2008 Draft in the books

[HawksHead]

All done I'm pretty happy with the way it went if only becasue you can see almost everyone making a contribution in year 1 which you don't often get.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker#tab:dt ... m|team-sea

Pick Player Pos Ht Wt College
Round 1, Pick 28 (28) (From Cowboys) Lawrence Jackson DE 6'5" 268 Southern Cal
Pick Analysis:Jackson is a complete defensive end. He produced 30.5 sacks at USC and also showed up against the run. Jackson could initially contribute with the Seahawks as a situational pass rusher with the chance to develop into a starter.

Round 2, Pick 7 (38) (From Ravens) John Carlson TE 6'5" 251 Notre Dame
Pick Analysis:The Seahawks selection of Carlson comes at somewhat of a surprise with a player like Fred Davis still on the board. But in Carlson Seattle gets a player who has solid blocking potential, though he appears limited in his pass-catching ability.

Round 4, Pick 22 (121) Red Bryant DT 6'5" 328 Texas A&M
Pick Analysis:Bryant is more of a two-gap inside defensive tackle in the more traditional 4-3. His role will be to keep blockers off Lofa Tatupu and collapse the pocket. He's a run stuffer who will probably come off the field in passing situations. He also has impressive speed for his size and is a good value at this point in the draft.

Round 5, Pick 28 (163) (From Cowboys) Owen Schmitt FB 6'2" 250 West Virginia
Pick Analysis:Schmitt has great passion for football and is a strong blocker and a willing teammate. He fits the mold of a blocking NFL fullback and probably will not get a lot of touches as a rusher or receiver, but is unafraid to throw himself into bigger defenders and sacrifice his body. He was the unsung player in West Virginia's explosive running attack, blocking for Pat White and Steve Slaton.

Round 6, Pick 23 (189) (From Titans) Tyler Schmitt LS 6'2" 234 San Diego State
Pick Analysis:It's rare that a long snapper is taken this high in the draft, but he was a superstar at the combine and because of his strong measurables can make some plays in special teams even when not snapping. He is the best long snapper in the draft.

Round 7, Pick 26 (233) (From Jaguars) Justin Forsett RB 5'8" 190 California

Round 7, Pick 28 (235) (From Cowboys) Brandon Coutu K 5'11" 187 Georgia

[KingdomeUK]

Wow, Bryant fell to round 4!! I felt sure we were going to miss out on him in the Third, nice!!

[HawksHead]

Just realised I've spent 9 hours on here! Been a good draft though and thanks to everyone for stopping by.

[iamtagi]

The standout picks for me are Bryant and O. Schmitt. Like the Forsett pick as well.

[Shaymoose]

Been busy all weekend so really been catching up today on everything that happened this weekend.

Was dissappointed we lost the third round pick, but I suspect Ol' Red may well have been that choice anyway, so not lost too much. I'm not yet sold on JC, but he will be given a chance straight away to prove himself and fingers crossed he can do that. Lo-Jack looks valuable, I still think Tapp is developing and he was non-factor after breaking his hand last season. Too Schmitt's are both fine by me, gobsmacked we drafted a LS but we desperately needed one so no complaints.

Solid draft, we seemed to cover everything we need to and selected guys that are capable of playing almost straight away, which will help Holmy in his final year.

[Blueboy]

Not seen anyof the pros grade our draft yet, but i dont expect we will get much better than a C.

The thing to remember is that when it comes to drafts Ruskell is on the money, so if he says we take a LS in the 6th then so be it.

[HawksHead]

Kiper gave us a B ahead of the NFC West

NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: GRADE: B-
I like CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, but I thought Arizona would take a running back (Ray Rice?) in the second round. Instead, Arizona drafted DE Calais Campbell. If Campbell reverts back to his 2006 form, this will turn out to be a good pick. LSU WR Early Doucet will be a slot receiver and was a good third-round pick. I like RB Timothy Hightower, although he doesn't have a lot of speed. I like their sixth- and seventh-round picks (Christopher Harrington and Brandon Keith), but the Cardinals didn't get a quality running back to complement Edgerrin James, unless Hightower is able to play the part.

St. Louis Rams: GRADE: C+
Taking DE Chris Long allows Adam Carriker to stay inside at defensive tackle. Some didn't think Donnie Avery should have been the first WR to come off the board. It might have been a bit of a reach, but he caught 91 balls and has the ability to make people miss. John Greco is a versatile offensive lineman. CB Justin King has a lot of potential, but he gets beat in coverage far too much. Wide receiver Keenan Burton would have gone higher than the fourth round if he hadn't been slowed by knee and ankle injuries in his senior season. Roy Schuening has a chance to start this year at guard. Chris Chamberlain had a very nice season at Tulsa. And don't forget about OLB David Vobora, aka Mr. Irrelevant, who I thought was a midround pick. Vobora has some ability and I would be surprised if he didn't make this team as a special teams player.

San Francisco 49ers: GRADE: C+
They didn't address their need at wide receiver until the sixth round and didn't take an OLB until the seventh round. Kentwan Balmer is a solid DT prospect for their scheme, and I like Chilo Rachal's aggressiveness at guard (he can also play right tackle). Reggie Smith is kind of a tweener at safety or corner. He has ability, but needs to settle on a position. Cody Wallace was the No. 1 center on my board. Josh Morgan is a decent receiver. OLB Larry Grant can make this team as backup.

