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Tim McConnell's avatar

Seaside Joe, do you know if teams ever bring guys in to dilute the pool of prospects, just to throw off other teams trying to guess what that particular team will do in the draft? Or is it just to evaluate later picks they are unsure of?

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KHammarling's avatar

I've seen Chase Lundt listed in multiple sources as having an official visit too. Multi-year starter at RT at UConn. Great production in a zone scheme (hint hint!) with an emphasis on technique over power.

Grading as high as the 4th, as low as Undrafted. Fits with Hawks history of Day 3 OLine picks, if he's there in the 7th I wouldn't be surprised at all if we called his name.

I'm not shocked at seeing Shough in the visit list. He's a very late rising name in the draft landscape so getting him in makes sense when it's unlikely the scouts did tons of work on him. But I'm not putting weight on it as a guide either, teams will call in all sorts for sor many different reasons.

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Grant Alden's avatar

Shough only makes sense if you see him as an NFL starter next season. I don't think we hired Darnold to put him in that situation (again). I don't see the point of it. If we draft a QB I continue to hope it's someone at 137/lower who we hope to challenge for the back-up job.

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Tim McConnell's avatar

Well, now that I read that I demand the Hawks draft Bryce Cabeldue.

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Nicholas Donsky's avatar

Draft visits are usually over rated because all the character, motivation and desire issues can readily be cleaned talking to their coaches, team mates and opponents. Draft for what you can see on tape and the BPA.

Before everybody gets wierd about our IOL situation there are FAs, draftees and trade candidates left. It's not even April!

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Scott M's avatar

Williams is hyper athletic but it's not about how you do something but more about that you did something. But holy cow Williams is fun to watch. If he's prone to drops and fumbles I'm out. But if he's just in need of some coaching, sign me up.

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Charley Filipek's avatar

G Bryce Cabeldue, OT Esa Pole & a flyer on Flying WR Savion Williams.

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Seaside Joe's avatar

If you could get Williams at 92, Cabeldue at 137, and Pole as UDFA maybe that could work great.

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Paul G's avatar

Until I saw Tyler Shough’s stats here, I didn’t know it was possible to be a journeyman QB in college. How could he possibly be anything more as a pro? Inexplicably, Staton is big on him. (Not big as in Will Levis big, but big.)

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Stephen Pitell's avatar

Yea, but in spite of his age, he has only seen so many starts and taken so many snaps. I think maturity as a QB is less about age and more about snaps. They are both important, but with good QB's lasting until their late 30's, Shough would still have 10 years to establish his legacy. Plenty of time to wring out all the draft capital expended.

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Largentium's avatar

The other consideration is something a baseball writer I used to read on a regular basis said. Health is a skill. Guys who tend to get injured frequently usually keep getting injured. Given Shough's history, it's just one more reason to not waste a pick on him.

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KHammarling's avatar

Managing, maintaining and recovery of muscular, joint & general health is certainly a skill.

Breaking your collarbone in a tackle is dumb (bad)luck. Breaking your leg on a hip-drop tackle is not even bad luck, it's just bad and a tackle the NFL and College are trying to cut out - because it causes injury.

I don't think teams would put much stock on Shough's injury history as a result. If he went out three times with a bad hamstring or achilles, or hurt his shoulder twice through over-work, that'd be a concern. Broken bones are different, and then it's more about how does the player recover, which in Shoughs case seems to be on time and without lingering confidence or playstyle impacts.

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Stephen Pitell's avatar

Good point. I don't know much about his injuries, but he's had his share alright.

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Stephen Pitell's avatar

That last guy sounds terrific. I hope he lasts till our fourth rounder, and he ends up as an all pro.

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Seaside Joe's avatar

Me too!

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Scott shaver's avatar

I hope we pick 2 mauler guards in our first 4 picks and then a study receiver if any are left if not a diamond in the rough defensive tackle.

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Seaside Joe's avatar

Not that it couldn’t be a great plan, but I’ll be floored if Schneider drafts two guards, like strictly guards, before day 3. I may agree with you but it’s just antithetical to Schneider’s career tendencies and I would be really stunned if the team had given up on all the guards they drafted in 2023 and 2024. If they draft a tackle on day one and a guard in the third round, that would align more with his MO

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Grant Alden's avatar

I am intermittently persuaded that we have a starting C and RG. We do not appear to have a replacement for Laken Tomlinson, who was an R1 pick (from Duke) in '15. Whatever his faults he's had a longer than average NFL career.

Everything about our off-season so far argues JS now plans to find his LG in the draft. I am not persuaded an NFL starting quality lineman can be plucked from oblivion on day three. So allow me to advance some arguments for why JS might do the historically unexpected.

(1) JS himself. This offseason, in particular, has demonstrated that he is an agile and adaptive strategist. He has to be self-aware enough to self-scout. Back in the mid-'80s, when I used to drive across the bridge to pay for groceries in a Bellevue kitchen game, a strange crew which included a washed-up child actor, some legal secretaries, and an art director friend, I always reminded the table that I never bluffed. And I don't. Except, every third or fourth Sunday.

(2) The HC JS has hired, and to no small degree staked his own job on, and the OC/staff they have hired. He has to set them up to succeed.

(3) The marketplace has shifted, perceptibly. Dude with four good starts and a busted leg gets $88-million over five years with no medical exam. The league is slowly coming to grips with the scarcity of IOL, and recommitting to a grow-your-own strategy.

(4) Team needs ahead of us in the draft may make it less likely we are able to let IOL fall to us at 50/52. I opened one of the mock tabs on my computer (sigh), and here are the teams ahead of us with identified IOL needs: Saints (9), Bears (10, though they've tended to most of that, right?), SF (11), Miami (13), and Cardinals (16). That same site has FOUR OL, most of them listed at T, with R1 grades (Zabel is 33). Seven (counting Zabel) are listed down to 50. Now...those needs/rankings are not how teams see themselves, obviously. But, again, it suggests scarcity.

Maybe the answer is we draft a tackle at 18/50/52 and plan to play them at guard while "developing" them into a potential replacement for Lucas. Maybe, and maybe that's an excuse for doing what's needed.

My two cents. Longer, as always, than warranted.

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Randall Murray's avatar

Well said. They can’t rely on college to bring in a stud anymore. Have to coach them up. And what you missed, JS brought in multiple experienced Oline coaches. One has been coaching for 33 years. Another 10 years and was a college C. Coach up the guys you draft.

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La’au's avatar

Your kitchen game sounds like the beginning of a joke I once heard.

In all seriousness I believe we just might see JS take a tackle and a guard within the first four picks. I also would like him to pick up an edge and a corner as well.

What a great time to be a fan!

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Grant Alden's avatar

One entire wall was mirrored.

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Scott shaver's avatar

True the only way I could forgive not taking two guards off the bat is if we got the athletic freak Grant or possibly one of the elite receivers. I truly think the nfl experienced offensive lineman have sworn a pact not to play for him after years and years of his view of them as not being important enough to pay. He might just need to go if no offensive lineman want to play for him.

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La’au's avatar

I like reading about fliers like these guys. Helps me realize how insanely talented these young men are.

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Seaside Joe's avatar

Yeah I enjoyed digging into them too. I don’t like to overdo the pre draft profiles because 90-100% of the prospects that locals write about do not become Seahawks.

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