I’m really glad to see that Hutch is consulting with the Hawks. Another testament to the Hawks culture. Even though Hutch wasn’t one of Pete’s guys, he is still part of the team (Once a Hawk, always a Hawk). I think that’s cool, especially on a professional level.
I think the biggest takeaway for me is that when the Hawks want to know about a player, they go see that player. It is assuring to no end that they don’t rely on all the media frenzy information and mis-information that we have to sort through. I can accept whomever they draft in part by knowing that they have the capacity to really research these players directly & for themselves. They don’t have to sift through the noise.
It's a good year for IOL options, would have been better with Van Pran (seriously, many really good prospects did not declare this year, making those who did to avoid College level competition at their positions stand out all the more... not naming names...). Tippmann would be better shifted to G than C, and with his size i'd feel ok using him as T in an injury cover situation. 1st Rd is over selling him, but he'll definitely be gone on Day 2.
Schmitz will probably be the only Centre who'll go Day 1, and even that's uncertain. But Day 2 could easily have JMS, TIppmann, Wypler (my preference for the Hawks, and the player who looks to better fit JS/PC desires at the position), Mauch, Stromberg and possibly Oluwatimi all going as possible Centres. Add on Avila, Ekiyor, Curtis and Daniels as Guards - that's a lot of IOL players going in the 2nd/3rd we could easily see a few of them available to the'Hawks at #123.
#52 should be the earliest we look at the position, and can get a reliable good option. #123 we could add a second good player, otherwise slide back to the 6th/7th for a Broeker, Kipper, Scruggs, Forsyth, Galvin. It's a good IOL draft class.
Bijan at #5, Ade Ade at #20, Mazi at #37, Wypler at #52, Pickens at #83, Daniels at #123 - 6 picks to power up the trenches in our first 6, that'd be a very nice draft and a team with staying power in January.
I remember reading about Hutchinson's role with the team when they drafted Stone Forsyth. It's fair to assume that he has provided input on every OL draft pick, and on a ton of guys not picked, over the last few years.
I don't see why meeting with a prospect should have any more meaning than wanting to learn more. Hutch could just as well tell them he thinks Tippman is only worth a 5th round pick as he might the #20 pick.
Pauline did this same shit last year. He heard someone in the Seahawks org did some research into Ridder and then turned it into some elaborate tale of draft trades and negotiations in the works and presented it as fact. It was all bullshit.
So there are three 6'6 centers in the NFL. Two of them were drafted by the Seahawks. Ethan Pocic, Justin Britt (drafted as RT). Tippmann is 6'6 and has position versatility.
the 'Hawks still have a ton of holes at the moment, imo. too many for my liking. as Joe used to point out often in his video days, we have talent on the roster. but we have lacked elite level or near-elite level talent. drafting a great center will raise the floor of the rest of the O-line. same with taking a Carter/Anderson/Wilson/Robinson: add great players to a solid lineup and now everyone looks better. current players take a smidgen less snaps/responsibilities and new baddies do they baddie thing and PRESTO we got ourselves a very competitive roster again. RE center I'm not alone in thinking that since the Unger trade we really have never been the same. I'm hoping we focus on elite(ish) players while continuing to develop the other pretty good to very good players already on the roster. seriously, this is the most exciting and interesting draft in probably forever for our 'Hawks. Keep it coming, Joe!!! what an off-season!!!
Unless we know Pauline is a reliable Seahawks insider who has gotten solid info from inside the VMAC before, this entire "scoop" could be complete BS, because it sure stinks of it.
They need a center ,and have for a long while. I'm not saying go 1st round ,but second round is fine. Get it fixed ,and Oh by the way most of the truly good to decent Centers aren't tackles or guards.
I'd say Hutch might be out of a job if he is talking to Tony Pauline, was it? I put very little stock in this stuff, but it's nice to know Hutch is consulting for them.
Here's what I hear, and that is that from a supply and demand standpoint, it's a buyers market for Centers. Sure every team that needs a center bad enough to spend a first round pick to get their pick of the litter will only push all the other first rounders down. After all of them have their center, Ricky Stromberg is still undrafted. And don't forget guard and tackle converts to the Center position. If Stromberg is still there in the fifth round, we'd get a great bargain. But the guys who go ahead of him are good, too.
We've spent cap on a Center already. One who is proven and a significant improvement over last years' Center. I'm not saying it isn't happening, I'm just saying the Center position is as deep as the Marrianna Trench.
