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We're now less than a month to go before the NFL draft. With the Seahawks offseason FA signings mostly complete at this point, and with only a few million left in CAP space, our attention turns squarely upon the draft.

So far, some of Ruskell's offseason moves *seem* to have slightly shifted our draft priorities. Also, there is the factor that some player's stocks seem to have risen in the offseason, whereas other player's stocks seem to have fallen.

Going into the offseason, it was pretty clear to me that our top two draft needs were RB and TE, which seemed to fit the Hawks' scheme well because of the potential depth at these positions in the first 2-3 rounds.

Then the offseason ensued. A few of Ruskell's offseason moves almost had to give one pause about what their top priorities in the draft might be:

1) The signings of Jones and Duckett

Did these signings drop the idea of drafting of a RB in the 1st or 2nd round? I had previously thought that if either Mendenhall or Stewart were available that the Hawks would almost certainly have to nab them with their 25th pick. Now I'm not so sure of this. It seems as if Mendenhall will surely be gone by the time the Hawks pick first, but it also seems as if Stewart's stock has been dropping a bit, and that he may be available to us at 25.

Would anyone still grab him there if he does? If not, what RB could you see the Hawks going for in later rounds?

2) The failure to sign Crumpler as a FA, and the signing of Putzier

With Crumpler choosing to sign elsewhere, and Putzier not exactly a sexy starting TE for us, it seems that the TE position remains a top priority for the Hawks in the draft. Two TE's seem to be the standouts at this point in the draft, Dustin Keller and Fred Davis. It seems that Keller's stock has risen somewhat sharply, Davis's staying about the same, and Carlson's stock falling, as he's still running his 40 yard dash at the combine.

The question that comes to mind for me is how much if any of a reach would either of these two TE's be at the 25th pick, would either of them be available in the 2nd round to us, and is there another TE besides these two who would fill our need for youth and talent at this position in the 2nd or later rounds? Would you draft either Keller or Davis with our 1st pick? Hmm...

3) Signing of Wahle/Locklear, loss of Darby, the health of Tubbs

It seems a team can never have enough size and talent on either the OL or the DL. The signing of Wahle and resigning of Locklear certainly went a long way towards easing the anxiety over our OL. It seems that our starting front five will be Jones, Sims, Spencer, Wahle, and Locklear. The question marks about the OL that remain seem to be:

--The aging of Jones at the significantly important position of LT
--The potential improvement (or lack of) out of Sims and Spencer
--The depth of our OL in the event of injury

I bring this up because this draft, as many realize, is fairly deep at the OL position in terms of quality 1st round type players, especially at the tackle position. If one of these top OL fall to us (such as Otah, Williams, Clady, or Albert), do we just have to nab them? What is your cutoff point in terms of too-good-to-pass-up in these prospects?

As for the DL, with the loss of Darby, and the question marks about the health of Tubbs, our DT position consists primarily of Bernard, Mebane, and Terrill. I heard an analyst this morning say that when Tubbs was in the lineup for us, the other teams' running games averaged 65 yards less per game against us than when he wasn't on the field. That's pretty dramatic.

The one DT that keeps being mentioned as possibly being available to us at the 25th pick is Kentwan Ballmer. But I also see that he falls beyond the 25th pick in other mock drafts. Would he be a reach at this position much like TE might be a reach at this spot in the order? Hmm....

As for the DE position, it must always give one pause to pass up a stud pass rusher, especially when we've seen how important it is to get heat on the opposing team's QB's (ala us vs. the Packers, and the Giants all the way to the trophy).

But it also seem sure as day that Long and Gholston will be gone, leaving perhaps only Merling and Harvey left as possible 1st round talent at this position. Are either of these prospects mouth-watering enough to nab at 25 to team up with Kerney, Peterson, and Tapp as our primary pass rushing force?

