Ha! I meant no ill with my statement; I certainly wasn't trying to imply you were a liar. I just happen to be well aware of something called "confirmation bias" - it's human nature to have a tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. That's not "LYING", just being human.
I have only been a paid subscriber for a few months, maybe since around the draft, and I really enjoy your stuff. That means that I have not seen the last 18 months worth of content and your work on other QBs and draft prospects. I've only seen a lot of Grayson McCall love, though you replied to an earlier comment of mine that you don't see anyone touching Bryce Young as far as talent.
There are indeed so many other writers out there who yield to their confirmation bias. Your newsletter is trustworthy (and enjoyable) enough for me to pay for it. Just want to see you keep this the best Seahawks-related content out there! Keep up the great work!
Yeah, I am thinking if Ken suddenly stops posting it will be because JS has kidnapped him and strapped him to a chair in the basement to grade out the 2023 QB class.
If McCall turns out to be the Seahawk QB he will have beaten out some very good ones in the hearts and minds of the Seahawk front office. So be it. I love the QB talent in this class. QB's are so hard to find that I feel the Hawks should be shopping not for one 2023 QB but two. Think about that. The success rate is low. Why not improve our odds of finding a top-10 talent at the most important position?
Exactly. QB's are so expensive teams can usually only afford one good one and need to use their high draft picks to put talent around him. We have enough cap space and picks that the 2023 clip board holder can be better than Geno or Sean Mannion . If the draft picks both turn out to be franchise makers we trade one in year two or three and use the high picks received on someone else. Green Bay always drafted quality backup QB's when Schneider was there.
I am pretty sure Bill was not making a slanderous statement. I will agree with you that 6 ints doesn't leave a lot of room for negativity. I have watched every highlight I can on McCaw and he looks to be the point gaurd Pete wants. He always does well with defenders all around him. Lastly how did you get to watch his game last night ? Let us in on the secret.
What I appreciate Ken is that you are evalutating draft picks within the Pete Carroll universe of preferred playing style (run to burn clock and save the defense; low turnovers with good ++ turnovers as a team, explosive play % high on O, low on D, that kind of thing).
McCall DOES fit in that mold for sure as do others potentially. For McCall, the senior bowl (hopefully he will get a invitation) and the combine (same) are going to be very significant for his draft position.
But... I applaud you for shining a light on McCall because he is very Seahawk-y and I haven't seen anyone but you talking about him.
If he continues to play the way he is he will get some post season looks. I could see him adding ten pounds of muscle which would probably only make him faster if done right.
Before i even knew who Grayson McCall is i was checking College QB Stats and instantly began searching him in Google because his Yards per Attempt, Completion % and TD/Int was incredible for me.
Funny Thing i found out. Grayson McCall is not even to be found in Pro Football Focus 2023 Mock Draft Simulator.
That was an exciting game and I think we should have a CCU watch party next week! Although that might entail encouraging less than legal streaming, it’s the only way I know to watch them (and I’m 4 hours away from the stadium).
I’ve watched a condensed version of the Kentucky game and I think Levis might be in for a long season having lost 3 linemen to the NFL. He didn’t look bad save for a bad goal line int, but he was getting flustered and rushing things.
Bryce Young is very good. I have to wonder how much of that is having such a stellar supporting cast. Probably not too much.
Like Russ, I wouldn't know of McCall but for you. As I've read your reports and watched the clips you've posted, I've reached out for additional information and run into a lot of stuff like this. Of course, at QB in particular, there's no way of knowing who will succeed at the next level. I look forward to seeing how this plays out. I tend to agree with those who think it makes sense to pick a QB with one of our first round picks and then again with a day three pick. Why not have two, competing with each other and a veteran?
The average rating at the bottom is based on three services. Check-out the name QBs and it's more like twelve. I think pundits look for reasons that he's not in the national conversation. Some quotes from scouts, "His deep ball needs work but he's got NFL arm talent". “He’s the real deal. He’s a very likeable man with a lot of charisma. If there was ever somebody that was meant to play quarterback, and be out front and lead, it’s him.” I obviously don't know what Pete/John think but I'd love to see the Hawks use their second pick in the first round on McCall after they snap up a pass rusher that everybody likes with the first pick.
