BREAKING NEWS: Seattle Seahawks are experiencing a very different offseason than…..

Brock and Salk: Does it really make sense for the Seahawks to draft a quarterback?

The Seattle Seahawks are experiencing a very different offseason than usual, as the organization searches for a new head coach while also answering numerous questions about the roster’s future.

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One of these questions concerns the game’s most essential position: quarterback.

Geno Smith was a Pro Bowler in 2022, but his output dropped in 2023, as did the whole Seattle offense. Smith is still under contract for two more years, but this summer is the most financially advantageous time for the Seahawks to terminate that agreement. The Seahawks must also make a decision quickly due to bonuses and guarantees.

With the Seahawks likely to appoint a new head coach and Smith’s future uncertain for the time being, many NFL Draft analysts believe this is the year the Hawks choose a quarterback early.

General manager John Schneider has been in Seattle since 2010, yet he has only picked two quarterbacks, neither of whom were selected in the first round.

Mel Kiper of ESPN predicts the Seahawks will pick Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy 16th overall in his latest mock draft.

Is it the appropriate decision to draft a quarterback given the team’s current roster? Brock and Salk of Seattle Sports covered it in depth on Tuesday.

Brock Huard, a former NFL and college quarterback, saw McCarthy frequently during his tenure as a college football pundit for FOX Sports.

McCarthy won a lot of games at Michigan, including the national championship last season, but he ran a run-heavy system and was rarely the focal point on that end of the field.

“There was always some hesitation. There was always a little bit of a (delay) rather than just (UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr.) throwing folks open and players expecting,” Huard said of McCarthy’s passing ability. “… You never saw that from J.J. Was that because he couldn’t? Or was it because, “You know what?” I made three picks in one game and one pick in the other fourteen. I’m going to take care of the ball and never put it in harm’s way because our run game, defense, and my legs will help us win the national championship.”

Mike Salk said it’s difficult to predict what the Seahawks’ next head coach will want from a quarterback because we don’t know who it is yet. However, he believes McCarthy’s ideal NFL head coach is someone who emphasizes defense and a run-first attack.

Two options came to mind for Salk: Jim Harbaugh, McCarthy’s head coach at Michigan who was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers two days after this chat, and Mike Vrabel, former Tennessee Titans head coach who is still available.

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“The problem is if either of those guys came in here, don’t you think the first thing they’re going to want to do is fix the line of scrimmage?” Salk stated.

In 2023, the Seahawks struggled at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, with one of the NFL’s worst rushing attacks and run defenses.

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Given Smith’s demonstrated ability to be an NFL starter, Huard and Salk believe the Seahawks should address the offensive or defensive line in the first round. Seattle also does not have a second-round pick in April’s draft.

“It is hard for me to say based on the roster, based on what we’re seeing in the playoffs, that J.J. McCarthy would be a better pick than some of the guys that come after him in this mock draft,” Salk told ESPN.

Kiper’s mock draft features UW offensive lineman Troy Fautanu, Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse, and Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II.

“You need line of scrimmage (help),” Huard stated. “… This must be the line of scrimmage game. You were not good enough. You actually go back and look at the season, as I did yesterday, reflecting on these line of scrimmage games, these 100-yard rushers, and these teams that just totally perforated you, and you couldn’t maintain it.”

“I don’t think this is the time for that quarterback,” he said. “I get the principle. I understand that it would be ideal to acquire a young first-round quarterback that you truly admire and build around.”

Salk said it’s disappointing because he wants the Seahawks to choose a quarterback for the future, but given where Seattle is in the draft, he doesn’t think that should happen.

“It’s really hard for me to say that either either McCarthy or even Penix at that spot would have more value for them right now than somebody on the line,” he told reporters.