Seattle's Signings to Scratch Your Head

The Seattle Seahawks announced two signings that make me scratch my head. They signed Mike Williams and Reggie Williams to help out the receiving corps. When I first heard this I had to ask myself 'Why?'

Both players are talented. They were each selected in the top 10 of the draft. Reggie #9 by Jacksonville, Mike #10 by Detroit. But neither player panned out from the moment they entered the league. Now the NFL has it's share of reclamation projects, and I wish both players the best. But I can't help but think these signings are a result of the Charlie Whitehurst trade and the fact that Seattle has no 2nd and 3rd round picks.

The 2010 NFL Draft is as deep as you are going to find. There are a number of receivers who are going to go in the 2nd and 3rd rounds that are talented and can make an impact. If the Seahawks have faith and confidence that the Williams and Williams signings are going to work then they can hang onto both of their first rounders and address needs with those picks.

If you have a receiver who has been out of the league for an extended period of time the one thing they will have going against them is conditioning and timing. Mike Williams has admitted to not doing much of anything since he was last released. I'm not sure about Reggie Williams, but after his cocaine possession sentencing he seems to have gotten his life back on track. But they do have one advantage over the wideouts already at Seattle. They are measurably bigger and taller than those they are competing with, and you can't teach someone to be tall. Mike Williams played for Pete Carroll at USC, and Reggie Williams was recruited by Carroll out of high school, then signed with the University of Washington. So Carroll knows what he is getting with both players. The problem is he wasn't coaching against them in the NFL when their careers went into the dumper. It may have been in the best interest of the Seahawks to trade their 4th and 5th round picks and acquired Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn. At least they wouldn't have to worry about getting them into shape. Only getting them to produce on the field.