I mostly agree, though I imagine getting him later. If the draft were held today, he'd go nowhere near the first round. He's coming out of a small school in a lesser conference so there's a good chance he won't get anywhere near the first round. No reason to reach when draft capital is so precious. That's why I mentioned a day three pick. A team can't get too enthralled with a particular kid. We don't know who will wind up being successful and who won't. To maximize chances of success in the draft, a team needs to have and know its depth chart and also have a sense of the consensus so they're focused not only on talent but on value as well. Another team may reach on a guy and take him off the board. If so, get someone else.
I have this fantasy where we get Stroud, Young, Levis, Richardson -- someone entering the league to much fanfare -- with one of our first round picks and then pick up a guy like McCall with a third, fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh, depending on how long we expect him to last. Then let them compete against each other and also a veteran like Smith or Lock. If all goes well, we cut the veteran and roll with our two rookies.
I'm seeing pundits position McCall more and more as the sixth QB behind Young, Stoudt, Levis, Tyler, and McKee. It just depends on how the Richardson's of the world pan out. I think it's an interesting gambit to draft two rookie QBs and see what kind of value you can build for a future trade scenario.
Agree, Dale, don't want to risk past the 2nd round for Grayson. Will Anderson, whom i learned about here, would set the stage for the Superb Owl in the future
(on Field Gulls is another way of saying Super Bowl).
Interesting scouting report. McCall it seems to me would have graded out quite well against the rest of the 2022 draft QB class had he gone to the combine.
I know of at least one other writer who is far ahead of the curve watching future potential draft picks QBs etc and writing about them often contrary to the national narrative, Rob Staton. You’re not alone.
The internet has allowed us as fans to be gifted with really talented bloggers. Rob and Ken are among the best, but I think Rob is showing signs of burnout and hasn't been as sharp of late. Brian at Hawkblogger was good, but he hasn't written much lately and is really influenced by his podcast buddies, who are all idiots. (Hence the whining about choosing a running back in round 2.) Kip Earlywine wrote with Rob for a while, but I think went to make money somewhere. The guy that had the 17 Power Blog was good, but found Jesus or something and decided to stop blogging. Dave Krieg's Strike Beard was awesome for a while, but that blogger clearly had some mental strains that wound up closing it down. It's not easy writing about the team as a labor of love for so long, and I am grateful for all the guys who do it.
I haven't seen Rob mention McCall though. Rob does a good job combing through the college tapes to find players but to be honest I find him to be more than a little pendantic and he is already pushing a narrative that the Seahawks should fire Pete before they draft the next QB.
Every now and again a McCall type comes along and makes life fun. A smaller-school over-achiever who will certainly find a home in the NFL. Frankly, it won’t be a surprise if he sticks around either. He has something about him. McCall is reasonably sized, he’s not physically limited, he plays with a lot of grit and he has elevated his team to a new level. These are all things that will impress NFL scouts. Yet his offense is very much designed to attack the intermediate level, his deep-ball accuracy isn’t what it needs to be and he operates in a funky option-offense that isn’t particularly transferable. There are some misses on tape that are concerning — just basic stuff where he throws wide or high. I would be surprised if he generates early-round consideration and see him more as a player who comes into the NFL much in the way Gardner Minshew did and finds a way to stick around. I’m not comparing him to Minshew either — it’s just to me he has the feel of a mid-to-late round project quarterback who has enough about him to stick around, without ever truly convincing anyone he’s a legit NFL starter. That would be my early projection.
FWIW Rob's column today highlights Anthony Richardson from Florida (who looked very good and Seahawky) as well as all the other QBs on his radar, but no mention of McCall.
I’m just saying that there are others besides Kenneth looking ahead attempting to deep dive into other qb options but who are not narrative driven, Staton being one. Also McCall was discussed in Rob Staton May 7 QB preview article. As for firing Pete, seems a different question. Pete for sure is an outlier for having stayed with Seahawks so long and doubly so being his age. Discussing his replacement seems appropriate.
6’/194 is what concerns me about Young. How many hits can he take from NFL DEs and blitzers? It’s not the height alone so much as his relative slightness—Kyler Murray is 2” shorter but 13lbs heavier, a build that can absorb a few hits. In any case, I hope that they don’t reach for a QB because of need—that’s the road to Josh Rosen (when you could have had Minka Fitzpatrick or Vita Vea).
I wouldn’t know who McCall was except for the information you provide in your email. But, I did enjoy following the Army, CCU game Saturday just to check on the QB stats. Sounds like he had a great game and I’ll be looking forward to checking in with CCU again next week. Will he make it to the NFL or be any good; at this point, I don’t care.
