Is Graham Barton 'that guy' for the Seahawks?
Will Seahawks break their trend by drafting a center in the first round, doing what fans want? Seaside Joe 1876
In your infinite request for the Seahawks to “do better” with regards to the offensive line, Duke’s Graham Barton is undergoing “the bump” and is doing the best pre-draft Creed Humphrey impression I’ve seen since Creed Humphrey. Talked about as an intriguing second round pick going into the pre-draft process, Barton has emerged (at least in the public’s eye) as the top interior offensive line prospect in the draft and a potential Week 1 starting center for the team that picks him, as well as a utility player who started most of his games in college at left tackle and could be a top-tier guard in the NFL.
If the Seahawks don’t pick Graham Barton, will they be hearing about it from fans as often as they hear about not picking Humphrey?
It’s not just Seahawks fans who do it: Fans of many NFL teams wanted their GM to select Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey in the 2021 draft, especially as he continued to slide all the way to pick 63 with the Kansas City Chiefs. All the Chiefs have gotten with Humphrey is a snap-partner for the sport’s best player who hasn’t missed a game, been to two Pro Bowls in three years, and helped Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowls.
For Seahawks fans, it’s “We could have had Humphrey instead of Dee Eskridge”, for Rams fans it’s Tutu Atwell instead of Eskridge, for Panthers fans it’s Terrace Marshall. Will teams be making a similar mistake when they choose WR4 or WR5 or WR7 over Graham Barton next week? Or could Barton be the next John Michael Schmitz, everybody’s favorite center in the 2023 draft and also arguably the worst player at the position during his rookie campaign with the New York Giants?
I’ve been saying for years—no, I should rephrase that and note to you that I am rephrasing it so it is absolutely clear…I have been REPORTING WHAT THE SEAHAWKS DO IN THE DRAFT for years and what they do is ignore centers and guards until round three at the earliest. Some will smartly point out that the Seahawks ignored cornerbacks in the top-90 picks until choosing Devon Witherspoon fifth overall last year.
If Graham Barton is the “Devon Witherspoon” of center prospects then maybe that is what bucks trend for John Schneider. Or maybe Seahawks owner Jody Allen—who Pete Carroll essentially said fired him because it seemed like that’s what people in the media/fans said she should do—will once again listen to the fans and “strongly suggest” to Schneider that his best course of action would be to beef up the interior of the offensive line.
Now I’ve been writing for weeks now that all signs point to Seattle choosing a defensive player with their first pick and I have no reason to erase that I’m still leaning that way. Probably after trading down to accumulate more draft capital unless a prospect falls to 16 who Schneider can’t believe makes it to them, which happens to teams all the time; I just read a quote by Bill Belichick noting that New England was often shocked by players falling to the Patriots in the first round like Chandler Jones and Logan Mankins. If the Seahawks draft Rome Odunze at 16, then we can probably agree that Seattle didn’t trade down because they had no idea they could get Rome Odunze without moving up.
Absent a scenario like that or no teams calling Schneider to move up, it seems most likely to me that Seattle’s pre-draft visits—which includes almost no players expected to go top-20 but a LOT who are expected to go in the late first, second, and early third rounds when the Seahawks have no picks—are setting up a trade down and a defensive player for Mike Macdonald. However, one of the few offensive prospects in this range known to have visited with Seattle is Barton and perhaps more enticing for Schneider than his position is how analysts and teammates talk about the 6’5, 313 lb lineman who can play tackle, guard, and center: “Hardest worker”, “Tenacious”, “Competitive Toughness”, and “Explosive”.
In fact, you could use these same words to describe one of the Seahawks most-liked rookies of 2023, if not ever, wide receiver/special teamer Jake Bobo. It is perhaps only coincidence that Bobo and Barton were teammates at Duke from 2020-2021.
It is only in the last week that I’ve heard media draft analysts talk about Barton’s place in the first round as if it is a formality, with some going as far to say that it wouldn’t be a reach if he went to the Seahawks at 16. But it could just as easily be that Seattle keeps working the phones until they do trade down to 25, 27, or 28, and then assess all of the remaining options between Barton or Cooper DeJean or Ennis Rakestraw and so on until Schneider settles on the best player available which could very well be a center/guard/tackle from Duke.
Barton could either start at center if Olu Oluwatimi and Nick Harris aren’t as good, or he could push for jobs at left and right guard, or he could supplant Abe Lucas in a pinch. I’ve already said that “versatility” alone is not a first round trait so Barton has to actually be a prospect with All-Pro potential at guard and center to be considered in the top-20. But if the Seahawks trade down—and do enough to get back a late second or third round pick—they might have the option to draft Barton in a range more suitable for his position.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked him as the top interior OL and 18th overall on his big board.
Overall, Barton will have adjustments to make as he moves inside, but he has athletic feet and strong hands and works hard to stay attached to blocks through the whistle. He projects as an above-average NFL starter at guard or center (reminiscent of Alijah Vera-Tucker).
But is Graham Barton—and not local hero Troy Fautanu—the interior offensive line prospect who will force Schneider’s hand to do something he has never intentionally done with a first round pick and choose a center or guard? Normally I will not do a deep dive on a draft prospect only because I don’t want to waste anyone’s time by writing 3,000 words on players who don’t become Seahawks…in Barton’s case, he has a a) meeting with the Seahawks, so there’s some connection there already and b) it’s more about what he represents than what will actually happen in the draft and whether Seattle actually takes him.
What does he represent? YOUR dream of the Seahawks picking a center or guard in the first or second round.
Join Regular Joes for only $5 per month or get an entire year for only $55 and you’ll be paid through the 2025 DRAFT cycle! Over 150 bonus articles per year for Regular Joes members:
Is Graham Barton worth it? This is what the film and the analysts say about that decision: