KIRKLAND – Saturday was a day of waiting for the Seattle Seahawks.
They waited more than 8 hours to introduce their newest draft pick, and then they waited well into the night to see if they would rid themselves of veteran Darrell Jackson.
The 28-year-old wide receiver arrived in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon, taking a physical for the 49ers to finalize a deal that could send Jackson to the Seahawks’ NFC West rival. As day turned to night, no deal was announced and the waiting game continued.
“No trade has been executed” yet, Seahawks president Tim Ruskell said Saturday evening. “I’ll have more, (today) maybe – or maybe not. If not, he’ll be here to participate in our minicamp (next weekend).”
The 49ers were taking a look at Jackson’s injured knee, which has undergone two surgeries since fall 2005. If he is cleared medically, the Seahawks would get a fourth-round pick as compensation, according to several media reports.
Asked Saturday afternoon whether the trade would happen, 49ers coach Mike Nolan told Bay Area reporters: “Right now, it’s 50-50. … We haven’t agreed on anything yet because if the physical isn’t as good as we like, things might change.”
Nolan said he spoke with Jackson and his wife Saturday while they were at the 49ers’ facility. Yet he cautioned San Francisco fans against getting too excited about the deal, noting the Seahawks hadn’t agreed to any terms yet.
“We’re going to talk about it tonight, and Seattle has to come to grips with it, too,” Nolan said. “He was real excited to be here, and it sounded like he was making plans to be here. But it’s not up to him.”
San Francisco used a third-round pick on wide receiver Jason Hill of Washington State, but it was still unclear whether that was a direct result of Jackson’s physical.
While that possible trade remained in limbo, the Seahawks endured the longest draft-day wait in franchise history, thanks to a record six-hour, eight-minute first round, as well as a seven-month-old trade. As compensation for New England wide receiver Deion Branch, the Seahawks gave up their first-round pick and had to wait until late in the second round to participate in Day 1 of the draft.
When the 55th overall pick did finally arrive, the Seahawks addressed an already-deep position and selected speedy cornerback Josh Wilson from the University of Maryland. Wilson was one of the fastest cornerbacks available in the draft, and he also has the skills to return kicks, but his lack of size (5-foot-9, 189 pounds) kept him from being considered in the first round.
“He does not play small,” Ruskell said about an hour after the Seahawks selected Wilson at around 5:40 p.m. local time.
Wilson, who ran track for two years at Maryland, said his speed has helped him keep up with bigger wideouts. One of those receivers, 6-foot-5 Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech, caught 10 passes for 133 yards in a 2006 matchup with Wilson. Johnson went on to become the second overall pick in Saturday’s NFL draft.
“Because of my speed, I can stay with receivers just because of my natural ability,” Wilson said. “As far as my size, I know how to compete at the size that I am. Some people might see it as a negative, but I see it as what God gave me, as the cards that I was dealt.”
Wilson adds depth to a secondary that got ravaged by injuries last season. Starters Marcus Trufant (high ankle sprain) and Kelly Herndon (broken leg) are expected to be available to participate in offseason camps, while 2006 first-round pick Kelly Jennings got plenty of starting experience in the postseason.
“We’re excited about the group, and this is another piece to that puzzle,” Ruskell said. “It’s a group that had some injuries … so it could look good on paper, but are we really going to be solid once we go into the season? And this helps that situation.”
Ruskell said that Wilson would immediately compete for jobs as the No. 3 cornerback and kick return man, adding that he could one day play his way into a starting role.
Seattle added defensive tackle Brandon Mebane of Cal in the third round. The 309-pound run-stuffer adds depth to a position that already includes Chartric Darby, Rocky Bernard, Russell Davis, Craig Terrill and injured Marcus Tubbs.
That selection came at 7:30 p.m., a full 10 hours after the start of the draft.
“We felt like we were ready when the pick came for Josh, and the same thing with Brandon,” Ruskell said. “We had a plan, and we stuck with it. There was not a lot of glitz and glamour to it, but we did help our football team.”
The only other times Seattle did not have a first-round pick were in 1985, when the first selection was running back Owen Gill at No. 53 overall, and in 1988, when wide receiver Brian Blades was selected with the 50th overall pick.
Like Blades, Jackson was quite a draft-day find, joining the Seahawks as a third-round pick in 2000 and quickly emerging into the team’s go-to receiver. He led Seattle in receiving in four of the past six seasons, including 2006 (63 receptions, 956 yards and 10 touchdowns).
During his seven seasons with the Seahawks, Jackson has ranked among the franchise’s top five in several categories, including career receptions (441, fourth), receiving yards (6,445, third) and receiving touchdowns (47, second).
Associated Press contributed to this story
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