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Breaking News: Telegram Speed
26 Plays6 months ago
Tristan and Miles break the incredibly fresh news that the Seahawks sign Cooper Kupp and DeMarcus Lawrence, look at the team’s new role players, and we make our draft demands known.
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Transcript
Introduction and Opening Thoughts
00:00:00
Tristan Amundson
Miles, it is April 15th. It is tax day. Do you know where your taxes are? I certainly don't. But I'll tell you what, man, we got some crazy breaking news coming in mid-April. This is wild.
00:00:15
Tristan Amundson
Cooper Cup, Demarcus Lawrence. I mean, there's some big free agency happenings. What's going on, man? Let's get right into it.
Breaking News: Seahawks Signings
00:00:23
M dub
Tristan, a pleasure to be with you and a pleasure to break this news to Seahawks Nation. You are, of course, listening to the world's only Seahawks podcast. And of course, this would be one of the only methods of communication in For the people to know that the Seahawks have signed these two players.
00:00:41
M dub
um It happened somewhat recently, i think. But yeah, breaking news. Very excited to share it. And we're going to be some of the very first people to break down and dissect these moves and what they mean for the Seahawks in 2025.
Unique Podcast Style
00:00:55
Tristan Amundson
yeah Yeah, the way that I like to think of this, Miles, is there was a time, the time of the telegram, the time before, actually, we really have to think before the telegram, when it would actually take about a month to get information from the East Coast to the West Coast.
00:01:10
Tristan Amundson
Well, then they come out with this fancy telegram and you know now suddenly they can almost instantly get breaking news and information from one coast of the country to the other. But I like to think of our podcast as hearkening back to a time before major rail lines and before the Telegraph, before Western expansion.
00:01:30
Tristan Amundson
We're kind of in this in-between time in history where it still takes about a month to process information. And that's what i I'm assuming that... that that kind of timeframe still works in 2025 and that, you know, no one really knows about this information yet, which ah I think is probably true because ah that just seems relevant to me.
Timeliness of Seahawks News
00:01:53
M dub
It does seem relevant to me, too. And it it makes me think of just when Adam Schefter would be on that telegram and his Morse code. He was sending messages dot dot dash stop dash.
00:02:01
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:02:04
M dub
You know, he he was burning up those lines right when they got set up. He had his connections across the Pony Express. It just made me think of that chapter of football history.
00:02:16
Tristan Amundson
Well, it's just occurring to me, man, that there there might be this is going to shock you. There might be a couple of people out there that have already heard this news like that there might this there. This might have been broken slightly before we got to it.
Seahawks' Free Agency Moves
00:02:32
M dub
I think you're right, Tristan. It has been a few weeks. It's a beautiful spring day today. The weather couldn't be more perfect here in Portland, Oregon. i am delighted to see spend it indoors talking to you about the Seattle Seahawks.
00:02:44
M dub
We're going to catch up on ah what happened in free agency after our ah last episode was recorded in in the eye of the storm. The moves were flying. We were refreshing our social medias during during the recording.
00:02:58
Tristan Amundson
Yep. yep
00:02:58
M dub
Players were coming. i think somebody got signed while while we recorded. we've We've just let that news breathe. We're going to, even though it's all been broken down, we'll just give a little outlay of what the whole free agent class looks like. And then we're going to look forward to the draft ahead, which starts in 10 days.
00:03:16
Tristan Amundson
And it' to your point of breathing, I just looked it up to make sure that I had this right. They did sign a March 18th. So we we have given this about a month to breathe. So that means there's no tannins in this wine.
00:03:28
Tristan Amundson
It's really ready to drink. In fact, it might have it's it's actually churning into vinegar probably at this point, but it's fine. um Let's yeah, let's get into it. It is fun. Like I, you know, obviously the point of this is for us to have a chat about it And to to kind of take ah a temperature check, I think, is is a good way to think of it um before the draft, right? We're, what, I guess two weeks away from the draft at this point.
00:03:53
Tristan Amundson
um The free agency hay is in the barn. we We know kind of where the Seahawks are currently at free agency wise. So let's let's start. Do you want to start with the big deals and we'll go to the small deals? Is that kind of how we just want to work through it?
00:04:07
M dub
Yeah, let's do it. The Seahawks have signed about a dozen free agents. ah that We discussed Sam Darnold last time in the Geno Smith trade, and since then, yeah, Cooper Cup and Demarcus Lawrence were the two really big deals.
00:04:20
M dub
And then I think we got some interesting notes on some of the smaller deals, the players elsewhere on the roster after that. But let's get started with Cooper Cup. The Seahawks bring home yet the pride of Yakima, Washington's Finest.
00:04:31
Tristan Amundson
That's right.
00:04:33
M dub
Cooper cut back home into his home nest. The contract is three years for a potential total of $45 billion. Tristan, I think a pretty crucial number, a number that gives a bit of a clue as to what the Seahawks might be thinking, is only $17.5 million dollars of this contract are guaranteed.
00:04:53
M dub
So Cooper Cup is 31 years old, and ah he had one of the most incredible years for a wide receiver in NFL history in 2021. He wins the Triple Crown, leading the league in yards, touchdowns, and receptions.
00:05:10
M dub
ah wins the Super Bowl with a touchdown in the final minutes. Since then, though, injuries have definitely been the story. I just looked at his yearly averages since then, because I think we know, especially being in the division, ah the Rams are still dangerous when Cooper Cup is on the field. The question is, how much is he on the field?
00:05:28
M dub
And his average season has looked like this over the last three years. 11 games played, 67 catches, 753 yards, and six touchdowns. That equates seven hundred and fifty three yards and six touchdowns that equates to 68.5 yards per game.
00:05:42
M dub
Here's the thing. that's That's pretty good for a wide receiver, too. I mean, sorry. I mean, Jackson Smith Jigba, I think we would assume is actually going to be wide receiver one. I know there's there's a lot of concerns. There's been
Offensive Strategy and Cooper Cup's Role
00:05:55
M dub
a lot of criticism of the Seahawks about the age of Cooper Cup.
00:05:58
M dub
I definitely get where it's coming from, but I think there's a very ah very comfortable role for him to nestle into in this wide receiver group that it's an expensive contract, but I i do feel optimistic about it.
00:06:13
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, you know, i think that the storyline here for me is all about fit and it's all about what this offense wants to be going into the year with Clint Kubiak and kind of philosophically how the Seahawks want to approach um not only how they're building the team, but specifically how they're building the offense.
00:06:33
Tristan Amundson
Last year, between Tyler and and DK, we were spending quite a bit of cash, right, on the wide receiver room specifically. So to be able to kind of reset that rather quickly um and replace it, I think, with with a guy that's more indicative of what this offense is looking for.
00:06:51
Tristan Amundson
Now, listen, um I kind of like the way Mike Salk approaches any time we get into nuance and details about, um you know,
00:06:51
M dub
Thank
00:07:02
Tristan Amundson
um specific like sports philosophy or or even more like the the X's and the O's, right? he'll He'll always just say, hey, I'm not a pro. I'm not a scout.
00:07:13
Tristan Amundson
um I'm not an offensive coordinator, not a defensive coordinator. um So, you know, i' I'll use the Mike Salk line here in saying that I'm none of those things. i'm I'm not a scout. I'm not a pro in any of these ways.
Team Strategy: Key Role Players
00:07:25
Tristan Amundson
But From listening to other people, um we keep hearing the same thing over and over again, which is this is predominantly a two wide receiver set type of offense. This is an offense that leans heavily on its tight ends.
00:07:39
Tristan Amundson
um Clearly, it's an offense that wants to run the football. um You know, we might even say ah in an unbalanced way, you know, maybe maybe we're we're running it more like 60% of the time or or maybe maybe closer to whatever that looks like.
