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The Seattle Seahawks went into the draft with a peculiar set of picks. They had, essentially, 11 picks without a first rounder. That's, well, that's a bizarre position to be in. But, the fact of the matter is that the Seahawks did use that first rounder in a pretty effective way. They traded their first round pick and C Max Unger to New Orleans for TE Jimmy Graham. Though I don't think this is some sort of steal or anything, it does look like the Seahawks should benefit from this pick. For one thing, Graham is - you know - good at footballing. Also, they Seahawks were so far back in the first round that they were probably looking at second round talent anyway. You know the caliber of player you are getting with Graham.
But, there is some risk involved with the trade: there has always been some chatter that Graham is any injury prone player. Moreover, the Seahawks dealt an offensive lineman, which is not a strong unit for them overall. But, they may have addressed that issue in the draft. Let's take a look at what the Seahawks did during the most recent draft.
63. Frank Clark, DE/OLB, Michigan
69. Tyler Lockett, WR, Kansas State
130. Terry Poole, OT, San Diego State
134. Mark Glowinski, G, West Virginia
170. Tye Smith, CB, Towson
209. Obum Gwacham, DE/OLB, Oregon State
214. Kristjan Sokoli, DE, Buffalo
248. Ryan Murphy, S, Oregon State
The Seahawks did a good job adding players at positions of need throughout the draft, focusing mainly on drafting athletic players with or without character concerns. The most obvious example is at the top of the list. Clark might have a list of character concerns that makes Aldon Smith say "slow down, dude" (that said, props to Aldon for staying out of trouble so far this offseason - keep it up! (Fooch's note: knock on wood)). But, Clark does have a lot of talent, and helps bolster a front seven that could use some depth.
The front trenches in general needed some depth in Seattle - hence the pick up of Poole and Glowinski. Adding depth to the o-line should help the Seahawks. So too might the addition of Gwacham and Sokoli (and Clark) to the defensive front seven. Adding Smith at CB also addresses a potential position of need, though the Seahawks did sign CB Cary Williams to a three year deal this offseason.
Finally, there is Tyler Lockett. He seems like the super annoying player of the Seahawks draft who is going to explode for no reason against the 49ers every time they play. He is a physically gifted athlete, and the sort of player who can be very good. And, the Seahawks seem to think so too, since they traded away multiple picks to move up and snag him. He adds some needed depth to the WR corps.