2011 Seattle Seahawks Draft Needs
Written by Jack Jones
Pete Carroll did a tremendous job in his first season as Seattle Seahawks head coach in 2010. Carroll had to completely turn over the roster through free agency, trades and the draft. Seattle would win the NFC West with a 7-9 record after beating the St. Louis Rams in Week 17, and went on to pull off the biggest upset in the playoffs with a victory over the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round.
Winning the division cost the Seahawks 17 spots in the 2011 draft, where they will be selecting 25th. Seattle will have seven picks in all, but only two in the first three rounds. Carroll and GM John Schneider have proven they are not gun shy. They took big risks on the likes of WR Mike Williams and RB Marshawn Lynch, both of which proved to pay off. Seattle also struck gold with their two first-round picks in tackle Russell Okung and safety Earl Thomas.
Darrell Bevell replaces Jeremy Bates as offensive coordinator, meaning that the Seahawks will look to get back to the zone-blocking run game. They also brought in Tom Cable to serve as assistant coach/offensive line coach as well. Below I’ll go over the team needs the Seahawks are facing heading into the draft this April. Our 2011 NFL Mock Draft shows you which player they are likely to select in the first round.
Top 5 Team Needs
1.) Offensive Line – Seattle saw 10 different starting combinations along the offensive line in 2010. Last year’s first-round pick Russell Okung is the only sure-shot starter at left tackle, though even he had problems with his ankles in his rookie season. Starting ORT Sean Locklear and starting C Chris Spencer may each test free agency, as could reserves Tyler Polumbus and Ray Willis. Carroll has made no bones about it that he will be making upgrades up front.
2.) Quarterback – The 35-yeard-old Matt Hasselbeck only has a few seasons left. He is likely to return as their starting signal caller after throwing seven touchdowns to just one interception in the playoffs. Still, he has a four-game stretch in which he through 10 interceptions and suffered a concussion in Week 16. Charlie Whitehurst played well in their division-clinching win over the Rams, but he still doesn’t appear to be a No. 1 starter in this league. Look for a guy like Jake Locker from Washington to be on their radar in the draft.
3.) Defensive Back – Lawyer Milloy is on his last legs at safety. He was a great leader for the Seahawks last year, but his replacement is needed. An upgrade at right cornerback is needed for Kelly Jennings as well. 2010 fourth-round pick Walter Thurmond may be ready to take Jennings’ place, but at the very least the team needs to add some depth at corner. Marcus Trufant is not the shutdown corner he once was, allowing three touchdown passes against Tampa Bay in Week 16. Seattle is paying a lot of money for him, too.
4.) Defensive Tackle - There’s no denying that, when healthy, Brandon Mebane and Colin Cole can get it done. The problem is that this duo missed a combined nine games in 2010. Seattle needs some depth here at the very least, because Mebane along with reserves Craig Terrill and Junior Siavii may be free agents.
5.) Linebacker – The Seahawks were very fortunate to make it through all of 2010 with only four linebackers on their roster. Seattle does have a lot of talent here with the likes of starters Lofa Tatupu, David Hawthorne and Aaron Curry. Will Herring is also a solid backup. An injury or two would put Seattle in a tough spot, so they need to find at least one more body here.
Individual NFL Team Mock Drafts
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