00:07:52
M dub
Thank
00:07:55
Tristan Amundson
um And so now suddenly, are you do you have assets that you're not able to use in the same way? Is DK yeah maybe going to waste would be a bit of ah an exaggeration, but are we not getting everything out of a DK Metcalf or other elite wide receivers in this offense if you have too many of them? So, okay, now we really can focus on Jackson, who is clearly ascending. I mean, he looked so good last year. um And then you know you you have a complementary piece like Coop.
00:08:25
Tristan Amundson
who's able to um take some of the pressure off of Jackson. Right. And and well I will say this sneaky bit of this or or maybe something under the radar.
00:08:37
Tristan Amundson
I love what this does to the wide receiver room for a guy like Jackson Smith and Jigba going into year three. He still, I'm sure, has a lot to learn about his profession. to To pair him with a veteran like Cooper Cup, I think is really cool.
00:08:51
Tristan Amundson
um And then I think if you add, and we'll get into the draft a little later, you add a wide receiver into this mix and you have a pretty diverse wide receiver room from that perspective, right? You have a guy who's 31, you have a guy in his third year with Jackson, and then maybe you have ah a young rookie that you really like.
00:09:10
Tristan Amundson
I think that's kind of where you want to be with ah with this offense. So, i man, I like the signing. You know, I like it for what it is. um i think a lot of folks don't like it, um but they don't like it for for what it's not, which which to me would say, you know...
00:09:27
Tristan Amundson
Cooper Cup isn't, um you don't sign him to be this crazy number one ride wide receiver. you know You look at some of the other wide receiver pickups that other teams are doing.
00:09:40
Tristan Amundson
He's not Jamar Chase. He's not um you know one of these elite wide receivers at this point in his career. Frankly, he's not DK Metcalf, but I think he's the right complementary fit to this team right
Season Outcomes and Flexibility
00:09:53
Tristan Amundson
now. So um I really like it.
00:09:56
M dub
I think the big criticism of the Seahawks, because the moves for Cup and Lawrence came pretty much right after the other. I think the criticism was, hey, that's a lot of money to be spending in free agency on guys who are already past 30 years old.
00:10:10
M dub
And that's hard to argue with in a way. But the way that I've been thinking about it is i think it just introduced a lot of potential variance into the Seahawks season.
00:10:22
M dub
I think it's equally plausible that there's a scenario where Cup, maybe he even plays less than 11 games. maybe Maybe just the injury history is is starting to accumulate in a way that it it just does for players very quickly.
00:10:38
M dub
There is also a scenario, though, where he he is an ideal wide receiver, too. ah We know that he ah he approaches his his job but as a true professional. ah you know there's you know um and And yeah, I really do think both of these moves add in a lot of variance where there is risk. There is injury risk.
00:10:58
M dub
There is risk of of these players being being much older than than they were in their prime, but... I also think with both signings, you can see a pathway to it really succeeding. And and i do I do think, it yeah it introduces a lot of variance to but what the Seahawks' win total will be. They've been in kind of this narrow window for so long. And for better or for worse, I do think the floor is lower and the ceiling is higher after these moves. don't know if that resonates with you.
00:11:28
Tristan Amundson
No, I think so. I mean, you know, i I'll echo what you're saying. Role players it is what I hear you say as you're going through kind of is some of those ah machinations and understanding what this looks like.
00:11:36
M dub
Thank
00:11:40
Tristan Amundson
I think these are two role players, you know, in the same way. I think you could use the exact same kind of framing when you look at Cooper Cup or Demarcus Lawrence. The same thing.
00:11:52
Tristan Amundson
you You don't sign Cooper Cup at this stage in his career and expect him to be you know, bona fide number one wide receiver. We're not signing Demarcus Lawrence saying, hey, we need you to be the man on this defensive line.
00:12:05
M dub
you
00:12:06
Tristan Amundson
We need you to play a role. You know, Demarcus Lawrence, I think I see your notes here. um ah You know what? 60% of the snaps since 2019, you know, more or less.
00:12:18
Tristan Amundson
If I think about, listen, my favorite or, you know, my signature um ah spot on this podcast, the snap count, it's one of my favorite topics.
00:12:30
Tristan Amundson
yeah I don't think you're looking for a Demarcus Lawrence to be at 60%, right? I mean, I think we're looking at that 35% to 45% of the snaps kind of player getting plenty of time on the sidelines to recover and then making a huge impact when we need him to.
00:12:45
Tristan Amundson
um And so, yeah, I think both of these guys, they scream role players. And I think they also scream um philosophy and and helping to to kind of yeah It was a a reoccurring theme of last year, right?
00:13:00
Tristan Amundson
Make this team into Mike McDonald's image. and And I think both of these guys play into that in the right way. And i love in context, we have a really good defensive line.
00:13:11
Tristan Amundson
Maybe we add another draft pick, we make it even better. I think that we have the makings of it a pretty good wide receiver room. It's not going to be one of the best in the league, but I don't think we need it to be for this offense to be successful. So I think we're taking steps in the right direction.
Draft Needs and Critiques
00:13:28
Tristan Amundson
and and I think the other thing I'll say about both of these signings It gives these guys flexibility in the draft, which I think is absolutely massive to be able to not be sitting at one or one of our number twos or threes and say, we have to take X player because we need this position.
00:13:46
Tristan Amundson
I think both of these guys give you flexibility in the draft, which is really, really valuable.
00:13:52
M dub
Just a historical note on both of these players, Cup and Lawrence, because they've been in the league for a while. They've racked up some serious career stats. Lawrence has about 60 career sacks, which it lands you about 150 on the all-time list.
00:14:06
M dub
But the all-time list is really congested. Like you get two or three more sacks and suddenly you're up by like 120. So anyway, but Lawrence should make continue to make his way ah up that chart.
00:14:18
M dub
And then ah Cooper Cup is, this is really surprising to me. 16th all-time in yards per game for his career. 74.8 yards per game across his entire career.
00:14:29
M dub
so I mean, there's got to be more than 16 wide receivers in the Hall of Fame, right? I mean, that's that is really high up there. He's also 80th all-time in total receptions. That puts him just 27 catches behind Tyler Lockett. We were tracking Tyler Lockett's progress at the all-time chart throughout last year on Lockett Watch, and Kup is...
00:14:49
M dub
He's right behind him. He should be passing Lockett this year, which is really crazy. He's got a few, I think a year or two um shorter career than Lockett so far.
00:14:59
Tristan Amundson
Miles, is that you tipping your hand about a new segment called cuppa Cup of Coffee or something like that where you're going to be tracking Cooper Cups?
00:15:06
M dub
think,
00:15:08
Tristan Amundson
I mean, what are we thinking? and
00:15:10
M dub
well, probably not every week, but we will look, you know, I'll ill i'll be, my I'll be monitoring the situation. I'll be monitoring the situation.
00:15:17
Tristan Amundson
well but breaking news We'll be monitoring the situation. um and Any others? you know so so those were the two. yeah It's kind of funny. Even those two, right? like me Those aren't insanely big deals, right? When it comes to we've seen much bigger things happen in free agency.
00:15:35
Tristan Amundson
Well, heck, even this year, right? I mean, we we heck, we got a new quarterback. Um, but you know, fairly good deals, deals that make sense for the team. Um, what do you think of any of these smaller deals? Uh, whether it's Josh Jones or, you Marquis Valdez-Scantling, I think it's kind of an interesting one.
00:15:55
Tristan Amundson
What do you think about some of these, these smaller deals, Myles?
00:15:58
M dub
Yeah, I got some opinions on a couple of these smaller deals. Definitely a lot of feelings about ah Josh Jones, an offensive lineman that the team signs from the Ravens for one year and $4 million. dollars You know, i was thinking about Josh Jones.
00:16:13
M dub
I'm not familiar with his game. I'm excited to see it. But it's funny that Josh Jones... there's no way that he knows names like J.R. Sweezy, Jermaine Effetti, you know, all the names of all the, just, I don't know, the offensive line over the years. I mean, it's kind of cracking me up thinking like, there's no way Josh Jones knows what he's walking into. That it's a city chris asking John Snyder to, the to handle the offensive offensive of line differently for like over a decade.