4) The letting go of Hackett, and the health of Branch

I must say that going into the offseason I never much considered the WR position to be worthy of consideration with either of our top 2 picks, perhaps not even our 3rd round pick. Because of it not being a particularly marquee year for talent at this position in the draft, I'm still not sure I believe this to be much of a consideration on day one of the draft.

I'm having a hard time finding much excitement about the top prospects who might be available to us in the first few rounds. The questions seem to be:

--Will Branch be ready to go full tilt early in the season?
--Can Engram, Burleson, Obamanu, and others hold down the fort?
--If we draft Keller or Davis, will they be productive enough to compensate for any such shortcomings in our passing game?
--Will the shoring up of our running game with the signings of Jones and Duckett provide more dimensionality to our offense so that we can be eased in any concerns we might have in our passing game?

Anyway...these are just a few thoughts bouncing around in my head about the draft, particularly as it concerns day 1 of the draft.

Any thoughts?

Bulltalk wrote:1) The signings of Jones and Duckett

If Stewart's still there, he's clearly BPA and I say you take him. The tandem of Jones and Duckett come in with quite a few question marks, so if another answer to the RB question presents itself I think you have to consider it.

Stewart has every asset I like out of a RB with the possible exception of an injury free track record. I'd love to see him line up for the 'Hawks and I'd love to see all the Stewart jerseys clogging the stands.

Bulltalk wrote:2) The failure to sign Crumpler as a FA, and the signing of Putzier

This can't be one of those drafts like last year where the team just forgets to draft a TE when some of those players with question marks slip into the later rounds. I'm not saying draft out of fear, but rather acknowledge it's an issue and do what's necessary to address it.

It's a need that should, and likely can, be addressed in the second round. My hope is Carlson's there for us in the second round.

Bulltalk wrote:3) Signing of Wahle/Locklear, loss of Darby, the health of Tubbs

Adding depth at OL and DL seem like options in the middle rounds, and possibly earlier as there's a good chance there's a playing sitting there at 25 who would do the trick. We've seen Ruskell do that before when he drafted Spencer, and I'm sure he wouldn't be afraid to do it again.

That said, it's about time the team starts seeing if some of the young offensive linemen they've drafted for depth can serve that purpose.

Bulltalk wrote:4) The letting go of Hackett, and the health of Branch

While I agree it's an issue of need, if we draft a WR in the first round I'm going to be disappointed. How often do vaunted 1st round WR types actually pan out as legit first round talent?

Very good discussion. I'll weigh in with my $.02.

Bulltalk wrote:
1) The signings of Jones and Duckett

....It seems as if Mendenhall will surely be gone by the time the Hawks pick first, but it also seems as if Stewart's stock has been dropping a bit, and that he may be available to us at 25.

Would anyone still grab him there if he does? If not, what RB could you see the Hawks going for in later rounds?

I'd pass on Stewart now. His injury history has resurfaced, and while he may still be the BPA at #25, he's not exactly a steal at that point. On the other hand, there might be other teams interested in moving up to snag Stewart, and I might be interested in trading down to the early second. And that's because....

2) The failure to sign Crumpler as a FA, and the signing of Putzier

...Two TE's seem to be the standouts at this point in the draft, Dustin Keller and Fred Davis. It seems that Keller's stock has risen somewhat sharply, Davis's staying about the same, and Carlson's stock falling, as he's still running his 40 yard dash at the combine.....

The trendy projections these days have both Keller and Davis still available at #25. I'd wager one or possibly both will be there in the #32-35 range if we don't take them there. My ideal scenario would have the Hawks moving down about that far and landing one of the two premier tight ends.

Barring that, Carlson, Bennett and Finley look like early second-day picks. Finley is perhaps the most intriguing, but also the least ready to play.

3) Signing of Wahle/Locklear, loss of Darby, the health of Tubbs

It seems a team can never have enough size and talent on either the OL or the DL.....

....I bring this up because this draft, as many realize, is fairly deep at the OL position in terms of quality 1st round type players, especially at the tackle position. If one of these top OL fall to us (such as Otah, Williams, Clady, or Albert), do we just have to nab them? What is your cutoff point in terms of too-good-to-pass-up in these prospects?....

