Have you ever tried to go grocery shopping when your wallet is almost empty?
That’s not unlike how the Seattle Seahawks must feel going right now.
Few fans of the Seattle Seahawks have high expectations for this year’s NFL Draft, which is underway this weekend.
In the case of the Seahawks, it’s not a lack of money so much as a lack of draft picks.
Seattle only has three picks in this year’s draft: the lowest number of any team in the league (the Philadelphia Eagles have the most at 11). For comparison, Seattle’s division rivals in the NFC West have six (the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams) or eight (the San Francisco 49ers).
It’s hard to imagine Seattle getting much better after this draft, especially given that none of their picks are terribly high in the draft order. Seattle currently holds the 24th pick in the second round (number 32 overall), the 24th pick in the fourth round (number 129 overall), and the 23rd pick in the seventh round (number 250 overall).
What are the Seahawks main needs?
Most agree that their most pressing need—no pun intended—is at cornerback. Last season’s two starting cornerbacks, Shaquill Griffin and Quinton Dunbar, now play for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions, respectively.
Another need is at receiver. And this is even though Seattle has one of the best receiving duos in the league in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Last season Metcalf racked up over 1300 yards, and Lockett pulled in over 1000 yards. But after that, things look slim indeed.
Lastly, center is an area of need. Currently, Seattle has Ethan Pocic, who occupied that role last season. But given that Pocic is on a one-year “show me” contract, it might be a good idea to start grooming his replacement.
Now, when speaking to the media this week, Pete Carroll papered over the dearth of draft picks at Seattle’s disposal, mostly because that is part of his job. He only half-jokingly said that Jamal Adams is the Seahawks’ number one draft pick this year. Adams, of course, is the player they signed last season at the expense of giving away their first and third-round picks in this year’s draft to lock down Adams’ services.
What this reflects, for better or worse, is that, to some extent, what to see is what you get for the Seahawks this upcoming season. (It’s more complicated than this, of course, since players can be cut and added before the start of the new season this fall).
Then again, we are talking about Pete Carroll and John Schneider here. They are like two of the world’s top chefs, so to speak. They may not be going on a shopping spree, but that doesn’t mean they don’t already have all the ingredients they need.