Can you lay off with the "I'm the ONLY one talking about...." and "NO ONE ELSE is writing about..." nonsense? You aren't. It's either a lie or warped self-promotion that simply isn't true.
A quick search shows si.com listing McCall as the 3rd best qb prospect in the draft and Bleacher Report says he's a Day 2 pick. That's after three minutes worth of searches.
So no, you're not the ONLY person on earth saying nice things about McCall and all of the previous times you chuck those phrases out there (there are many, btw, and all are a combination of dead wrong and laughable) take away from any entertaining points you make.
With all due respect Kenneth, the best draft expert in the Seahawks community is Rob Staton. He regularly identifies guys (especially qbs), well ahead of everyone else. He's probably the reason seahawks fans like Levis so much, and I trust his word on qbs more than most anyone. Not saying he's perfect, as with plenty of draft experts, he is wrong about some players. But he generally is verrrry good at identifying nfl talent at every position including QB.
Question...you said that as far as you know Pete Carroll isn't reading your article. Is anyone from any NFL team subscribed? If so, what's the breakdown by conference, division and team? Be nice to know which enemies are following excellent analysis.
How many teams will be QB shopping in the 2023 draft? Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Detroit, NY Giants, Washington, and maybe Carolina. Possible first round QBs are Young, Stroud, Levis, McKee, Richardson, Van Dyke, Hooker, Hall, Jurkovec, Leary, Haener, and McCall. Others may emerge but I don't expect any of these guys to drop like a rock. The point is that I see seven teams shopping and at least half a dozen QBs that are better than anybody in the 2022 draft. We can get a top ten pass rusher and still find a QB we want. 2023 could be a landmark draft for the Hawks. Hex on the Broncos!
Ha! I meant no ill with my statement; I certainly wasn't trying to imply you were a liar. I just happen to be well aware of something called "confirmation bias" - it's human nature to have a tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. That's not "LYING", just being human.
I have only been a paid subscriber for a few months, maybe since around the draft, and I really enjoy your stuff. That means that I have not seen the last 18 months worth of content and your work on other QBs and draft prospects. I've only seen a lot of Grayson McCall love, though you replied to an earlier comment of mine that you don't see anyone touching Bryce Young as far as talent.
There are indeed so many other writers out there who yield to their confirmation bias. Your newsletter is trustworthy (and enjoyable) enough for me to pay for it. Just want to see you keep this the best Seahawks-related content out there! Keep up the great work!
I wonder when you’re going to get that DM from JS to stop talking about Grayson as you’re outing his master plan 😁🙌🏻
Yeah, I am thinking if Ken suddenly stops posting it will be because JS has kidnapped him and strapped him to a chair in the basement to grade out the 2023 QB class.
If McCall turns out to be the Seahawk QB he will have beaten out some very good ones in the hearts and minds of the Seahawk front office. So be it. I love the QB talent in this class. QB's are so hard to find that I feel the Hawks should be shopping not for one 2023 QB but two. Think about that. The success rate is low. Why not improve our odds of finding a top-10 talent at the most important position?
LOVE this idea!
First pick best QB.
Third or Fourth pick take a “flyer” on another QB.
Grayson McCall?
Keep winner; trade loser to QB needy team.
Exactly. QB's are so expensive teams can usually only afford one good one and need to use their high draft picks to put talent around him. We have enough cap space and picks that the 2023 clip board holder can be better than Geno or Sean Mannion . If the draft picks both turn out to be franchise makers we trade one in year two or three and use the high picks received on someone else. Green Bay always drafted quality backup QB's when Schneider was there.
Except that...
If your lower round QB beats out the 1st round guy then the trade value of the 1st round guy goes in the bucket.
I am pretty sure Bill was not making a slanderous statement. I will agree with you that 6 ints doesn't leave a lot of room for negativity. I have watched every highlight I can on McCaw and he looks to be the point gaurd Pete wants. He always does well with defenders all around him. Lastly how did you get to watch his game last night ? Let us in on the secret.
What I appreciate Ken is that you are evalutating draft picks within the Pete Carroll universe of preferred playing style (run to burn clock and save the defense; low turnovers with good ++ turnovers as a team, explosive play % high on O, low on D, that kind of thing).
