RENTON, Wash. -- A wrap-up of the Seattle Seahawks’ draft.
Best move: WR Tyler Lockett fills a huge need as the best punt/kick returner in the draft, but the Seahawks gave up three draft picks to move up to get him. That wouldn’t have been necessary had they picked Lockett in Round 2 instead of Frank Clark. My buddy Ryan McGee, who covers college football for ESPN, says Lockett is a clone of Russell Wilson. “They both are extremely intelligent and come from great families," McGee said. “They both work their tails off and both are unfairly portrayed as too short.” Like Wilson, Lockett is 5-foot-10. Don’t let that fool you. He’s an explosive receiver and a dangerous kick returner, along with being a high-character young man.
Riskiest move: Making Michigan DE Frank Clark their top pick near the end of the second round. Clark was kicked off the team last November after being charged with domestic violence. The charge later was reduced to disorderly conduct. Clark also was charged with felony theft after stealing a laptop from a dorm room when he was a freshman. Just too many red flags for a team that had other options with its first pick.
Most surprising move: Waiting until late in the fourth round to take an offensive lineman, which clearly is the team’s biggest need area after losing left guard James Carpenter to free agency and center Max Unger in the trade for tight end Jimmy Graham. The Seahawks chose two offensive linemen in Round 4 -- Terry Poole of San Diego State and Mark Glowinski of West Virginia. Seattle offensive line coach Tom Cable said both players have the ability to play multiple spots up front. Both will compete at guard to start out. But take a wild guess how may OL were chosen ahead of them? That would be 25.
File it away: The Seahawks may have a couple of diamonds in the rough with their late-round picks from Oregon State. Obum Gwacham played only one season as a DE for the Beavers after moving from WR, but his talent is exceptional, and he could develop into a quality pass-rusher. And S Ryan Murphy, the final pick for Seattle, is tough as nails with 65 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss last season. He gives the Seahawks much-needed depth behind Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas after losing Jeron Johnson in free agency.
My take: It's hard to doubt the draft success of the Seahawks, who have proved they know how to get the most out of players other teams didn’t want or believe in. But this one started badly when they picked Clark and set the organization up for enormous criticism. One way to look at this draft in a positive light is to consider Graham the team’s first-round pick, who is better than anyone they could have picked at No. 31 overall. But this list is full of players who are question marks and long-term projects. Maybe in the end, the Seahawks will get the last laugh again. But for now, it’s hard to see. Thumbs down
