Dramatic Draft Shows Seahawks Will Be Compelling Under Carroll

Forget Tim Tebow being a first-rounder, or Jimmy Clausen falling to the second round, or workout warrior Bruce Campbell not hearing his name until the fourth round. The Seattle Seahawks’ daring approach to the NFL draft under Pete Carroll is the story of the weekend in the NFL.

First, the Seahawks’ head coach cheekily tweeted clues to their draft strategy, then filled needs with Russell Okung and Earl Thomas. (Carroll apparently getting under Taylor Mays’ skin also speaks to his cockiness.) Then, Seattle got LenDale White from Tennessee by swapping late-round picks and acquired Leon Washington from the Jets. Between White, Washington, Julius Jones and Justin Forsett, the Seahawks now have a versatile backfield, and with the newly snagged Charlie Whitehurst backing up Matt Hasselbeck, it’s also a young backfield. Adding Golden Tate and Walter Thurmond III on the perimeter also helps.

This sort of boldness has already remade the Seahawks roster, installing a promising core that could be great going forward, and it will make the ‘Hawks a trendy NFC West pick in 2010. But, moreover, it makes it clear that Carroll is going to be proactive in his third tour of duty at the helm of an NFL team, and the appearance of activity will whip Seattle fans into a frenzy.

We suspected that Carroll leaving USC wasn’t entirely because he was no longer good enough for the college game. We didn’t know that he was going to stockpile talent in the Pacific Northwest like he did in Southern California.

Now, we should expect his Seahawks to soar in the NFC West.

↵