00:16:45
M dub
This poor fella. He's just walking in here. But it is so hopefully Josh Jones said the ends up great. But i it felt like this move to me was a kind of stubborn decision by John Schneider to continue evaluating the offensive line in the same way that it was evaluated last offseason.
00:17:08
M dub
and we saw that that produced subpar results. So Josh Jones, for his career, he's been in the league for like five years. He's played 76 career games, but only 24 of those are starts.
00:17:19
M dub
And he's also kind of moved around the entire ah offensive line in those starts. So I'm actually not sure which position um the Seahawks do project him to play. um so okay, on its own, the the this is not a bad move. This is not a move to really ah get your hackles up, but in the context of the Seahawks off season, this is still the only money that the team has outlaid for offensive line, the entire off season.
00:17:45
M dub
And much like last year, they again sit at 32nd in the league in total offensive line spending. And even with, um even if the the team really invests in the offensive line in the draft, it's pretty much guaranteed to stay at 32nd. They're, they're behind by quite a bit, quite a bit of money that like the draft pick slots will not make up. So,
00:18:08
M dub
There was a lot of discussion throughout March about Will Fries from the Indianapolis c Colts who signed an absolutely gigantic deal with the Minnesota Vikings. The problem with Fries was he had only been able to play, um was only healthy for about 60% of the possible games of his four seasons in the NFL.
00:18:28
M dub
And i actually do agree. And the Seahawks were talking to fries. And i actually do agree with the Seahawks' decision to not invest that level of money in a player with that level of injury history.
00:18:40
M dub
But I do think there were other opportunities in free agency. And the one that really stuck out to me was the Tennessee Titans signing right guard Kevin Zeitler. He'd been with the Ravens for forever.
00:18:51
M dub
was with the Lions last year. He goes to the Titans on a contract playing right guard. He goes to the Titans on a contract for one year and $9 million. dollars And just situationally, where the two teams are right now, Titans versus Seahawks. i think the Seahawks have a much more appealing situation overall.
00:19:10
M dub
I think of the Seahawks matched it at nine minutes. You wouldn't have had to beat it by a lot. And you maybe could have even submitted ah a lower offer and it would have been
Impact of Veteran Players
00:19:18
M dub
more appealing. I don't know what Kevin's either values, but you know, Titans versus Seahawks. um Seahawks have that battle one here in 2025. It just would have felt nice to just say, okay,
00:19:31
M dub
That's, you know, that's the upper middle class of, like, offensive line free agency. Kevin Zeitler's in his late 30s. We know he's not going to be here for a long time, but it would just feel great to have, like, a veteran starter locked in and one of these positions for, like, solid money. I think that's what...
00:19:50
M dub
think that's what the 12s want. I think that's what both of us want. And yeah, all this coming from poor Mr. Josh Jones. That's why I i was cracking up thinking about like this guy probably has no clue what he's walked into because he's been with a couple teams. And yeah, he walks into this crazy ongoing story about the Seahawks offensive line.
00:20:11
Tristan Amundson
And it does. And I think it goes back to those two larger signings. It does just give you a little less flexibility, right? So now going into the draft and I'm excited to chat the draft with you in in a little bit here, going into the draft, it's a must, right? I mean, it is a must. You have to fill and I mean, I would say you have to walk away with those top five picks and I mean, it seems to me you have to walk away those top five picks. Two of those have to be interior offensive linemen or or some sort of an offensive line play. You know, if that includes, hey, we're going to move Abraham into guard. OK, that's fine. You know, however, the coaching staff wants to do it.
00:20:54
Tristan Amundson
But it seems to me like you're going to have to walk away with at least two guys from this draft on the offensive line. Yeah. It does give you less flexibility. It would be nice to have one more piece so that you have a little bit more flexibility. And and maybe at 18, you can say, hey, you know what, we're going to trade back because we don't have to have this guy right here.
00:21:16
Tristan Amundson
You know, we can we can ah kind of call our our spot, call our shot a little bit more. So it does put us in a little bit of a precarious situation. I wonder, and and maybe it's maybe it's correct to say that that was going to have to happen no matter what at one of these positions.
00:21:33
Tristan Amundson
And i i kind of agree with you. I do respect at least the fact that Hey, we we are Will Fries. We want you on the team. We have to give you a physical man. And from my understanding, that was the big difference.
00:21:45
Tristan Amundson
He um didn't have to do a physical with the ah Vikings and we require it ah that.
00:21:50
M dub
Oh, wow. That's wild. Okay.
00:21:53
Tristan Amundson
So that's that's according to the great Brock Heward. So, you know, if if that's correct and no reason to believe it isn't, um that's pretty wild like that. You know, hey, no, we're we're not.
00:22:05
Tristan Amundson
We're not going to let you inspect the house before you buy it. um You know, if if the market's strong enough, there's sellers that can do that in the housing market. And, um you know, I think that's kind of how that went down. So it's that's a tough one. You know, it would have been nice to have him on the team. But at the same time, um you know, a guy with an and injury history, that that would be a hard pill to swallow.
00:22:29
M dub
I think what, I think the weird, the really, the thing that really sticks out is we just saw this not work out. And, um, it does seem like in John Schneider's public discussions, there's, there's so much that's so likable about ah how he is in public, but that there does feel to be a bit of a defensiveness, ironically, about the offensive line.
00:22:35
Tristan Amundson
Yes.
00:22:50
M dub
um and, uh, ah It is, I'm not quite understanding why the team is kind of approaching it in the same way they did last offseason, which which is just kind of trying to pinch and in in penny penny pinch, you know, and it really ah get some sort of masterful bargain here.
00:23:11
M dub
i think i think you do tend to get what you pay for um in the offensive line in the NFL. And yeah, it's just funny because we just saw this out all happen.
00:23:22
Tristan Amundson
Yep. No, absolutely. No, I get it. I get it. It's, I think it's a lose, lose scenario, frankly, because no no matter what you're you're going, i you know, I guess what it is, it's a life story, right?
00:23:35
Tristan Amundson
You have to make choices in life. You're always going to have to compromise in some way. um Are we going to get this house in this neighborhood or this house? It's not in the neighborhood do we want, but it's a little bigger. Do I buy this car or this car? I got 10,000 bucks to spend on a car.
00:23:50
Tristan Amundson
I'm going to have to make some decisions based off of you know what what we're looking for. So I suppose this is just one of those classic things. um give and take. So you have to make a choice, you have to make a compromise, and and you just have to live with it.
00:24:04
Tristan Amundson
um What do you think of this this wide receiver? yeah Can we call him MVS? Is that one of his nicknames? it seems like when you have a name as long as Marquez, Valdez, Scantling, there should be a shortened version of your name. Are you aware, Miles, of any shortened versions of this man's name so that we can kind of have a fun nickname
Wide Receiver Strategy
00:24:26
Tristan Amundson
for him?
00:24:26
M dub
Tristan, I think the du the people do call him MBS. And I actually, this is ah this is a ah minor move. But as as far as minor moves go, this this is my favorite thing that the Seahawks did this whole offseason. And you would not have thought that last October.
00:24:46
M dub
About that time, MVS was struggling to stay on the Bills roster. ah he He has moved over to New Orleans. I i forget if he got ah he had to have gotten cut. I mean, with the Bills, six games played, two receptions, 26 yards.
00:25:01
M dub
Things are looking grim. There was no way he was traded for like draft compensation at that time. He ends up on the Saints, though. And his offensive coordinator is a man named Mr. Clint Kubiak, who is currently an employee of the Seattle Seahawks.
00:25:15
M dub
And when we talked about Clint coming onto the team, we were breaking it down about how ah the the team had had some pretty good success with Derek Carr being healthy at the start of the year. And the things really broke down towards the end of the year as they had to play some of the most inexperienced backups in the league.
