The Seattle Seahawks are coming off of a 4-12 season in which two cornerstones of the franchise spent much of the season injured. Matt Hasslebeck and Walter Jones help lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl in 2005, but their lack of playing time in 2009 was evident. Seattle went out during the offseason and acquired Charlie Whitehurst from San Diego. Whitehurst looks to be the quarterback of the future, but he is still a question mark as he has not thrown a pass in 4 NFL seasons.
The draft addressed the void left by the retirement of Jones. You don't replace a Hall of Fame left tackle overnight, but Seattle was able to select the tackle many had at the top of their draft boards in Russell Okung with the 6th overall selection. With a second pick in the first round Seattle was then able to pick Earl Thomas, a safety from Texas that some had rated higher than Eric Berry, who went 5th overall. Thomas is strongest in pass coverage, and he has the ability to play cornerback as well.
The Whitehurst trade cost Seattle their regular second round pick higher up in that round, but it also brought the Chargers pick at near the end of the second round. With that selection Seattle got one of the biggest steals of the draft when they were able to select Golden Tate. The wide receiver from Notre Dame was seen by many as the #1 or #2 wideout in the draft, and with injuries to T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Deion Branch it looks like Tate will get a chance to play right away.
Seattle also got two late round sleepers in Kam Chancellor and Anthony McCoy. Chancellor can team up with Earl Thomas and the two of them will be patrolling the secondary for many years to come. McCoy is a big, physical tight end who can block as well as catch passes, and his draft stock fell due to a positive drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine. But his old college coach from USC was Pete Carroll, who now coaches the Seahawks. Carroll knows what he is getting with McCoy, and if he can stay clean then Seattle got a tight end who will help solidify their passing game.
Draft Grade: A+ (Best Draft of any team in 2010)
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