Good stuff from Bob and Jude

[D-train]

Mention the QB situation but nothing definitive. Hard to translate was JS in trying to say.

By Bob Condotta and Adam Jude
Once the drafting is over the debating begins.

What was the Seahawks’ best pick? Their most eyebrow-raising? And have they made the moves in the offseason to pick up where they left off a year ago when their 9-8 record was one of the more surprising in the NFL?

Let’s address those questions in a special post-draft edition of Four Downs with Seahawks beat writers Bob Condotta and Adam Jude.

1. What pick did you like the most?
Condotta: Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. I’ll admit, when I assessed the draft heading into it, I downplayed that they’d take a receiver in the first round, thinking that they’d focus on defense. While receiver seemed a definite need, I fell in with many in thinking the Seahawks would address it a little later. The Seahawks had never taken a receiver above 45 in the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era. Having so much draft ammo also made this the perfect time to really go ‘best player available’ and load up on elite talents, and they did that in the first round with cornerback Devon Witherspoon and Smith-Njigba, who each seem to have all the tools to become long-term superstars at a time when passing — and stopping the pass — is more vital than ever to winning in the NFL.

Jude: Derick Hall. The Seahawks drafted the senior edge rusher from Auburn with their first second-round pick (No. 37 overall), and I think he has a chance to blossom into a fan favorite in Seattle. He’s been lauded for his makeup — a high-character player and team captain in college. On top of that, he’s known for his toughness and aggressiveness in rushing after the QB. And, yep, he’s fast, having run a 4.55-second 40-yard dash, the seventh-fastest among all edge rushers in this draft class. He feels like a guy who could immediately step in and give the Seahawks some juice off the edge.

2. What about this draft did you question the most?
Condotta: What would the Seahawks have done if one the top three QBs was at No. 5? Or specifically, Anthony Richardson of Florida, the only one of the top three who would logically have been available with Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud going at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Seahawks GM John Schneider said Saturday “there’s three quarterbacks who went right ahead of us and you can’t push it to like a narrative. It has to feel right for everybody — the whole team, the coaches, the locker room.” The implication seemed to be that if one of the top three had been there, they would have had a decision to make. Since none were, there wasn’t. That also seemed to imply they graded three QBs as worth taking with a high pick, but maybe not any others — and no other QBs went in the first round. The Seahawks really liked Witherspoon, and appear to have had him second on their defensive board behind only Will Anderson Jr. But Richardson would have been tempting, too, though not to tempting that Seattle considered trading up to get him — Schneider said the Seahawks did not try to move up. So what would they have done if Witherspoon and Richardson had been there? That may be a question left forever without an answer.

Jude: The debate about Jalen Carter isn’t going away, and it probably won’t any time soon. Will the Seahawks regret not taking him at No. 5? We had heard before the draft that multiple teams had taken Carter completely off their draft boards, and the sense here is the Seahawks were in the same boat. The Seahawks had clearly decided that the many concerns surrounding Carter — on and off the field — made him too much of a risk. I tend to think they made the right call; he simply isn’t worth the gamble with at pick that high. But if Carter winds up turning into, oh, the next Aaron Donald, then passing on him could sting for a while.

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3. Which pick do you think could surprise?
Condotta: Sixth-round pick Jerrick Reed II, a safety from New Mexico, was the only player the Seahawks drafted who wasn’t invited to the combine, and was considered by most an undrafted free agent signee at best. But Seahawks GM John Schneider couldn’t have seemed more enthusiastic when talking about Reed — who projects as a safety/nickel hybrid, and gave a funny anecdote talking about his pre-draft visit, recalling the movie “Elf.” “He’s an angry little Elf, you know?’’ Schneider said. One to watch in camp and the preseason for sure.

Jude: Zach Charbonnet. The Seahawks used a second-round pick on a running back for the second year in a row, and the inevitable grumbling ensued. But Charbonnet fits the profile of what the Seahawks need right now. He has good size (at 6 feet and 214 pounds), good speed (a 4.53 40) and good production in college — averaging 6.97 yards per carry on his 195 attempts with 14 touchdowns as a senior at UCLA. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah predicted Charbonnet would be a “Day 1 starter” in the NFL, and Charbonnet could be the perfect complement to what the Seahawks already have in Ken Walker.

How would you assess the Seahawks’ offseason so far?
Condotta: It’s easy to fall into positivity following the draft, when every team feels as if they’ve just gotten demonstrably better. It’s hard to fight the idea that the Seahawks are better now than a year ago. They have an offensive line where every player has been a starter (or in the case of Phil Haynes, a co-starter) for at least a year; they know what they have in Geno Smith; their receiving corps should be deeper, as should their secondary, and the focus on the draft can make it easy to forget that Dre’Mont Jones may well be the defensive line playmaker they have been missing. Then there’s the return of Bobby Wagner, who may be 33 when the season starts, but who may also help clean up some of the communication issues that seemed to dog the Seahawks’ defense in 2022. But I’d still expect a move — if not now, at least right before or during camp — to try to add a vet or two to the D-line.

Jude: You have to like what the Seahawks have done on offense, adding some young talent to the interior of the line and, most notably, drafting the top-ranked receiver in this class to team up with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. This, on paper, looks like a top-10 offense in the NFL, and that might be selling it short. As Bob noted, I do think it’s fair to wonder if the Seahawks did enough to beef up their defensive line, the one area that, from the outside, looked like it had to be their No. 1 priority entering the draft. It’s possible DT Cameron Young (a fourth-round pick) and DE Mike Morris (a fifth-rounder) could surprise us, but it feels like Seattle is asking an awful lot of two rookies to help fill a sizable void up front.