00:25:32
M dub
Well, when those inexperienced backups were playing, that's when MVS was playing for the Saints. So in in that half of season, which was only eight games that he played for the Saints,
00:25:44
M dub
MVS has 17 catches for 385 yards and four touchdowns. Let's just double all those numbers for the full season. Suddenly, you're you're looking at a really solid deep threat. He averages 22.6 yards per catch. ah And it's it's really funny to think about him and Clint Kubiak.
00:26:01
M dub
Obviously... the signing happens because the two, the two of them know each other. They've known each other for all of like five months. They were together for like two months in new Orleans. Like, how do you do? Nice to meet you. And they just immediately have this success together. And then our,
00:26:18
M dub
reunited here in Seattle. But um I thought that was a a really good opportunity to find some great value. Teams were probably not clamoring to sign MVS after he struggled with the Bills.
00:26:30
Tristan Amundson
Thank you.
00:26:31
M dub
ah But the Seahawks had this edge of of this. ah They're chasing edges. They chased the edge of of this great relationship that Kubiak and MVS had together. and I think this will be a so a surprisingly good move. I think we will really enjoy having MVS as this just deep bomb, deep threat, which I feel like there have not been that many types of, there haven't been a lot of wide receivers like that on the Seahawks over the years.
00:26:57
Tristan Amundson
And, you know, again, we go back to the role player idea, right? yeah If you think about Cooper's game, if you think about JSN's game, now JSN, you know, certainly both of those guys can stretch the field, but they both really do thrive, ah you know, kind of from a slot or or inside the intermediate game as well.
00:27:15
Tristan Amundson
um Again, not to take anything away. They can both open up the top if they want, and certainly JSN is very fast. But having a guy who's kind of a dedicated outside player deep ball wide receiver, stretch the defense, all of those things.
00:27:30
Tristan Amundson
um You know, and what I love about this signing is one year, 4 million, very low risk role player on the outside. And we're you're still wide open now to be able to draft a wide, a young wide receiver. Yeah.
00:27:43
Tristan Amundson
um and put him right in the middle of a room with with some really good um established veterans that are established at doing something well, right? 22.6 yards per catch, that's a monster number. I mean, in in context of other wide receivers, that that dude is is making, he's a deep ball threat. I mean, that's what his game is.
Draft Philosophy and Strategies
00:28:05
Tristan Amundson
and And so I think it it might even be interesting to put yourself in the shoes of a rookie walking into that room, whoever it might be, You're talking to guys that have made a living doing very specialized things.
00:28:18
Tristan Amundson
And I think that might be an interesting way to understand the positions and understand how to be successful um in pro football, right? you You might not be able to be a jack of all trades, but you you can focus in on a couple of key um aspects of your game and become really, really good at those things. So it'll be, I think, fascinating to see this wide receiver room round out. I, would you agree with that? It's, this is not a completed wide receiver room at, at the moment, but it does feel like it's one dynamic rookie away from being really, really interesting.
00:28:54
M dub
You know that's interesting. It did feel a little more complete to me, and I didn't have wide receiver necessarily that high ah up the list on on who the Seahawks should be drafting. um The Seahawks did sign River Craycraft from the Dolphins on a very minor move.
00:29:11
M dub
um He's been wide receiver depth around the league for a few years, but um I like the idea of it. But i yeah, I guess it had to be something I've been thinking about. But um it yeah, but like let's draft a wide receiver.
00:29:24
Tristan Amundson
Well, and and that will bring us in to, again, later on, we can talk through where we want to see and what kind of players. i Listen, in the same way that I am not a pro scout, I am also, I've tried calling Mel Kuyper Jr. he He won't return any of my phone calls.
00:29:41
Tristan Amundson
um I actually don't know if he knows about the podcast, Miles, which is... Easy. and I know it's going to that's going to hurt your heart. That's shocking. um But I'm not a draft expert either, so I'm not going to be here um saying what names I want specifically.
00:29:57
Tristan Amundson
What I will say is is the positions that i I really want to see the Seahawks walk away from philosophically. I think that's ah maybe where where you and I were where this podcast thrives is.
00:30:11
Tristan Amundson
philosophically looking at how we want things built and and where this team should be going based off of what what they say they want to be and who they say they want to be, right? um And so that that that's going to be really fun.
00:30:23
Tristan Amundson
Any other, I know we we just had Drew Locke come on board, right? Which that's that's actually almost breaking news. That happened, what, a couple of days ago. um Eric, yeah what who's this Eric guy?
00:30:35
Tristan Amundson
His last name looks like Sherbet to me or something. that How do we say, is it Sherbert? How how do we say Eric's last name?
00:30:42
M dub
Eric Saubert, can I hit you with one last historical detail about MVS? Because this this really blew me away, just about how much of a deep ball threat he is. So Marquez Valdez-Scantling is tied for 40th in NFL history in yards per reception.
00:30:58
M dub
40th.
00:30:59
Tristan Amundson
Well,
00:31:00
M dub
And what's really crazy about our mega-offense, or our mega-passing era of football is... That's the the active league leader.
00:31:10
M dub
There is nobody active in the NFL above 40th overall in yards per catch in NFL history. And in fact, the next though like the second place among active players is all the way down at 127.
00:31:25
M dub
So MVS is the only active player in the NFL who's in the top 100 in yards per catch in NFL history. So the man really is a deep threat. there's there's not There's not a comparison like him in the NFL right now. I mean, it's really... just couldn't believe how how there's no there's just nobody on that historical chart in the current NFL, despite how much we're passing the ball.
Player Anecdotes and Development
00:31:49
Tristan Amundson
A specialist. I mean, really, I mean, truly, he is a specialist at that aspect of being a wide receiver. That's really cool.
00:31:57
M dub
Yeah, anyway, Eric Saubert. So he was with the Niners last year. Your your third string tight end. He'll be behind Noah Phan and AJ Barner. and ah Speaking of history, man, we've got some history-making minor players here, but Eric Saubert.
00:32:12
M dub
this the Seahawks will be the eighth team that Saubert plays for. In a case that does not sound a lot like a lot to you, that will only make him the third player in NFL history to have suited up for at least eight teams.
00:32:26
M dub
He's going to be chasing Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh McCown, who each played for nine teams. um It could happen next year. This is a one-year deal. we could very easily see Eric move on to the next team the year after.
00:32:36
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:32:39
M dub
And you know what? I Fitzpatrick and McCown, those are quarterbacks. Those guys ultimately do get the glory. Fitzpatrick ultimately does get you know the the broadcasting job. Saubert is the the true journeyman.
00:32:53
M dub
He's the ultimate journeyman. And I will celebrate his presence in Seattle. hood You know what? Maybe there is no Team 9. maybe maybe Maybe this is home. Maybe this is home. I'll be rooting for it.
00:33:04
Tristan Amundson
Hey, I could not support that more. uh, i yeah I can't help. I'm looking at our notes. I can't help but seeing the scene Miles admits Tristan was right. i just I'm looking at our show sheet, Miles, and it's as if it's been highlighted.
00:33:25
Tristan Amundson
It's as if you took a highlighter and just scribbled it onto my computer screen. this this tiny little Miles admits Tristan was right. What was I right about, Miles?
00:33:37
M dub
Tristan, this is not ESPN. we do There's no need to embrace debate. i think we' like I think we get more pleasure out of calling ourselves out when we were wrong. But Tristan, at this time last year, was a big proponent of the trade for Sam Howell.
00:33:53
M dub
I equated it to like drafting a a quarterback in the third round because that that was the price tag. And it just didn't work out because because the Seahawks have brought back Drew Locke, who you would assume is going to be the second-string starter behind Sam Darnold. So that means a third-round pick traded for third-string quarterback in Sam Howell.
00:34:17
M dub
His one cameo last year did not go that well. It is fair to remember that the offensive line was really not going that well in that game. ah So, yeah.
00:34:28
M dub
and I mean, for I hope Sam Howell finds a spot in the NFL. I do think that this this early career quarterback musical chairs is – like the way quarterback development is set up in the NFL is probably like the worst –
00:34:42
Tristan Amundson
It's terrible. Terrible.
00:34:44
M dub
situation for any of these guys to develop.
