Seahawks Feel Need For Speed
If the Seattle Seahawks break with tradition and spend their first-round draft choice today on a wide receiver, they could get lucky and uncover a Jerry Rice. Or they could wind up with a David Verser or Perry Tuttle.
Verser? Tuttle? They are but two of the many busts among wide receivers selected in the first round of past NFL drafts.
For every Jerry Rice, who was San Francisco's No. 1 choice (16th overall) in 1985, there is a Verser or Tuttle, high choices who fizzled.
Seattle never has used a No. 1 pick on a wide receiver, but Coach Chuck Knox, searching for speed, has identified that position as top priority.
Picking receivers in the first round is notoriously risky business. But it also can be rewarding. Just ask the 49ers, who traded for New England's mid-round choice six years ago and struck gold.
Nobody expects to find another Rice in this year's crop, but wide receiver is the strength of the draft. As many as six receivers could become first-round choices.
Whether the Seahawks take one in their 16th spot depends largely on what teams do ahead of them.
Raghib "Rocket" Ismail of Notre Dame clearly is the top choice, followed by Herman Moore of Virginia and Alvin Harper of Tennessee. Detroit likely will take Moore in the 10th spot and Pittsburgh probably will pick Harper in the 15th position, just ahead of Seattle.
If that scenario prevails, the Seahawks will face an interesting choice:
-- Take the next-best receiver, probably Randal Hill of Miami or Reggie Barrett of Texas-El Paso. Hill has the speed Knox wants, about 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash, but is smaller (5 feet 10 and 178 pounds) and may lack other qualities. He has slipped somewhat in league-wide evaluations.
Barrett is not a burner, with 4.55-second speed. But he is bigger (6-2, 209) and a more sure-handed receiver.
-- Or, take the best athlete available. That could be running back Nick Bell of Iowa, a splendid athlete of 6-2 and 257 pounds who has been compared with Christian Okoye of Kansas City. The way the draft shapes up, he could be available as the 16th pick.
Bell impressed scouts at the Indianapolis combine, where he ran an electronically timed 40 in 4.56 seconds, vertically leaped 39 1/2
inches and bench-pressed 225 pounds 19 times.
At Iowa, he shared tailback duties with his buddy, Tony Stewart, which limited his playing time and production. Bell rushed for 945 yards, averaging 6.1 per carry, and 10 touchdowns. He gained 64 yards on 11 carries, scoring twice, in Iowa's Rose Bowl loss to Washington.
Although drafting Bell would not fill a high-priority need, Seattle would get an impact player who probably will be around for a long time.
"He reminds me a lot of Okoye," said Tom Heckert, Miami's scouting director. "He's the same kind of back, big and fast. He's going to be a great back in the NFL. He's got a combination of power and enough elusiveness to make people miss. That's a hard combination to find."
Seattle has drafted two running backs in the first round, Curt Warner in 1983 and John L. Williams in 1986. Warner was the third player selected, Williams the 15th.
The Seahawks haven't drafted a wide receiver higher than the second round. They did that four times, taking Sherman Smith, who was converted to running back, and Steve Raible in 1976, Daryl Turner in 1984 and Brian Blades in 1988.
Historically, NFL teams have been reluctant to emphasize receivers in the first round. Only 14 were picked, none last year, in the past five drafts.
The first round has produced such standouts as Rice, Sterling Sharpe of Green Bay, Anthony Miller of San Diego and Andre Rison of Atlanta.
But there have been many busts - Verser with Cincinnati, Tuttle with Buffalo, Mark Nichols of Detroit, Anthony Hancock of Kansas City and Clyde Duncan of St. Louis.
If the Seahawks pass on a receiver in the first round, they might be able to get a good one, although not a speed-burner, in the second. Dave Daniels of Penn State, Ernie Mills of Florida, Mike Pritchard of Colorado, Wesley Carroll of Miami and Doug Thomas of Clemson are second-round candidates.
Seattle is missing choices in the fourth, seventh and eighth rounds. The fourth went as partial payment to New England in the deal for defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, the seventh and eighth for offensive tackle Ronnie Lee and safety Vann McElroy.
Seattle's outlook by position:
OFFENSE
-- QUARTERBACK
Returning: Dave Krieg, Jeff Kemp, Kelly Stouffer.
Needs: Either Stouffer must begin to prove himself or the team needs another young quarterback with promise. Krieg's salary escalates to $1.5 million and Stouffer's to $800,000.
Prospects: How long will owner Ken Behring continue paying large salaries to two quarterbacks? But there is little chance of getting a top-rated prospect in this draft, unless Seahawks surprise and take one in first round.
-- RUNNING BACK
Returning: Derrick Fenner, Chris Warren, Derek Loville, John L. Williams, James Jones.
Needs: That's a solid group of backs, but it's lacking in breakaway speed.
Prospects: A running back isn't top priority, but if Iowa's Nick Bell is available, the choice will be very tempting.
-- WIDE RECEIVER
Returning: Brian Blades, Tommy Kane, Paul Skansi, Jeff Chadwick, Louis Clark, John Ford.
Lost: Jim Sandusky (not offered a contract).
Needs: A burner, someone to stretch opposing defenses.
