2014 Seattle Seahawks Mock Draft, Free Agency Edition

By Vincent Frank on Wednesday, March 19th 2014
2014 Seattle Seahawks Mock Draft, Free Agency Edition

We now move on to the Seattle Seahawks, who have been one of the most inactive teams on the free agent market. After losing multiple contributors thus far this offseason, the defending Super Bowl champions are going to have to find some depth at key positions. 

Here is their 2014 NFL mock draft.

Note: These results are based off a simulation I did on Fanspeak's mock draft game. 

 

First Round: Odell Beckham Jr, Wide Receiver, Louisiana State

After losing Golden Tate to the Detroit Lions in free agency and parting ways with Sidney Rice due to salary cap issues, the Seahawks find themselves somewhat thin at wide receiver. Couple that with injury issues for No. 1 pass-catching threat Percy Harvin and you have to believe general manager John Schneider and Co. are going to be targeting a receiver early in May. 

While Doug Baldwin has proven himself to be a decent receiving option for Russell Wilson in the passing game, he's likely nothing more than a solid No. 3 target. Jermaine Kearse is an excellent down-field threat, but he's still somewhat of an unknown commodity. 

At 5'11" and 198, Beckham might be a tad undersized. He does, however, make up for it with a ridiculous 38.5" vertical and outstanding leaping ability when going after the ball.

He lacks top-line speed, but runs precise routes and has the strength to beat press coverage.

One of of major aspects of Beckham's game that stands out to me is that he can make the difficult catch on traffic. He's a perfect fit in Seattle's scheme. 

 

Second Round: Troy Niklas, Tight End, Notre Dame

Zach Miller restructured his contract to remain a member of the defending champs, while Anthony McCoy signed a one-year deal. On top of that, the Seahawks boast a talented youngster in the form of Luke Willson. Why go out there and add another tight end? 

It's simple. First, Seattle has been flirting with the possibility of adding Jermichael Finley to the mix. He'd be a major upgrade in the pass-catching game from Miller and give Wilson a tremendous red zone threat. However, nothing has materialized on that front yet. 

Niklas is a beast of a tight end. His 6'6" and 270-pound frame represents a massive target between the hashes and down the field. Very few NFL safeties outside of Kam Chancellor himself can matchup against that. Niklas also over powers defenders at the POC, another huge thing entering the NFL.

Where he does struggle pulling the ball into his body and making the catch on a consistent basis, the upside is just too high for the Seahawks to pass up with the last pick of the second round. 

 

Fourth Round: James Gayle, Defensive End, Virginia Tech

Despite being able to retain Michael Bennett, Seattle could view itself as a tad thin at the defensive end position. It released Chris Clemons and will be running two veterans out there in Cliff Avril and Bennett with Bruce Irvin backing them up. Avril is going to be entering the final year of his contract and might be a tad too expensive for the Seahawks to retain. 

In Gayle, Seattle gets a gifted athlete that it can bring along slowly. He has very active hands, can beat blockers to the outside and won't be just an edge rusher at the next level due to an ability to rush from both the outside and inside positions. A steal here in the fourth. 

 

Fifth Round: Jon Halapio, Guard, Florida

The Seahawks have to face reality at some point in the not-so-distant future. They don't exactly have an above-average offensive line. An injury to Russell Okung last season may have magnified this, but I am not sold on the interior of their offensive line either. JR Sweezy promises to be an above-average guard at some point soon, but James Carpenter is the one that really concerns me. He was forced to move inside after being selected in the first round back in 2011 and hasn't really taken to it too well. 

Halapio, who will be somewhat of a project early on, possesses excellent lower and upper-body strength, which are both necessities for playing inside in the NFL. He's more of a down-hill blocker. This fits what the Seahawks do under Tom Cable. A projected starter two years down the road. Not too shabby in the fifth round. 

 

Fifth Round: Deandre Coleman, Defensive Tackle, California

A backup interior lineman with some upside. With Brandon Mebane now getting up there in age and the Seahawks missing out on some of their free-agent defensive tackle targets, this is a solid late-round pick.  

 

Sixth Round: Sean Parker, Safety, Washington

Parker is one of the most underrated defensive players in the draft. He's an in-the-box safety with a mean streak and  an ability to go up against tight ends. Unfortunately, I don't envision a scenario where he lasts to the sixth round in may. 

 

Seventh Round: Tom Savage, Quarterback, Pittsburgh

More of a developmental pick in the seventh round. At the very least, Savage may be able to provide some competition for B.J. Daniels as the No. 3 quarterback in camp. 

 

Next Up: Arizona Cardinals

 

Stay In Touch

Scores

No NFL games.
No NFL games.
No NFL games.
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy
NFLFantasy