How deep draft could affect Golden Tate’s future

By Brady Henderson

What we know about Golden Tate is that he is a tough, durable and explosive wide receiver whose best days are likely still ahead of him and whose desire to remain with the Seahawks is such that he could conceivably turn down slightly larger offers to do so.

We also know that the Seahawks would love to keep Tate, who is one of their key free agents and a player who was instrumental in Seattle winning its first Super Bowl. It’s just a matter of the extent to which the team will go to do so, and whatever price the Seahawks determine for Tate will be at least somewhat influenced by the strength and amount of less expensive alternatives should they have to move forward without him.

According to Matt Williamson, the Seahawks will have plenty.

Williamson, a former NFL scout who now works for ESPN, told 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Bob and Groz” on Monday that this draft is going to be among the deepest in recent memory and singled out wide receiver as one of the strongest positions. He even suggested that the depth at receiver could push to the middle of the draft prospects that would otherwise be taken much earlier.

“There’s a ton of underclass wide receivers in this class, and that might work out for Seattle well, too,” he said. “If you get a fourth-round receiver that has a lot of tools that generally goes at the end of the second round and you let him wait for a year while the guys that you have continue to play well, maybe he’s a real find.”

In the video above, Bob Stelton and Dave Grosby discuss how that might affect the Seahawks’ thinking on Tate and propose one reason why Seattle may be reticent to rely on finding a replacement in the draft.