Overall Grade: B+

1) Aaron Curry- Wake Forest, OLB 4^th pick- the Hawks got the best defensive player in the draft as well as the safest pick. Aaron Curry will be a big help to the defence which struggled last year. He will come in and contribute right away.  (Grade: A)

2) Max Unger- Oregon, C/G 49^th pick- Seattle traded away their 4^th round pick to get Unger. The offense line was a big need and Max Unger will provide the Seahawks with a lot of versatility. He can play both guard and centre. (Grade: A)

3) Deon Butler- Penn State, WR 91^st pick-Butler has blazing speed with a 40 time of 4.38 at the combine. I believe that Matt Hasselbeck could use a taller target to throw to. And Butler is only 5- 10, but he is very tough and will be a home run threat every time he touches the ball. (Grade: B+)

4) Mike Teel- Rutgers, QB 178^th pick- The Seahawks were looking for a future QB believe it is Mike Teel. This pick should have been used on a RB, CB or a safety. The Hawks will be able to get a much more talented QB next draft. (Grade: C+)

5) Courtney Greene- Rutgers, S 245^th pick- The Seahawks needed help in the secondary.  Green dropped a bit and is a physical player with good size.  The Seahawks could use anyone to replace Brian Russell. (Grade: A)

6) Nick Reed- Oregon, DE 247^th pick- This was a disappointing selection. Reed is a very small DE, but he was the Pac-10 defensive player of the year.  I thought that the Hawks would use this pick to select RB Rashad Jennings. He had slipped from being a 4^th round potential pick into the 7^th round. He would have been a perfect fit for Seattle’s new zone blocking scheme. (Grade: C)

7) Cameron Morrah- California, TE, 248^th pick- Morrah is a very athletic TE that would have been a possible 2^nd or 3^rd round pick if he had stayed in school. Morrah was the best player available.  (Grade: A)

Seattle will not reach for a player to address a need, but will jump at an opportunity to select the best available player. Players like Eugene Monroe and Jason Smith would fit nicely in the first round. There are a lot of good prospects available in the later rounds as well, and very good value past round one. If Seattle doesn’t draft an offensive tackle, they should definitely select a guard or center to help solidify an underachieving unit. Players like William Beatty, Duke Robinson, Alex Mack, or Max Unger could all be available in the second round.

Defensive End
Or more specifically, a quality pass rusher. Patrick Kerney’s durability is questionable; he may not be able to play every down or stay healthy for an entire season. Without Kerney last season, the Seahawks managed only 16 sacks over the course of nine games. Couple that with the loss of multitalented linebacker Julian Peterson, and you’re losing quite a bit of pressure off the edge. After beefing up inside through free agency, Seattle needs to acquire some more talent on the outside.

In the first round, there are several players available who could help rush the passer. Most of them may not be worthy of a top five selection, but they are definitely worth a look. Brian Orakpo is an accomplished senior from Texas who is extremely strong and possesses good speed and quickness. He should be able to wreak havoc on NFL passers, and has the work ethic, character, and determination to develop and excel at the next level. Orakpo should be available at fourth overall, and would be a great fit in Seattle.

Cornerback
Seattle has developed nice depth at the cornerback position, but they’re seriously deficient in size. Kelly Jennings had a mediocre season last year and was exposed by taller, more athletic wide receivers. Josh Wilson looks promising, but may be better suited in a nickel role or on special teams; and his lack of size is noticeable as well.

The Seahawks need a starter opposite Marcus Trufant who can bring size to the position and help shut down the opposition. Seattle may also want to consider adding a safety as well to increase their depth in the defensive backfield. With Larry Fitzgerald in the division, a lot of help will be needed. There isn’t a lot of talent worthy of the top ten this year, although Malcolm Jenkins does look promising and matches well with Seattle’s needs. With their later picks, Seattle could find value in big players like Sean Smith, Jairus Byrd, Cary Harris, or Sherrod Martin.

Shaun Dolence – 12th Man Rising

Vince Vitale from Ramblin’ Fan and Fan-Sided Blogs weighs in on who the Rams should be looking at in the upcoming 2009 NFL Draft.

Positions: C, MLB, SS, DT, WR, DE

Well when your team goes 2-14, and 5-27 in their last 32 games you have a lot of draft needs. On offense the St. Louis Rams were 31st in scoring with a lowly 14.5 PPG. The Rams were 27th in total yards, 26th in passing, and 25th in rushing. On defense the Rams were 31st in points allowed, 28th in yards allowed, 29th in rushing yards allowed, and 19th in passing yards allowed. So where should we, and where do we start?

Let’s go over one thing the St. Louis Rams desperately need, and that is improved quarterback play. Many fans would love to get rid of Marc Bulger but his 60+ million dollar contract pretty much ensures that the Rams will not select a QB in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Marc was 30th in QB rating behind such greats as Dan Orlovsky & JaMarcus Russell this year. In 2007 Marc also finished 30th behind Hall of Fame candidates Cleo Lemon & Tarvaris Jackson. The Rams need to protect Marc better and provide him with more weapons in 2009.

The Rams have the number two pick in the draft which can be quite costly as we reported here. With the second pick you need to select a franchise type player. The only player I see in that mode at the top of this draft is Michael Crabtree. As we stated in our earlier mock draft we love the selection of Crabtree with this pick. Crabtree can help improve the Rams offense, give Bulger a go-to receiver, and eventually replace Torry Holt.

I believe the Rams can get away without taking an OT with their first pick. I would like to see them pick up a solid center in the second or third round like Alex Mack, Max Unger, or Eric Wood. Remember Orlando Pace and Alex Barron each have a year left on their contract so if you draft on OT someone is going to ride the pine. At a 50+ million dollar price tag that will be a lot to spend on a backup. Remember the Rams have a large quantity in the O-line department already, including John Greco, Adam Goldberg, Mark Setterstrom, and Roy Schuening. Maybe with better coaching we could have a solid line.

So on one hand I would love to see the improved offense taking shape with a better line and Michael Crabtree. On the other hand the Rams need to be strong up this middle. I don’t like any defensive player coming out of this draft well enough to take at #2, however if we could move down I would be all for upgrading the middle of this D. Rey Maualuga is being talked about which would help two-fold as Will Witherspoon could then move to his natural position on the outside. Then what if the Rams could come back with the 35th pick in the draft and get a hammer at Safety like Patrick Chung.

Many 2009 mock drafts have the Rams taking an OT. Of the last 50 mock drafts posted on HailRedskins.com 44 of them have the Rams taking an OT, and 28 of those have the Rams taking Andre Smith from Alabama. I am not sold on Smith, I believe he is actually too large and slow especially to play LT in the NFL. Also his footwork is simply not good enough right now.

With a new coaching staff under Steve Spagnuolo and a new GM in Billy Devaney the Rams will first have to decide on which players they will keep, what free agents they are interested in and based on their philosophy what players they will draft. So hey nobody knows anything yet, but it sure is fun to talk Rams football in January.

QB | RB | WR | TE | T | G/C | DT | DE | LB | CB | S | K | P

RANK	TEAM	POSITION	PLAYER
1		C	Max Unger
2		C	Alex Mack
3		G	Duke Robinson
4		G	Herman Johnson
5		C	Eric Woods