00:34:44
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:34:47
M dub
And Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus likes to make the point that the 50th best linebacker in the NFL is a good linebacker. And the 50th best quarterback in the NFL, if they feel so frustrating and they feel so limited. But they're still the 50th best, just like the 50th best linebacker, the 50th best defensive lineman.
00:35:08
M dub
um And unfortunately, I think that's that's the situation where Sam Howell finds himself right now. And I mean, the NFL is wild. There's a break here or there, and he he could rise up into that top 32 easily, but um it just doesn't look like it's going to be for the Seahawks in 2025.
00:35:27
Tristan Amundson
I think the way to look at this, if we want to look at the glass half full, life is about risk. you know Life is about risk assessment.
00:35:37
Tristan Amundson
It's about being ah in the casino and figuring out, all right, how much can we put down on different bets? right We're going to make bets. We're going to put bets down.
00:35:48
Tristan Amundson
and and how do we allocate our funds? and And we're going to have to put some money down on some bets that are going to be longer odds. And, you know, hey, if we go to the roulette table, right, we can put it on red or black and we're going to have almost 50% odds.
00:36:03
Tristan Amundson
And guess what? We're only going to win, you know, 50% of the money. if you If we go um to, you know some of the longer odds on a roulette table, right?
00:36:14
Tristan Amundson
In the movies, they always put it on 11 or put it on, you know, 24 whatever. And yeah, you know, the odds are really low that you're going to hit. And when you hit you make a lot of money on, you know, at the roulette table when, when you actually put it on one of the numbers.
00:36:30
Tristan Amundson
And I guess my point is with, with a guy like Sam Howell, It cost a third round pick to be able to put the money down on number. I don't, man, if I could remember Sam's number, that would be incredible right now because I could really tie it into roulette.
00:36:44
Tristan Amundson
um But we we put the number down on, know, whatever it was, number 11, Sam Howell. We put it all in Third round pick is is how much it cost. And if he would have hit,
00:36:55
Tristan Amundson
it would have been an unbelievable use. It would have been one of the great third round picks ever, right? Hey, we spent a third round pick and we got a franchise quarterback or we got a quarterback we love who is going to be on the team for years as our backup.
00:37:10
Tristan Amundson
that It didn't work out that way, but that's the price to to be playing at the table. and And I think if you look at it that way, instead of saying it was a wasted third round pick,
00:37:21
Tristan Amundson
No, you know what? It was an opportunity to put a bet down. And when you put a bet down, you don't know if it's going to work out or not. But you have, if you want to play the game, you have to ante up. You have to actually put the bet down. so So I would look at this, you know, kind of a half glass full kind of way and say,
00:37:42
Tristan Amundson
Hey, they they sat down at the table. It didn't work this time. But if you're going to win, you're going to have to keep playing. So I don't think it was that bad of ah um of a trade. And heck, I wonder if there's still teams out there that would be interested.
00:37:55
Tristan Amundson
Now, we're not going to get a third rounder for him. But, you know, could you imagine a scenario where we trade Sam to a team that needs him for a sixth round pick in a or a fifth round pick or something like that?
00:38:07
Tristan Amundson
in a year where there's not a lot of quarterbacks in this draft. Um, it, that seems like, you know, that seems like that's doable. That seems like that's a possibility this year.
00:38:18
M dub
um That's funny. It sounds like I think you were more right last year than you you think you're right.
Quarterback Situation and Roster Choices
00:38:24
Tristan Amundson
Well, I mean, you know, I just, uh, I think there's just, there's a couple of different ways to look at it. Right. So, I mean, yeah, Sam didn't work out. So maybe right from that perspective, but, um,
00:38:36
Tristan Amundson
I mean, but if he did, it would have been awesome, which maybe sounds dumb to people. But, you know, I think that's kind of the that's the gambling analogy you have to use because these are real people. We don't know how these things are going to work out. This isn't fantasy football. This is it's real life. And, you know, yeah.
00:38:54
Tristan Amundson
and And for all we know, listen, we're the team that, you know, now suddenly we have a quarterback that's already gone through the he's a bust phase. And now, you know, people like him again.
00:39:05
Tristan Amundson
So who's to say that Sam Howell in three years isn't, you know, making 150 million bucks and he's the next hot quarterback because, you know, oh, my gosh, he needed a couple of years to to to actually develop.
00:39:19
Tristan Amundson
um you You could absolutely see that happening. I mean, come on.
00:39:22
M dub
Absolutely. that' That is a really great point. It could be like, ah oh, the Seahawks got out of this too early. They made the right move and then got out of it too early. i think my I was remembering that December game against the Packers, and I was in envisioning how cold I was on that dark and stormy day.
00:39:40
M dub
And I was just remembering all ah the research was doing for this show about how many draft picks the Packers have held onto over the years compared to almost every other team and definitely compared to the Seahawks where ah there is... i know i just think you definitely have to you have to make some decisions and and some gambles in life, but the Seahawks don't necessarily have to gamble with their draft picks as often as they do.
00:40:06
M dub
So that that that Packers game really... really was a ah mind changer for me. And I appreciate this opportunity now to to bring back Drew Locke, ah who I would i would say is in a similar tier of quarterback as Sam Howell, but the opportunity does not cost any draft capital.
00:40:25
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. Yeah. And, you know maybe an opportunity for Drew to go to another place and be like, Hey, I, I kind of liked it in Seattle. like you know, Hey, that organization knows what they're doing. um and it gives us a chance for stability in that, in that, uh, quarterback room. So, um, yeah, all in all, and it does kind of make you feel even better about him being included in that original Russell Wilson trade a little bit, right. Where you're like, Hey, yeah, you know what? Like,
00:40:49
Tristan Amundson
he he He didn't end up being our starter, you know, and I don't think we expected that to be the case, but he's still a quality player and he's still a guy that has value in this league. So that's, it's kind of fun to see him coming back.
00:41:01
Tristan Amundson
Always good. I think to see players come back.
00:41:04
M dub
You do love to see it. And that is such a good point to bring up the Russell Wilson trade because Russell Wilson did sign with the Giants. So maybe that that was there was this the trade still unraveling itself. He's like ah like a magnet. He said, no, I can't be can't be in the same place as Russell Wilson here. I'm i'm bouncing away.
00:41:22
M dub
Anyway, don't know if you felt like this, but I felt i felt like the 12s when Drew Locke was here really appreciated him as a backup. And almost feel like that's responsible. The positive vibes generated to bringing him back because even though Drew Locke's coming back to the same team that he was on about 18 months ago,
00:41:41
M dub
There's none of the same coaches here. It's completely cleared out. We've had an offensive coordinator come and go since the time he was here. So i almost feel like he was back for you know it was either John Schneider, which credit to him for for making that a positive relationship, or or just the the good vibes in Seattle, which I think had to be a lot better than the the madness, the distress, the anguish that comes out of the New York Giants and their fan base.
Player Signings, Departures, and Market Fit
00:42:08
Tristan Amundson
No, absolutely. Yeah, no, I mean, listen, it it could be that they just have some sort of ah um some sort of a contract with themselves where it's like, yeah, we always have to be um apart from each other.
00:42:20
M dub
Thank you.
00:42:21
Tristan Amundson
They are they are both positively charged ah magnets or something like that. Um, okay. So moving down our list, moving down our hit list from, uh, from one to the other.
00:42:35
Tristan Amundson
ah well, I should say this, any, anything else, any other small deals we should touch on or, or should we move on?
00:42:42
M dub
There's about six other players the Seahawks signed. um And, you know, you never know. You never know. You never know what could happen. But I think we'll move on for now. into there's There's an interesting list of, well, there is a list of minor players who have ah departed the Seahawks for other past years.
00:42:59
M dub
And there's an even more interesting list to me of players who were on the Seahawks last year who still have not been signed by any team.
00:43:02
Tristan Amundson
Thank you.
00:43:08
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, and you let me, maybe we each just pick one or two that jump out to us. Is that fair? And that way we're not going through every single one of these guys.
