Take quarterbacks, for example. Most folks are saying that if the Seahawks don’t come out of the draft with one of the top six QBs, the front office should come under serious fire. We can’t put our trust in Charlie Whitehurst, right? Imagine that six teams other than the Seahawks draft those consensus top six QBs. Those are six teams no longer in the market for Kevin Kolb, Vince Young, Matt Flynn, Kyle Orton or even Jimmy Clausen. Orton is a tweener at 28, but belongs in the “can build around safely” category since he could easily be playing another 5 years at a high level. All of those guys likely come in and become your starter (Clausen is a question, but did get his rookie experience out of the way and certainly knows Golden Tate). The team could also draft a player later, like Ricky Stanzi, and get a veteran like Hasselbeck, Donovan McNabb, Carson Palmer, etc. that at least gets them to next years draft. This would allow the team to see if they got lucky with a late round young QB before considering drafting another young gun next season. Almost any way this position plays out in the draft, there is a logical path forward for the Seahawks.
The Seahawks will definitely take at least one offensive lineman, and likely two. There are some good RT prospects and lots of good interior lineman. Ideally, they get at least one starter. It does not really matter where on the line they draft the starter because there are a glut of free agent lineman on the market to fill in the gaps. You can almost pencil in Robert Gallery at RG next to Okung. Max Unger can play either guard or center (although I don’t think he was playing like a starter before his injury). Carroll has had nothing but glowing reviews for the in-season line additions that none of us have seen. Really, the team can take the best lineman that falls to them, and be thrilled to have him.
Cornerback is a mess, but if the team doesn’t address it in the draft, it’s likely because they filled holes at QB, OL, DL and WR. That makes it easier to go hard after a blue-chip free agent corner like Asomugha. There are also players like Antonio “Can you tell me my son’s name” Cromartie and Ike Taylor.
Defensive line is the toughest one to address via free agency or trade, which is why you can almost guarantee the team spends some draft picks there. Luckily for the Seahawks, its a deep position in this draft.
So there. Take a load off. Enjoy the ride. No matter what happens Thursday-Sunday, the team will have plenty of opportunity to patch the roster holes once the lockout ends.