Agreed. It would be very tempting to take any of those players at #25. There's a decent chance Albert is still there. Maybe Otah as well, but not likely. No chance with Clady and very little chance with Williams.

As for the DL, with the loss of Darby, and the question marks about the health of Tubbs, our DT position consists primarily of Bernard, Mebane, and Terrill. I heard an analyst this morning say that when Tubbs was in the lineup for us, the other teams' running games averaged 65 yards less per game against us than when he wasn't on the field. That's pretty dramatic.

The one DT that keeps being mentioned as possibly being available to us at the 25th pick is Kentwan Ballmer. But I also see that he falls beyond the 25th pick in other mock drafts. Would he be a reach at this position much like TE might be a reach at this spot in the order? Hmm....

All those pre-draft projections are raising "character issues" with Ballmer, which translates as "not a Ruskell guy." I don't see them taking him. Maybe if Pat Sims is there in the second?

4) The letting go of Hackett, and the health of Branch

Supposedly Mario Manningham ran the 40 like he was in a three-legged race with John Carlson, and might be available in the third round. I'd be interested in him at that point. Maybe if a late-third is our consideration for moving down from #25 into the early second...

I was listening to sports radio this morning, and the subject was the Seahawks' draft. They had on some expert (can't remember his name, Rob something or whatever), and this was his best guess of what the Seahawks would do, for what it's worth:

First Round

1) Take Jonathon Stewart if available. He says he's just too good to pass up, and Ruskell is a BPA type of GM. He doesn't think he'll be available, however.

2) They might take an OL, but only if one of the top ones falls to the Hawks, which he doesn't think will happen.

3) He doesn't see any TE worth a 1st round pick for the Hawks, and thinks that one or two of the four best will be available in the 2nd round, either Davis, Keller, Bennett, and I forget the 4th one, though I don't think it was Carlson.

4) With Stewart gone, he thinks the BPA for the Hawks will be at the DE position. He sees two potential impact DE's available for the Hawks, and his guess is that the Hawks will take one of them. The two DE's he mentioned were Phillip Merling and Calais Campbell. He sees Merling as the more polished DE, though he thinks Campbell has the higher upside.

Second Round

1) He sees us taking one of the top 4 TE's in the draft. He thinks that one of the top 3 could fall to the Hawks in the 2nd round.

2) He sees the Hawks possibly taking a WR in the 2nd or 3rd round. He's aware of the Hawks need at this position, but noted that the WR position has always been a risky 1st round proposition, as many 1st rounders don't pan out, and many 2nd and 3rd round WR's do.

Anyway....just some info to pass on.

The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that the Seahawks WILL NOT take a TE with their first pick (or convinced that THEY SHOULDN'T take a TE with their first pick).

It just doesn't make sense. The more I read about this crop of TE's, the more I can't discern all that much difference between the top 3-4 TE's, each having their own particular strengths, but none standing clearly above the others in terms of being a *can't miss* pick. One of the best TE's will almost surely fall to us in the 2nd round, perhaps even the 3rd round.

No, I am heavily fading on taking a TE until at least the 2nd round.

Bulltalk wrote:The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that the Seahawks WILL NOT take a TE with their first pick (or convinced that THEY SHOULDN'T take a TE with their first pick).

It just doesn't make sense. The more I read about this crop of TE's, the more I can't discern all that much difference between the top 3-4 TE's, each having their own particular strengths, but none standing clearly above the others in terms of being a *can't miss* pick. One of the best TE's will almost surely fall to us in the 2nd round, perhaps even the 3rd round.

No, I am heavily fading on taking a TE until at least the 2nd round.

So, what do you think of the trading-down option?

