What's the best Seahawks O draft of all-time?
The Seahawks want to have the best young offense in the NFL
The Seahawks swung for the fences in this year’s draft…the off-fences.
In a mock fantasy draft of the best NFC offensive rookies, Todd McShay and Steve Muench combined to take three Seattle Seahawks, which says all you need to know about Seattle’s intentions with their picks this year. And that was without either of them taking quarterbacks or offensive linemen, so Jalen Milroe and Grey Zabel were not even eligible for consideration.
Muench on Elijah Arroyo:
“I think Arroyo is an upgrade over Noah Fant. I think of Arroyo stays healthy, he is going to be a great tight end in the league. He’s a guy who, if he didn’t have the medical stuff, would have had a real chance to go in the first round. He was the fifth tight end drafted…that was shocking. There’s a lot of (tight end) playmakers in this class, but how was Arroyo fifth? He should have gone earlier.
I’m hoping Sam Darnold is able to hit the ground running in Seattle. I believe he has all the talent to be a great quarterback in the league. Arroyo is going to eventually supplant Fant and he’s going to get enough touches to have a big year.”
McShay on Tory Horton:
“I had Horton as a third or fourth round grade, that range. I think his upside is a number three, I don’t think he’ll be any worse than a number four, and his absolute ceiling would be a number two. At the end of the day, I just like this guy and I though he was underrated compared to some, like Jalen Royals. Probably would have gone earlier if not for an injury last season.
The thing I liked about him, a couple of things: Everyone likes the speed and the experience in the punt return game, yes. He’s really good with the ball in his hands. And I think he tracks the ball BEAUTIFULLY downfield. He’s a more advanced route runner than a lot of these other late second, third, fourth round guys…He’s got a chance to immediately be the number four and maybe supplant Marquez Valdes-Scantling.”
Muench on Damien Martinez:
Kenneth Walker, we’ll see what happens there. I think Zach Charbonnet is a good number two. I think Damien Martinez at the very least could play a role on the goal line because of how rugged, tough, and powerful he is. If Walker is unable to stay healthy and Charbonnet is the number one pick…I think Martinez is talented enough that on a lot of teams he steps in as a rookie as the number two back. That might not happen in Seattle, but he’s a seventh round guy who is a great number three back and he’s gonna push and compete and do everything in his power to move into that top-two.
He’ll carve a role as a goal line guy. I wouldn’t be surprised if Martinez didn’t have a ton of carries as a rookie, but had 4, 5, 6 touchdowns, whatever, because he’s so powerful in short yardage situations…Martinez might surprise some people and play a bigger role than people anticipate.
And let’s say again which offensive players were not mentioned:
18th overall pick G Grey Zabel
92nd overall pick QB Jalen Milroe (who could help the team score TDs immediately)
175th overall pick FB Robbie Ouzts
192nd overall pick G Bryce Cabeldue
234th overall pick G Mason Richman
238th overall pick WR Ricky White
Seattle has a chance of 2025 being their best draft class in franchise history in terms of offensive picks, which is less about necessarily having to believe in all these picks, and more about the sheer volume of selections: nine picks on offense!
What is the best offensive draft class in Seahawks history?
At first, I thought this question would be too easy because I mistakenly put Shaun Alexander and Steve Hutchinson in the same class. When in reality, Alexander and Hutchinson both headline the two best candidates for “best Seahawks O class ever” and they happened in back-to-back years.
Which of these would you say is better…
2000:
1.19 RB Shaun Alexander
1.22 T Chris McIntosh
3.80 WR Darrell Jackson
6.175 WR James Williams
2001:
1.9 WR Koren Robinson
1.17 G Steve Hutchinson
3.82 FB Heath Evans
4.128 T Floyd Womack
5.140 WR/ST Alex Bannister
7.222 C Dennis Norman
The 2001 class has a Hall of Famer and a few good complementary pieces. The 2000 class has an MVP and one of the top receivers in Seahawks history. McIntosh had a very short career, as did Williams. But Alexander and Jackson are two of the best offensive picks in Seattle history.
A few more Seahawks truths
Here are some more of the anonymous “TRUTHS” that you left me this week:
We would have won at least one more game last year if we’d kept Damien Lewis - conference champ in McDonald’s first year. Hindsight is 20-20, but it would probably have covered the extra salary.
Lewis would have certainly filled one of the biggest weaknesses on the roster!
I believe Sam Darnold will have a "good" year, however I believe Geno Smith will have an even better year (statistically)
Probably something the fans will be tracking too, as well as how Pete Carroll does in his return, and DK’s debut in Pittsburgh vs Kupp’s in Seattle.
The answer to JS vs PC comes down to whether the seahawks or raiders win a playoff game first. I think for fairness you have to give Pete an extra year, as he took a year off. Tie breaks are number of playoff wins followed by regular season record and tiebreakers.
See!
DK was the most overrated receiver in the league.
Be interesting to see how he does with that Steelers QB situation.
I'm happy and do not need any therapy today, thank you very much.
GREAT!
Seaside Joe 2262
I'd vote for the 2001 class in part bc I think Shaun Alexander had a big helping hand running behind two HOF'ers. But, I'd submit the 2012 class as well (perhaps using a technicality...).
Obviously Player #1 is Russell Wilson, and given he plays QB that almost puts the 2012 class into the mix all by itself. But there was also Robert Turbin, and that 5th round pick we gave Buffalo for Marshawn Lynch (that's the technicality); JR Sweezy who converted to guard (another technicality as he was actually a defender when drafted); and UDFA Jerome Kearse.
If we can count Marshawn, I think 2012 could make its argument for the award -- or maybe even without him, since Russ (with all his flaws) may have been the biggest game changer in Seahawks history.
I had to vote for 2001 because I think Hutch had a hand in Alexander's MVP, and was perhaps the best guard in NFL history.
I almost wrote in 1997 because of Walter Jones and Itula Mili (Big Walt doing all the heavy lifting), but filling 4 starting positions had to break the tie between HOFers for me.
I wonder how Seattle ranks in all-time UDFA players vs. other teams. Dave Kreig, Doug Baldwin, Jermain Kearse, and Thomas Rawls are a pretty good start.