contention year after year.

With Russell locked in, they don’t have to worry about spending critical draft capital on a quarterback this Spring.

The Bad

While it is tremendous news that this deal got done, I think both sides played an overwhelmingly intense negotiation game in the media, between reports that Russell felt under appreciated to Russell wanting out. They dragged the fans through the mud on this, and we got played a bit during the process. Glad the deal got done, but not cool.

With all that money going to one player, Seattle is probably not going to be able to hang onto all their top talent. This will put more pressure on drafting and developing well, and finding bargain gems in free agency.

The Ugly

Even time I tuned into Colin Cowherd during this offseason saga of Russell and the team, Cowherd successfully made me want to puke in my mouth a bit with the way he would hang on Russ, and then trash the team and the region. I’m happy the team signed Russ, and agree with his position that the team needed to do this, but his blowhard takes on how nobody likes Seattle, and Seattle never did anything before Russ, and everyone wants to leave Seattle was more than a bit much. Every time I would tune in, he made me fantasize about Seattle trading the QB. Not sure that’s the effect he was aiming for.

Hey Cowherd, got some news for you; Seattle doesn’t really like you either, and would be perfectly happy for you to keep its name out yo’ mouth. The fact you are from this region and continue to trash it makes me think that you are more of a soulless sell out than anything else, but nice tan you got there. Read me? Go Hawks.

Moving forward

The NFL draft is next week, and the Seahawks have only four picks. They need more.  With Russell Wilson now locked up, do they trade Frank Clark to get more picks? This is regarded as a historically deep draft class  at defensive line. It’s going to be interesting to see what they do. I think they probably hang onto him, and trade back.

Go Hawks!

Dear Seattle Seahawks,

Pay Russell Wilson. Just do it. Please get it done.

I know. I get it. You guys don’t want to pay all that guaranteed money. Frankly, I don’t want you to either, but sometimes we have to do things that we don’t like doing. That’s exactly what my father said to me when I was about four years old, and he bent me over his knee behind our church when I was being unruly during Sunday service. Sometimes, we have to do the things that suck to do. Truly, we do.

And look, I totally get it that it sucks having to pay so much top dollar for a quarterback on a team that prefers to run the ball, and likes to spread the wealth around so much on its defense. I get that. I don’t want to see Jarran Reed and Frank Clark go bye bye, either. But here’s the thing that I see staring down at all of us; Russell Wilson is a really, really, really good quarterback in this league, and players like him are really, really, really, really hard to come by. So, pay him.

Be like Nike, and just do it. He’s earned it, and it is what the market demands for top quarterbacks. Like Starship Captain Jean Luc Picard would famously repeatedly say; make it so.

And, you know, I get one hundred percent what some are saying about teams that pay quarterbacks top dollar not making the playoffs, but I say, also look at it this way, too; there are plenty of teams out there that don’t pay jack squat all for their quarterback and their team doesn’t reach the playoffs either because their quarterback sucks, or he is a rookie and too wet between the ears, or both. Russell Wilson has been in the league seven years now and has see a lot of football as a seven year starter. This is the time when Russell Wilson is likely to go from being really, really, really good to be really, really, really great. So, pay the man.

I know. You’re looking out for the best interests of your team, and I appreciate that. That’s what I want you to do. I don’t want you to blow up your cap, either, but frankly, I trust you to draft and develop defensive linemen more than I do quarterbacks, and I’ll be frank, and just throw out the names Rick Mirer and Dan McGuire as a couple examples of why my trust wavers some in that department.

So, pay Russ. I give you my permission.

And, I want to say that I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I’ve gone back and forth plenty. At some point, a team has got to say “enough is enough” in regards to these ludicrous escalating costs of franchise QBs. I get that merit, and I support it. I just don’t want it to be your team that does it.

You see, over the past week, I’ve found myself entertaining moving on from Russ because of all that, and I found myself fantasizing about all the players you could draft if you traded him to the Giants or Raiders for a bunch of first round picks. I’ve even allowed myself get carried away with the idea that Seattle could bring in Jacoby Brissett from the Colts to start in Russell’s place and be just fine, and you can find that on this here blog site from a couple articles ago. I was legit selling the notion. Now, I’m kind of taking a step back off that a bit.

Hey, I get it, we all want a screaming deal. I want to pay peanuts for greatness, too. I want to pay $25 for a perfectly fine leaf blower at a garage sale. It’s human nature, or as my dad would say, it’s Dutch nature.

We all hope that the 1972 Plymouth Barracuda sitting behind our grand uncle’s barn just needs a little tune up and a new paint job and he’ll give it away to us if we offer $500 and trim his laurel hedge that hasn’t been touched since 1998. But we know the real deal, if we step far enough back to actually see the whole beast. That 340 8-cylinder engine under the rusted out hood will need a major overhaul just to get it running. It will also take forever to search for replacement bucket seats and once you find some, they will cost a fortune to get them shipped from North Dakota, and there is simply not enough disinfectant in the world to get the dead rat smell out of the back seat of that old ride. $500 and chronic back pain from that hedge is not worth that car sitting in the back of your own garage for the next twenty years before your own grand nephew is stupid enough to offer you a deal for it. So, just take a hard pass on dealing away Russ and bringing in Jacoby.

Pay Russell Wilson.

We know what we got with Russ. When the game is tight, he can keep us in it, and has the uncanny ability to make the ridiculous big play in the waning moments of a critical game. We have seen it happen too many times. Dude can be scary good in those moments.

And guess what? Defenses know how good he is, too. They got that knowledge in the back of their minds the whole game long. Each time they are loading up the box to stop the run, they know perfectly well that Russell is fully capable of torching them with a big play action pass. Russ + run game = defenses having to play honest.

How do you think they will play our run game with Jacoby Brissett, or Dwayne Haskins at quarterback? They won’t send eight, they will send nine or ten. Dwayne Haskins never had to deal with that kind of pressure his one season quarterbacking for Ohio State. Jacoby Brissett wasn’t horrible in his one year as a starter for the Colts, but he didn’t exactly torch up the league, either. If I’m a defensive coordinator, I’m not scared of those guys, but if I have to call a game against Russell Wilson? Yeah, I’m thinking about that one. I’m telling my guys “watch for this, watch for that.. when he does this do that, do this so he will do that, and don’t let him do that, or he will do this.” Yeah, my guys are feeling my nerves when it comes to Russ.

So, pay Russell Wilson. Meet his deadline. Get it wrapped up on April 15^th, and then focus on having an excellent draft the following week. Get another pass rusher, another pass catcher, and rest your minds that you don’t have to worry about quarterback.

Rest our minds, and pay Russell Wilson.

Unless, of course, he is asking for an insane baseball type of escalation clause in his contract on top of all the guarantees he wants, or what he really wants is to play elsewhere and the only way to get him to play in Seattle is to pay through your nose and blow up your salary cap, as Mike Florio is now reporting. Then, I say stick to your guns, and yeah, maybe even trade is *ss because if he’s going to play you like that, there ain’t no way you can sign him to that kind of deal and then have him look at the 52 other players on your roster and convince them that he is “all in.” They’re going to stare back at Russ and know that he’s all into himself, and thus your fish starts rotting at its head. We don’t want that.

But, you know, pay Russell Wilson, if you can.

Sincerely,

Curtis Eastwood, 12^th Man for Life.

LJ Collier could be the answer to both stopping the run and rushing the QB. (Photo: Icon Sportswire, Getty)

Well folks, we are officially two weeks away to the 2019 NFL Draft, and we all know well what that means; it’s Mock Draft Season.

Yay!

Yup. That’s right. I’m excited. So much so that we are going to be conducting a few mock drafts focusing on perceived needs of the Seattle Seahawks. This is going to be fun, as this is our first official attempt at a Seattle Seahawks mock draft published on line.. for anyone who so chooses to see can see. Wish me well.

First off, let me get out of the way that I’m not, in any way, a draft expert, nor do I pretend to be. However, I will say that I’ve been devotedly following the NFL draft process for decades, and if anything, I consider myself a genuine aficionado of the whole thing. The NFL draft is my Second Christmas. It’s fun. I think it’s fun.

It’s fun.

So, what do we know about these 2019 Seahawks right now?

Well, for one thing, and it’s the biggest thing, we know that their star quarterback, Russell Wilson, has given them a hard deadline of April 15^th to work out a long term deal with him, or he is cutting off contract extension talks for the rest of 2019. In just a couple of days, if a deal has not been worked out between the QB and the team, I suspect that the quarterback position might suddenly become a much bigger need for the team than many fans have been anticipating.

Another fairly big situation with the team is that it’s star pass rusher, Frank Clark, is sitting on a franchise tag, and has given the team a June deadline to reach a lucrative long term deal with him, or he won’t report for training camp. So, the team is also in a tough spot there, and there have been some reports that the team might be willing to actually deal Clark pre-draft, if the right deal is presented to them (I don’t buy it).

