It's not what you think. I'm not suggesting that Schneider et al. take a CB with the 1st rounder given talent already in-house at that position. But a team might be willing to trade up to us at 11 or 12 to grab Kirkpatrick and allow us an extra pick in the bargain. Here's what I would consider to be a plausible scenario:

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I feel surprisingly ok about the first two days of the draft now that I've had a chance to think about it. We now have anywhere between 60% and 100% of a solid offensive line, depending on how you feel about Spencer (if we can keep him) and Unger (if the front office hasn't already given up on him). 

But with so many remaining areas of need, right now also feels like the make-or-break point of the draft. We have two fourth-round picks, and then a long, long wait until the middle of the 5th round. Schneider believes he can find diamonds in the rough in the middle rounds? This is his chance.  My shortlist right now consists of:

- QB Ricky Stanzi, Iowa...unless Carolina trades pick #98 to a QB-needy team, Stanzi has to be available at #99. 

- CB Josh Thomas, Buffalo...because I would like to put Kelly Jennings in the rear view mirror and this guy has a chance of doing that. 

- FB Owen Marecic, Stanford....Old school two-way guy has to have appeal for Tom Cable, whose fingerprints would seem to be all over the first two picks. 

- SS Ahmad Black, Florida...since the Lawyer Milloy experiment is over, right?

- WR Edmond Gates, Abilene Christian...5'8", 252 lbs., runs a 9.2 40 but plays with a mean streak...just checking whether everyone's still paying attention...and now for real: he's a small-school guy with character issues but ridiculously fast.  

(snarky answer: about 1-2 yards on any given running play)

Seriously though, think about the mess on the O-line. It's not just that we had lots of injuries this year. The bigger picture is, what's our strategy? In the 2009 offseason, we focused on a zone-blocking scheme to be taught by the master, Alex Gibbs. Then he quits on the eve of the 2010 season. Now we've just fired our OC Bates.  There are 60 days more or less until draft day, and so many questions. Are we still committed to a ZBS? If not, what does this mean for Max Unger? Where does Sean Locklear fit (or not) into our plans? Basically I'm assuming Okung and Spencer make the roster regardless of the offensive philosophy, and everything else is up for grabs. I would not be averse to spending either the 1st or the 2nd rounder on a top offensive line prospect assuming that the guy fits with the scheme. Just wish I knew what the scheme is supposed to be. 

Cheerfully ignoring the minutiae of the salary cap, I see potential for a trade with the Vikings. Yes, them. However this is now Schneider's team and whatever baggage came to the fore with Hutch, Schneider doesn't own.

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Apparently not on the Seattle roster, at least according to Michael Lombardi of NFL.com

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Dear Santa,

I want a three-technique DT....I want an edge rusher...I want a pony....I want a north-south running back....I want someone who can provide depth at G/C (especially C, since I've never been sold on Spencer)...I want a developmental QB prospect who isn't 28 yrs old...and I want a tall WR, a late-round surprise story like Marques Colston. Is that asking too much? I think not. 

Basically, I want these guys:

4th round: Geno Atkins (DT), Brandon Lang (DE)

5th round: James Starks (RB), Ted Larsen (C)

6th round: Zac Robinson (QB)

7th round: Shay Hodge (WR)

Maybe not all of these guys will be there when our picks come up, but I'm hoping they are. Still feels a bit light on help in the secondary, but I love what we've done so far with our first three picks.

I keep reading how Eric Berry is the surest pick in the 2010 draft. That he's the most starter-ready of any amongst the top tier, the next Ed Reed. I haven't seen enough of his play to know, but what I DO know is that we also kept hearing last year how Aaron Curry was the safest and surest pick in the 2009 draft. Obviously he wasn't being compared to Ed Reed, but still.

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My contention: the only way to make logical sense of what is going on at Seahawk headquarters is that Lewieke is talking out of both sides of his mouth, depending on who he's talking to.

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This was Tim Ruskell's team. High-character guys, high-motor. Solid citizens. We've all heard this before. It would be one thing if they tried like hell and just weren't talented. But they weren't trying like hell - they looked like they'd rather be someplace else.

Or maybe they're just looking for some leadership, leadership which is sorely lacking with Jim Mora Jr....so maybe he's the guilty party. Maybe they need some fire and brimstone at the helm.

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Why not go after this guy as General Manager? He's young, he's presided over solid 1st day picks like Big Ben, Polamalu and Casey Hampton. Yes, he currently works for a sworn enemy, but wouldn't it be therefore that much sweeter to pry this guy away? I'd much rather take a shot with a new guy who shows promise than with a retread like Holmgren who has proven that he can't do this job well. 

Let's assume for the sake of argument that Seattle finishes 6-10 and Denver finishes 9-7. That implies draft positions of maybe 10th overall and say 19th overall.

Given that we are springing leaks all over the boat, why not try to trade one of them down for quantity in the 2nd and 3rd rounds? This presumes that a ton of quality juniors come out this year to avoid a sharply lower rookie pay scale in 2011, such that a 2nd or 3rd this year is a little more talented than that in a typical year.