Nearly everyone wants a long term answer at center. But spending a first round pick on is one pretty rich when the supply outstrips the demand. Food for thought, though.
Center? Cool. Very cool...most Definitely about his consulting the Hawks. That dude was the nastiest OG in his 'OG' era. Yes - check some film on him. Sheer feistiness.
Few would know about the position than Steve Hutchinson. It seems like there never are very many elite Centers in college. I suspect it is because the tradition of putting those O-Linemen who are less gifted athletically to the inside. Shorter armed athletes are often placed at center as well. Having a top-end, truly elite player at any position, Center included, gives a competitive edge.
As far as spending premium draft capital on a non-priority position. The 2022 20th selection ('little hands' Kenny Pickett) garnered a guaranteed, $15,315,000.00 contract over 4 years. This year choosing Tippmann at 20 will tickle nearly $6,000,000 a year? - Shoot! That rookie will immediately be the 10th highest paid Center in the NFL. That seriously seems rich.
Thinking this through, a first-round Center is a Luxury I would choose not to afford. There are very good crop of Centers from the 2nd through the 4th-rounds. It'd be Cooler to have a difference-making defender who is capable of taking over a game at 20.
One attribute that Tippman has that neither Schmitz nor Wypler have is serious size. Haven't seen his film, but it seems likely that his anchor and drive as a blocker are more impressive than we've seen at center in Seattle for a long time. He's just as likely a worse mover to the second level, however, than what we've had...
There is zero doubt that a top level center is a key part of the OL rebuild. What I don’t know is whether a very high pick at that position has a good tendency to pan out well. All I know is: I want Geno to be very well protected. I don’t think the value of that can be overstated.
“ many centers are late risers because most draft analysts and predicters and “experts” don’t know how the hell to rate them until they’re told by the teams making them pick how good they actually are.”
Crazy to me that there’s such a drop off in the ability to grade talent once you go from NFL organizations to the rest of the world. I get that I don’t have the understanding of what makes a prospect special (or not) but you’d think as long as these “experts” have been doing it, the Mel Kipers and so forth would be more dialed in.
Tea leaves! Tea leaves! I'm so tired of tea leaves!
Why isn't the draft here already?
I’m really glad to see that Hutch is consulting with the Hawks. Another testament to the Hawks culture. Even though Hutch wasn’t one of Pete’s guys, he is still part of the team (Once a Hawk, always a Hawk). I think that’s cool, especially on a professional level.
I think the biggest takeaway for me is that when the Hawks want to know about a player, they go see that player. It is assuring to no end that they don’t rely on all the media frenzy information and mis-information that we have to sort through. I can accept whomever they draft in part by knowing that they have the capacity to really research these players directly & for themselves. They don’t have to sift through the noise.
It's a good year for IOL options, would have been better with Van Pran (seriously, many really good prospects did not declare this year, making those who did to avoid College level competition at their positions stand out all the more... not naming names...). Tippmann would be better shifted to G than C, and with his size i'd feel ok using him as T in an injury cover situation. 1st Rd is over selling him, but he'll definitely be gone on Day 2.
Schmitz will probably be the only Centre who'll go Day 1, and even that's uncertain. But Day 2 could easily have JMS, TIppmann, Wypler (my preference for the Hawks, and the player who looks to better fit JS/PC desires at the position), Mauch, Stromberg and possibly Oluwatimi all going as possible Centres. Add on Avila, Ekiyor, Curtis and Daniels as Guards - that's a lot of IOL players going in the 2nd/3rd we could easily see a few of them available to the'Hawks at #123.
#52 should be the earliest we look at the position, and can get a reliable good option. #123 we could add a second good player, otherwise slide back to the 6th/7th for a Broeker, Kipper, Scruggs, Forsyth, Galvin. It's a good IOL draft class.
Bijan at #5, Ade Ade at #20, Mazi at #37, Wypler at #52, Pickens at #83, Daniels at #123 - 6 picks to power up the trenches in our first 6, that'd be a very nice draft and a team with staying power in January.
I remember reading about Hutchinson's role with the team when they drafted Stone Forsyth. It's fair to assume that he has provided input on every OL draft pick, and on a ton of guys not picked, over the last few years.
I don't see why meeting with a prospect should have any more meaning than wanting to learn more. Hutch could just as well tell them he thinks Tippman is only worth a 5th round pick as he might the #20 pick.
Pauline did this same shit last year. He heard someone in the Seahawks org did some research into Ridder and then turned it into some elaborate tale of draft trades and negotiations in the works and presented it as fact. It was all bullshit.
