BROCK AND SALK
Huard: Two reasons Seahawks had more ‘conventional’ draft class
Unlike in more recent years, the Seahawks came away from the NFL Draft with a class held in high regard by fans and analysts alike.
Wyman’s Seahawks Draft Breakdown: Focus on speed, outside positions
After years of high picks considered to be “reaches,” Seattle drafted nine players who were both seen as some of the best players available at the time and who played key positions of need for the Seahawks.
So why did the Seahawks have a more “conventional” draft this year than in years past? That’s the question Mike Salk asked former NFL quarterback and current FOX Sports college football analyst Brock Huard Thursday morning.
“I think there’s a couple things that happened,” Huard said on Seattle Sports 710 AM’s Mike Salk Show, “and (head coach Pete Carroll) has referenced this a couple times. And you know, when a coach repeats himself, it is important to me because that’s front of mind and something they talk about. And he has mentioned a number of times: ‘Jody wants to compete. Jody’s a competitor. Jody Allen is a competitor.'”
Allen is the team’s chair and defacto owner, taking over after her brother Paul passed away in 2019. Carroll has said a number of times over the years that Allen is very involved in the franchise, and he brought that up again when the team traded star quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason.
Huard thinks that Allen and those around her played a role in the Seahawks’ 2022 draft philosophy.
“I am sure whether it is Jody (or) some of the people around her really challenged how you all went around this draft process the last five or six years,” he said. “Why was it so good early? And why did it fall off? And I think (they) challenged some of the practices maybe compared to some of their peers around the league.”
Not only did Allen have a role in the draft, Huard said, but she played a part in Seattle’s offseason as a whole.
“I think it played a role in the purging of some staff early on in the offseason. Getting younger and more motivated and finding ascenders, competing to get some of the best guys on the market in Karl Scott and Sean Desai and making that happen, and then making the move offensively in elevating the right O-line coach to fit with the right young coordinator,” Huard said. “I think all along, and since the season ended, there has been a push from her. She has been involved. That has been documented and she wants to compete to win.”
The second reason Seattle had a more conventional draft? Huard called it “very obvious and very natural.”
“They were conventional in 2010 because they had prime real estate. When you’re there on Park Avenue with the elite players, you don’t screw around,” he said. “So when you have No. 9 in the draft – which they had not had since 2010, right? They’d been a playoff team … and were never around first-round grades – so when you get around those kinds of guys and you sit in the top of the second round, you sit in the top 10, you don’t mess around. You don’t get cute. There’s enough talent and players there. There are difference makers, in their opinion, and you don’t need to trade down. So I think those would be the two reasons why.”
Listen to the full second hour of Thursday’s Mike Salk Show at this link or in the player below.