Here's my dream scenario: the team trades down from #25 to something like #40 and snags an extra third-round pick. The first-day picks are then:

2a. Sam Baker, OT, USC
2b. Fred Davis, TE, USC
3a. Roy Scheuning, OG, Oregon St.
3b. Eddie Royal, WR, Virginia Tech

Ex-hippie wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



So, what do you think of the trading-down option?

Here's my dream scenario: the team trades down from #25 to something like #40 and snags an extra third-round pick. The first-day picks are then:

2a. Sam Baker, OT, USC
2b. Fred Davis, TE, USC
3a. Roy Scheuning, OG, Oregon St.
3b. Eddie Royal, WR, Virginia Tech

You've mentioned this before, and it's always made me pause. If there's not a guy you're drooling for at #25, then it makes sense to get as much value as you can out of the next flight of talent, however deep that may be.

In the Seahawks' case, I think there is some room for a *finesse* trade on the first day of the draft. Something like you mentioned is certainly a possibility, or perhaps a good strategy. If neither Stewart or one of the top blue chip OL or DE's fall to us, then what you suggest makes sense to me. Sure. It just depends upon how well you pick in the 3rd round, I guess, how much value, or how lucky you get.

Bulltalk wrote:It just depends upon how well you pick in the 3rd round, I guess, how much value, or how lucky you get.

Fair enough. The third round is when they drafted Leroy Hill, Sean Locklear, Brandon Mebane, Darrell Jackson and Ahman Green. Then again, it's also when they drafted David Greene and Wayne Hunter. You never know what you're gonna get.

Ex-hippie wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Fair enough. The third round is when they drafted Leroy Hill, Sean Locklear, Brandon Mebane, Darrell Jackson and Ahman Green. Then again, it's also when they drafted David Greene and Wayne Hunter. You never know what you're gonna get.

Like any overhyped event, you finally just want to get on with it.

I'm sticking mostly to my guns:

1) Pick Stewart if he's still there
2) Pick top blue chip lineman that falls to us (Merling, Otah, possibly Calais Campbell) if Stewart isn't available
3) Engineer a *finesse trade* so that we are able to draft 3-4 of the 2nd tier talents on day one

This make the most sense to me. You've kind of convinced me that it might be better to trade down with a team who is real horny for a player at our position who we aren't, and thereby drafting a handful of solid 2nd tier prospects.

Of course, one can always be overcome by 1st round talent lust, the desire to nab that pie-in-the-sky star in the eye of the beholder.

Bulltalk wrote:This make the most sense to me. You've kind of convinced me that it might be better to trade down with a team who is real horny for a player at our position who we aren't, and thereby drafting a handful of solid 2nd tier prospects.

One possibility I read about relates to Atlanta. Most mocks have Atlanta taking Matt Ryan at #3, but I read one article floating the possibility that they pass on Ryan there, then trade up from their second-round spot to the Seahawks' pick at #25 and take Brian Brohm.

Ex-hippie wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



One possibility I read about relates to Atlanta. Most mocks have Atlanta taking Matt Ryan at #3, but I read one article floating the possibility that they pass on Ryan there, then trade up from their second-round spot to the Seahawks' pick at #25 and take Brian Brohm.

Out of curiosity, what combination would you be most happy with if the Hawks kept their first two picks:

1) Jonathon Stewart 1st---Martellus Bennett/Fred Davis 2nd
2) Phillip Merling/Calais Campbell 1st---Martellus Bennett/Fred Davis 2nd
3) Chris Williams/Brandon Albert/Jeff Otah 1st---Martellus Bennet/Fred Davis 2nd
4) Devin Thomas 1st--Martellus Bennet/Fred Davis 2nd

Obviously all these 1st round selections could be considered as talents that "fell" to us. But saying one of these guys fell to us, or were merely available to us as fair value at that spot, how would you rank these scenarios in terms of what would make you most happy? Basically the question is, asssuming quality is available at our #1 pick, and we can get a good TE in the 2nd round, which combo would make you the most happy, RB/TE, DE/TE, OL/TE, or WR/TE?