And then yet another situation that has recently come up for our beloved Seahawks in that there could be legitimate health concerns with Doug Baldwin, and that he might be contemplating retirement. So, wide receiver could presumably be a big need for the team, as well.

It is also worth noting that this 2019 NFL Draft is considered to be historically deep at defensive line, and a deep draft in general for wide receivers, tight ends, safeties, and offensive guards. It’s not considered an especially deep draft for quarterbacks.

Oh, yeah, one final thing. The Seahawks only have four picks in the draft this year. General Manager John Schneider loves to trade down to get more picks regardless of how many they have in any year. So, with only four this year, the Seattle Seahawks are, like, 99.999999 percent sure to be trading down to get more, even if your favorite player is sitting there at 21 by the time they are on the clock.

So, with all that hashed out, here we go. Folks, allow me to introduce to you our very first official 2019 Seattle Seahawks mock draft.

With the 21^st pick in the 2019 NFL Draft – TRADE!

The Seattle Seahawks trade pick 21 to the Kansas City Chiefs for picks 29, 92, and 167. The Chiefs jump ahead of the Ravens to select a wide receiver, both have needs there, and Seattle picks up a third and fifth round pick, and now has six picks to fill needs.

With the 29^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft –TRADE!

The Seattle Seahawks trade pick 29 to the New York Giants who want to get ahead of the safety needy Green Bay Packers to grab one to replace Landon Collins, and they send picks 37, 108, and 143.

With the 37^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks draft LJ Collier, Defensive Lineman, TCU.

What does Collier offer?

Pass rush, run stopping, and hustle. Check out his highlight tape. At 6-2 283, Collier has the size, strength and explosion to play strong side end, and reduce inside to a pass rushing DT role. His TCU tape looks terrific with him beating blockers with speed converted to power, and an array of moves that confuse the big fellas. He also shows strength to maintain a strong edge versus the run, which was lacking in the Seattle defense last year.

Why is he still available at 37?

For one, this is a deep defensive line draft, and another is that he ran a somewhat disappointing forty yard dash and short shuttle. Defensively, 4-3 teams typically want to see more athleticism at end, but if you consider that Carroll’s variation of a 4-3 employs personnel that are more common on 3-4 teams, his fit starts to make more sense, especially if he can play inside to pass rushing DT on passing downs.

With the 90^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Wide Receiver, Stanford.

What does Arcega-Whiteside offer?

He is a big bodied touchdown scoring monster. If Doug Baldwin suddenly retires, that’s some serious red-zone production leaving the team. Arcega-Whiteside could be the big receiver weapon that the team was hoping for in Jimmy Graham.

Why is he still available at 90?

He’s not considered a speed burner, and there are a lot receivers in this class thought to be better equipped to take the top off of defenses. He’s more of a big possession type.

With the 92^nd pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks Select Renell Wren, Defensive tackle, Arizona State

What does Wren offer?

Rare athleticism for a massive human being at 6-5 318 lbs. He is strong, explosive and fast. Once he’s honed his craft, put him next to Jarran Reed inside, with Collier at strong side end, and that is suddenly a big and powerful looking defensive front.

Why is he still available at 92?

His college tape is a mixed bag that showed some flash, but also a lot of undisciplined play, and inconsistent technique. Round three could be the sweet spot for him. He’s a project with upside.

With the 108^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Marquise Blair, Safety, Utah.

What does Blair offer?

Speed to play single high safety, which is what Seattle lacked last year. He also loves to hit. That could be why he has been referred to as a Seattle type of safety. He’s also a dedicated tackler and run supporter; things that would appeal to Pete Carroll.

Why is he still available at 108?

He doesn’t have the biggest frame, which might concern considering his physical style of play. He can also play a little too on edge, and that can lead to penalties.

With the 124^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Foster Moreau, Tight End, LSU

What does Moreau offer?

He is a big athletic tight end who is a dedicated run blocker, and loves to punish. He also possesses good speed, has capable hands, and run after the catch ability.

Why does he last until 124?

He’s not nuanced as a pass catcher, and needs to be developed.

At pick 143 of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Justin Hollins, Edge rusher, Oregon.

Why does Hollins offer?

Unique length, speed, and athleticism on the edge that can either be deployed as a strong side linebacker or a rush end.

Why is he at 143?

In a deep defensive line class, there are other edge defenders that have shown more production, and more general bad-assed-ness than Hollins. He’s a player that relies more on speed than strength, and there are other players that have both.

With the 159^th pick in the Seattle Seahawks select BJ Autry, Guard, Jacksonville State.

What does Autry offer?

Massive size at guard at 6-3 337lbs, which is what Seattle seems to prefer now under offensive line coach Mike Solari. He fits their power scheme.

Why is he still at 159?

Autry played at a small school and didn’t face top competition in college. There are other guards from bigger programs that will go probably go much higher than him.

With the 167^th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Drew Lewis, Linebacker, Colorado.

What does Lewis offer?

Speed and athleticism at linebacker that the Seahawks covet. He also has the ability to play inside and outside linebacker, and a great special teams player. It was also observed during his pro day that the Seattle coaches were working him hard.

Why is he at 167^th?

His fundamentals still need work, and he is not exactly a punishing tackler. He could stand to get stronger. He’s a project with upside more than plug and play.

Thought about these picks.

What’s the biggest thing that first stands out? No QB drafted! Yup. With this scenario, the Seattle Seahawks have reached a deal with Russell Wilson, and we can all let out a huge sigh of relief. They draft for needs and work the strength of the draft, which is defensive line.

I think this draft probably represents the most likely scenario that Seattle goes into this draft actually doing, and that is trading back multiple times. It’s highly unlikely they will trade Russell Wilson for two first round picks, and I doubt that they trade away their best pass rusher just to have to replace him with a rookie.

Personally, if they ended up with Collier, I would be pretty darned stoked about that one. I think that dude could be really special for years to come, and if they land Wren, and get him to play with disciple, Seattle’s defense could be set for years.

Every year, you should either draft an offensive or defensive lineman first. That’s what my dear old dad always used to say, anyways, and this draft is loaded with defensive linemen. Get multiple, I say. Why not?

Go Hawks.

I gotta be honest. I’m not the biggest Mariner fan. I don’t dislike the Mariners, but in the order of rooting for teams in the 206, the Mariners might be fourth on my list behind the Seahawks, Storm, and Sounders. Look, baseball is a long season, and there are no quarterback sacks in baseball, so you had better make it interesting for me, and the Mariners have done a miserable job of that over the past decade and a half of major league baseball.

I haven’t cared greatly for Mariners baseball for a number of reasons, and one of the strangest, for a reason that I can’t quite wrap my head around, is the odd level of division between some Mariner fans and Seahawk fans.

Here’s a perfect example. Last Spring, I’m walking through Pioneer Square on my way to a show, and I’m sporting along in my vintage Seahawk T-shirt underneath a sports blazer (it’s my going out look). As I approach the theater, I walk through packs of eager Mariner fans on their way to watch some live ball. Good for them, as the 2018 Mariners have flashed reasons for going out to the park, but as I pass by this one group of twenty-somethings, this intoxicated gal looks at me, awkwardly lunges with her friend holding her back, and yells “Seahawks suck!”

Nice. “It must perpetually suck being a Mariners fan,” I thought to myself as I kept along my way.

Well, maybe not anymore.

I gotta say, and I know it is just a few games into this young 2019 season, but the 2019 Seattle Mariners are starting to make my head turn quite a bit, and if they can do that, that is a really good thing. 11-2 is a nice record after two weeks, but that doesn’t tell even a fraction of this story. It’s how they got to that impressive start that truly impresses. Thirty two home runs within the first twelve games is insane offensive production. There are teams that haven’t even scored thirty two runs yet. Thirty two home runs through twelve games is also a Major League record. In this very short start to this major league season, the 2019 Seattle Mariners have made history. Let that sink in, and marinate.

That’s not even what I find so fascinating. The thing that have my Seahawk fan head turning towards this club is that they doing it with youth, finally. Gone is overpaid and overhyped Robinson Cano’. Out-y is veteran slugger Nelson Cruz. Bye bye ace closer Edwin Diaz. Adios is star pitcher James Paxton. Kept are some selective building block talents such as steady right fielder Mitch Haniger, and the flashy second baseman Dee Gordan. In is a talented cheap youth movement with the likes of first baseman Dan Vogelbach, shortstop Tim Beckman, and athletic center fielder Mallex Smith.

The team ended 2018 falling just short for the playoffs yet again, and general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais where left staring at a roster that gave it their all, but ran out of gas and fell short. They also looked at a farm system that was depleted and ranked dead last in the Major Leagues. They decided to be bold about it, if not fully nutzoid, and they went on a massive selling spree to acquire youth. I admit, I wrote them off as crazy. Trade James Paxton? Really?!

Now, I’m coming around, and I’m more than eating my words. Not only do I applaud their boldness, I’m becoming “all in” on this team again, and that is something I haven’t been since Lou Piniella was the Skipper.