[SeattleAddict]

By Bob Condotta and Adam Jude

2. What about this draft did you question the most?
Condotta: What would the Seahawks have done if one the top three QBs was at No. 5? Or specifically, Anthony Richardson of Florida, the only one of the top three who would logically have been available with Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud going at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Seahawks GM John Schneider said Saturday “there’s three quarterbacks who went right ahead of us and you can’t push it to like a narrative. It has to feel right for everybody — the whole team, the coaches, the locker room.” The implication seemed to be that if one of the top three had been there, they would have had a decision to make. Since none were, there wasn’t. That also seemed to imply they graded three QBs as worth taking with a high pick, but maybe not any others — and no other QBs went in the first round.

I don't get how all these "seemed to imply" things were actually implied.

They were asked if they considered taking a QB and they made this statement.

That's how Bob and Jude interpreted it, but “there’s three quarterbacks who went right ahead of us and you can’t push it to like a narrative. It has to feel right for everybody — the whole team, the coaches, the locker room” simply states facts. Now, the first assessment that there would have been a decision to be made is logical - decide whether to take Devon at 5 or trade back and take Devon later. The second assessment "That also seemed to imply they graded three QBs as worth taking with a high pick" has no basis. They just said there were three taken, and there was no point in pushing (trading up) just to make sportswriters right. The fact three teams wanted QBs up there doesn't mean Seattle had them graded that way. The Seahawks have their own draft board, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with what others think (other than maybe predicting what other teams will do).

[D-train]

Yeah in reading again, it sounded like they weren't buying the narrative on AR?

[D-train]

And why the F does a reporter have to rely on what it implied. Have they heard of the concept of a FOLLOW UP question if the answer wasn't clear??

I swear most of the Seattle media must never even went to Journalism 101

[Sexymarinersfan]

And why the F does a reporter have to rely on what it implied. Have they heard of the concept of a FOLLOW UP question if the answer wasn't clear??

I swear most of the Seattle media must never even went to Journalism 101

I think Anderson and Witherspoon were on their board at 5. If only Richardson was left, they probably would have tried trading down, or into next year's 1st round. Arizona really fucked us when they traded with Houston out of 3. I think Anderson would have made it to us at 5 if they hadn't traded. They wanted the next J.J. Watt.

[Cascade Kid]

And why the F does a reporter have to rely on what it implied. Have they heard of the concept of a FOLLOW UP question if the answer wasn't clear??

I swear most of the Seattle media must never even went to Journalism 101

You should write Bob and ask him

What was narrative was being pitched by the media heading into the draft? That 4 QBs would go in the first 5 or 6 picks?

Bob pointed out the logic to narrowing down his implications (which are not facts in any means by the way) with the assumption Young and Stroud were always considered gone by #5. Yet there was still a momentum on discussion and interest by the Seahawks in possibly seizing the opportunity to draft QB early.

But implying something isn't a factual statement. So don't get too hung up on it.

[D-train]

And why the F does a reporter have to rely on what it implied. Have they heard of the concept of a FOLLOW UP question if the answer wasn't clear??

I swear most of the Seattle media must never even went to Journalism 101

I think Anderson and Witherspoon were on their board at 5. If only Richardson was left, they probably would have tried trading down, or into next year's 1st round. Arizona really fucked us when they traded with Houston out of 3. I think Anderson would have made it to us at 5 if they hadn't traded. They wanted the next J.J. Watt.

Who would AZ have taken then?

[D-train]

And why the F does a reporter have to rely on what it implied. Have they heard of the concept of a FOLLOW UP question if the answer wasn't clear??

I swear most of the Seattle media must never even went to Journalism 101

You should write Bob and ask him

What was narrative was being pitched by the media heading into the draft? That 4 QBs would go in the first 5 or 6 picks?

Bob pointed out the logic to narrowing down his implications (which are not facts in any means by the way) with the assumption Young and Stroud were always considered gone by #5. Yet there was still a momentum on discussion and interest by the Seahawks in possibly seizing the opportunity to draft QB early.

But implying something isn't a factual statement. So don't get too hung up on it.

I'm not. Just a general comment on Seattle sports reporters who are mostly lame.

All is well that ends well. They took a CB like I wanted and predicted.

[Sexymarinersfan]

And why the F does a reporter have to rely on what it implied. Have they heard of the concept of a FOLLOW UP question if the answer wasn't clear??

I swear most of the Seattle media must never even went to Journalism 101

I think Anderson and Witherspoon were on their board at 5. If only Richardson was left, they probably would have tried trading down, or into next year's 1st round. Arizona really fucked us when they traded with Houston out of 3. I think Anderson would have made it to us at 5 if they hadn't traded. They wanted the next J.J. Watt.

Who would AZ have taken then?

I heard that if Arizona had remained at 3, then they were taking Paris Johnson regardless. Tony Pauline was the very first one to leak this and he Nailed it! Said the Cardinals were going to take Paris no matter what.

[Donn Beach]

Pete on Anthony Richardson

“We considered him,” Carroll said, via Michael-Shawn Dugar of TheAthletic.com. “Shoot, we flew all the way out there to go see him. Not just to see him but to be around him and watch him and how he handled himself, and his program with all the hype that was going. We gave him tremendous consideration. He might be the best athlete that’s ever been drafted at that position. He’s arguably that. So, we had to definitely consider that.”