I'll take what's behind door #3. You can never have too many good offensive linemen, plus we may need to replace Walter Jones in a year or two. If we can get Williams, Otah or Albert, plug him in at a guard spot and groom him to be the eventual LT, I'll be very happy.

With Stewart's injury history and current injury status, I just don't see him as really "dropping" if he's at #25. That is about the right spot for him. Merling would be a nice grab (more so than Campbell) but DE isn't particularly a need. Same goes for WR.

Heard an interview with John Carlson on ESPN radio today. Turns out he had a parasite that caused him to lose a lot of weight and perform poorly at the combine, but he improved on his numbers in his pro day. So he might be back in the picture for a second-round pick.

P.S. I'm hearing so little about Martellus Bennett these days that I wonder if he's shaping up to be a day-2 pick. I could be off base, though.

Ex-hippie wrote:I'll take what's behind door #3. You can never have too many good offensive linemen, plus we may need to replace Walter Jones in a year or two. If we can get Williams, Otah or Albert, plug him in at a guard spot and groom him to be the eventual LT, I'll be very happy.

With Stewart's injury history and current injury status, I just don't see him as really "dropping" if he's at #25. That is about the right spot for him. Merling would be a nice grab (more so than Campbell) but DE isn't particularly a need. Same goes for WR.

Heard an interview with John Carlson on ESPN radio today. Turns out he had a parasite that caused him to lose a lot of weight and perform poorly at the combine, but he improved on his numbers in his pro day. So he might be back in the picture for a second-round pick.

P.S. I'm hearing so little about Martellus Bennett these days that I wonder if he's shaping up to be a day-2 pick. I could be off base, though.

Interesting on Carlson. Actually, I have heard some good things about Bennett of late, not a lot, but some things. I've also seen how he's crept up in a bunch of mock drafts over the last few weeks, for whatever that's worth.

Point being, no TE in the first round. I'm actually surprised whenever I see a TE picked by the Hawks in any mock drafts. We'll get either the Keller, Davis, Carlson, or Bennett of our choice in the 2nd round. Who knows, maybe we'll pull off some "finesse trade" and get one early in the 3rd round.

I understand your wanting to go for option #3 if one of the studs falls to us. I might have to agree with you there, though option #1 does get my offensive hormones flowing, and option #2 plays into my personal love for making opposing team's QB's lives miserable.

Bulltalk - I see you're also pursuing the "no tight end" argument on the draft board as well. I think you're persuading me, slowly. The draft has several quality TE prospects, but none who look like super blue-chippers who can be immediate impact players and high draft picks (like a Gonzalez, a Winslow, or a Shockey). This year's top tight ends seem more comparable to last year's top tight ends, Greg Olsen and Zack Miller, and although those two remain good prospects, they didn't exactly set the league on fire as rookies. So it's not like the difference between Keller (possible late first-round reach) on the one hand, or Davis, Carlson and Bennett (second-round value pick), on the other hand, is going be life or death.

Strangely, since I dismissed Bennett a few days ago, I've seen his name all over the place. Maybe I'm just paying closer attention now.

But let's say all the O-line prospects we discussed, Stewart, Merling and Balmer are all off the board -- which is not at all improbable. Then what? It's too early for Sam Baker. Do we grab a WR?

One of the ESPN mocks (can't recall if it was McShay or Kiper) has us taking Kenny Phillps... and although it's not an area of need, it's an intriguing idea, as Brian Russell is only a short-term plug-in. Might be nice to have a young player who is drawing comparisons to Ed Reed, even if we don't need him right away.

Ex-hippie wrote:Bulltalk - I see you're also pursuing the "no tight end" argument on the draft board as well. I think you're persuading me, slowly. The draft has several quality TE prospects, but none who look like super blue-chippers who can be immediate impact players and high draft picks (like a Gonzalez, a Winslow, or a Shockey). This year's top tight ends seem more comparable to last year's top tight ends, Greg Olsen and Zack Miller, and although those two remain good prospects, they didn't exactly set the league on fire as rookies. So it's not like the difference between Keller (possible late first-round reach) on the one hand, or Davis, Carlson and Bennett (second-round value pick), on the other hand, is going be life or death.

