Sunday, February 15, 2009

Revisiting Free Agent Hawks

by: Chris Sullivan 


The guys over at Walter Football have posted their updated Free Agent rankings. Be sure to check them out... 

I thought I'd take a look and see how they have placed the Seahawk free agents amongst the big wigs in the NFL. 

Quarterback -- Charlie Frye -- #24: This puts Charlie Frye below long-time Seahawk scrub Gibran Hamdam and just slightly above 49er's 18th stringer Jamie Martin. Ouch.

Running Back -- Maurice Morris -- #5: Morris finally gets some credit! Not a ton though; it's a fairly shallow pool this year, but he does come in above Cedric Benson, so that's something to, y'know, think about. I guess... Sproles, Derrick Ward and Fred Jackson all come in ahead of MoMo (as does the Tagged Brandon Jacobs at #1).

Fullback -- Leonard Weaver -- #1: Booyah baby, booyah. Given a 4star rating (out of 5 -- Brandon Jacobs was 4.5 stars), they say of Weaver: "One of the top young fullbacks in the league. The Seahawks need to re-sign him. "

Wide Receiver -- Bobby Engram -- #7: They expect Engram to continue deteriorating... we'll see about that. I think he's got another year or two in him, but I'm not certain where that will be played. 

Wide Reciever -- Ben Obamanu -- #17: Exclusive Rights Free Agent Obamanu should be able to compete this year as a Seahawk, but it is definitely not a certainty. He's ranked ahead of Hank Baskett, Miles Austin and Justin McCareins, to name a few, so there could be some interest in him. 

Wide Receiver -- Koren Robinson -- #20: Ahh, Koren, we were just getting to know you again! I hope that K-Rob can find a home somewhere else next year, because it seems unlikely he'll be a Hawk. With his downfield blocking, he may be able to contribute quite a bit to a special teams unit somewhere.

Tight End -- Will Heller -- #26: I have to think we're working on bringing Heller back. What say you all?

Offensive Tackle -- Ray Willis -- #5: Willis' stock rose quite a bit this year due to a combination of hard work and unexpected playing time. Keeping Willis may be a priority, and failing in that aim may tip Ruskell's hand come draft day.

Offensive Guard -- Porkchop Womack -- #7: Credit where credit is due! Good work, Walterfootball. Sims does not show up on the list, which should please most of you guys, hah.

Defensive Tackle -- Rocky Bernard -- #7: We all know about Bernard and we all have our opinion on whether or not he'll be a Hawk next year. #7 seems about right for him, definitely not elite, but definitely not crap either. 

Outside Linebacker -- Leroy Hill -- #2: Hill getting mad love from WF, despite the bulk of their description calling him an assclown. Still, they write: "Hill is one of the elite weakside linebackers in the NFL, He could be slapped with Seattle's franchise tag. Some believe Hill is the best linebacker on the Seahawks roster, despite the presence of Lofa Tatupu and Julian Peterson."

Outside Linebacker -- D.D. Lewis -- #6: "One of the top reserve linebackers in the NFL." Couldn't have put it better myself. If the Hawks don't sign Lewis, he might be looking to build on his strong season next year in a weak system where he may get to compete for a starting job. 

Outside Linebackers -- Lance Laury (24) and Wesly Mallard (30): Laury is an ERFA and isn't going anywhere, Mallard probably won't be back. Blah blah.

Thats it! Do you guys think these are fair ratings?