2010 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft: Pick No. 6

Rd. # Player Pos. College 1 6 Derrick Morgan DE Georgia Tech General Manager: stumpy8100

With the sixth pick of the 2010 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Georgia Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan.

Here is stumpy8100's reasoning for the pick:

In order to make an educated pick for the Seahawks, I browsed through their SB Nation site, Field Gulls, looked at their individual and team stats from the last few seasons and watched some of their highlights from 2009 on NFL.com. I think the best way to figure out a team's needs is by breaking down each position group so here goes:

Quarterback:

Matt Hasselbeck has 1 year remaining at 5.75 million, Charlie Whitehurst just signed a 2 year, 10 million-dollar deal and Mike Teel from Rutgers is also on the roster. I don’t have any idea why Pete Carroll gave Charlie Whitehurst 10 mil or gave up a 3^rd rounder and a swap of 5^th rounders to get him. I still don’t think the Seahawks have a long term solution at quarterback, but they have a bunch of money tied up at the position and maybe Pete Carroll does think Whitehurst is the answer. For now, I’m keeping QB off the list of needs.

Continued after the jump...

Running Back:

The Seahawks were 26^th in the league in rushing last season, and they had two 600 yard rushers in Julius Jones and Justin Forsett with the latter averaging 5.4 yards per carry. I think a dynamic playmaker on offense is a big need for the Seahawks but I think they have a decent stable with Jones, Forsett and Owen Schmitt at fullback.

Wide Receiver:

With the loss of Nate Burleson, the Seahawks have a number of aging, mediocre receivers in Housh and Deion Branch. They averaged 6.2 ypc last season, tied for 24th, and could use a playmaker. I would put receiver as one of their top priorities.

Offensive Line:

Aside from Walter Jones, I don’t know much about the Seahawks offensive line. Now they haven’t decided if they are bringing Jones back or not but either way, they gave up 41 sacks last season, 10^th highest in the league. If he does come back, I still think offensive tackle is a good way to go as the rookie could start on the right side and shift over when Jones does retire. I put O-line help at the top of the Seahawks draft needs.

Defensive Line:

The Seahawks produced only 28.0 sacks last year, better only than the Lions, Rams, Chiefs and Jags. They were 15^th in the league in rush defense, meaning to me their interior line is at least serviceable and they need an elite rusher on the edge. Patrick Kerney is old and no one else on their roster jumps out at you; a pass rusher is definitely toward the top of the list of needs.

Linebackers:

With big money invested in Aaron Curry, taken at the top of last year’s draft, as well as Lofa Tatupu, the Seahawks linebacking core seems to be solid. They’re also starting David Hawthorne, who caught two (cringe worthy) interceptions from Stafford last year. Linebacker shouldn’t be on the Seahawks list of needs, especially because I don’t see Rolando McClain or Brandon Spikes as worthy of being taken in the top half of the first round.

Secondary:

The Seahawks picked off 13 passes last season, good for 22^nd best in the league. More alarmingly, if you take away the 5 that Stafford threw in that game, they only had 8, which ties for dead last. As Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders points out on the ESPN NFC west blog, Seattle was 30^th against the pass in his DVOA ratings (too complicated to get in to, point being- they suck). He calls the secondary their biggest weakness, which I don’t necessarily agree with, but I certainly see the need to upgrade.

Summary:

After going up and down the roster, it appears that the Seahawks have nearly as many weaknesses and needs as the Lions. They need playmakers on offense, either at running back or wide receiver. They need offensive line help, even more so if Walter Jones doesn’t come back. They need an edge rusher to bolster their meager sack totals. And they need defensive backs after a horrible season against the pass (even with Stafford inflation included).

Sitting in Seattle's shoes, I was hoping either Okung or Berry would fall to me at the 6th spot. Seeing as that didn't happen, I'm taking the best player still on the board at a position of need. That player is Derrick Morgan from Georgia Tech. He will give Seattle a much needed boost to their pass rush and should help the secondary if he can disrupt the timing of the quarterback.

Check out the 2010 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.