Strangely, since I dismissed Bennett a few days ago, I've seen his name all over the place. Maybe I'm just paying closer attention now.

But let's say all the O-line prospects we discussed, Stewart, Merling and Balmer are all off the board -- which is not at all improbable. Then what? It's too early for Sam Baker. Do we grab a WR?

One of the ESPN mocks (can't recall if it was McShay or Kiper) has us taking Kenny Phillps... and although it's not an area of need, it's an intriguing idea, as Brian Russell is only a short-term plug-in. Might be nice to have a young player who is drawing comparisons to Ed Reed, even if we don't need him right away.

I saw that S pick, too. Just when I thought I had it narrowed down in my mind about the possible directions we'd go, they throw a new position in to be considered.

This may just be me, but I would pass on the S pick. True, we're getting a little long in the tooth at the position, but we have enough quality and depth there for this year, and I'd rather grab a quality WR or DE at that pick if it was my choice (yes, I'd still take one of the top OLmen if he fell to us).

As of now, if one of the top OLmen isn't available, and I can get over my lust for a top RB prospect like Stewart (very difficult for me ), I'm inclined to go for either Merling or Calais Campbell with our first pick, and then pick either Keller, Davis, Bennett, or Carlson in the 2nd round. I'm just not sold on any WR in the first round (with the possible exception of the soon to be Michigan State alum), and the thought of a potential DE stud to team up with Kerney, Peterson, and, to a lesser extent Tapp as our pass rushng squad makes me drool.

I grew up a Bears' fan originally. I can never get the mid 80's Bears' defenses out of my mind. I apologize for that. If you have solid cover guys, can shut down the run (please, please, please return to stud form Tubbs ), and then can get fear-for-your-life pressure on the opposing team's QB consistently, you're in every game; and if you have a strong ball control offense, a decent healthy QB, you can win at any time, on any level.

My bias.

I keep reading the history of WR's, and am surprised at how many top ones were picked in the 2nd,3rd, and 4th rounds. All this precariously depends upon a new young TE, Putzier doing decent till their ready, Engram playing solidly again, Burleson and Obamanu improving, and Branch getting healthy in the meantime. Some big ifs.

Anyway...that's where I'm at now.

Bulltalk wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

I grew up a Bears' fan originally. I can never get the mid 80's Bears' defenses out of my mind. I apologize for that.

No need to apologize... I went to college in Chicago and am generally pro-Bears. (Even though my college days were the Mike Tomczak/Jim Harbaugh era, which wasn't very pretty.)

I keep reading the history of WR's, and am surprised at how many top ones were picked in the 2nd,3rd, and 4th rounds.

The 2001 draft really sticks out in my mind. The Seahawks took Koren Robinson that year. I remember really, really hoping either Robinson or David Terrell would fall to them when they picked (I think it was #8 or #9), but thinking Rod Gardner in the mid-first round would have been a decent alternative. I wasn't at all interested in the guys who wound up being late-first, second, and third-round picks -- Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, Chad Johnson, Chris Chambers and Steve Smith.

The latest from Icness on the draft board seems to be that Otah is sinking like a stone. If we can be patient with him and give him at least two years to learn from a master left tackle, he might be a good pick. (Although, in the relative privacy of the Seahawks' board, I have to question where his info comes from. Recently I looked up his predictions from last year and none of them came true. This includes follow-up speculation that the Dolphins were going to trade up from #9 to land Brady Quinn, which is funny in retrospect. It makes for fun reading, though. But I'm not quite ready to drink the Kool-aid the way some peopel on the draft board are. I don't mean to call him out and I'm sure he has good sources, but I wonder if much of what he hears is misinformation.)

