Seahawks Forever w/ Dan Viens

With the 2019 NFL Draft less than four weeks away, Brandan Schulze and Rob Staton will regularly be looking at the draft from the Seahawks perspective over the next few weeks. On this week's show we're talking about the tiers of players for the first three rounds and how the strength of the draft favors the Seahawks trading back for more picks in the second and third rounds.

During the NFL owner's meetings at the end of March, Pete Carroll mentioned that the team looks at pressure percentages when considering pass rush ability. Rob offers up some of the top players entering the draft this year who Seattle could be considering. The player who ranked highest in that statistic was Josh Allen, a player the Seahawks met with at the combine. Allen will likely be long gone by the time Seattle is on the clock.

Considering the Seahawks have met with Allen as well as Michigan defensive lineman Rashan Gary and Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, Rob and Brandan explore a few of the reasons why the Seahawks are meeting with players who are likely to go in the top half of the first round. It's easy to jump to the conclusion that Seattle could be open to trading a player like Frank Clark, but there are more likely options to consider.

Rob points to the fact that so many of the top players from the 2013 draft have come through Seattle in recent years, it could be that John Schneider has discovered they didn't do enough to scout those top players at the time. Brandan mentions a recent interview with former Seahawks quarterback Jake Heaps and how the team likes to act as if it has a top pick in the event they find themselves with a top 10 pick in the future.

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Just a few days into free agency and the Seahawks have addressed two major areas of need with the offensive line and their kicker. Seattle has signed D.J. Fluker to a two year deal and brought in former Cardinals and 49ers guard Mike Iupati to fill in behind J.R. Sweezy who left for Arizona. Adam Emmert and Brandan Schulze discuss how losing Sweezy means Seattle misses an opportunity to maintain continuity on the line, but the team philosophy remains in place to have an offensive line particularly skilled at run blocking. On special teams, they bring back Jason Myers, who lost out on the job in the 2018 preseason. Now he's signed to a four-year deal with the Seahawks.

What is the need Seattle should focus on now that the initial wave of free agents have been signed. The Seahawks could still use another pass rusher whether they look to fill that spot through free agency or the draft. Their top player at that position went have sounding satisfied to play under the franchise tag a week ago, to a player who reportedly will hold out if a new contract isn't in place by training camp.

With the departure of Earl Thomas, there have now been a few Pro Bowl caliber players to leave the team with very little to show for it. Should it bother Seahawks fans that these players are leaving at the end of their contracts rather than being traded the season before so they can get more immediate value in the draft rather than waiting for potential compensatory picks? Looking around the division, one team particularly active in free agency is the San Francisco 49ers. The guys take a look at some of their biggest moves and talk about where they might have some concerns in terms of cap space as they look down the road.

The final segment of the show looks at what Area 29 meant to the Seahawks and even though his final moments in uniform will go down in infamy, it's still possible fans will see that number up in the rafters at CenturyLink in the future.

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The show kicks off this week with the news that the Seattle Seahawks are bringing back cornerback Akeem King on a one-year deal to return to the team in 2019. Earlier this week, the Seahawks announced they're placing the franchise tag on defensive end Frank Clark.

By using the non-exclusive franchise tag, Brandan Schulze and Adam Emmert discuss how a team could potentially offer Clark a contract and if the Seahawks choose not to match then they could receive two first round picks as compensation. Does that explain why Seattle was reportedly meeting with prospects like Kyler Murray and Josh Allen at the combine?

In the second segment, we tackle the question, "How much money is too much to pay Russell Wilson when it comes to his next contract?" Plus, if you're going to pay top dollar for a quarterback, what are some other areas the general manager has control over that he needs to operate at a high level to continue to succeed? With the notion floating around that the Seahawks should consider trading Russell Wilson, let's remember the last time the Seahawks had a long stretch in search of a franchise quarterback. It was the worst era of Seahawks football in franchise history.

We close the show with a look at some of the news with our division rivals. Eric Weddle signs on with the Rams after being cut by the Ravens. In the Do Better segment, Adam points out a writer who says the Seahawks will regress in 2019 despite offering no real evidence apart from suggesting opponents will start to slow down the Seattle run game. Brandan takes issue with the nonsense surrounding Kyler Murray, particular the report that he inflated his height at the combine. Better at Life honors this week go to SpaceX for a recent launch and to an outstanding course taught at Cal State Long Beach. 

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For three consecutive seasons now, Seahawks fans have been bombarded with trade talks that didn't happen. In 2017, it was Richard Sherman who the Seahawks were looking for multiple draft picks to move on from. Last year, it was a foregone conclusion that Earl Thomas would be on the Cowboys roster by the kickoff of the regular season. Brandan Schulze and Adam Emmert comment on the recent report by Colin Cowherd on this week's episode of the Field Gulls Podcast and discuss the inclusion of Russell Wilson as the latest member of the team to be targeted by rumors in the national media.

In hindsight, considering the injuries to Sherman and Thomas, it may have been best for the Seahawks to take what they could get for their aging defensive stars. The latest rumor that Wilson may be destined for New York to take over for Eli Manning is at a completely different level.

Continuing the theme of terrible trade ideas, Reggie Wayne suggested on the NFL Network that trading Frank Clark for Antonio Brown would somehow make sense. A recent article on Field Gulls shows how Frank Clark's value is a lot closer to the level of Khalil Mack. Not even close to the value the Steelers could expect to get for Brown at this point. With a franchise tag appearing likely, one question worth discussing is if Seahawks fans would be satisfied to get two first round picks if another team offers Clark a deal under a non-exclusive tag.

Free agency is on the horizon and the guys take a look at some players who could be possible upgrades and which Seahawks players are among the top 100 available free agents according to PFT. If K.J. Wright and Earl Thomas are on their way out in free agency, which players could they target to help fill their shoes in 2019. D.J. Fluker and J.R. Sweezy are set to hit free agency. Which one of those players gets paid more? Getting a new kicker may be one of the most important positions to fill, but Seattle hasn't shown any willingness to spend big in free agency.

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Before the Super Bowl, the NFL held their annual ceremony to honor some of the biggest moments and best players from the 2018 season. Sadly there was a big upset when Saquon Barkley won the rookie of the year award over Michael Dickson, but Seahawks fans could be happy to see one of the biggest awards of the night go to Seattle - the award for the best touchdown celebration.

Shaquem Griffin accepted the 2018 NFL Game Changer Award and had a very nice two-minute speech that is worth a listen. Brandan and Adam also talk about the latest group of Hall of Fame players, including Kevin Mawae who was drafted by Seattle in 1994 and played with the Seahawks four years before going to the Jets.

As we wait for the Seahawks 2019 free agents to get signed, Frank Clark sounds like he's ready to get a deal signed. According to a recent report, the Seahawks still haven't talked to Russell Wilson about a contract extension. Does that need to happen now when there are other players who should be a priority? The guys talk about the players Seattle will want to focus on besides Clark.

The Rams lost the Super Bowl last weekend. For some Seahawks fans it was a tough decision for which team they disliked the least. We explain why this was the outcome we were hoping for and it was also the easiest outcome to cope with. Pete Carroll seemed to have an idea of how he wanted to attack the Rams if Seattle faced them a third time, but were the Patriots tactics what he had in mind?

After six years of podcasting, the guys explain some of the quirks of the show for anyone who may be tuning in for the first time. Lastly, to close out the show, we discuss why Trey Wingo and North Korea both need to do better. We also honor the best commercial of the Super Bowl and a member of British royalty.

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