00:43:16
M dub
Absolutely.
00:43:17
Tristan Amundson
that the The one that pops out to me of free agents um that have ah that have gone elsewhere would be, ah well, actually, can you guess who I'm going to say?
00:43:28
Tristan Amundson
This is a fun game. Can you guess who who stands out to me as I look at this list that I'm kind of like, oh man, i would I would have liked to keep you.
00:43:39
M dub
um i think you're going to say Roy Robertson-Harris.
00:43:41
Tristan Amundson
Yes. Yeah. That's the guy that, you know, again, role player, right? that This isn't, you know, not a major piece of last year's team, but a guy that was in there 35, 45% of the snaps that made a difference positively for this team.
00:43:57
Tristan Amundson
um If I remember correctly, kind of specifically in that, just doing the right thing, being a good run blocker, um you know, stopping the run up for the defensive line. So yeah, that that's one that kind of pops out to me is ah I'm a little...
00:44:10
Tristan Amundson
Happy, happy for him. Little bum to see him go. I would have loved to to see him come on back. um So, yeah, that's that's mine.
00:44:18
M dub
ah The one that stands out to me was for a comment he made in an interview. We had Farrell Brown, the blocking tight end, who I think had a bit of an underwhelming year with the Seahawks last year. He goes to the Miami Dolphins for one year. And somebody asked him why he chose the Dolphins.
00:44:35
M dub
Do you know what he said?
00:44:36
Tristan Amundson
I don't I can't wait.
00:44:38
M dub
He said, sometimes beggars can't be choosers, which is, ah it's a really funny mindset to be to have when you're moving to Miami and you're making $1.3 million dollars in about six months.
00:44:50
M dub
But ah ah in the NFL ecosystem, well, how how crazy is that? That the NFL, you know, what is it, 18 months ago, the Dolphins score 70 points in a game and it's like but the epicenter of what's cool in the NFL.
00:45:02
Tristan Amundson
the new hot team yeah yeah yeah
00:45:06
M dub
um So I just thought that was – that's something really funny to keep in mind with all these deals and all this news coming out. It's like the players –
00:45:12
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, it's a heck of a thing. It's a heck of a thing to say about your new employer, too. i mean, that's like, bro.
00:45:19
M dub
I know, but it's like the players aren't necessarily stoked about what's happening. They're just kind of keeping the career moving. You know, that that's not necessarily exciting.
00:45:29
M dub
ah
00:45:29
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:45:30
M dub
I just thought that was really funny. Yeah.
00:45:32
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, mike Mike McDaniel, I'm sure, loved to hear that. That's like, come on, man.
00:45:38
Tristan Amundson
i feel like I'm still a pretty awesome offensive mind in this game. um I'm looking at your still out there list. I guess I would say really quickly, Trey Brown, another good Seahawk, good role player that, it you know, yeah guys like that are going to come and go. But I i think everyone always liked Trey.
00:45:57
Tristan Amundson
Hard to see him go. um Still out there's I'm looking at the list of still out there. You know, I guess i'm I'm such a, you could read me probably so easily right now. You probably know who I'm looking at right now on that list too, don't you?
00:46:13
Tristan Amundson
On the still out there list.
00:46:16
M dub
I'm guessing it's Jonathan Hankins.
00:46:18
Tristan Amundson
Yep, yep.
00:46:18
M dub
but the the The biggest name, though, is definitely Tyler Lockett.
00:46:19
Tristan Amundson
You know your co-host.
00:46:23
M dub
I mean, I know there was the It felt like a retirement, what was happening between him and the Seahawks earlier this spring, but the man is not retired. The man is, he still got like 600 yards last year in the NFL.
00:46:37
M dub
He's good to go. High character guy would be a leader in a young locker room. We got ah Seahawks Southwest assembling with the Las Vegas Raiders. It seemed inevitable that he would sign there at some point in March. It's,
00:46:51
M dub
it's um It's been interesting to me that so much time has gone by and and Tyler Lockett, I mean, I heard a podcast chronicle his his journey up the all-time NFL receptions list last year. He's in the mid-70s on that list and he's still just sitting out there.
00:47:08
Tristan Amundson
I mean, I'd love for him to keep it going. Tyler's the best. We love Tyler. And, um, yeah, interested to see where that lands and, and, you know, maybe it's a little, um, uh, what's the word I'm looking for? Reinforcing, you know, to see that he hasn't been signed by another team yet.
00:47:26
Tristan Amundson
You know, it kind of helps to put into context, Hey man, this is where you're at in your career. you know, we need to do the right thing for the team moving forward. Um, But, yeah, I mean, he's such a great guy and and and could absolutely contribute.
00:47:42
Tristan Amundson
um I like what you just said to a younger team, right? To a team with a really young wide receiver room. You put Tyler Lockett the middle of that room. it they Everyone else will be better for him being in there.
00:47:53
Tristan Amundson
um which is a a pretty wonderful thing to be able to say about somebody. So um for me though, Jonathan Hankins, again, just having the big man in the middle, um you know, I feel like he did a lot of the dirty work for this defensive line last year.
00:48:07
Tristan Amundson
And I, I think he's probably the sort of guy you can replace. He's the sort of guy you can find. It's not the end of the world not to have a guy like that, but um there, that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for just the big, big dudes in the middle of that, um that do the dirty work on those offensive and defensive lines.
00:48:28
M dub
Absolutely. And another player where it does, it seems like but maybe, yeah, it it just seems like there's a lot of teams would be helped by adding Jonathan Hankins as well.
00:48:39
Tristan Amundson
But yeah, maybe he's the sort of guy that gets added um in mini camp, you know, or if he's anything like some of those other big dudes over the years, you know, maybe he's OK saying, hey, call me after training camp. You know, like I'm ah I'll be ready to go. Like I kind of but plug and play in any system.
00:48:57
Tristan Amundson
You know, I don't need to be doing two a days or or whatever. I suppose they don't do that anymore. But you know what I mean? I don't need to go through the dog days of summer. Like I'll just ah call call me when you need me.
00:49:08
M dub
The old Jason Peters. that That's actually a great point. That probably is the situation I would
Training Camp Strategy and Draft Capital
00:49:13
M dub
imagine. Or or maybe he he's ready, thinking about hanging it up. One one of those two options.
00:49:19
Tristan Amundson
They used to say that about Walter Jones, that um all of the negotiations would magically um like just clear up and be good to go the day after training camp.
00:49:29
Tristan Amundson
but He would just wait and then sign like magically like, oh, yeah, no, we we found a number that works. And it it just happens to be after training camp's over, which um which worked out just fine for Big Walt.
00:49:45
M dub
I mean, it's like six weeks, right? I mean, if you're at any type of NFL veteran, that's a whole year of your life in training camp. I mean, that'd be tough.
00:49:54
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. You, you'd rather just wait and and and see where things fall and, you know, knock on wood, but that is a, ah well, I suppose any position, the NFL is a ah high, um, uh, injury kind of attrition rate position. So, um, probably good for those guys to, you know, to, to, to hold out a little bit and, um, they are kind of put plug in place, but listen, man, let's get to the conclusion and maybe the most important part of this podcast.
00:50:23
Tristan Amundson
Um, what's coming up, which is the draft. So I'm i'm seeing your notes here. The draft starts. We are 10 days away or no, nine days. We are officially nine days away from the the NFL draft.
00:50:37
Tristan Amundson
um You know, what are you thinking? but Maybe maybe you start with kind of the synopsis. What are we looking at going into it? And maybe we can talk through our wish list a little bit here.
00:50:51
M dub
Yeah, Seahawks have a lot of draft capital coming into this draft. So 10 total picks and five of those are in the top 100. Just a recap of those. First round, they're picking at their own pick at 18.
00:51:05
M dub
Second round, picking at their own at 50. And you got that that nice little combo, close combo. They're picking right at 52 from the DK trade. And in the third round, they're going to 82 92.
00:51:17
M dub
but That's a lot of really important. That's ah just a lot of picks. Five in the top 100 is a lot.
