The Seattle Seahawks presence was quiet for the most part at the Scouting Combine this past weekend. This is the time of the year that draft-savvy Pete Carroll and John Schneider should feel the most comfortable. After a few misses in the past few drafts, the Seahawks 2018 NFL Draft was a good bounce-back to their successful draft story. While free agency is expected to be quiet for the Seahawks, they will look to make an impact in the upcoming draft. Below we take a look at the Seahawks post-combine notes including player retention, draft, and free agency outlook.
Seattle Seahawks Post-Combine Notes
The Edge is Set
As rich as the draft is for interior defensive lineman, the Seahawks don’t need to be worried about drafting or signing an edge-rusher this year after the team announced that they placed the franchise tag on Frank Clark on March 4. Retaining Clark for the 2019 season, the position now seems set for the team with Rasheem Green, Poona Ford, Branden Jackson, Jacob Martin, and Dion Jordan adding significant depth.
Update: Frank Clark reportedly will not sign his franchise tender until he gets a long-term deal
The franchise tag means that Clark will earn $17.128 million in 2019 unless he comes to a long-term deal with the team by July 15, which Carroll and Schneider infer their intentions to do so.
Draft Outlook
The Seahawks are typically fairly conservative in their player meetings at the combine. So far, their only known interviews (formal and informal) are with Nasir Adderley (safety) Jake Browning (quarterback), Andre Dillard (offensive tackle), Myles Gaskin (running back), Jalen Jelks (defensive end), Lonnie Johnson Jr. (cornerback), and Kyler Murray (quarterback).
Currently, Seattle holds only four picks in this draft, which is the least amount in the league. Per usual, the Seahawks will probably trade out of the first round in order to stock up on later-round picks where they have found success before. A team like the Cleveland Browns could even be a potential candidate to trade up for the Seahawks spot in the first round considering the amount of draft picks Cleveland typically has.
With their first pick, whichever round it may be, Seattle needs to draft Earl Thomas‘ replacement. The safety position probably has the biggest question mark surrounding it on the Seahawks defense. Bradley McDougald did fine in 2018 but is he the long term answer? Likely not, which makes it even more reasonable to draft a safety early on. Thankfully, the draft holds a lot of great players at the position, leaving it safe to say the Seahawks will walk away with further depth in their secondary.
Free Agency Outlook
The Seahawks haven’t made a huge splash in free agency since they traded for Jimmy Graham in 2015. It’s likely they won’t make a lot of noise this year either. Seattle doesn’t really have any major holes that they need to fill other than at safety. Along with other positional needs, the safety position doesn’t even necessarily need to be addressed until the draft. Some are even convinced that the Seahawks could pursue new free agent safety, Landon Collins, but it’s likely the only free agency noise we hear out of Seattle are player re-signings.
Last Word
The Seahawks roster is in a really good place right now headed into free agency and the draft. The draft looks to be the sweet spot for the team with only a few minor additions needed. Following their trade-down strategy, rounds four through six will probably be the target area for the Seahawks front office to draft their future stars.