McCall DOES fit in that mold for sure as do others potentially. For McCall, the senior bowl (hopefully he will get a invitation) and the combine (same) are going to be very significant for his draft position.
But... I applaud you for shining a light on McCall because he is very Seahawk-y and I haven't seen anyone but you talking about him.
If he continues to play the way he is he will get some post season looks. I could see him adding ten pounds of muscle which would probably only make him faster if done right.
Before i even knew who Grayson McCall is i was checking College QB Stats and instantly began searching him in Google because his Yards per Attempt, Completion % and TD/Int was incredible for me.
Funny Thing i found out. Grayson McCall is not even to be found in Pro Football Focus 2023 Mock Draft Simulator.
What?!
That was an exciting game and I think we should have a CCU watch party next week! Although that might entail encouraging less than legal streaming, it’s the only way I know to watch them (and I’m 4 hours away from the stadium).
I’ve watched a condensed version of the Kentucky game and I think Levis might be in for a long season having lost 3 linemen to the NFL. He didn’t look bad save for a bad goal line int, but he was getting flustered and rushing things.
Bryce Young is very good. I have to wonder how much of that is having such a stellar supporting cast. Probably not too much.
Kenneth, what do you think of scouting reports like this one?
https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Grayson-McCall-QB-CoastalCarolina
Like Russ, I wouldn't know of McCall but for you. As I've read your reports and watched the clips you've posted, I've reached out for additional information and run into a lot of stuff like this. Of course, at QB in particular, there's no way of knowing who will succeed at the next level. I look forward to seeing how this plays out. I tend to agree with those who think it makes sense to pick a QB with one of our first round picks and then again with a day three pick. Why not have two, competing with each other and a veteran?
The average rating at the bottom is based on three services. Check-out the name QBs and it's more like twelve. I think pundits look for reasons that he's not in the national conversation. Some quotes from scouts, "His deep ball needs work but he's got NFL arm talent". “He’s the real deal. He’s a very likeable man with a lot of charisma. If there was ever somebody that was meant to play quarterback, and be out front and lead, it’s him.” I obviously don't know what Pete/John think but I'd love to see the Hawks use their second pick in the first round on McCall after they snap up a pass rusher that everybody likes with the first pick.
I mostly agree, though I imagine getting him later. If the draft were held today, he'd go nowhere near the first round. He's coming out of a small school in a lesser conference so there's a good chance he won't get anywhere near the first round. No reason to reach when draft capital is so precious. That's why I mentioned a day three pick. A team can't get too enthralled with a particular kid. We don't know who will wind up being successful and who won't. To maximize chances of success in the draft, a team needs to have and know its depth chart and also have a sense of the consensus so they're focused not only on talent but on value as well. Another team may reach on a guy and take him off the board. If so, get someone else.
I have this fantasy where we get Stroud, Young, Levis, Richardson -- someone entering the league to much fanfare -- with one of our first round picks and then pick up a guy like McCall with a third, fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh, depending on how long we expect him to last. Then let them compete against each other and also a veteran like Smith or Lock. If all goes well, we cut the veteran and roll with our two rookies.
I'm seeing pundits position McCall more and more as the sixth QB behind Young, Stoudt, Levis, Tyler, and McKee. It just depends on how the Richardson's of the world pan out. I think it's an interesting gambit to draft two rookie QBs and see what kind of value you can build for a future trade scenario.
Agree, Dale, don't want to risk past the 2nd round for Grayson. Will Anderson, whom i learned about here, would set the stage for the Superb Owl in the future
(on Field Gulls is another way of saying Super Bowl).
Interesting scouting report. McCall it seems to me would have graded out quite well against the rest of the 2022 draft QB class had he gone to the combine.
I know of at least one other writer who is far ahead of the curve watching future potential draft picks QBs etc and writing about them often contrary to the national narrative, Rob Staton. You’re not alone.
The internet has allowed us as fans to be gifted with really talented bloggers. Rob and Ken are among the best, but I think Rob is showing signs of burnout and hasn't been as sharp of late. Brian at Hawkblogger was good, but he hasn't written much lately and is really influenced by his podcast buddies, who are all idiots. (Hence the whining about choosing a running back in round 2.) Kip Earlywine wrote with Rob for a while, but I think went to make money somewhere. The guy that had the 17 Power Blog was good, but found Jesus or something and decided to stop blogging. Dave Krieg's Strike Beard was awesome for a while, but that blogger clearly had some mental strains that wound up closing it down. It's not easy writing about the team as a labor of love for so long, and I am grateful for all the guys who do it.