Seattle Seahawks: GRADE: B
Lawrence Jackson stepped up his performance and deserved being a first-round pick. I would have looked at Dustin Keller, although John Carlson is a more complete tight end. Texas A&M's Red Bryant is a stay-at-home defensive tackle. He was productive in 2007, but he never took his game to the next level coming out of high school. Owen Schmitt is a throwback old-school fullback. Tyler Schmitt is a good long snapper. Justin Forsett has the chance to make this team at running back. Georgia's Brandon Coutu -- whom I thought was the best kicker in this draft -- could be this year's Mason Crosby.

[Blueboy]

I see the sporting news gave us a D+

[timshorts]

If it wasn't for the Carlson trade, then I'd give it a B+.

Trading down with Dallas brought us an extra pick and Owen Schmidt. Fantastic. I was dreading that we were going to pick at 25 and take a huge reach.

But the trade up to get Carlson, with Martellus Bennett (and others) still on the board? Why? That's cost us, potentially, a decent player, preferably a Guard. By the time Red Bryant had been taken. I'm assuming that they thought that no-one left was better than what we had got.

There are still a few undrafteds to try out left, mind.

[robseattle]

Ruskell appears to be insinuating that we would have taken Red Bryant in the third round anyway, so the trade up for Carlson essentially only cost us a 4th round selection.

[dtpartner]

I see the sporting news gave us a D+

Clifton Brown doesn't know sh*t
"This draft won't get Mike Holmgren back to the Super Bowl in his final year. Lawrence Jackson could be a solid defensive end, but the Seahawks also needed wideout help."

I think that this is exactly what this draft is intended to do - Get players who can contribute this year, and get the Walrus another ring before retirement.

[robseattle]

Personally, I don't believe in the whole 'win one for Holmy'.

They would have probably done the exact same draft if Holmy was here for another decade. They targeted players that they wanted, and went and got them.

Because we draft low, and don't have the same knack of the Pats to accumulate picks (who does?), we'll probably never draft that player who 'tips us over the edge'. So instead we have to draft smart and build a solid base to the team.

This draft produces good value all over the board. A Defensive end to add to our rotation, a much needed young tight end who has the chance to be a career Hawk at the position, a run stuffing DT who will be this year's big hit (in my opinion). Throw in a full back who has fan favourite written all over him, a long snapper (most important pick? ) and the kicker who will hopefully be the next Josh.

We filled a hell of a lot of needs there.

[HawksHead]

I've just been listening to the press conferences including the introdution of Jackson and Carlson and what is important to remember (and I'm sure this isn't just a line) but these guys were the Day 1 TARGETS.

Add to that Bryant, Schmitt x 2 and arguably the best Kicker in the draft and you realise that we hit just about all of our targets.

BPA is all very well but getting the guys you've scouted and worked hard on makes it all the better.

I do like to look at the grades but 2005 was an almost universal: highs = Spencer and Greene and lows = Tatupu and Hill so they should be treated with the lack os respect they deserve!

[Downhill PV]

Indeed, we must respect that the FO which had brought us so many starters knows what it's doing. Grades mean nothing and journalists' opinions even less.

September 7th is when all will begin to be revealed.

[iamtagi]

This was a very nice draft overall IMO - wasn't unhappy but wasn't ecstatic either with our day 1 picks, but Bryant and O. Schmitt were diamond picks in the 4th and 5th rounds.

As Rob said, Ruskell & co probably would've gone with Bryant in the 3rd if we'd kept that pick. Ruskell said himself he was amazed that Bryant was still on the board at our pick in the 4th.

And, as Andy says, if we got the guys we were targetting in the first two rounds then great. I still think Carlson was a bit of a reach (at p.7 in R2 I mean) - but then again if nobody other than the Cowboys (was it?) was willing to offer us a high enough pick in the 2nd to guarantee his services then I'm happy enough - and he did look good on the clips posted earlier!

I'm even OK with the long snapper now in R6!

Downside? No OL help, though OG Eric Young was still a UFA earlier today.

[HawksHead]

Downside? No OL help, though OG Eric Young was still a UFA earlier today

Ruskell addressed this in the Day 2 press conference and said they certainly had the position in mind but nothing fell to us. Also that we had good numbers there, we are going to bring in a couple of FA's and (first time I've heard a public endorsement) they really like Wrotto.

I think similar things could be said about our lack of drafting of a WR.

[iamtagi]

Downside? No OL help, though OG Eric Young was still a UFA earlier today

Ruskell addressed this in the Day 2 press conference and said they certainly had the position in mind but nothing fell to us. Also that we had good numbers there, we are going to bring in a couple of FA's and (first time I've heard a public endorsement) they really like Wrotto.

I think similar things could be said about our lack of drafting of a WR.

I think we're more than OK at WR actually - Obomanu and Taylor have had a taste of the good life and will be all the better for it (one hopes). And we have Kent & Payne lurking in the wings.

Wrotto is unproven however, though if the powers that be like him that much then I trust their judgement.

[robseattle]

I did a light hearted piece post draft for the Diner, here's a link if anyones interested:

http://www.footballdiner.com/robstaton16.html