Prospects: Wide receiver is one area in which the Seahawks could improve themselves greatly. Raghib Ismail will be gone, of course, but Herman Moore of Virginia, Alvin Harper of Tennessee, Randal Hill of Miami or Reggie Barrett of UTEP might still be around for the 16th choice. Hill is the fastest, running the 40 in about 4.35 seconds, but has other flaws that may push him down in the draft.
-- TIGHT END
Returning: Mike Tice, Ron Heller, Travis McNeal, Trey Junkin.
Needs: The Seahawks have tried to fix this position for years, but it still isn't top priority.
Prospects: Poor. There isn't a tight end in the country who warrants being drafted higher than the third round.
-- TACKLE
Returning: Andy Heck, Ronnie Lee, Chris Dyko, Bill Hitchcock, Curt Singer.
Lost: Ron Mattes.
Needs: Lee will be 34 and needs a quality backup behind him.
Prospects: After the Tennessee twosome of Antone Davis and Charles McRae, followed by Pat Harlow of USC, there is an abrupt dropoff. The Seahawks think Dyko and Hitchcock might be as good as most others available in the draft. They'll probably draft a lineman well down the line and hope to develop him.
-- GUARD
Returning: Bryan Millard, Edwin Bailey, Warren Wheat, Darrick Brilz.
Needs: Not top priority, but there is room for improvement.
Prospects: The three best prospects probably will be gone by the time Seattle has its second-round pick. After that, there's nobody in sight who could beat out Wheat or Brilz.
-- CENTER
Returning: Grant Feasel, Joe Tofflemire.
Needs: None that must be addressed now.
Prospects: Seattle won't be looking, at least not until the late rounds.
DEFENSE
-- END
Returning: Jacob Green, Tony Woods, Robert Morris.
Needs: A bona fide pass-rusher. Green will be 34 and Woods is coming off major knee surgery. Jeff Bryant fills in at end but isn't a pass-rusher.
Prospects: Huey Richardson of Florida State is one of the best, but he's a linebacker-type who, at 238 pounds, wouldn't be a mixed-down player. Eric Swann, who didn't attend college, is a sleeper in this spot. At 6-4 and 310 pounds, Swann is a talented athlete who would become a project. Swann might go in the first round despite having only semipro experience.
-- TACKLE
Returning: Joe Nash, Jeff Bryant, Cortez Kennedy, Eric Hayes.
Needs: None. Kennedy and Hayes filled the gaps as rookies last season.
Prospects: No need to waste a pick.
-- LINEBACKER
Returning: Dave Wyman, Rufus Porter, Terry Wooden, Darren Comeaux, Joe Cain, Richard Newbill, Ricky Andrews, Dave Ahrens, Rod Stephens, Donald Miller, Marcus Cotton.
Lost: Ned Bolcar (Plan B); Ty Allert (not offered a contract).
Needs: If Comeaux is healthy, he is an adequate backup to Wyman in the middle. Otherwise, the loss of Bolcar must be addressed. On the outside, Wooden is recovering from knee surgery. Despite having 11 linebackers, there is a definite lack of depth.
Prospects: The crop of linebackers, normally a strength in the draft, is very thin, particularly on the inside. It isn't likely the Seahawks could find a linebacker in the first round as good as Wooden, who was 29th overall last year.
-- CORNERBACK
Returning: Dwayne Harper, Patrick Hunter, James Jefferson, Brian Davis.
Lost: Melvin Jenkins.
Needs: If Davis, a 1987 third-round choice of Washington, is healthy, Jenkins won't be missed. But there is a definite need for improvement and depth is lacking.
Prospects: Todd Lyght of Notre Dame would do wonders, but he'll be gone long before Seattle picks. So will Bruce Pickens of Nebraska. The Seahawks probably will take a cornerback in the middle rounds.
-- SAFETY
Returning: Eugene Robinson, Nesby Glasgow, Robert Blackmon, Vann McElroy, Kevin Thompson.
Lost: Thom Kaumeyer, R.J. Kors.
Needs: Neither Kaumeyer nor Kors was expected to make the team. But their loss created a depth problem.
Prospects: Look for Seattle to sign some free agents.
-- KICKERS
Returning: Norm Johnson, Rick Donnelly.
Needs: Donnelly was a solid Plan B acquisition last year; Johnson needs to regain his consistency.
Prospects: With only nine choices, the Seahawks won't use one on a kicker.
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RECEIVER VOID
The Seahawks have never drafted a wide receiver in the first round. Here's a list of receivers the Hawks have selected.
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1990 None .
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1989 None .
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1988 Brian Blades (2nd) .
Tommy Kane (3rd) .
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1987 Louis Clark (10th) .
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1986 None .
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1985 Danny Green (3rd) .
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1984 Daryl Turner (2nd) .
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1983 Chris Castor (5th) .
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1982 Chester Cooper (8th) .
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1981 Scott Phillips (4th) .
Ron Johnson (7th) .
Jim Whatley (9th) .
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1980 Billy Reeves (10th) .
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1979 None .
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1978 Glenn Starks (6th) .
Rob Stewart (10th) .
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1977 Larry Sievers (4th) .
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1976 Sherman Smith (1) (2nd) .
Steve Raible (2nd) .
Larry Shipp (8th) .
Ron Barnett (12th) .
--------------------------------- (1) Converted to running back.