With the 25th Pick in the 2011 Dawgs By Nature Mock Draft, the Seattle Seahawks Select...

With the 25th pick in the 2011 Dawgs By Nature Community Mock Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select...

Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado

This selection and write-up was made by bross09:

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they won.  Usually, that's a good thing, but they made the playoffs as a 7-9 rebuilding team.  That means they lost out on some of the elite guys at positions of need like Pouncey, Kerrigan, and Julio Jones (all of whom fell in this mock to the range where they would draft based on record).  They have a lot of needs at in a lot of places. Looking at this team and what they have, i am a bit impressed in how Carroll got them to go even 7-9 in that division.  They have holes on both lines, and offensive and defensive backfield.  They got a nice pass rush, but Brock is old and the 234 pound Clemons will not get 11 sacks again.  Unfortunately, the last 1st round caliber pass rusher just went in Houston and they don't need a LDE like Clayborn. 

I considered the idea of them taking Ponder here and thus securing their QBOTF and not having to gamble that one of the top guys will be there in the 2nd round.  I also considered the idea of Derek Sherrod in case Okung can't get healthy and to fix the RT position.  However, both ultimately are not fixing one of their gaping needs and Sherrod does not seem like a 1st round RT because of his lack of mean streak I have seen from him.  Their secondary may have been their worst area.  37 year old Lawyer Milloy was still starting in the NFL and their best CB was Kelly Jennings, a low end starting CB.  Their nickel (who is expected to start) was a 4th round rookie last year who was average.  Jimmy Smith is the choice here because he is the best CB on the board, even if you include possible character/attitude concerns.

Jimmy Smith can have the same impact for them as Haden did for us last year.  They have a secondary as depleted as we did, except for one good safety (we also had TJ Ward, but different Safety spot).  I don't think they have a particularly great pass rush, but it wasn't helped by the fact that the QBs had easy throws in the secondary.  Jimmy Smith instantly makes other players in the secondary look better and their pass rush look better.

The Seahawks are a tough team to gauge still because I think their playoff win was an anomaly last season; they have more needs than the turnout of their season would indicate. I think addressing the secondary first is a move in the right direction though because they can't afford to have their pass defense get torched week in and week out. I'm not surprised that Smith didn't last until the second round; I could see him being taken even higher than this come April.

The Baltimore Ravens are on the clock next (email will be sent to Ecwingen).