The NFL draft has arrived, and hope springs eternal for the fans of every NFL team.
The three day draft It begins at 5 p.m. Thursday night with Round 1. Rounds 2 and 3 are Friday beginning at 4 p.m. Rounds 4-7 are Saturday starting at 9 a.m. Teams are allowed 10 minutes to make selections in the first round, seven minutes in rounds 2 and 3, five minutes in rounds 4-6, and four minutes in round 7.
Here’s a quick reminder of where the Seahawks stand heading into the draft. Seattle owns nine picks in the draft’s seven rounds. That includes the 26th-overall selection in the first round. The Seahawks have two picks in the third round, two in the seventh, and one in every other round. Seattle has four in the top 100 for the first time since 2005.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider and coach Peter Carroll weren’t providing any clues about their intentions in the draft, but they acknowledged this year’s draft is the strongest since the the duo arrived in 2010. Seattle would seem to have needs on both the offensive and defensive lines, but the Seahawks haven’t been a team to go by the book in the draft.
As for what to expect from Seattle in the first round, history suggests there’s a good chance the Seahawks won’t end up picking in Round 1. But if they do keep their pick, the mock drafts almost universally have Seattle selecting either an offensive or defensive lineman (here’s the Washington Post mock draft that appeared in Thursday’s Herald, NFL.com’s four experts, and SI.com’s four experts). Among the names predicted to be picked by the Seahawks are Alabama defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, Texas A&M guard Germain Ifedi, Mississippi defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche and Alabama center Ryan Kelly.
—- UPDATE, 11:45 a.m.
The Seahawks decided to warm up for the draft by signing a pair of low-key free agents, announcing the addition of defensive end Tavaris Barnes and tight end Brandon Williams.
Barnes, 24, spent last season with the New Orleans Saints after being undrafted out of Clemson. The 6-foot-3, 275-pounder had five tackles in 12 games last season before being waived by the Saints last week.
Williams, 28, is a three-year veteran who was undrafted out of Oregon. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder spent two-plus seasons with the Carolina Panthers, catching four passes for 44 yards in 25 games. He finished up last season with Miami, appearing in four games without a reception.
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