With the NFL Scouting Combine kicking off this week in Indianapolis, it’s time to take a look at the Seahawks’ roster and see where they might be looking to add talent. Like any good team, the Seahawks will tell you they don’t draft strictly by need, but the current roster does influence how general manager John Schneider and his scouting department put together a draft board. Not every need will be filled in the draft—free agency is coming up in March—but the draft remains the single most important piece of the puzzle when it comes to building a roster, which is why last month’s Senior Bowl, this week’s combine and all the other elements of draft preparation are so important for the Seahawks and every team in the league.
Throughout this week, we’ll look at where the Seahawks stand at each position prior to the draft and free agency.
Defensive line
Level of need: Fairly high, or really high if there are salary cap casualties.
Why: All four of Seattle’s defensive-line starters from 2014—Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett, Tony McDaniel and Brandon Mebane—are under contract for 2015, but even if all four are actually back (more on this in a second), the Seahawks need to add depth to a line that was playing street free agents in the postseason because of injuries. Jordan Hill was a revelation late in the season, but needs to show he can stay healthy for a full season, while Cassius Marsh showed flashes, but still has work to do before he proves he’s ready to contribute significant snaps. Kevin Williams was great filling in for an injured Mebane, but very well could retire, and once-promising mid-round pick Jesse Williams is coming off a second straight missed season because of knee issues, so the Seahawks can’t count on him being healthy.
Where Seattle’s needs could really ramp up is if either McDaniel or Mebane, both of whom are veterans heading into the final year of their contracts, becomes a salary cap casualty. While replacing both seems like too much to do in one offseason, especially considering how well Mebane, the more expensive of the two, played before a season-ending hamstring injury, even releasing one would mean the Seahawks have several needs along their line whether they address them in the draft, free agency, or by re-signing some of their in-season additions like Demarcus Dobbs or Landon Cohen.
One wrinkle to consider is that the Seahawks haven’t had a ton of success drafting defensive linemen under John Schneider and Pete Carroll. While they’ve been great adding players in free agency like Avril, Bennett, Tony McDaniel, Kevin Williams and others, the best of Seattle’s D-line picks is Bruce Irvin, who now plays linebacker. To be fair, Irvin is the only pick in the top two rounds Seattle has invested in a D-linemen, and the next highest pick, Jordan Hill, a 2013 third-rounder played great in the second half of last season before an injury landed him on IR. Other than Irvin and Hill, the Seahawks have used three fourth-round picks, two fifth-rounders and three seventh-rounders on defensive linemen.
Top players available*:
Interior defensive linemen
1. Leonard Williams, USC
2. Danny Shelton, Washington
3. Malcom Brown, Texas
4. Arik Armstead, Oregon
5t. Jordan Phillips, Oklahoma
5t. Eddie Goldman, Florida State
Edge rusher
1. Dante Fowler, Jr., Florida
2. Randy Gregory, Nebraska
3. Shane Ray, Missouri
4. Vic Beasley, Clemson
5. Bud Dupree, Kentucky
*—According to the NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do.
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