Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

With the 2010 NFL Draft two months away, mock drafts are plentiful. In fact, there are already 122 mock drafts published, and we are still two months away from the NFL Draft. If you took a minute to scan through a few of those drafts you probably noticed that there are as many as six or seven players mentioned that might go to your favorite team come April. Obviously, only one (or maybe none) will end up being on the team you root for, but part of what makes the 2010 NFL Draft so interesting is the different possibilities that can change your favorite team’s future.

In this article, we’ll break down the possibilities that lay ahead for the new regime of the Seattle Seahawks. With that said, let’s get to it.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are changing. With the hire of former USC coach Pete Carroll, it is obvious that players will be weeded out and that this will be a significantly different team than the one that took the field in 2009.

Fortunately, for the Seahawks, they have accumulated two first round picks in the NFL Draft in April which can help speed this process along. Their first pick is the sixth overall, a pick that is as “up in the air” as George Clooney’s last movie. Whether the Seahawks go after S Eric Berry from Tennessee is completely reliant on how the St. Louis Rams choose to use the #1 overall selection. If the Rams take a chance and go for a QB (either Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen), then it looks like Berry could drop to the ‘hawks. However, if the Rams go the conservative route and draft a defensive tackle, then the Seahawks’ #6 overall selection is currently a mystery.

Trying to shed some light on this mystery, the question we ask today is - Will the Seattle Seahawks go after a quarterback in round 1 of this NFL Draft?

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t so cut and dry. While many skeptics would say they need it due to the fact that their team hasn’t been moving in the right direction and Matt Hasselbeck isn’t getting any younger, the opposite side would argue that this team isn’t far removed from its playoff days and their Super Bowl trip in 2005.

Hasselbeck has dealt with injuries, sure, but at 35, he probably still has another year or two of solid, albeit unspectacular, production. For the team to look long-term on their QB play, they probably should draft a quarterback in the first round that they can mold for a year or two (a la Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay). So, let’s look at their options…

Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame: It’s seeming more and more evident that Clausen will be a top-5 pick in this year’s NFL Draft (things do change quickly, though). He posted better numbers than most expected (a legitimate 6’2” rather than the 6’1” everyone thought), and it seems like the Rams or the Redskins may go after him come April. If he does drop to the Seahawks at #6, there is a good chance they grab him, as he is probably more NFL-ready than Sam Bradford is at this point.

While Clausen wouldn’t have an impact this season in Seattle, learning from one of the smartest QBs in the game today would inevitably make him better in the years to come. With two picks in the top 14 (#6 & #14), it looks like the ‘hawks can take the risk of going after a QB if available.

Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma: After almost being guaranteed the number 1 selection in 2009, Bradford decided against the NFL Draft to go for another year of seasoning. Let’s not say that it is a mistake (although the money he left on the table probably makes it one), and assume Bradford is able to go to a better NFL team than the Detroit Lions. That team could be the Seahawks, who definitely are in a position to draft Bradford, whose accuracy is as good as it gets, and hope to plug him into the lineup in 2011 or 2012, much like Clausen.

Whether they draft Clausen, Bradford or no quarterback at all, Matt Hasselbeck will be in line for the starts at QB in 2010, making this point somewhat moot in standard fantasy leagues; however, for keeper leagues, this is definitely a situation fantasy owners will want to monitor.

NFC 2010 NFL Draft Coverage:  STL  |  CAR  |  SEA  |  GB |  WAS

AFC 2010 NFL Draft Coverage:  BUF  |  JAC  |  BAL

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