25. OT James Carpenter F

This pick and Christian Ponder 12^th to the Vikings were the biggest reaches by my board in the first round. The Seahawks get the first round’s only F, unlike Minnesota, because at least Minnesota was taking a quarterback. The Seahawks were reaching for a right tackle. I don’t even care that this fills a need. Carpenter is a huge reach here. I thought he was a decent mid round prospect as a right tackle at Alabama and then he sucked in the Senior Bowl. How he ended up in the first round, I don’t know and neither does his former college coach Nick Saban. That’s a pretty bad sign.

75. G John Moffitt B+

Another offensive line upgrade, I’ll say this. At least they’re addressing the right part of the team. Moffitt is only a minor reach, though there were better guards available.

99. OLB KJ Wright C-

They could have maybe taken a linebacker late for depth purposes, but with all of their other needs (QB, WR, DT, CB, S), this was not a smart pick.

107. WR Kris Durham D

The Seahawks address a need here with a wide receiver, but Kris Durham in the 4^th round? I didn’t even have him in my top 300.

154. CB Richard Sherman A

Finally a nice pick. I think Sherman has great upside and he’s just learning the position as a converted former wide receiver. He fills a huge need and is a good value.

156. S Mark LeGree C

Safety was definitely a need, but I had LeGree rated at least 2 rounds lower than this so this was a reach by my book.

173. CB Byron Maxwell C

Another corner? Well I can’t say they didn’t need one, but I didn’t have Maxwell in my top 300.

205. DE Lazarius Levingston C-

Defensive end was not a need and this pick was a reach. This is a bad, bad draft for them, in my opinion.

242. OLB Malcolm Smith C

Another linebacker? Well Smith can play special teams, but they needed other things like a developmental quarterback or a defensive tackle in case Mebane leaves in free agency. The only reason this isn’t a D or an F is because Carroll coached Smith at USC so he knows his abilities better than any other head coach would.

Overall:

I think this might have been the worst draft. They started out with an F in the first round, which is tough to work back from. It didn’t get much better from there. Whether it was drafting a linebacker unnecessarily in the 4^th round or taking Kris Durham at 107 or making a bunch of late reaches, this was not a great draft. Only the John Moffitt and the Richard Sherman picks made any sense to me. They didn’t add a single quarterback. The only reason this draft is not an F is because they at least tried to build their line upfront, a huge need. By giving them a low grade, I’m not trying to say I’m smarter than Pete Carroll and the Seattle drafting staff. I’m just saying that think they’ll regret a lot of this draft in a few years. It happens every year, there are bad drafts. I’m just trying to predict them based on my assessments of team needs, my general drafting philosophy, and my draft board. What Seattle did, didn’t line up. I will be wrong with a few of my grades in a few years, which is why I not only regrade drafts down the line, but also grade my own grades.

Grade: D