Ex-hippie wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



The 2001 draft really sticks out in my mind. The Seahawks took Koren Robinson that year. I remember really, really hoping either Robinson or David Terrell would fall to them when they picked (I think it was #8 or #9), but thinking Rod Gardner in the mid-first round would have been a decent alternative. I wasn't at all interested in the guys who wound up being late-first, second, and third-round picks -- Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, Chad Johnson, Chris Chambers and Steve Smith.

The latest from Icness on the draft board seems to be that Otah is sinking like a stone. If we can be patient with him and give him at least two years to learn from a master left tackle, he might be a good pick. (Although, in the relative privacy of the Seahawks' board, I have to question where his info comes from. Recently I looked up his predictions from last year and none of them came true. This includes follow-up speculation that the Dolphins were going to trade up from #9 to land Brady Quinn, which is funny in retrospect. It makes for fun reading, though. But I'm not quite ready to drink the Kool-aid the way some peopel on the draft board are. I don't mean to call him out and I'm sure he has good sources, but I wonder if much of what he hears is misinformation.)

I guess I'm just going to be highly skeptical of all rumors from here on out, trust in Ruskell, and see what happens. I'll still read the rumors because I can't help myself. They entertain me. But I think we've got a pretty good handle on it.

I will be surprised if we make a TE our first pick, though. Then I'll have been proven wrong. That's for sure.

Bulltalk wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



I guess I'm just going to be highly skeptical of all rumors from here on out, trust in Ruskell, and see what happens. I'll still read the rumors because I can't help myself. They entertain me. But I think we've got a pretty good handle on it.

I will be surprised if we make a TE our first pick, though. Then I'll have been proven wrong. That's for sure.

I agree a TE with the 1st pick sets us up for a weak draft. Pick BPA #1 and get a TE with our 2nd rounder and were going to have a great draft IMO.

Well now the Tacoma News Tribune is talking about the Seahawks trading down in the draft, as Ex-hippie talked about. This makes perfect sense IF a few things don't happen:

1) Jonathon Stewart isn't available and/or they don't want to take a RB anymore with their first pick with their duo FA signings of RB's

2) Either Merling or Calais Campbell isn't available to them at #25 and/or they don't see the value in them in comparison to a later first round pick and an additional 2nd or 3rd round pick. If this idea is very much on the table, then it will be interesting to see how hard of a bargain Ruskell drives, and how badly a team picking later wants to move up in the draft. I don't see Balmer taken here as he doesn't seem to fit the Hawk's personality/character profile.

3) None of the top OLmen fall to the Hawks, and by that I mean primarily Otah, as it seems Long, Clady, and Albert will surely be gone. I'm not sure they'd categorize Gosder Cherilus as enough value here to pass on obtaining an additional pick on day one in a trade, especially as they don't possess a 4th round pick.

Anyway...

Hey Ex-hippie, how about this for a moving-down-in-the-draft-trade. It seems like a decent one in terms of value, especially if it fits the needs of both teams at the time?

Seahawks trade their #25th pick in the 1st round to the Atlanta Falcons for their #34 and #48th pick in the 2nd round.

What Seattle would be left with on day one of the draft:

1st Round

No picks

2nd Round

#34 pick (from Atlanta)
#48 pick (from Atlanta)
#55 pick

3rd Round

#86 pick

What Atlanta would be left with on day one of the draft:

1st Round

#3 pick
#25 pick (from Seahawks)

2nd Round

#37 pick

3rd Round

#68 pick
#98 pick

From a pure value standpoint, this trade seems reasonably fair for both sides, and *might* work out for both sides, too.

For the Hawks, we could come away with potentially some sort of a combination of 3 of these players in the 2nd round:

a) Dustin Keller or Fred Davis or Martellus Bennet at TE
b) Sam Baker OT
c) Lawrence Jackson or Calais Campbell or Quentin Groves DE
d) James Hardy or Jordy Nelson or Eddie Royal or Malcom Kelly WR
e) Ray Rice or Chris Johnson RB


Just throwing it out there.