Clayton’s Takeaways: State of the Seahawks’ roster after the draft

Seahawks general manager John Schneider has been making the rounds discussing the NFL draft and what the Seahawks have done this offseason.

Seahawks draft takeaways: What we learned from getting a scout’s take

You can hear in this voice he was pleased with the way it went. Sure, the Jadeveon Clowney situation is bothersome. Schneider has made offer after offer and all Clowney does is wait and not try to finalize anything.

Schneider hasn’t moved on but he did draft two defensive ends – Darrell Taylor and Alton Robinson. He’s brought back Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa. He’s keep looking to see if a veteran end could be a fit.

Let’s look at my thoughts on of the current state of the Seahawks coming off the draft.

• Schneider revealed Thursday that K.J. Wright had shoulder surgery. He said it was minor surgery but he doesn’t know the timetable of his recovery. All signs look for Wright to stay with the team but there might be a change in where he plays.

My read is that he will move over the strongside linebacker spot. Mychal Kendricks was the strongside linebacker last year, but he’s coming off an ACL tear and is unsigned. What will be interesting is if the Seahawks stay with the three-linebacker base defense or go more with the nickel.

• Expect Cody Barton to compete against first-round choice Jordyn Brooks for the weakside linebacker position. Barton did well last year and is the favorite to win the position. But one thing the Seahawks would like is to get faster on defense. Brooks ran a 4.54 at the combine. Don’t count him off.

• Brooks has a decent chance to win the starting job, but the draft choice with the best chance to start is third-round guard Damien Lewis. First, the Seahawks cut right guard D.J. Fluker. Lewis looks and sounds like Fluker with his willingness to be physical. He was the first guard taken and would maintain that physical presence at right guard.

• The Seahawks feel good about signing Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon, but it would too much to ask for him to be the backup quarterback. With no offseason program and possibly no preseason games, even the drafted quarterbacks will have a hard time getting ready for the regular season.

The debate started among fans this whether the Seahawks should bring in Cam Newton as Russell Wilson’s backup. The unlikely part of that equation is Newton most likely wouldn’t sign a one-year $1.1 million deal like Jameis Winston. Second, this is Russell Wilson’s team and Newton might be too strong a personality to bring in to affect his role as the leader of the team.

That’s why bringing back Geno Smith makes the most sense.

• One interesting thought came up this week. Some people are wondering if Marquise Blair, a safety, could be groomed to play slot corner. That’s an interesting option. The Seahawks certainly would like Blair to be on the field more, but that’s difficult with Quandre Diggs and Bradley McDougald at safety.

If he could make that transition, he could match up against big slot receivers and tight ends. Blair has 4.48 speed and is physical, two of the things the Seahawks are looking for.

• The Seahawks come out the draft with an interesting running back, DeeJay Dallas. Dallas and Travis Homer were teammates at the University of Miami and they offer a lot. Both are good special teams player. Dallas can also return kicks. Both backs look as though they can compete for the backup job until Rashaad Penny returns to the field, which looks as though it will be six weeks into the regular season.

It’s still not out of the question the Seahawks bring in a veteran running back at the minimum salary.

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