Leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft, which is set to take place from April 30 - May 2 in Chicago, Ill., Seahawks.com will take a position-by-position look at this year's top prospects.
Along the way, we'll rehash the team's past draft picks at each position under Executive VP/General Manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll and also provide an outline of where the team currently stands at each spot.
Seattle owns 11 selections in this year's draft - one in the second round (No. 63 overall), one in the third (No. 95), three in the fourth (Nos. 112, 130 & 134), two in the fifth (Nos. 167 & 170), three in the sixth (Nos. 181, 209 & 214), and one in the seventh (No. 248).
We led our draft preview series with a look at the offensive and defensive lines before following up with the running backs and linebackers. We continue today with the quarterbacks, a position the Schneider-Carroll regime has selected just once in five drafts.
Draft History (Under Schneider & Carroll)
QB Russell Wilson (No. 75 overall, 2012)
Where The Seahawks Stand
Russell Wilson returns for his fourth season as the Seahawks' quarterback after leading the team to back-to-back Super Bowls, a run that included the franchise's first Lombardi Trophy in 2013. He's the only draft pick Schneider and Carroll have invested in a quarterback, and it's worked out pretty well. Wilson won the starting job his rookie year and has since compiled 36 regular-season wins, the most ever by a starting quarterback in his first three years in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). In 2015, Wilson is entering the final year of his contract and is eligible for an extension. On Wednesday, Schneider said he wants Wilson to be Seattle's quarterback for a "long time."
B.J. Daniels is the team's No. 2 quarterback at the moment, but this past March Carroll said he's looking forward to seeing Daniels compete at wide receiver and for punt- and kick-return duties moving forward. It makes sense given the fact that wide receiver Bryan Walters - the team's primary punt returner last year - signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. Wideout Paul Richardson, who handled kickoff return after the team traded Percy Harvin to the New York Jets, may not be ready to open 2015 after injuring his ACL in the team's run at Super Bowl XLIX. The 5-foot-11, 217-pound Daniels, who in addition to his quarterback duties has spent time as a wideout and defensive back on Seattle's practice squad the past two years, said in January that quarterback is the only position he's played competitively.
Seattle added 27-year-old quarterback R.J. Archer to the roster in February. He comes to the Seahawks after spending time in the Arena Football League, most recently with the Jacksonville Sharks. Archer, who measures 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, went undrafted out of William & Mary in 2010.
Tarvaris Jackson, the Seahawks' starting signal caller in 2011 who after a one-year stint with the Buffalo Bills has been Wilson's backup the past two seasons, remains unsigned as an unrestricted free agent. On Wednesday, Schneider said Jackson is currently feeling his way through the NFL's open market. Schneider said Jackson knows Seattle would "love to have him back."
NFL Media Draft Analyst Mike Mayock shares his top five quarterbacks set to enter this year's draft.
Oregon's Marcus Mariota during the first half of the NCAA college football playoff championship game against Ohio State Monday, Jan. 12, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2015 file photo, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston looks to throw during the first half of the Rose Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal against Oregon in Pasadena, Calif. Jameis Winston met with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tuesday, March 3, 2015, hoping to make a good impression on the team considering taking the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback with the first pick in the NFL draft. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty (14) celebrates a touchdown pass during the second half of the Cotton Bowl NCAA college football game Michigan State, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson calls signals against Hawaii in the fourth quarter of Colorado State's 49-22 victory in an NCAA college football game in Fort Collins, Colo., on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley passes during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Southern California, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
NFL Media Draft Expert Mike Mayock's Top 5 Quarterbacks
1. Marcus Mariota, Oregon, 6-4, 222 lbs
Draft Projection (via NFL.com): Round 1
Bottom Line (via NFL.com): Scheme-based quarterback who will face the same challenges that several quarterbacks before him have faced in terms of learning how to read defenses and go through progressions. The tape was less kind to Mariota than expected, but his size, athleticism and consistency of football character throughout his career are necessary traits in becoming a good-to-great quarterback. Mariota's ability to create outside the pocket will help win games here and there and buy him time as he plies his craft. However, to reach his potential and match the play with the traits, he must develop more poise and feel in the pocket and improve his field vision. Mariota is no lock to be a great NFL quarterback, but his floor is much higher than any of the quarterbacks drafted in 2014.
2. Jameis Winston, Florida State, 6-4, 231 lbs
Draft Projection (via NFL.com): Round 1 (top 5)
Bottom Line (via NFL.com): Winston is a big, highly competitive pocket passer who played in a pro-style offense and showed an ability to anticipate throwing windows, scan the entire field and make the NFL throws. His wind-up delivery and marginal mobility outside the pocket are reminiscent of Byron Leftwich, but his arm talent and issues with decision making are more in line with Eli Manning's. Winston's football potential is clearer than so-called "system" or "one-read" quarterbacks, but every stone must be overturned in an attempt to piece together a predictive character profile on Winston. Winston's supreme confidence might be considered arrogance by some, but even that trait will be alluring to teams who need to find a franchise quarterback.
3. Bryce Petty, Baylor, 6-3, 230 lbs
Draft Projection (via NFL.com):Round 4
Bottom Line (via NFL.com): NFL evaluators felt like Petty's senior season was disappointing, but those same evaluators love his size, leadership and intangibles. He needs a year or two of practice time and camp work to learn how to get through his progressions, but has the intelligence to do that. Petty flashed plenty of arm strength at the NFL Scouting Combine and as the draft draws closer, teams might very well begin to conceptualize Petty fitting into their offense as a potential starter of the future.
4. Garrett Grayson, Colorado State, 6-2, 213 lbs
Draft Projection (via NFL.com): Round 4 or 5
Bottom Line (via NFL.com):Grayson went from fringe draft prospect to clearly on the draft board with a strong 2014 season. Despite average arm talent, he uses good lower-body mechanics to generate velocity and his touch and accuracy on deep throws is eye-opening. Grayson needs more tape work to help improve his decision-making, but his size, production and growth at the position have ticked the requisite draft boxes to make him an intriguing mid-round prospect.
5. Brett Hundley, UCLA, 6-3, 226 lbs
Draft Projection (via NFL.com):Round 4 or 5
Bottom Line (via NFL.com):Hundley flashes athleticism and talent, but his basic quarterbacking issues will take time to improve. In 2014, more than 54 percent of his pass attempts were from six yards and in, including 29 percent from behind the line of scrimmage, which is nothing like an NFL offense. Hundley is a "flash" prospect who shows the physical tools to be a starter, but his internal clock and issues with reads and progressions must be improved to give him a shot at becoming a decent NFL starter.
