Draft? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Draft

Over the past four seasons in Seattle, there’s been more talk in the
newspapers, blogs and on sports-talk radio about the NFL draft than
the previous twenty years combined. Certainly the 4-12 and 5-11
records in 2008 & 2009 had something to do with it, but the advent of
fantasy football, the NFL Network’s broadcast of the rookie combine, and
ESPN’s broadcast of the draft, has piqued interest as well.

Everyone seems to be talking about the draft and the promise it holds
for teams like the 0-13 Indianapolis Colts.

But the 2011 Seattle Seahawks make a great case for something that
I’ve been saying for years – the NFL draft gets over-hyped. Every
year there are both successes and failures in every round but the Seahawks
are doing more with undrafted free agents and late-round picks than
any team I can remember. Thats speaks well of the Hawks personnel
department and is easy on the pocketbook as well.

Chris Clemons, DE – Clemons was acquired in a trade
with the Philadelphia Eagles but was originally an undrafted free-agent in
2003. He has 20 sacks and four forced fumbles in his last two seasons with
the Hawks.

Red Bryant, DE – The man-mountain who can, in
consecutive plays, sack the quarterback and pick off passes (St Louis game
Nov. 20), was drafted in the 4th round in 2008.

David Hawthorne, LB – The undrafted free agent out of
TCU
has seven interceptions, one for a 77-yard, game clinching touchdown
against Philadelphia, five sacks and 325 tackles.

Richard Sherman, CB – His conversion from receiver to
cornerback before the 2009 season at Stanford was a difficult transition for
him and made him worthy of only a 5th round selection in the 2011 draft.
He’s proven to be a much better pro than collegian. In his seven NFL starts
as a rookie, he has two interceptions, 12 deflected passes and one bone-
jarring tackle on the goal-line that forced a fumble and saved a
touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys.

Kam Chancellor, SS – Also a 5th round selection who
may be the most exciting young player on the team. Chancellor’s versatility
in playing both the pass and the run makes him the perfectly engineered
strong safety. Just ask Steven Jackson. Chancellor’s hit on Jackson in last
Monday’s game may have been the first time that the bruising Rams’
running back has been squared up and taken off of his feet in his eight
year career.

Doug Baldwin, WR – Baldwin is a living breathing
diamond in the rough. Undrafted out of Stanford, Baldwin has done it all
from the first day he stepped on the practice field in July. He sealed his
place on the team during a pre-season game in Denver when he
returned a kickoff 105-yards for a touchdown. His first game as a pro
in San Francisco, he scored on a 55-yard touchdown
catch-and-run and currently leads all Seahawks receivers with 45
catches for 718 yards and three touchdowns. Baldwin’s motto is “the more
you can do” and he proved that last week earning NFC Special Teams Player
of the Week. Within the first five minutes of Monday’s game against the
Rams, he returned a kickoff 37-yards, downed a punt on the Rams’
6-yard line and blocked a punt for a touchdown. He found time to lead
the team in receiving with sevem catches for 93-yards and a
touchdown as well.

This is no dig on the first and second rounders of course. Yours truly
was drafted in the second round of the 1987 draft, and certainly the Hawks
love first-round picks such as Earl Thomas and Russell Okung.

I could give you examples of 1st-round successes and plenty of
free-agents that didn’t work out. My point is that there’s no need to fret
over the Hawks winning too many games this year, spoiling their chances
for a high-draft choice.

Once and for all, I’d like to dispel the notion that any team would
intentionally lose games in order to get a chance to draft a player like
Stanford’s Andrew Luck. Every player in the league understands what a
great opportunity it is to be paid handsomely for playing a game they love.
(Okay maybe Chicago Bears receiver Sam Hurd doesn’t understand!). Every
player in the league is pursuing his own best self-interests. They’re
putting together a body of work on film that is seen by every scout,
personnel director and coach in the league. The last thing any NFL player
would do is to play below their potential. That’s how you get fired.

Besides, try asking a quarterback to take sacks and throw interceptions
so the team can replace him with a top pick. I like to think that most
players are loyal to their team – but not that loyal.

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