When Pete Carroll and John Schneider took over a struggling Seattle Seahawks team in 2010, they made sweeping changes off the bat. The team had expensive “names” like receivers TJ Houshmandzadeh and Nate Burleson, and defense end Patrick Kerney but did they have talent? Nah. Not really, and those names and salaries were replaced with cheap reclamation talents such as former first round bust of a receiver Mike Williams, a certain backup running back in Buffalo named Marshawn Lynch, and a pass rushing end that nobody ever heard of in Chris Clemons. Players that were drafted that year included Earl Thomas, Russell Okung, Kam Chancellor, and Golden Tate. The Seahawks were building something, and it wasn’t with big contracts. After the season, and the playoffs that featured the Beast Quake, Seattle let well paid veteran starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck walk out of town when he still probably two or three more decent seasons left in him as a starter.

When the Seahawks won the Super Bowl three years later, they did it with one of the youngest and deepest rosters in the league. I could argue that what possibly hurt the Seahawks the most after their Super Bowl runs was that they paid too many of their star players, and because they paid them so much top dollar, they stopped developing their younger talent that they were drafting. I remain skeptical of the idea that Seattle stopped drafting as well as they had prior to 2013. Personally, I think they stopped developing the talent that they drafted as well as they did before because, honestly, no fourth round corner was seriously going to challenge the newly richly paid Richard Sherman. No fifth round pick linebacker was going to challenge Bobby Wagner or KJ Wright. When Frank Clark was a rookie, he barely saw the field during stretches of games because he was lost in the pass rush rotation that included Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, and Bruce Irvin.

Now, back to the Ms.

The Mariners, in my mind, for years were a franchise that was constantly mortgaging the future to compete in the present. They seemed afraid of a down year, or years, for years. They would chase the big names seemingly as a means of gaining relevance in a market that was increasingly becoming more dominated by its football team with each year. When the team traded promising young outfielder Adam Jones to Baltimore for veteran starting pitcher and curmudgeon Erik Bedard, I felt the vomit of burger I had for lunch sneak up into my throat. Then promising closer Brian Fuentes to Colorado for flash in the pan Jeff Cirillo? Argh.

Painful.

But nothing is more painful than seeing the team getting absolutely snow jobbed into in signing Robinson Cano’ to that ridiculous contract in 2013. Brutal. The fact that Seattle got the Mets to agree to trade for Cano’ and that contract is nothing short of miraculous, but it also cost the Ms Edwin Diaz and $20 million. Extremely high cost of doing business, but absolutely necessary.

Then the egg is all over your face, and you peed your pants, own it, and then do something about it. I think that is what Dipoto and Servais have done in this offseason, and the result of these moves is a Mariners ball club that is youth, hungry, and driven. That is very Seattle Seahawks circa 2011-2012.

There can be something truly galvanizing when you are a franchise full of a bunch of no name players that are unified with the feeling that nobody is taking them seriously. At one point during the Seahawks’ rise to greatness, nobody heard much of or considered much of Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson, and Doug Baldwin. Now all of these guys are Seattle icons. I’m not saying that Vogelbach, Gordon, Beckham, and pitcher Marco Gonzales are destined to become icons someday, but I am saying that they have my attention, I’m watching, and I am genuinely excited to see what comes out of this. It could be special.

And if it is special, and if I should ever see that drunk female Mariners fan ever again someday, I’m going to shout at her “Mariners rock!” – because, frankly, I am a better person than she is.

Go Hawks.

First off, let me state that I think it is highly unlikely that the Seattle Seahawks will trade Russell Wilson in 2019. Beyond 2019? Well, that’s a different ditty to write about, but if we are talking about 2019, if I had to bet the farm and a relative’s kidney, I would say that it’s not going to happen.

However, I’m no betting person, and this has been a crazy cycle of NFL trades over the past year with Khalil Mack going to Chicago, Antonio Brown going to Oakland, and Odell Beckham Junior going to Cleveland. All three of those players are cornerstone talents that, a year ago, and most would consider untradeable. So, yes, anything can happen. But none of those guys are franchise quarterbacks. Russell Wilson is. That, in and of itself, feels like it would be highly unlikely Seattle would move him, and the other reason is that presently, there is nobody in place on the roster to take his place.

What then would make the Seahawks consider trading him now? Well, let’s explore that.

Russell Wilson has set a hard deadline for the team to work out a deal with him, and that is April 15^th, two weeks before the 2019 NFL Draft. A good reason for that hard deadline is likely so that it eliminates any leverage Seattle would have over Russell should they draft a quarterback with a high round pick.

On top of all this, while Russell wants to be the highest paid quarterback in the league, and the team might well be willing to meet him there, now Mike Florio is reporting that what Russell might be going for is an escalation clause in a long term deal that would increase his annual earnings each year should another quarterback sign an extension that would top his. In other words, Russell wants a deal that would continue to make him the highest paid player in the league annually, and the Seahawks might likely not be so eager to accommodate that desire.

So let’s suppose that is the sticking point, and a deal fails to materialize by April 15^th. Both sides may well be happy to play out the season, and then play the franchise tag game for 2020, and beyond. But how does that go down in the locker room? How do players feel about Russell playing that kind of game with the team? How does Russell look fifty two other guys in the face and say that he is “all in,” and how does he lead them if he is essentially one foot out the door himself? How do the fans in the stands treat him when he throws a pick, or takes one of his usual unnecessary sacks? There could be a headache brewing down the road by playing this franchise tag game with Russ that Schneider and Carroll may not want to manage as it relates to other players on the roster, and fans in the stands if their seasons fall short.

Now, with this assumption that a deal doesn’t get done by the April 15^th deadline, Seattle could have a ten day window to field calls from teams regarding a trade for Russ. What if the New York Giants called and offered Seattle picks six and seventeen in the draft for Russell? Would that be enough to move the needle for Pete and John to consider?

This draft class is being touted as the deepest defensive line class in the last twenty seven years or so, and we know how much Pete Carroll loves his defense. That offer might perk up his ears a bit. But Russell is John Schneider’s guy. Would John Schneider be winning to give up a generational talent, at the single most important position in football, for a couple first round picks to be used on what are ultimately unproven players?

It’s also worth noting that this draft class is not considered especially deep at the QB position. It’s got maybe two or three players that the league seems fairly keen on, but then a handful of players that might have what it takes to develop into good professional passers, but are also considered major projects.

So, does John Schneider bite on the Giants offer?

Perhaps, if the Giants were also willing to either toss in their 2020 first round pick, or a collection of second round picks, and I think here is why.

I am going to try to sell you on something.

Seattle may not need to draft a quarterback in 2019 if they trade Russell Wilson to the Giants, even though the only other QB presently on the roster is first round bust Paxton Lynch. There was a report that came out late last August that Seattle had an interest in trading for the Indianapolis Colt’s backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett, and the interesting thing about the report was that Seattle had offered a second round pick for him. It was a pretty sounding crazy report for a couple reasons; one being that Seattle doesn’t own a second round pick in 2019, and two, a second round pick for a backup QB?! That’s whack.

The report was later shot down by both sides, and the season went on. But something marinated a bit with me in this. It sort of felt like a “where there is smoke, there is fire” sort of thing, and it lingered on me through the season. Why would Seattle do this, and at that high cost?

Seattle’s offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenhiemer, was the Indianapolis QB coach in 2017, the year Andrew Luck spent on IR, and Brissett started in his place. There’s a history between coach and player, and Schottenhiemer was credited for getting Brissett to play admirably under the difficult circumstances of that season.

I particularly remember the Colts coming into Seattle on a Sunday night game, and Brissett played pretty scrappy in the loss. He hung tough in the pocket and on the move, and had the Colts driving against a good Seattle defense that was coming after him. He was gutsy with his passes, and didn’t show fear staring into the mouth of the LOB lion. For a while, it felt like a game Seattle might lose. I can imagine that impressed Carroll.

Could have Seattle placed a call to discuss a trade, knowing what the contract difficulties around the corner with Russell? Where they looking at the 2019 quarterback class, and determining that they would rather roll with Brissett as a hedge, instead?

Hm.

Now, if the Giants toss in their 2020 first round pick along with six and seventeen in this year’s class, and Seattle maybe still has something on the backburner with the Colts on Brissett, maybe, just maybe, Pete leans forward behind John, and whispers in his ear, in a quasi-fatherly way, almost teetering on creepy, if not slightly maniacal “it’s okay, you can do this.. you can let him go.. we’ll be just fine,” and Seattle makes the deal with New York, then trades for Brissett, and extends him to a cap friendly deal for him to have first crack at becoming the starter.

Now, with no more Russell Wilson salary, the team has plenty cash to spend on Frank Clark, Bobby Wagner, Jaran Reed, Germaine Ifedi, and whomever else that they want to hang onto or bring in to form the new nucleus. Plus they have a young passer with veteran experience and possibly still some decent upside left in his game. Suddenly, with pick six, seventeen, and their own pick twenty one, they have three picks to play with in round one of a potential historic defensive draft class, and no pressing need to reach for a quarterback.

At pick six, they could be staring at Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, or Michigan defensive end Rashan Gary. Both of these guys were considered the top two recruits in the entire nation when they were entering college, and each possess game wrecking physical talent. Put one of these two on the defensive line with Clark and Reed, and watch out. In an interesting note, Seattle is reportedly interested in Gary, and there is absolutely no way he makes it to twenty one, he probably doesn’t make it out of the top ten. Why the interest in him then? Hm.

At pick seventeen, Seattle could be looking at Iowa tight end TJ Hockenson, or Washington State offensive tackle Andre Dillard. Hockenson is regarded as the best tight end prospect in twenty years, and rates as a superb blocker and pass catcher. Dillard is a highly intelligent and athletically gifted left tackle that could come in and start at left guard, and once Duane Brown is ready to hang them up, slide on into is nature left tackle spot. Seattle is reportedly interested in Dillard, and he probably wouldn’t be there at pick twenty one.

At pick 21, Seattle could look at Ohio State receiver Parris Campbell, or Michigan linebacker Devin Bush; two other guys that have blue chip potential. Or they can trade back a bit towards the end of round one, pick up an extra third round pick, and grab UW defensive back Byron Murphy, or Oklahoma guard Cody Ford; players that possess on-field traits that Pete Carroll loves.

Seattle could end up with a draft class that has up to three potential blue chip players, and for sake of argument, four other players that all could have decent starter potential all on cheap rookie deals. Plus on top of that, Seattle would have two first round picks to play with in 2020.

Trading Russell may well mean that Seattle doesn’t make the playoffs in 2019, but maybe not. Maybe doing away with Russell’s 2019 salary opens the door financially for Ndamukong Suh to sign a deal, and be paired next to Jarran Reed. A 2019 Seahawk defensive line could suddenly sport, Clark, Reed, Suh, and Gary. Fun.

Folks can laugh all they want to at the suggestion of Jacoby Brissett leading the 2019 Seahawks into the postseason, but let us not forget so quickly that Blake Bortles led the 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars to the AFC championship game with a team built to run, and play tough defense. Chuckle away, but I say it’s possible. Is Bortles better than Brissett? Yeah, I’m not so sure.

And I’m not saying Brissett would be the long term answer, either, or even that I’m advocating for him. I’m just saying that I can fully see the Seahawks going after him after a Russell Wilson trade to give him the opportunity to be the starter. There is precedent there when they traded a third round pick to the Chargers in 2010 for Charlie Whitehurst when they could have drafted a QB, and then again in 2011, they signed free agent Tavaris Jackson. Even in the year that they ultimately drafted Russell in 2012, they again first went the veteran route with Matt Flynn. Seattle, under Pete Carroll and John Schneider have shown more precedent pursuing veteran solutions for the QB1 job than drafted ones. It’s just that a drafted player ended up being best solution, and yet that was a player wasn’t even drafted until round three.

But let’s stop for a second here, and be honest. This is all crazy talk, though, yes?

Yeah! It’s goofy, and I’ve allowed myself to get caught up in all of it. These are the type of thoughts that start to make sense minutes before last call, a few too many cocktails into the night, the KISS song blaring is convincing you that they were talented, and you’ve convinced yourself that the desperate person you’ve been chatting with is attractive. In those moments, you start to entertain trading your star quarterback and replacing him with a journeyman. Then the next day, you feel bad about yourself, think about returning to yoga, and cutting out red meat.

That’s why I suspect that if a deal doesn’t get done between Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks by April 15^th, Seattle will work diligently to lock Clark, Wagner, and Reed into new deals, and they will be prepared to franchise tag Russ in 2020, or possibly trade him then if they have a suitable heir apparent on the roster ready to step in, or they just play the franchise game again in 2021.

2019 to 2021 buys Seattle time to have the next quarterback of the franchise in place, and allows Russell Wilson to enter free agency potentially still very much in his prime. It feels to me like this is where this ship is sailing. We might not like it as fans, it might feel like a long, drawn out, delaying of the inevitable, but I honestly think that this is what we are probably staring at. They will likely deal with whatever turmoil comes out of Russell’s position because, frankly, again, franchise quarterbacks are too valuable, and they won’t give him up without having another solution in place.

Carroll will have the security of Russ until he feels good about the next QB in place, and that could mean drafting a quarterback high this year, even if Parris Campbell or Byron Murphy is sitting there when they take him.

Will Grier out of West Virginia, anyone?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Yeah. I really hope Seattle and Russell can work this one out. I would love to see Murphy on this defense. I really would.

Go Hawks.

I love Russell Wilson. I do. I know he can be a bit odd and challenging to relate to with the whole NanoBubbles thing, the Trace Me app, all his brandings, not sleeping, and even I have to admit that the whole celebrity QB thing is more than a bit much, especially for the provincial Pacific North Westerner such as I, and I know that this ultra, squeaky clean, nice guy sort persona thing that he has at time feels surely too good to be true. Surely, behind closed doors, he has to be a d*ckhead every once and a while, right?

Yeah, I don’t really care because he says and does the right things, and frankly, I think that is a big part of a quarterback’s job. He’s the closest player on the roster to management, and a big part of his job is to reflect the head coach, which he does.

He doesn’t have to be “one of the guys” for the very simple reason that by the nature of the position, it would be difficult for a quarterback to be one of the guys. Being one of the guys, at times, can mean being at odds with management when they let a popular beloved player go. Being one of the guys could also mean tuning out during team meetings when you’ve heard all the catch phrases and stories shared by the head coach, and you decide to just quietly read a book instead. Hey, you’re an established vet, you earned that right, right?

Eh.

The quarterback can’t do that. There’s too much spotlight, and there is too much responsibility on the field and off of it. Not only do you have got to be able to read defenses, make line calls, and know the offensive plays and audibles inside and out, you have got to tow the line for your coaches so that others will buy into their messaging. You have to believe in the play calling, and when things far short, you have to say the right things at the right times, even if that comes across cliché.

“We could have been better, I could have been better.. but there are a lot of great things we did, and we just fell a little bit short.”

How many times have you heard Russell Wilson say those words or a close variation of them after a close loss?

Yeah, it’s pretty much what he always says, but really, he’s not ever wrong in any of that. A receiver could have caught a ball that bounced out of his hands, the right guard could have been savvy enough to pick up that stunt instead of helping the right tackle, and Russ could have not overthrown that wide-open receiver deep. But, he also did hit that other receiver in perfect stride, and line did start blocking better in the fourth,^, and the defense did force that turn over that got them back in reach.

The reason why I’m bringing all this up is because I have felt the Russell Wilson divisions in and amongst the Twelves for a long while now, growing more intensely with seemingly every season, and with an offseason that is clearly going to be about the next Russell Wilson extension, these divisions are primed to deepen, and ripen. On one side, there is the faction that believes without Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks would not have won a Super Bowl, and he is most important player on the team. They aren’t wrong in that, and for the faction on the opposite side that says that any quarterback could have quarterbacked that 2013 squad to a Super Bowl victory, I say simply; that’s nuts. It’s total nutty talk, but I think when the Anti Russ squad starts listing all the top salaried quarterbacks and their lack of championships and playoff wins, they come up with some pretty compelling points. I think both positions can be, and are true.

Russell Wilson is the most important Seattle Seahawk, and he has been that since his rookie year when he won the starting job. The starting quarterback is the most important player on the team, and the good ones get paid, and the really good ones get paid a lot. Russell Wilson is certainly is really good quarterback. I would argue that if Kirk Cousins was quarterbacking the 2018 Seattle Seahawks, they probably would have been closer to 6-10 than the 10-6 finish that they had. Wilson had some absolutely INSANE game saving plays down the stretch, especially during the Sunday Night standoff with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

It’s also true that when you pay your quarterback more than fifteen percent of your salary cap, it’s becomes an increasingly difficult challenge fielding a deeply strong roster. You’re going to loose some really good players when their salaries come up in free agency, and that places a greater need to draft and develop really well. On top of that, you have to find really good value in free agency. It’s all easier said than done, but I believe it can be done.

Where I sit in all of this is that I hope that Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks get another extension done. I believe that it is best for both parties. I think that Russell is a great extension of Pete Carroll for the team, and that the team should be built around him, and if that means that they can’t keep a Frank Clark or a Jarran Reed, so be it. It sucks because I deeply want both of those guys on the roster, but Seattle drafted and developed those guys, and there is no reason not to think that they can’t draft and develop more defensive lineman. Drafting and developing a quarterback is, frankly, much harder to do, even for a team that wants to run the rock like Seattle does.

I would actually argue that running the ball the way Seattle seems committed towards on first and second downs actually put more pressure on the quarterback on the third down when it is obvious that it is going to be a pass, and Russell has handled that chore really well. He is not afforded the luxury of being a rhythm passer like a lot of other passers in this age. He has got to be on it, and it’s tough to do that when you aren’t afforded a lot of reps.

