Do The Seahawks Know How to Pick 'Em?
The Seattle Seahawks have the fourth overall pick in Saturday's 2009 NFL draft, and we can only hope they do better than the Chicago Bears did with the first overall pick in NFL draft history: The Bears' selection, running back Jay Berwanger, eschewed pro football for a job as a foam-rubber salesman. (Don't knock it: These were the halcyon days of foam-rubber sales. Think Mad Men, but with even more dames and broads.)
The most urgent pre-draft speculation has centered on the possibility that the Seahawks might select a quarterback, either Matthew Stafford of Georgia, or Mark "Clean" Sanchez of USC.
Drafting a quarterback would be a high-risk (need we remind you of Rick Mirer) / high-reward (then again, Peyton Manning) decision; it would also be damned exciting--an NFL quarterback is the face of his franchise, and an immediate local celebrity. You might see Stafford or Sanchez on the cover of a magazine if the Hawks pick them, but the same does not hold true for the offensive lineman prospects.
Picking a QB would also signal the impending departure of the team's current, and arguably best-ever quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck.
(Hasselbeck's reaction to the rumors? "It would be a shame, the [draft pick] would have to sit on the bench for four or five years," he told ESPN 710 (we paraphrase). Matt Hasselbeck's pretty awesome.)
Other fourth-pick possibilities:
--Michael Crabtree, the tall, skilled, playmaking wide receiver from Texas Tech. Seahawks head coach Jim Mora is said to possess a "man-crush" on Crabtree.
--Aaron Curry of Wake Forest, considered the best linebacker prospect in ten years, and the "safest" pick in the draft.
--B.J. Raji, the best defensive tackle in the draft. But the Boston College prospect's discipline is in question: He struggles with his weight, was academically ineligible in college, and threw a punch at an opposing player in a game.
--One of three offensive tackles: Andre Smith of Alabama, Jason Smith of Baylor, or Eugene Monroe of Virginia. Any would be a starter-in-waiting while Seahawks legend Walter Jones finishes his career.
The Seahawks could also choose to "trade down": give their pick to another team in exchange for two picks later in the first round. Denver and Buffalo both possess two picks in the first round below the Hawks, either is a potential trading partner.
Should you wish to revel in pre-draft mania, we suggest the blog Seahawks Addicts, which has dutifully reported every rumor, scouted every player, and generally expended more energy on draft posts than Walter Jones does pushing an Escalade up his driveway.
The 2009 NFL draft is held at Radio City Music Hall in NYC; it begins at 1 p.m. Seattle time on Saturday. Each team gets ten minutes per pick, so the Hawks will probably make their first-round selection around 1:45. The first two rounds of the draft happen on Saturday (our Seahawks also possess the fourth pick of the second round); rounds 3-7 on Sunday beginning at 7 a.m. Seattle time.
You can watch the entire draft live on ESPN or NFL Network. Or, if you are our friend who planned a trip to San Francisco this weekend, or our friend who has a softball tournament in Federal Way, we'll text you the results. And should you need any foam-rubber, we know a guy.
"12th Giant in Everett" via Matt B. on the Seattlest Flickr Pool.