So there are three 6'6 centers in the NFL. Two of them were drafted by the Seahawks. Ethan Pocic, Justin Britt (drafted as RT). Tippmann is 6'6 and has position versatility.
the 'Hawks still have a ton of holes at the moment, imo. too many for my liking. as Joe used to point out often in his video days, we have talent on the roster. but we have lacked elite level or near-elite level talent. drafting a great center will raise the floor of the rest of the O-line. same with taking a Carter/Anderson/Wilson/Robinson: add great players to a solid lineup and now everyone looks better. current players take a smidgen less snaps/responsibilities and new baddies do they baddie thing and PRESTO we got ourselves a very competitive roster again. RE center I'm not alone in thinking that since the Unger trade we really have never been the same. I'm hoping we focus on elite(ish) players while continuing to develop the other pretty good to very good players already on the roster. seriously, this is the most exciting and interesting draft in probably forever for our 'Hawks. Keep it coming, Joe!!! what an off-season!!!
Unless we know Pauline is a reliable Seahawks insider who has gotten solid info from inside the VMAC before, this entire "scoop" could be complete BS, because it sure stinks of it.
They need a center ,and have for a long while. I'm not saying go 1st round ,but second round is fine. Get it fixed ,and Oh by the way most of the truly good to decent Centers aren't tackles or guards.
I'd say Hutch might be out of a job if he is talking to Tony Pauline, was it? I put very little stock in this stuff, but it's nice to know Hutch is consulting for them.
Here's what I hear, and that is that from a supply and demand standpoint, it's a buyers market for Centers. Sure every team that needs a center bad enough to spend a first round pick to get their pick of the litter will only push all the other first rounders down. After all of them have their center, Ricky Stromberg is still undrafted. And don't forget guard and tackle converts to the Center position. If Stromberg is still there in the fifth round, we'd get a great bargain. But the guys who go ahead of him are good, too.
We've spent cap on a Center already. One who is proven and a significant improvement over last years' Center. I'm not saying it isn't happening, I'm just saying the Center position is as deep as the Marrianna Trench.
Nearly everyone wants a long term answer at center. But spending a first round pick on is one pretty rich when the supply outstrips the demand. Food for thought, though.
I wonder if Hutch was on hand to meet with Jalen Carter. I suspect he would see what I would like to know from looking into his eye.
Center? Cool. Very cool...most Definitely about his consulting the Hawks. That dude was the nastiest OG in his 'OG' era. Yes - check some film on him. Sheer feistiness.
Few would know about the position than Steve Hutchinson. It seems like there never are very many elite Centers in college. I suspect it is because the tradition of putting those O-Linemen who are less gifted athletically to the inside. Shorter armed athletes are often placed at center as well. Having a top-end, truly elite player at any position, Center included, gives a competitive edge.
As far as spending premium draft capital on a non-priority position. The 2022 20th selection ('little hands' Kenny Pickett) garnered a guaranteed, $15,315,000.00 contract over 4 years. This year choosing Tippmann at 20 will tickle nearly $6,000,000 a year? - Shoot! That rookie will immediately be the 10th highest paid Center in the NFL. That seriously seems rich.
Thinking this through, a first-round Center is a Luxury I would choose not to afford. There are very good crop of Centers from the 2nd through the 4th-rounds. It'd be Cooler to have a difference-making defender who is capable of taking over a game at 20.
Yes, that would be very cool...
One attribute that Tippman has that neither Schmitz nor Wypler have is serious size. Haven't seen his film, but it seems likely that his anchor and drive as a blocker are more impressive than we've seen at center in Seattle for a long time. He's just as likely a worse mover to the second level, however, than what we've had...
There is zero doubt that a top level center is a key part of the OL rebuild. What I don’t know is whether a very high pick at that position has a good tendency to pan out well. All I know is: I want Geno to be very well protected. I don’t think the value of that can be overstated.
Hutch meeting with a possible C draftee for the Seahawks? That's a Tip, Man!
“ many centers are late risers because most draft analysts and predicters and “experts” don’t know how the hell to rate them until they’re told by the teams making them pick how good they actually are.”
Crazy to me that there’s such a drop off in the ability to grade talent once you go from NFL organizations to the rest of the world. I get that I don’t have the understanding of what makes a prospect special (or not) but you’d think as long as these “experts” have been doing it, the Mel Kipers and so forth would be more dialed in.