Yes, sometimes his passes are off. Sometimes they sail a bit high, or he puts too much mustard on them, but a lot of the times, he comes off with the absolute jaw-dropping throw at a crucial juncture of the game. It’s amazing, and validating as a lover of DangeRuss.

Russell Wilson did something very interesting this week. Out of nowhere, he set a hard deadline to get a deal done with the team by April 15th, two weeks before the 2019 NFL Draft. It’s an odd thing to do because, by NFL standards, it’s a substantially early time in the year to work out big time contracts. Most teams wait until Summer. Russ wants it done now, and it’s fair to say that he wants to do it now because if the team drafts a quarterback, they can use the rook as leverage in negotiations during the Summer. By doing a deadline now, he puts pressure on the team to negotiate without great leverage.

Short of drafting a quarterback with their first pick, I’m not sure how much leverage an unproven rookie is going to have over Russell in the Summer, though. “Oh, you’re really ready to roll with Ryan Finley?.. Okay, I’m more than happy to test free agency.”

I’m not really even sure how much leverage they would have if they stayed at pick twenty-one and drafted a quarterback there. The Arizona Cardinals traded up and took Josh Rosen tenth overall last year. There was some belief during that draft process that Rosen was the most NFL ready QB in that class, and now there is talk that they could be looking to trade him away for maybe a measly third round pick because they are now strongly considering taking Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray tops overall. First round quarterbacks are no guarantee, mi amigos. Nope.

So, I’m going to say that, with a some sufficient soul searching on the Russell Wilson contract saga (Russocalypse, as I like to call it), I think it is a good thing the Russell is stepping up to create this semi-odd deadline. I think it is good to ignite a fire that gets the two sides talking, and word has it, both sides have been over the few days, or so.

I would also encourage the Pay Russ camp not to get overly discouraged by all the recent Colin Cowherd insider hot takes about Russ and Ciara wanting to move out of Seattle to NYC. I think that the high probability in all of that is that Cowherd has been purposefully fed info from Russ’s agent as a big negotiation ploy put forth in the media, and he knows this feeds his nationally syndicated talk show, and is perfectly willing to run with it. Journalists much closer to the team pulse feel that a deal will get done, and I trust those sources considerably more than Cowherd’s brand.

Deals get done with deadlines, and while Russ might have the leverage in this, John Schneider might feel a huge sense of relief banging out one of the Big Three deals he has pending with Russell, Frank Clark, and Bobby Wagner prior to the draft. It could help shape the draft board considerably better if quarterback is less of a concern. That could be incentive enough for Schneider to be willing to deal now.

Russell is fully entitled to maximize his earnings, and he should be. He has done and said all the right things from day one. He has quarterbacked his ass off under duress when Seattle has had one of the worst lines in professional football. He has never complained, even when three seasons ago he was quarterbacking with a high ankle sprain, a sprained knee, and an injured upper body. As nice a guy as he is, he is as gritty on the field as they come, and I’m sure that is something that Pete Carroll beyond cherishes about him.

He has been the perfect extension of Carroll, and he deserves to be the highest paid player for a bit, but I will also say that, if he is earnest about wanting to remain in Seattle for a third contract, I think it is essential that Russell also concede a bit here and there to help Schneider retain players and field a roster that will help him potentially win another title. If he is entering into these discussing with that mindset, I actually think it is quite possible that a deal actually gets done.

But even if a deal doesn’t get finalized before the April 15^th deadline, it still might be a bonus. It would allow Schneider and Carroll to consider drafting a quarterback more intently. Knowing that you’re not going to be negotiating with his QB would give Schneider the ability to also focus more intensely on negotiating with Wagner, Clark, and Jarran Reed, knowing that he can use the franchise tag on Russell in 2020, and try jump starting negotiations with him again then, or possibly even trading him, if talks aren’t happening.

I don’t really see any wrongs in this deadline, honestly. I also don’t really seeing anything wrong with making Russell Wilson the highest paid player in the league, even on a running team. Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, and Patrick Mahomes are going to break that deal around the corner. It is the cost of having a really good QB.

But I also don’t see a ton of wrongs if a deal doesn’t get done, either. I love Russell, but ultimately, I trust Pete and John, and it will be interesting to see where this goes.

I don’t see him going anytime soon, but we shall see.

Go Hawks.

Howdy Folks.

Well, here we are, approximately one month away for the 2019 NFL Draft. I have sat down with my expert panel to offer to you our 2019 Seattle Seahawk roster breakdown as we prepare to determine the team’s greatest needs. We then match them with the supposed strengths and weaknesses of this 2019 draft class, and thus conclude with our takes on how Seattle might likely draft. My expert panel includes my orange tabby cat Earl, and my medium haired black cat Kam. Allow us to begin.

QUARTERBACK.

Curtis: The team is set in 2019 with franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, but we all know the elephant in the room. Russell’s in a contract year and probably wants to be the richest football player on Planet Earth. Pete Carroll loves an offense that runs the ball, as much, if not more (probably more) than it passes. Does Seattle want to make Russell Wilson the highest paid player in the league? I would love for them to workout a long-term deal, but I have some doubts, and at some point, the team has got to draft somebody who can potentially become the heir apparent. It’s what smart organizations do.

Earl: If Seattle drafts a quarterback with its first pick, I will take a dump on your bedroom pillow. Seriously. This team needs pass rush, safety help, tight end help, more young offensive line, more receivers. I could go on. If Russell leaves, so be it. They signed former first round pick Paxton Lynch. Maybe they make something out of him. I’m warning you, if they draft a QB early, look before you lay, padre.

Kam: Paxton Lynch was cut after two seasons in Denver. Word on the streets is that he was more into playing video games at 1 AM than his playbook. That doesn’t fit my definition of a player being “all in.” Sorry if I am not putting much faith in that dude. That said, I don’t think Seattle needs to draft a QB high, either. Russell Wilson and Nick Foles were a third round picks. Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins were fourth rounders. I think they get a deal done with Russ, though, and you’re making a big mountain out of a tiny molehill.

Verdict. Seattle has a need for a developmental QB, and there will likely be some interesting options in day two and beyond like West Virginia’s Will Grier, Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham, NC State’s Ryan Finley, and Ole Miss QB Jordan Ta’amu.

RUNNING BACK

Kam: Seattle has Chris Carson, who looks like a star in the makings, and they burnt a first rounder on Rashaad Penny last year. They also have oft injured CJ Prosise, scat back JD McKissic, and former Alabama power back Bo Scarbrough. While I can’t say this is an area of need, Prosise’s injury history makes him unreliable. I can see Seattle drafting a back. They do that a lot.

Earl: I still can’t believe that they blew a first round pick on a back last year. By that stupid track record of logic, they probably do draft a quarterback in the first round, and come draft day, I’m not going to poop all day long in the event that they do. That said, Carroll loves to draft running backs, and I can see them taking one later on.

Curtis: Seattle is loaded with runners, this supposedly isn’t a great RB class. Thomas Rawls was an undrafted free agent. That’s where I think they might look to add.

Verdict: Not a huge area of need, but given how much Seattle likes to run, they could add another rookie into the mix at some point. Not a great draft class for the position, but Seattle has a knack for finding late round gems.

FULLBACK

Curtis: I miss the days that Seattle had a great fullback that could lead block, tote the stone, and do a little pass catching.

Earl: That’s because you’re a dinosaur. The league has moved away from the position. I suppose you miss SAM linebacker, as well.

Kam: Seattle won a Super Bowl playing out of I formation. Russell Wilson was deadly bootlegging out of that. I could see Pete Carroll wanting to get back to that more. Does that mean that they draft a fullback? Well, last year they drafted a punter, so anything is possible if the right player is there.

Verdict: Debatable whether Seattle needs or wants a fullback. Undecided.

WIDE RECEIVER

Kam: I don’t think Doug Baldwin is playing much longer. Seattle has a HUGE need at wide receiver, and this looks like a class that has decent talent in the second and third rounds. I want Parris Campbell out of the Ohio State.

Curtis: I really like Parris Campbell and his Buckeye mate Terry McLaurin. Both feel like guys Seattle loves to draft at receiver. Fast, and explosive playmakers. I can see Seattle maybe taking a receiver tops overall, especially if they trade down, and with only four picks, you know that they are trading down.

Earl: After Angry Doug Baldwin and nice guy Tyler Lockett, Seattle ain’t got doo doo for wide out. Oh, they drafting receiver. Bank on that.

Verdict: The 2019 Seattle Seahawks have a high need for wide receiver, and could likely draft one within the first two days of the draft. This draft class appears deep at the position rounds 2 through 4.

