The Seattle Seahawks do have pressing needs to generate pass rush at the quarterback and get a quarterback to run the offense on a consistent basis. Those are the big things keeping Seattle from contending in the NFC, and they'll have to fix up those needs in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Seattle could move toward a strategy of fulfilling positions of need instead of focusing on the best player possible. One possibility is picking the best pass rusher available, in this case being defensive lineman Devon Still from the Penn St. Nittany Lions.
The Seahawks are in the bottom 10 in sacks. A lacking pass rush, both on the exterior and interior, is their greatest issue, outside of the quarterback position. Devon Still had a fantastic 2011 campaign and is the top consensus player on the board, so this pick makes a ton of sense.
I'm moving away from mocking a signal-caller after slotting Ryan Tannehill here for the past month. The pick could happen, but I don't think Pete Carroll would consider Tannehill as a safe bet for an upgrade over Tarvaris Jackson.
The theme of pass-rushing continues in the mock draft with the second pick. Defensive end Andre Branch from Clemson seems to be another big target.
The feeling is that Jones is returning for his senior season, but since he hasn't announced yet, he's being considered for this mock. He's not the athletic quarterback the Seahawks may look at, but at this point in the draft he's a good pickup.
After that, things get interesting, with offensive lineman Nate Potter of Boise State, and project quarterback Ryan Lindley from San Diego. Both are definitely positions of need, although they're hardly the players you expect to be the ones to take over.
Seattle isn't a bad football team. They're a team with plenty of solid talents, but they have certain weaknesses at certain positions that they desperately need to fill. Getting two marquee defensive ends is super-important.
To discuss the possibility of Still or Branch joining the Seahawks, head to Field Gulls.