Hello All,

I hope that everyone is enjoying the Seahawks vs. Bears game (current score 28-3 Bears with the momentum firmly in the Bears' favor).  And, in a few days, we will also find out the direction our offense will go in next season.

I was doing a little research on the 1st round talent WR's left in the 2011 draft.  At the 14th pick, one week ago we anticipated that we would have a possibility of obtaining Julio Jones, Justin Blackmon, or Malcom Floyd.  These guys would be ready to make an instant impact on the offense and (hopefully) emerge as our #1 WR and big-play threat.  That has since been whittled down to just Julio Jones.  If another team takes him before us, then we will have to move in another direction with our first pick.  

BuckeyeFan55 (and others) pointed out this (strong) possibility in a previous fan post: What if Jones is gone by 14? The post offered a set of interesting possibilities, including taking a Guard (Pouncey) or DE/DT with our 1st round pick.  I am in favor of either, although I'd like to see us re-sign John Greco and work him into the lineup.  At DE, we have a few projects (Selvie/Sims), one beast (Long) and a veteran (Hall).  And at DT, Fred Robbins is getting up there, and D. Scott/Clifton Ryan aren't quite emerging as impact players.

This brings me to the 2nd round, where we could find a real "steal" at WR.  I have been looking at Torrey Smith of Maryland, and am impressed (see his CBSSports profile here: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1242961).  He has good size (6-1 205), excellent speed (4.37 40), tracks the ball well in the air and can gain separation deep.  He reminds me a lot of Mardy Gilyard, but with more potential.  Perhaps his closest NFL comparison is Devin Hester.  Here are some of his highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewtw44y0mzM.  

Now, is he a #1 WR?  Probably not, and nor do I think he is the solution.  But we need playmakers like something bad and Smith looks ready to step in.  My thought process is if we do hire Josh McDaniels to run the offense, he will certainly make sure to maximize the talents of those athletes who are not prototypical #1 WR's with creative play-calling.

(Note: this assumes that we do not sign VJax, Mike Sims-Walker or Sidney Rice)