TIGHT END

Earl: Allow me the privilege. The 2018 Seattle Seahawks sucked at tight end. They blew chunks at tight end, and this was after the said bye bye to my least favorite Seattle Seahawk since Jerramy Stevens; Jimmy Graham. Seattle needs a tight end that will block AND is a pass catching threat. Not one or the other. That’s what a tight end is supposed to be. A blocker and a pass catcher. This team ain’t got squat.

Kam. Will Dissly was a nice looking player as a rook until he tore is patellar tendon early. Tough injury to come back from. Nick Vannett looks like he will have a great career bouncing in Vegas once Seattle cuts him. Ed Dickson is a grandpa. Please don’t tell me that they are converting George Fant fulltime to the tight end position. I would love to see Seattle draft a BAMF at tight end early. Just give me a BAMF.

Curtis: It’s a good looking draft for tight ends, they say. I like Seattle to draft one. I thought the intermediate passing game for them was wanting last year. They missed Graham. I think they should stay local, and go get Drew Sample from the University of Washington. He’s the name on my post-it note that says “No Matter What.”

Verdict: Seattle has a high need for a reliable pass catching tight end that can block, and this draft class has lots of them.

OFFENSE LINE

Curtis: On paper, this is a strong starting line with Duane Brown, Mike Iupati, Justin Britt, DJ Fluker, and Germaine Ifedi. They have some decent reserves, as well, with Jordan Simmons, George Fant, Joey Hunt, maybe Ethan Pocic still. However, Iupati and Fluker don’t seem like guys that can hold up for a full season any longer. I can actually see Seattle maybe taking a guard high this year after trading back.

Earl: Every year in every draft the first pick should ALWAYS be either an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman. ALWAYS. Don’t screw around with receivers, backs, quarterbacks, safeties (unless their name is Earl), and corners. Every year, either an offensive or defensive lineman. Period. End of story.

Kam: I like Seattle’s offensive line situation. I never thought I would ever say that. This isn’t a great draft for tackles, but there are a lot of guards. You can find good guards in rounds two through five. At some point, I can see Seattle drafting a guard.

Verdict: Seattle has a strong looking starting lineup with questions about durability and age. Offensive line is probably not the biggest need, but it would be wise, at some point, to draft for depth and development.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Kam: Seattle has a star at defensive end in Frank Clark, and potentially another star at defensive tackle in Jarran Reed. They also have another interesting young defensive tackle in Poona Ford. They have major question marks on the roster as to who will be the starting defensive end opposite of Clark. This is a deeeeeeeeep draft at defensive line. I think Seattle’s first pick is going to be a defensive lineman, and if I had to choose which position, I would say defensive end.

Curtis: You can never have enough defensive lineman. That is what my father used to always say. I definitely think Seattle drafts defensive line, and probably a couple of them. I think they get a pass rusher and a run stopper.

Earl: Give me Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Give me 6-4 and 351 Dexter freaking Lawrence. I don’t care if Seattle doesn’t trade back, takes him at 21, and only has three more picks in the whole draft. Give me Dexter Lawrence lined inside with Jarran Reed. If they do that, I will never leap on the bed and sit on your face at three thirty in the morning ever again.

Verdict: This draft class is hyped as a potentially historic for defensive linemen. Seattle lacks depth at defensive tackle. They have a talented pass rushing end, but no obvious mate on the other side. In short, Seattle has needs, and Pete Carroll loves pass rushers. It might be the safest bet that the first player Seattle selects is a defensive lineman.

LINEBACKER

Earl: Bobby Wagner is the best linebacker on the planet. He is what you build around like the way the Ravens did with Ray Lewis. He has KJ Wright, and they Mychal Kendricks back. Plus they got Barkevious Mingo, and Shaquem Griffin. I don’t see great needs here.

Kam: KJ Wright’s knee makes me nervous and Mychal Kendricks might see some jail time for insider trading. Mingo was Just A Guy for me, and Shaquem looked lost as a rookie. I definitely see some needs. If they loose Bobby for a number of games, they are f***ed.

Curtis: This doesn’t appear to be a deep draft for linebacker. I think that’s probably why they brought KJ and Kendricks back. Still, I think there could be some interesting mid round options. Watch for this name in the middle rounds; Drew Lewis from Colorado. His dad played cornerback for the Seahawks, and the Seattle coaching staff reportedly worked him hard at his pro day. He has the athletic profile they like at WILL linebacker. I can see them taking him as early as round four.

Verdict: Seattle has potentially one of the top linebacker groups in the league if Wright can stay healthy, and Kendricks doesn’t end up serving time in the pokey. Seattle’s LB depth was tested in 2018, and it was shaky at times. Look for Seattle to add depth in the middle and late portions of the draft.

CORNERBACK

Curtis: Honestly, I know this runs counter to a lot of fans, but I don’t think Seattle is in bad shape at corner. I think that they have two that they like a lot in Shaquill Griffin and Tre’ Flowers. Are either of them Richard Sherman? No, but both players have upside. I can still see them drafting a corner in the mid rounds where they like to spend draft capital on them, drafting and developing, but I am not expecting them to take a corner high. They’ve never done that.

Kam: I’m not even sure that they burn a pick on a nickel cornerback, because they usually pluck those guys out of nowhere, as well. Do they probably draft a corner? Yeah. I think this draft class offers players that fit the Seattle profile of length, but none of these guys are high round sorts. Color me not really worried about it.

Earl: Damn straight better safety play helps the corners out. Remember when Earl Thomas was playing at the beginning of the season? Yeah, everyone was talking about how great Griffin was looking stepping in for Sherman. Remember what happened to Griffin after Earl was lost to the season? His season went straight into the litter box. Draft cornerback, if you want to, but Seattle NEEDS safety help.

Verdict: Seattle could have interest in adding at cornerback, but likely not the pressing needs that some fans feel. They have an area of the draft they like to target, and that is almost always in the mid rounds. If they draft corner, expect it there.

SAFETY

Earl: Do not get me started about this. I could pen Shakespearian soliloquies about the Seattle Seahawks need at safety. I still can’t believe they did Earl Thomas like that. Yeah, Seattle needs safety help. They need to draft a safety within their first two picks, and if they don’t, I got a doo doo storing up with your name on it.

Curtis: Again, like the corners, I think Seattle likes their safeties better than the fans do. I think they could draft a safety, maybe even somewhat high, but I also think Carroll genuinely likes Delano Hill at strong safety, and that probably puts Bradley McDougald at free safety. The defense played better towards the end of the season when those two were on the field like that, but it is kind of forgotten because Hill was lost to injury, and the lineup reverted back to Tedric Thompson at free and McDougald at strong, and that was the lineup that fans seemed uninspired about. I don’t see safety being a bigger need that defensive line, receiver, tight end, and possibly even backup quarterback.

Kam: You’re whack, Jack. Safety is most definitely a need. And guess who be pouring into the VMAC for top 30 pre-draft workouts? Safeties. Single high free safeties in Maryland’s Darnell Savage and Virginia’s Juan Thornhill. The 2019 Seattle Seahawks are going to draft a safety. Bank on it.

Verdict: If Seattle wants to continue it’s three deep single high safety defense, the players that they have been linked to for pre-draft visits fit that mold. Seattle is possibly preparing to draft a free safety to replace Earl Thomas, as they already have enough decent options at strong safety already on their roster.

SPECIALISTS

Curtis: Seattle just signed pro bowl kicker Jason Myers to a four year contract, and they have a pro bowl punter in Michael Dickson. If anything, they might look to add a punt returner.

Earl: Seattle has a kicker (finally) and a stud punter. They have options on the roster as returners. They are good here.

Kam: You know you are in Seattle when the fan base gets excited about signing a kicker.

Verdict: The 2019 Seattle Seahawks look set at kicker, punter, and long snapper. Returner could be something that the look to sign as a undrafted player or late round pick.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

Curtis: Seattle’s biggest needs are pass rush, receiver, tight end, backup quarterback, and maybe safety. Everything else is bonus. I think that’s how they probably draft.

Kam: Seattle needs defensive line help, a receiver, a legit tight end, but most of all, Seattle needs a fricking SAFETY. This is a draft that can easily land you all four.

Earl: Safety, defensive line, offensive line, tight end, and receiver. If they draft a quarterback and neglect any one of those position groups at the cost of that, vengeance be my bowels. Oh, yes, vengeance be them well.

I love playing Madden. Been playing it for decades. I’m a year away from needing to see a proctologist for an important exam, and I still vigorously play the video game when I can. It’s my jam.

When I play, I don’t screw around with it either. No lazy six minute quarters for this cowpoke. No, Sir. I play the full fifteen minute ones, and whenever I’m up three scores in the fourth, I sub out my starters and get the reserves in there to whoop ass, and earn the XP points necessary to develop as future studs, themselves.

I don’t play online, because, frankly, that kinda creeps me out. No, I play with myself, and I’m not ashamed at all to admit that.

