2011 SB Nation NFL Mock Draft: Round 1, Pick 25

Our annual 2011 NFL Mock Draft, with picks made by each of SB Nation’s NFL team bloggers, is in full swing. The latest pick in to the podium: the Seattle Seahawks, at No. 25 overall.

Dan Kelly of FieldGulls.com explains the choice, and our own Dan Kadar reacts to it, after the jump. Make sure you’re grading this pick for the Seahawks, and checking out Field Gulls for all of your Seahawks needs.

Dan Kelly explains: Seattle has many needs to fill on its roster - principle among them include defensive line, offensive line, cornerback and quarterback. By now, top tier defensive linemen Nick Fairley, Corey Liuget and Phil Taylor are off the board. With them, top-tier offensive linemen Tyron Smith, Gabe Carimi, Anthony Castonzo and Mike Pouncey are gone as well. The hope that cornerback Jimmy Smith would fall to them is not realized, as he is picked at No. 23. They could have considered Muhammad Wilkerson at No. 25 as well, but he was chosen directly in front of them by the Saints.

Ultimately the upside of Ryan Mallett is too much to pass up. The character concerns are there but widely unsubstantiated, and Mallett is a good fit for the direction the Seahawks want to go in. Most scouts rate his arm in the top 10 range, but Mallett will fall due to off-field and character concerns. The Seahawks’ front office has shown a willingness to take a chance on these types of issues, and will see Mallett at No. 25 as a good value. The lower draft spot will temper the expectations and will alleviate the pressure on him to start right away (depending on the development of Charlie Whitehurst and/or the re-signing of Matt Hasselbeck). This selection works for Seattle because of the relative depth at the other three key positions of need - DL, OL, and CB - in this year’s draft. The Hawks will have a chance to pick up key players at those positions in subsequent rounds.

Whatever the Seahawks want to implement on offense, whether it’s a ball control short passing game or the more aggressive vertical route style game with shots downfield that Pete Carroll favored at USC, Mallett has the tools. He has a cannon for an arm and possesses good accuracy. He can make all the necessary passes, from the quick three-step-drop slants and out-routes to the deep post and corner routes. He has worked in a pro-style offense, and by most accounts from former coaches, is a student of the game that will put in the work in the film room.

He can sit in the pocket and pick apart a defense if he needs to, and his mobility is satisfactory enough to get the job done in the system they will use. Carroll has stated that they have focused on QBs that can get out of the pocket and complement the run game with their feet, but with Mallett, his arm is his greatest threat and they will adapt accordingly. Historically, Carroll and Darrell Bevell have utilized different styles of QBs with success, and Mallett’s arm is too good to ignore. With Tom Cable presumably running the rush offense, the ‘Hawks will be looking to pound the ball on the ground and build the passing attack off of the run. Mallett will be a good weapon on play-action, and has experience diagnosing defenses and changing plays at the line of scrimmage. All these attributes make him the most pro-ready QB in the draft, and the ‘Hawks recognize this and have decided to roll the dice on him.

Dan Kadar reacts: This is another pick that has been mocked for quite a long time. Kelly’s reasoning behind going quarterback is spot on. However, Mallett may not be a great fit for Seattle. In their West Coast offense, it requires a quarterback with some sort of mobility. While the scheme won’t call for many quarterback draws, it will use play action and bootleg a good bit.

Mallett has shown he doesn’t have the footwork to properly run play action. It’s not even that he can’t move around; it’s that he has trouble resetting his feet to deliver an accurate throw. It won’t be a shock to see Seattle go with Mallett 25th overall. But it will be a shock if he excels in a West Coast system. [Ryan Mallett Scouting Report]