I haven't seen Rob mention McCall though. Rob does a good job combing through the college tapes to find players but to be honest I find him to be more than a little pendantic and he is already pushing a narrative that the Seahawks should fire Pete before they draft the next QB.
He did: May 7th
Grayson McCall (QB, Coastal Carolina)
Every now and again a McCall type comes along and makes life fun. A smaller-school over-achiever who will certainly find a home in the NFL. Frankly, it won’t be a surprise if he sticks around either. He has something about him. McCall is reasonably sized, he’s not physically limited, he plays with a lot of grit and he has elevated his team to a new level. These are all things that will impress NFL scouts. Yet his offense is very much designed to attack the intermediate level, his deep-ball accuracy isn’t what it needs to be and he operates in a funky option-offense that isn’t particularly transferable. There are some misses on tape that are concerning — just basic stuff where he throws wide or high. I would be surprised if he generates early-round consideration and see him more as a player who comes into the NFL much in the way Gardner Minshew did and finds a way to stick around. I’m not comparing him to Minshew either — it’s just to me he has the feel of a mid-to-late round project quarterback who has enough about him to stick around, without ever truly convincing anyone he’s a legit NFL starter. That would be my early projection.
FWIW Rob's column today highlights Anthony Richardson from Florida (who looked very good and Seahawky) as well as all the other QBs on his radar, but no mention of McCall.
I’m just saying that there are others besides Kenneth looking ahead attempting to deep dive into other qb options but who are not narrative driven, Staton being one. Also McCall was discussed in Rob Staton May 7 QB preview article. As for firing Pete, seems a different question. Pete for sure is an outlier for having stayed with Seahawks so long and doubly so being his age. Discussing his replacement seems appropriate.
6’/194 is what concerns me about Young. How many hits can he take from NFL DEs and blitzers? It’s not the height alone so much as his relative slightness—Kyler Murray is 2” shorter but 13lbs heavier, a build that can absorb a few hits. In any case, I hope that they don’t reach for a QB because of need—that’s the road to Josh Rosen (when you could have had Minka Fitzpatrick or Vita Vea).
I wouldn’t know who McCall was except for the information you provide in your email. But, I did enjoy following the Army, CCU game Saturday just to check on the QB stats. Sounds like he had a great game and I’ll be looking forward to checking in with CCU again next week. Will he make it to the NFL or be any good; at this point, I don’t care.
Can you lay off with the "I'm the ONLY one talking about...." and "NO ONE ELSE is writing about..." nonsense? You aren't. It's either a lie or warped self-promotion that simply isn't true.
A quick search shows si.com listing McCall as the 3rd best qb prospect in the draft and Bleacher Report says he's a Day 2 pick. That's after three minutes worth of searches.
So no, you're not the ONLY person on earth saying nice things about McCall and all of the previous times you chuck those phrases out there (there are many, btw, and all are a combination of dead wrong and laughable) take away from any entertaining points you make.
With all due respect Kenneth, the best draft expert in the Seahawks community is Rob Staton. He regularly identifies guys (especially qbs), well ahead of everyone else. He's probably the reason seahawks fans like Levis so much, and I trust his word on qbs more than most anyone. Not saying he's perfect, as with plenty of draft experts, he is wrong about some players. But he generally is verrrry good at identifying nfl talent at every position including QB.
Are we sure Seaside Joe isn't Pete's pseudonym?
Oh, and I'm here.
Question...you said that as far as you know Pete Carroll isn't reading your article. Is anyone from any NFL team subscribed? If so, what's the breakdown by conference, division and team? Be nice to know which enemies are following excellent analysis.
How many teams will be QB shopping in the 2023 draft? Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Detroit, NY Giants, Washington, and maybe Carolina. Possible first round QBs are Young, Stroud, Levis, McKee, Richardson, Van Dyke, Hooker, Hall, Jurkovec, Leary, Haener, and McCall. Others may emerge but I don't expect any of these guys to drop like a rock. The point is that I see seven teams shopping and at least half a dozen QBs that are better than anybody in the 2022 draft. We can get a top ten pass rusher and still find a QB we want. 2023 could be a landmark draft for the Hawks. Hex on the Broncos!