Is it boring going to the Super Bowl year after year after year after year in the Madden Sphere playing with yourself? For me, it’s fun, but for me, truth be told, quite often, the real fun is when I get into the offseason portion of the game’s franchise mode. I have to choose whom I extend, and whom I say adios to as they go off to free agency. I have to be smart in free agency and look for players to come in at good prices who can immediately add to the team, and I have to draft really well, and be willing to start the right rookies right away.

When I was first playing the game, I felt the impulsive need to extend all my key starters once their contracts where up, and as I won Super Bowl after Super Bowl, those starters ratings would go up through the roof, and so would the costs of retaining their services. It’s terrible. I’m a romantic. Hopeless so, and due to that, I should never be left initially in charge. Pretty, shiny, smell good, I’m suckered in.

I would fall overly in love with my guys, and I would just want to continue seeing my left defensive end getting 28 sacks in a season along with the 18 that my defensive tackle gets, and the 24 that my right end gets, and the 12 that my nose tackle gets. I needed to keep that fearsome foursome together, but before I would know it, two or three seasons into the game, I would find myself in salary cap hell. Not only would I no longer be able to keep good players who’s deals were up, I would have to cut other good players just to have enough money to sign my draft class and replace my retired kicker in free agency. Soon after a while, I learned a valuable lesson in reality about this NFL biz; the salary cap forces you to make tough decisions, and you cannot keep everyone no matter how much you love them, or like them a lot.

In order to stay competitive, you need to hang onto a few players that you consider cornerstone talents. Typically, most teams operative under a rule of thumb that your most important players are you quarterback, left tackle, pass rusher, and shutdown cornerback. Those are your cornerstones as once laid out by Super Bowl winning head coach and great hair enthusiast Jimmy Johnson.

After Seattle built up a Super Bowl winning team, head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider did things a bit differently. They paid their quarterback, two of their top pass rushers, their nose tackle, their shutdown corner, their running back, their strong safety, their free safety, their middle linebacker, their outside linebacker, their slot receiver, and they traded away for an expensive pass catching tight end. Essentially, they did a variation of what I used to do in Madden, and over time, it caught up. Any savvy Madden player could see where this was heading.

Seattle suddenly could not afford to hang onto its pro bowl left tackle (cornerstone player), and tried replacing him with bargain basement scrubs for a couple seasons in a row. They couldn’t afford to make significant additions in free agency because they were pushed against the cap. They weren’t developing the players that they were drafting as well as year before because they weren’t getting on the field as much because of all the expensive talent in front of them.

Guess what also happened? One by one, most of those expensive talents started to physically breakdown. Some started mentally breaking down, expressing outward unhappiness (if not full on hostility on the sidelines) when they began to become less dominant as a team. John Schneider and Pete Carroll had to make tough choices.

By 2018, many of those star players were either cut, traded, or were forced into early retirement due to injury. Remarkably, Seattle still made the playoffs with its youngest roster in almost eight years. They had quarterback Russell Wilson leading the offense, and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner leading the defense, and a roster that was pretty much unrecognizable to any average football fan outside of the Pacific Northwest. Young players like receiver Tyler Lockett, defensive end Frank Clark, defensive tackle Jarran Reed and running back Chris Carson stepped up and stepped into the lime light, all having career years. Rookies that would have likely rode the pine in other seasons stepped into either starting roles or significant contributing roles like cornerback Tre’ Flowers, and nose tackle Poona Ford.

Now, here we are, deep into the 2019 NFL offseason mode, and I’m here to say, I think Pete Carroll and John Schneider are learning how to play it pretty well. They let a player leave in free agency that about two years ago one could have easily argued was the best player on the team that was still loaded with premier talent. They kept a few key veterans and signed a pro bowl kicker. After a few weeks of free agency, their vision for this team moving forward seems clearer.

Through Carroll’s words, we know that they are committed to making sure their best passer rusher in Frank Clark, and their all-planet middle linebacker Bobby Wagner are continual fixtures in Seattle moving forward. These are no brainer decisions. We also know that with their early free agent activities of bringing back linebackers KJ Wright and Mychal Kendricks, that it appears like they intend for the strength of the defense be more in the front seven than in the back four as it was on that historic defensive roster a few years ago.

When pressed about his young talent at the owner’s meetings this week, Carroll was quick to bring up a number of rookies from last year’s roster. He mentioned Poona Ford as a player they are genuinely excited about, edge rusher Jacob Martin as a player that they think can have a much bigger role moving forward, and Tre’ Flowers as a guy that they think can become a “monster” in the secondary.

This is how a pro plays Madden’s offseason mode. You keep a few of your nicest pieces, not all, you sign a few moderate veteran free agents to plug a few gaps, and then you draft and develop, and you draft and develop. You churn the roster. That’s what Pete Carroll and John Schneider did when they took over the sad state of this franchise in 2010. In my opinion, they got away from it after 2013, but they are coming full circle now. I think the theme song to these 2019 Seattle Seahawks could be the Beatles “Get Back.” They’re getting back to where they once belong. I know that sounds cheesy, but sometimes cheesy fits, and when cheesy fits, you have to embrace the cheese.

Additionally, if you were to look at whom they have been bringing in for free agent visits, edge rusher Nick Perry, a defensive tackle, and wide receiver, those positions also reflect the strength of this coming draft class. Seattle is probably looking at free agent hedges for positions that they will likely target in this draft (they do this often). Safe bet is that, however many times Seattle ends up picking, defensive line, pass rush, and receiver are going to be a part of the haul.

Interestingly enough in all of this, Pete Carroll had less to mention of star quarterback Russell Wilson’s pending extension, and this on top of word filtering out this week that the team may not be interested in paying him “Aaron Rodgers money.” Could Russell Wilson become one of the team’s toughest choices to make moving forward? Yes, he could, but also keep in mind that these leaked reports about Wilson wanting a record breaking deal and Seattle not wanting to spend more than Green Bay did on their QB could well be simply both sides playing a high stakes negotiating game in the media, and eventually the two sides find middle ground. Hopefully, that happens because Russell is a superb fit for this style of offense.

I will say this, though, sometimes it’s fun in the Madden offseason mode to go to town a bit more signing star veteran talent, and then drafting a rookie quarterback to take over. For a team like Seattle that wants to run the ball like they do, it wouldn’t shock me at all  if they ultimately decide that $40 million annually is too rich for a quarterback that plays point guard. It would be the most Madden thing ever if they either traded Russell Wilson, or they simply let him walk after a few seasons.

As we inch into April, we will focus more on the draft. It’s always an exciting time of the year for football fans. It’s Football Christmas, or for secular types, Football Prom.

Next piece will feature myself along with my expert panel as we go through the team’s position groups to determine where their greatest needs are and pit that with the supposed strengths of the draft class, and thusly, with any educated luck, we might just come up with an inkling notion of how this April’s draft will go for this Seahawks.

My expert panel, of course, consisting of my tabby cat Earl, and my medium longhaired black cat Kam. You’ll want to tune into that one, I think.

Go Hawks.

I love the smell of NanoBubbles in the morning. It smells like.. victory.

I love Russell Wilson. Anybody that knows me well knows how much I love the plucky little passer. I don’t use the word “love” loosely, either. In the pantheon of Seattle Seahawk greats, I have loved Kenny Easley, Jacob Green, Cortez Kennedy, and Russell Wilson. I’ve liked a lot of players, but those all have been My Guys.

My appreciation of Russell came well before his tenure in Seattle. I enjoyed watching Russell play college ball at Wisconsin, and I felt that his game could probably translate pretty well into the pros. So, as you can imagine, I was thoroughly stoked when Seattle had taken him with the 75^th pick overall in the 2012 draft. Yet, even then, I sort of felt he was going to be a bit of a project, and that the recently signed veteran Matt Flynn would be the guy for a while.

Then things changed dramatically when the third game of the 2012 preseason happened in Kansas City. Russell Wilson had started in place of the injured Flynn, and essentially lit up and torched the Chiefs number one defense and stole the starting gig out right away from Flynn. That’s when I did a barrage of violent fist pumps in the air that almost took out my rotator cuffs. Russell Wilson, from that moment on, became My Guy.

As we know, the first few games of the 2012 season weren’t especially great for Russell. Pete Carroll went ultra conservative with the rookie, and wasn’t opening up the playbook. It was hard listening to local sports radio because he was getting slammed by callers, and even a few hosts. I felt bad for the young fella. I knew he had the talent, but fans were frustrated, and doubts his ability and his height were mounting. There were calls for Carroll’s job.

That’s when I decided that I would go out and purchase a Russell Wilson jersey. I was going to champion Russell and Pete Carroll’s decision to start him. I believed in him and that coaching decision, and I was sure that fans and radio show hosts would come around. The last Seahawks jersey before Russell’s that I would wear was Cortez Kennedy’s; another Seattle great that started out slow as a rookie.

