Could Kam Chancellor be the Seahawks' Michael Pineda?

Recall, if you will, less than a year ago, when some members of the Seattle media posited that perhaps the Mariners should trade budding young ace Michael Pineda. The idea was met with derision, and fans swore that the very notion was ludicrous and would never happen, until, of course, it happened.

And how did that turn out? Well the Mariners have one of the premiere young catchers in the game and the Yankees have a Spanish-speaking Mark Prior. Go M's.

When teams have a glut of talent at one position - like the Mariners had at pitcher - it makes sense to spread some of that value around.

The Seahawks greatly added to their team's value when they stole a star safety named Kam Chancellor in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL draft. By pairing Chancellor with first-round draft pick Earl Thomas, the team now has two young stars at safety who make up the core of a young, athletic defense.

But could that value be put to better use? Could Chancellor be the Seahawks' Pineda?

Whether or not the Chancellor had turned into the stud that he is, the Seahawks would still have a very young, very talented defense. Losing a safety wouldn't kill the team, especially given that the secondary is already the strength of Seattle's defense.

Additionally, now that the Seahawks don't have many major "needs", they could re-invest at the safety position in the draft and/or develop any of a number of talented defensive backs already on the roster.

Based on the current makeup of the team's roster, they aren't going to be contending for the Super Bowl next year. Nor are they going to be drafting in the top ten, meaning that they'll be stuck in that draft limbo, likely in the mid-teens, where a team grabs just enough talent to maintain its level of mediocrity.

One way to break out of that limbo is to shake things up.

Let's pretend, for a second that third round pick Russell Wilson doesn't actually turn into a more athletic Drew Brees. Calm down Seahawks fans, it's just a hypothetical. If that happens, maybe Seattle coach Pete Carroll decides he'd really like to draft, say, Matt Barkley next year.

The Seahawks could easily package a young, pro bowl safety and trade up with teams like Indianapolis or Washington, who have their QBs of the future but will undoubtedly stink worse than a pair of Coachella-worn Birkenstocks.

The team could grab a legitimate franchise quarterback, and probably fill the void at safety pretty easily. Given the front office's track record in the draft, there's a good chance they'll be able to find the talent they need on defense, but will have to be a little more creative on offense.

Carroll and general manager John Schneider will get the talent they need on defense, even if its in the late rounds. So when they have surplus value on defense, they could flip some of it into value on offense, knowing they can replace the talent on defense and make the whole team better in the process.

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