Seahawks draft prospect: CB Joe Haden
As Pete Carroll, John Schneider and the rest of the Seahawks scouting department prepare for the senior bowl this Saturday in Mobile Alabama to get a look at some of the top seniors in this draft class I’ve decided to go break down a highly touted junior, corner back Joe Haden.
The Seahawks currently have major needs in their entire defensive backfield, mostly at the second corner position and safety.
Marcus Trufant was placed on the PUP list to begin the season which meant that he would miss the first eight weeks of the season, which inevitably wound up hurting his overall play. Trufant was flagged at least eight times for pass interference calls this season, the highest in his career.
However with Trufant being 100 percent healthy now and moving forward the Seahawks don’t really have a stand out corner opposite of Trufant.
Here is the current list of corners’ for the Seahawks.
Marcus Trufant, Josh Wilson, Kelly Jennings, Ken Lucas (UFA) and Roy Lewis
When you look at that list the only real name that jumps out as a great corner would be Trufant. Josh Wilson I see a much better fit as a safety because he can cover and tackle but between Haden and Wilson Haden is a much better shut down corner.
So with that being said, the second player on “my list”(my list of draft prospects for the Seahawks, first started with Russell Okung) Joe Haden and my break down of his game.
Physical stature and Skills:
5-11, 191 lbs, great hips, great shut down cover skills (like Darrell Revis), quick feet (get’s flat footed now and then but Carroll will help with that), great hands and electric speed with a 4.40. Only missed one game in his college career, back in 2007 against Florida State.
Character:
Great leader on and off the field. In 2009 Haden was semifinalist for the Jim Thorp award which is given to the best college defensive back that has great skills as well as great character on and off the field.
NFL comparison:
Well I already gave that one away above, CB Darrell Revis. Still has some work to get up with Revis’ complete shut down corner package but he’s got great intangibles and has the same make up as Revis does. Great cover shut down corner, great hips, great hands and great speed.
The only thing he has a problem with is a little foot work and getting the little things right but one he’s in the NFL, possibly under Pete Carroll should the Seahawks draft Haden at either No. 6 or No. 14 overall he’d be able to work out those small problems with Haden.
ESPN Scouts Inc Todd McShay has Haden as the fourth best player in the draft giving him a 96 overall grade. For the Seahawks they seem like the first team that would get a crack at Joe Haden being sixth overall.
Tampa Won’t take a CB that high and no other team before Seattle makes sense. Now the Seahawks do have a lot of needs (LT,LG,DE,QB-long term, CB and S) so if the Seahawks and Pete Carroll feel that Haden is the best player on the board and they really like him the I believe he could be the pick at six.
However Jimmy Clausen, Sam Bradford, Russell Okung and Suh would have to be off the board for the Seahawks to have Haden as a plan because those four come before Haden.
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Hey Lars,
Kelly again here. While Joe Haden is good and young I have a hard time seeing us draft him. People are really hammering Trufant for having a bad year but has the guy ever played bad before this season? Back injuryies are difficult to recover from right away. Your agility and flexibility really hamper everything you do for awhile. I think we will see the Trufant of old this next season. Its the first time hes really missed a significant amount of games since hes been in Seattle. As for Wilson in my honest opinion he was our best player in the Secondary this last year he really stepped up his game and i think he should have the opportunity to prove what hes got. One thing ive been thinking about Lars is Seattle maybe trading down a couple spots to get more value for their pick. If Eric Berry isn’t there for us at #6 i just have a hard time seeing anyone else worthy of being drafted that high. Not saying there is a talent drop off, honestly in my opinion Haden is the next best prospect but hes not a real position of need. I know the 49ers and a couple other teams will be looking at OL as well. I really like the mean streak anthony davis has. Im honestly hoping for Eric Berry at #6 but would rather see us take Anthony Davis at #6 and Derrick Morgan perhaps at #14 if he is still there. If you would rather get a reply to me faster you can email me at orrkw@cg65.navy.mil
Kelly: Thanks for the comment(s). Well I don’t think I was hammering trufant in the article, simply pointing out why he played so poorly was due to that back injury where he missed the first eight games.
Seattle would be drafting Harden for the 2 slot CB not where Trufant is at the 1. I agree Wilson played great last season but I really have a hard time seeing him as a CB long term because of his size and he’s not as talented in coverage like Harden is.
I would shift Wilson over to safety because there he’d be a lot better in coverage instead of 1v1 with Boldin, Fitz, Crabtree etc.
Well I could see the Seahawks trading their second round pick like they did last year for either a player (Brandon Marshall) or 1 2011 first round pick.
Well the Seahawks have a lot of options going into the No. 6 overall pick. DE Derrick Morgan, OT Russell Okung, QB’s Bradford/Clausen, CB Joe Haden, S Eric Berry (I’m really not that high on him).
Well if we do trade it could be a Denver swap.
Seahawks get: 10th overall from Denver and Brandon Marshall
Broncos get: 6th overall and Branch + Hill
Lars: Selecting Haden and moving Wilson to S would be Genius!!! That would potentially be 2 upgrades! I still think taking Taylor Mays could be a good fit and a strong possibility, but I think Haden/Wilson is a better solution!
I’m all about the Hawks grabbing Marshall! Either package Branch/Hill/2nd rd pick for Marshall/3rd rd pick or… your suggestion (I like the trading of 1st rd picks idea). Gets us a little deeper in the draft to select talent we need, saves some money for the rookie contract and locks Marshall!
Patrick: Haha picking up on the : name thing haha. Yea I would agree selecting Haden and moving Wilson to S would be great but only if Bradford, Okung, and Clausen are gone. it would be 2 great upgrades. Mays could be a second rounnd pick should we hold that pick.
The second round pick, muuch like last year is going to be a hot target for other teams (Broncos last year).
I see the 1st round swap (6-10) for Marshalll and a 3rd round pick.