Brandon Mebane might not have been at the dead center of the NFL free agent radars this offseason, but he was clearly within the circle of the coveted. Mebane is a solid three technique defensive tackle who might be suited for nose guard duty because of his run stuffing abilities (as Field Gulls notes, he's not a great pass rusher), and could be the anchor of any NFL defensive line. Anyone with great run stuffing abilities has to be respected, because as John Madden would say, stopping the run is one of the big keys to winning football games.
It seems other teams had that idea as well. According to Dave Mahler of 950 KJR, the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints both inquired with Mebane about signing him, but the Seahawks still turned out ahead of those two NFC playoff contenders. I'm guessing it had something to do with money, because it always has something to do with money. Great detective work, me.
For more on Mebane and the Seahawks, check out Field Gulls.