00:51:21
Tristan Amundson
It's a lot of it's a good real estate up there in the top, ah top 100.
00:51:28
M dub
And just just worthwhile to point it out, the Seahawks have also already traded away four picks before this even happened. The highest of those picks was in the fourth round at 120, which went to the Titans in the middle of last year in the Ernest Jones trade.
00:51:44
M dub
We just had our whole discussion about Sam Howell. Definitely does feel like that pick for Ernest Jones was definitely worth it. um Also in the second half, there's three compensatory picks from last year's free agency. Kind of forget about this, but I thought it was kind of kind of fun to put like the name with the actual pick number. So Seahawks pick up pi hu sorry yeah ah yeah pick number 137 as compensation for the departure of Damian Lewis to the Panthers.
00:52:13
M dub
They get 172 for the departure of Jordan Brooks to the Dolphins. And 177 for Colby Parkinson to the Rams. ah yeah I always forget, you know, the the compensatory thing takes that extra year to cycle through, so you kind of forget about it. But if you think about trading those players for that those draft slots, that that those feel like good moves since they were going to leave the team anyway.
00:52:37
Tristan Amundson
Absolutely. Yeah. And apparently i was just listening to someone who said that the team, yeah do you know the team that does this the best, the compensatory, uh, pick game?
00:52:49
M dub
Oh, yes. That is the Baltimore Ravens and Mr.
00:52:53
Tristan Amundson
Uh,
00:52:53
M dub
Ozzie Newsome.
00:52:54
Tristan Amundson
the great Ravens with their compensatory picks coming out of their noses. They, they get a lot of them. um But yeah, I, I like seeing this. It seems like smart football to, to get some good compensatory picks.
00:53:06
Tristan Amundson
Nice to see that it's a fourth rounder for, for Damian Lewis. That's a pretty legit pick to be coming back to the team. um And, you know, would it surprise you if that same pick was used on an offensive interior offensive lineman?
00:53:21
Tristan Amundson
I don't think so.
00:53:21
M dub
Thank
00:53:21
Tristan Amundson
I think that's a, maybe a sweet spot. As you as you look at this. And, and but you know, maybe we just kind of focus in on the first five here.
00:53:33
Tristan Amundson
Like if you look at the first five, so starting pick 18, ending pick 92 rounds, one through rounds, three.
00:53:44
Tristan Amundson
What is mission critical, Miles? When you look at those five picks, what do the Seahawks need to do what will you What are you expecting? And I guess maybe the other side of this is, what will make you cringe if they don't do it? If if you...
00:54:00
Tristan Amundson
If you see that they've picked three tight ends in the first ah five picks, you know, what, what will happen to miles? Right. But but let maybe we start with the positive. What, um, what's best case scenario for these five picks in your mind?
00:54:17
M dub
I think you were onto something earlier where you said two offensive linemen out of those top five picks. think that's accurate. I think we would both be contented fellas if it was three offensive linemen out of the
Draft Needs: Balancing the Roster
00:54:32
M dub
top 100.
00:54:32
M dub
Four would probably be pushing it, but i read would you be satisfied with three out of those top five picks?
00:54:37
Tristan Amundson
You know, it's funny.
00:54:38
M dub
is that Is that too much?
00:54:39
Tristan Amundson
i think it's almost too much. And I think it's just because I want to spread the two and a half.
00:54:42
M dub
Okay, okay, okay. Two and a half, two and a half.
00:54:45
Tristan Amundson
That's fine. Yeah. Give me give me half of a, half of a man, give me 150 pounder at ah offensive line. Um, no, yeah, I, I think two would be, or three be a little too much, but I could be convinced if, if there was just the perfect scenario, um,
00:55:01
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, yeah. But I, too, i think is where I'm kind of settling in. And I would be flexible there. I would say if you gave me two in those first five at any position, if you if you said the last two are going to be offensive linemen or the first two, I don't think I really care.
00:55:19
Tristan Amundson
Just as long as it's the guys that our coaching staff wants.
00:55:25
M dub
I think one of the first two has to be one of the first three between and I think one of those at least has to be and offensive lineman ah ah do expect that to be the case The other position that I think about is definitely the secondary.
00:55:40
M dub
The defensive line has a lot of depth right now. And I think the secondary, I think, i think with especially with Mike McDonald coaching the team, think it's going to be a situation where you you can never have enough depth in the secondary. And i would expect to see that happen in the top picks as well. It's not something I've seen talked about a lot, but I kind of think that's how they're going to go.
00:56:05
Tristan Amundson
So I haven't thought about the secondary ton. I see your point because there's a need for it. I'm a glutton for punishment. Tell me if you think I'm crazy here. i want another defensive lineman. I don't care if it's a defensive tackle and and ah like i I think I'm okay with them investing in that position every single year in their top five picks. And when I look at the real estate we have here, if you told me that number 18 number 82,
00:56:33
Tristan Amundson
or number eighty two was a defensive tackle or defensive end, I'd be very happy with that.
00:56:42
M dub
If they went defensive line at 18, this has to be the best defensive. It would be a o disappointment if this was not the best defensive line in the NFL.
00:56:53
M dub
It just would. of that feels That feels intense.
00:56:58
Tristan Amundson
Gluttonous.
00:56:58
M dub
That feels intense. But it would and be interesting to see.
00:56:59
Tristan Amundson
A little gluttonous. So offensive line, defensive line. I'm i'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I will say this, though. I do think in these first five, I think you need a wide receiver. I do think you need to pick.
00:57:14
Tristan Amundson
and now Now, here's one where allll I'll be ah have a little bit more of an opinion. I do not want to see a wide receiver at 18.
00:57:20
M dub
you
00:57:22
Tristan Amundson
Like, I would be frustrated if they did a wide receiver 18. But if... but if on any of the other four picks, 50 through 92. If they gave me a wide receiver, I'd be very happy with that also.
00:57:36
M dub
Interesting, especially with, ah I feel like youre yeah i feel ah Jake Bobo is fourth on on on the chart right now. It feels like a low priority to me. I think every position is going to be hit at some point in this draft, but wide receiver feels like a low priority to me. So does tight end, so does running back.
00:57:55
M dub
I wouldn't be cringing at a wide receiver. I think I would with tight end and running back. Those positions are really solidly established, but um you still want another wide receiver.
00:58:04
Tristan Amundson
So, well, let's talk need. So you so we both put do we both put offensive into your offensive lineman is as the number one need, correct?
00:58:14
M dub
Oh yeah. It's in its own, that's in its own category. I think we agree.
00:58:17
Tristan Amundson
OK, so so, OK, that's one a with a bullet. it it's It's the number one. ah You're arguing, and I think in a good i think you're correct, cornerback call it cornerback safety, call it secondary. you're saying Would you say that is the number two biggest need on this team right now?
00:58:39
M dub
I think very quietly it has become, um And i think' I think it's because a lot of positions are in good shape. But I do i do yeah i do think that's the that would be the second second on the list.
00:58:50
Tristan Amundson
So if i'm if I'm thinking through this, I'm not willing to put tight end as number three. And I think i think you agree with me on that. Certainly defensive tackle is not your third biggest need. It's just not. yeah I mean, we would be saying, let's get rich at something we're already rich at if we if we did defensive tackle, defensive end.
00:59:10
Tristan Amundson
Um, obviously quarterback that's, you know, i don't think they're going to be going that direction. Linebackers a little thin right now. Can you get linebacker value later on in the draft? I think so.
00:59:24
Tristan Amundson
What, where what, who would you say is that, or what position I should say, what's our third biggest need on this team? Is it linebacker? Is it wide receiver?
00:59:34
M dub
I think it's linebacker. I think we're both really happy with that pair of Ernest Jones and Tyrese Knight um starting in the center, but um depth, the future.
00:59:40
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:59:46
M dub
yeah i do Yeah, a lot of positions are pretty well taken care of here. I think maybe it's um yeah like how how top end are all these all all these positional groups, but I would put linebacker third, actually.