Then within a month into that season, my nephew Ben had reached out to me with tickets to see the New England Patriots play Seattle at Century Link as a birthday present (I’m a Libra). I was stoked to go, but had very little in expectations of Seattle actually pulling off the upset. Seattle was 3-2 at that juncture of the season, but Carroll was still keeping Russell pretty under raps, and New England was looking like, well, New England. I wore my Wilson jersey to the stadium, and in the nose bleeders that we were sitting in, I didn’t see a lot of number 3 Seattle jerseys in the stands. I think I may have even garnished a few smirks from other Twelves that day. It didn’t bother me. Russell was My Guy, and I was sticking with him.

Then it happened. The Game.

Seattle was hanging tight with New England. By the end of the first quarter, Seattle was only trailing New England 14-10, and Russell threw a beautiful 24 yard deep pass to Doug Baldwin, and the significance of that was that, at least in that first quarter, Wilson was trading touchdown passes with all-world Tom Brady. The second quarter was less pretty. The only scoring was a New England field goal to bring it to 17-10. Both defenses had muddied up the game enough to only fuel the intensity. It was awesome. Seattle wasn’t backing down from its dominant opponent. By the end of the third quarter, Seattle was trailing 17-10 but they had picked off Tom Brady twice. Still in this thing, and holding New England’s explosive offense in check, and frustrating Brady. So fun to watch, especially sitting right behind a few drunk obnoxious New England fans.

Then the fourth quarter.. happened. New England kicked a field goal after a Seattle fumble making it 20-10, and things didn’t initially look as promising anymore for an upset anymore, but then Seattle answered back with another Wilson touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards making it 20-17. It immediately got instantly very, very interesting. New England proceeded to punt to Seattle three times after before Russell Wilson finally threw perhaps the prettiest deep pass I had ever seen in my life at a live football event; a gorgeous 46 yard rainbow strike to a sprinting Sidney Rice between two New England defenders with 1:20 left in the game putting Seattle on top 24-20 for the W. Awesome. Russell Wilson then became MY GUY.

That whole 2012 season was magical. The come back overtime win in Chicago is almost legendary. Russell Wilson just had ‘it.” You could feel it. Even in the divisional playoff loss at Atlanta, you just knew Wilson, with Marshawn Lynch, and that young hungry defense, you knew sh*t was about to get real.

Soon enough, 2013 came along. With the additions of defensive ends Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, nothing was going to stop that team, but maybe, just maybe, the bitter division rivals in the San Francisco 49ers that had sported their own dynamic young star quarterback, star running back, and angry defense, but alas, and gloriously, even they were not enough to stand in the 2013 Seattle Seahawks way. The Denver Broncos were just the dessert in that Super Bowl; a big dish of spumoni ice cream. Seattle felt like a team that was not just going to win another Super Bowl, they felt like a team that could win several.

Then 2014 happened, and it was rough. It wasn’t just the interception at the one yard line, but that was certainly the exclamation point. The season was frustrating as they fought their way back that Super Bowl. Articles started to surface midway through the season that some players on the team didn’t like Russell, and felt he wasn’t black enough, and not one of the guys. Personally, I was incredibly disheartened.

Yet, as the team stayed competitive, articles like that didn’t really go away over the following seasons. They kept surfacing in greater details. The Seattle Seahawks, even while annually making the post season, felt like a continuous circus train heading further off its tracks.

ESPN and Sports Illustrated articles would come up almost annually in long drawn out features about the divisions within the team that would mainly center around the quarterback. Most of us have probably read them, or know of them. Again, Russell was portrayed as not being “one of the guys,” got special treatment, ya da da ya da da. I found them all continuously annoying. Russell is the quarterback, of course he is not “one of the guys.” Quarterbacks aren’t typically “one of the guys,” as they have to spend the most time around the coaches.

Argh.

Then when the 2018 season happened, I felt great relief. Gone where a number of “guys” that likely didn’t think Russell Wilson was “one of them.” What felt even better was that Seattle didn’t really need them. They returned to a more traditional Pete Carroll running team, and Russell Wilson had one of his best statistical years in passing efficiency and production. The team was not nearly as talented on defense, but the truth was that the once historic defense had be slipping the last few years, and it felt like time was right to usher in new blood, and some really nice players emerged like Jarran Reed, Frank Clark, and Tre’ Flowers. Seattle went 10-6 and had an unsatisfactory quick bounce from the playoffs, but it felt a little bit like 2012 again. They just needed a few more pieces on the young defense to build properly around Russell Wilson, who they are probably going to extend in the offseason of 2019. All is finally coming together for My Guy, and My Team. Right?

Well, so far, we are in the first few weeks of free agency signing of 2019 offseason, no real words are coming out about a Russell Wilson extension, and there is growing suggestions out there about troubling waters laying ahead for the player and the team. In fact, there are reports from prominent NFL beat writers that strongly suggest that Russell and his camp could be fully intending to not enter discussions with the team, at all, and that they want to use free agency to maximize his earnings, following what Kirk Cousins did when he left Washington DC for the Vikings. In short, they want to hit the free agent market to drive up a bidding war.

Crap.

I got to be honest. I kind of saw this coming. Yup. In the back of my mind, I kind of saw all this coming. I just didn’t want to admit it.

After the Super Bowl XLVIII, Russell was spouting around on the national airwaves about wanting to one day be a team owner. I was just thinking that was silly talk to keep him motivated in life. You know, shoot for the stars, maybe you might hit the moon. Then he divorced his college sweetheart and started seeing this pop princess, and eventually married her, and stole her son away from his rapper daddy. Okay, that’s a bit different for Seattle sports standards. I don’t think Gary Payton, or Randy Johnson ever did that. Somewhere in all that he was promoting NamoBubble water, as well. So, he wants to make a little extra cheddar on the side. Who doesn’t?

Hm.

Yeah, that doesn’t really seem like Richard Sherman, Brandon Mebane, Kam Chancellor, and Doug Baldwin. That’s.. that’s pretty different.

Alright, I’m just going to lay it out for you now, if you haven’t stopped reading this piece yet. The Seattle Seahawks are kind of screwed with the Russell Wilson situation, but relax. I think they know this well.

There is a reason that they have been seen scouting quarterbacks hard over these past couple draft classes, and are scouting them again this Spring. They likely know full well what Russell wants, and that thing may not be as simple as just “give him more than Aaron Rodgers and call it good.” If it was, they would be hammering out the deal now, but this doesn’t mean that he is gone after the 2019 season, either.

I see two possible paths that general manager John Schneider can go down in dealing with Russell, if these reports are true. One is that they find an eventual replacement, and franchise tag Russell until that replacement is ready to take over, and allow Wilson to enter free agency. The other is to trade him, and possibly now if they get the right blockbuster deal.

Personally, at this point, I don’t have a problem with them trading My Guy because frankly, if this is all true, I think Russ is being a bit more than a greedy bugger in all this. The problem I see in working out a trade is that, if Russ is intent on not signing all long term deal on any level before hitting free agency, what team will trade a bunch of first round picks for him?

So no, I don’t really see it happening. What I see more than likely happening is that Russell Wilson will be in Seattle for likely three more years, 2019 through 2021, and in 2022, he will enter free agency with the chances of him coming back to Seattle shrinking pretty substantially. Here is something else that I see; I don’t think that is a bad thing.

That would give Seattle three more seasons to try to get another title with a premier quarterback, and it buys time for them to properly develop his replacement. They don’t even have to draft a quarterback this year if the player isn’t there that they have conviction in, and they don’t even necessarily have to take one high. They can be patient.

If I am John Schneider, I am keeping Russell Wilson’s agent’s digits in the back of my rolodex, and I am working on getting deals done with Frank Clark, Bobby Wagner, and Jarran Reed. I am also continually looking at the young quarterbacks coming up from college, and yes, I am answering phone calls from any general manager who might be interested in my star quarterback.

Let’s remember, when Russell Wilson was drafted in 2012 by the Seattle Seahawks, he was a bit of an afterthought for many when he was taken in the third round. People say that it is difficult to acquire franchise quarterbacks. I don’t fully agree with that. Sometimes, I think franchise quarterbacks are made when they are in the right place at the right time with the right team and coach. Russell Wilson was a good college quarterback that came into the right team at the right time and then grew into a top franchise quarterback. There was great talent already assembled around him.

My overriding piece of advice is to not panic over Russell Wilson if a deal isn’t done. As long as Pete Carroll and John Schneider keep adding the right pieces throughout this roster, another quarterback can come in, and do just fine. Pete Carroll’s formula is solid. Run the ball, play good defense and special teams, and be efficient at the quarterback position. That’s what the Philadelphia Eagles did with Nick Foles at quarterback when they won the Super Bowl. Is Foles a better quarterback than Wilson?

Trust the Pete Carroll and John Schneider process. I think part of that process might be building the team back up again so some other plucky passer can take over, and Russ can go enjoy himself with all his hundreds of millions somewhere else if that is all that concerns him. Personally, I hope he and Seattle find a way to make it work, but I won’t have a problem with him moving on from the team, if it comes down to it. He might be My Guy, but the Seattle Seahawks are My Team, and this is no Guy in Team.

Go Hawks.