Seahawks fans have to be particularly happy with Pete Carroll's draft this season. Seattle had one of the best drafts of 2010, and they have really helped themselves from both a real and fantasy perspective. Perhaps the one key mistake they made was swapping picks with San Diego in the trade that sent them QB Charlie Whitehurst. had they stayed where they were, the Seahawks rather than the Carolina Panthers might now be home to Jimmy Clausen.
The Seahawks draft: Seattle had 9 picks in this year's NFL draft including two in the first round.
Key picks:
Round 1: Russel Okung, OT - Okung represents an immediate impact in Walter Jones old spot at left tackles. In terms of fantasy value, he is immense. Anything the Seahawks do to keep Matt Hasselbeck on his feet and healthy improves the value of every offensive player on the team. Especially at QB and receiver.
Round 1: Earl Thomas, S - His fantasy value took a minor hit when the team resigned veteran Lawyer Milloy, but he should still make a solid impact this year, and he's a nice IDP, defensive back sleeper pick.
Round 2: Golden Tate, WR - This was an excellent pick for the Seahawks, and some might argue something of a steal. I expected him to go earlier in the second round to the Steelers or another team in need of WR depth. While it's still a bit to early to assess how much of an impact he'll make in 2010, he arguably in a better position to shine than rookies Dez Bryant or Demaryus Williams are. Blasphemous? We'll find out.
Behind The Scenes: On the draft's second day Pete Carroll made a few crafty trade moves sending late picks to the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets to snag running backs Lendale White and Leon Washington. Of course this really muddles the RB situation in Seattle, where they already have Julius Jones and Justin Forsett. But as we've seen the last couple of season, Jones can't get it done, and Forsett doesn't seem to have the make-up of an RB1. I can't see the team carrying all four backs, but Leon Washington is still recovering from his late season broken leg. I think Lendale White holds the most promise as the main go-to-guy, while others believe it will be Forsett, with White playing the TD vulture he once did in Tennessee. I think White could be the primary back the team has been missing since Shaun Alexander.
Guys to target in 2010: T.J. Houshmandzedah is the only WR that seems a sure thing at this point. There are a lot of guys in the mix, including the rookie Tate, but we'll have to wait and see.
Guys to avoid in 2010: All their RBs unless you can grab Forsett or White late.
IDP picks: David Hawthorne, Jordan Babineaux, Lofu Tatupa, Aaron Curry, Lawrence Jackson and Josh Wilson
Sleepers: Matt Hasselbeck, Golden Tate, John Carlson
This is Part 2 of a 32 team post draft review. Next up the Kansas City Chiefs.
Previous teams: Pittsburgh Steelers