01:00:02
Tristan Amundson
Okay, interesting. And i think I think I would put wide receiver third um just because i think it's an opportunity to replenish and to to kind of get the next young guy into the wide receiver room and system, um especially because as much as we like the Cooper Cup trade um or signing, I should say,
01:00:25
Tristan Amundson
yeah we we do know that potentially health could be an issue for Cooper. So, so that's why I, I would put personally, i think, I, I think, I think this is um a great sports illustrated writer once said, um i think I would put wide receiver as our third biggest need and linebacker
Draft Wrap-Up and Final Thoughts
01:00:46
Tristan Amundson
is number four. So I, and I think I feel pretty confident about that. I, I think if, if you told me,
01:00:54
Tristan Amundson
in I guess in this order, if the Seahawks selected, i should just mean in this order of importance, ah offensive guard,
01:01:07
Tristan Amundson
secondary, wide receiver, linebacker. If they use their first five picks on those four positions, I'd be very happy. I think that's that to me would spell success for the draft. If those four positions got addressed in the first five picks, what do you think about that?
01:01:30
M dub
i I feel that with both my head and my heart. I think the Seahawks could actually do that. i think we and I think we should ah toast ourselves if it actually does ah break down that way.
01:01:39
Tristan Amundson
It seems very doable, doesn't it? It seems like a very doable.
01:01:41
M dub
Yes, with with two...
01:01:45
Tristan Amundson
Oh, go for it.
01:01:46
M dub
Oh, sorry, just with that two of those picks on the offensive line was all was going to say.
01:01:50
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. Yeah, no, it seems like a very doable exercise. And and I think it goes back to one of the original points and and probably why it was good to start with free agency in this conversation. So so thanks for kind of setting it up that way. Yeah.
01:02:06
Tristan Amundson
ah Flexibility, right? I mean, I think it goes back to you get those role players, you get the flexibility to now kind of control your own destiny in this draft.
01:02:19
Tristan Amundson
And by the way, we haven't even talked about...
01:02:19
M dub
you
01:02:21
Tristan Amundson
After these first five picks, you got two fourth round picks. You have two fifth round picks. You're going to probably find a starter in there. um Or I guess one one fourth round pick. hu yeah You have a fourth rounder and two fifth rounders right there.
01:02:37
Tristan Amundson
that you're going to end up having some good value as well. And then you never know after that. So, um you know, it's not as though after your first five picks, you fall off this massive cliff. You still have some pretty good real estate, specifically that that Damien Lewis pick um that you're getting 137. you know,
01:02:56
Tristan Amundson
um you know yeah We can address a lot of these things and then still, you know, potentially find a linebacker, still find some of these different pieces that we want to add.
01:03:07
Tristan Amundson
um You know, listen, I know you've been clamoring all offseason to have a backup long snapper on this team. We can still find that, I think, in the sixth or seventh round.
01:03:20
M dub
hu Yeah, I have been clamoring for that. ah Tristan, what would make you cringe if if it came out of this draft? I know ah for me, I think going quarterback or running back, those positions are are are completely handled on this current roster.
01:03:38
M dub
And I think even the biggest one to me would be any sort of trade up with these top five picks. Trade ups in the second half of the draft, I...
01:03:49
M dub
ah Nothing is the best idea. It wouldn't make me cringe, but I do think having a quantity in these draft classes is really important. It's something I have valued since that Packers game so much, and I hope there's either a a trade down or staying at these positions. I just don't think there's, especially given...
01:04:11
M dub
that the number of positions that could kind of be ah filled with with these draft picks, I don't think there's any need to trade up with those top five top 100 picks. What about you?
01:04:23
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
01:04:23
M dub
sort about
01:04:24
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. No, I agree. I would love to see a trade down at 18 to the mid 20s if if if there's a partner to do it with. Right. there That's a massive caveat. um I know they've tried to do that the last few years and it hasn't worked out. And so you have to have ah a willing partner that wants to do a trade like that. But to be able to.
01:04:44
Tristan Amundson
get more picks between your first rounder to that 92, you know, bolster churn five into six, um, I think is really would be, um, an incredible thing. And and I think that might be doable there.
01:04:59
Tristan Amundson
um again, if, if you have the dance partner, the, the cringiest thing for me, so what cringe would be, Well, sir, I agree with you. Certainly running back. I'm going to put quarterback in its own category because I just don't think there's any way that will happen.
01:05:14
Tristan Amundson
um But in these first five picks, if we saw a running back, I would shake my head and say, man, John Schneider just does his own thing. um But I certainly would would prefer not to see that.
01:05:27
Tristan Amundson
um Other cringeworthy picks. Let me think here. I don't need to see...
01:05:36
M dub
about this?
01:05:38
Tristan Amundson
i don't i I don't need to see linebacker before the very end of of these picks. I don't think linebacker is a top priority unless it's kind of one of these outside linebacker, basically edge type rusher kind of guys.
01:05:52
Tristan Amundson
um You know, i'm I'm not looking for that. Yeah, don't. cringe i don't what I'll say this.
01:05:59
M dub
about this
01:06:01
Tristan Amundson
the that Here's maybe a bit of a hot take. Those first two picks, I don't want to see a cornerback there. like i I'm happy if cornerback is is the third round type picks. I would rather not use cornerback or go cornerback in the the first or second picks.
01:06:19
M dub
I could get on board with that. i think I think I realized, though, what would make us cringe the most. So the team goes 18-50-52. Let's say we get to pick 53 on the telecast and the Seahawks don't have an offensive lineman selected.
01:06:33
M dub
think that would...
01:06:33
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, that would be the worst.
01:06:35
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. Yeah. there Yeah.
01:06:38
M dub
Yeah.
01:06:39
Tristan Amundson
They have to address it.
01:06:39
M dub
Yeah.
01:06:40
Tristan Amundson
And yeah, in the beginning, completely agree.
01:06:46
M dub
Well, Tristan, let's hope we're not cringing, but I hope we're grinning whenever this draft concludes and and we return to to bring the knowledge to the people.
01:06:57
Tristan Amundson
so So our wish list, we're looking at our Christmas tree right now. Our wish list for our top five picks, just so we have this for posterity.
01:07:08
Tristan Amundson
We want two interior offensive linemen, or let's just call it offensive linemen. We'll let the pros sort out where they put them. We want two offensive linemen. We want a cornerback or a secondary player.
01:07:22
Tristan Amundson
we'll We'll keep this broad. We want a wide receiver. Anything. So that's four. If they just played at chalk, if they just picked where they picked and we were looking at two offensive linemen, a cornerback and a wide receiver, who what would you want that fifth pick to be if if they've in their first four picks already took care of those other positions?
01:07:48
M dub
Linebacker would be the other one.
01:07:49
Tristan Amundson
Linebacker. That'd be the other. Okay. Yeah. No, I, I agree. If we walked away, if that's what our, our, our first five picks look like, I'd be very happy.
01:08:00
M dub
I think it could look like that and with ah those caveats of ah offensive linemen must be taken before 52 and ah cornerback must be taken after 52.
01:08:11
Tristan Amundson
Fair enough. I mean, listen, John Schneider, we don't ask for much. let you youve You have our input now. Take it to the board and you know work your magic. But you know I think we've we've we've made our demands very clear. So that's good.
01:08:27
M dub
And John, thanks for listening.
01:08:28
Tristan Amundson
yeah and John, we really appreciate your patronage and thanks for for sponsoring us on on Patreon. um Any other ah concluders, Miles, for for this episode um before we we call it a a day?
01:08:46
M dub
You know, I have been hearing this draft buzz from all the draft nicks across the internet, this this one piece of knowledge that's kind of drifted up across the internet sphere over the last few days. Have have you heard this?
01:09:00
M dub
What they've been saying?
01:09:01
Tristan Amundson
what What have they been saying, Miles?
01:09:05
M dub
They've been saying, go Hawks.
01:09:07
Tristan Amundson
Go Hawks.