Scout's Take: Seattle Seahawks
Underrated: Frank Clark
A number of teams wiped him off the board completely in the draft because of the domestic violence issue—which is fair, as a DV issue is something that is unacceptable—but the Seahawks did their vetting. There are at least five teams that had him on their radars and targeted him as a late second-round guy or early third, hoping he would drop. As Bruce Irvin moves on, Clark is now in the equation as a third rusher. He’s got a very similar play style to Michael Bennett in the way that he can play all across the front. If you put Clark inside on a guard, that’s a mismatch. That guard isn’t nearly as athletic. I see a breakout season for Clark in 2016.
Overrated: Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson is not an elite quarterback. Pete Carroll has created an environment where he encourages individuals to be themselves and also demands his men to be their best and pay attention to details. It’s that setting, as well as a great defense, that has everything to do with the success the Seahawks have had over these last few years. Don’t get me wrong, Wilson has had a hand in this too, but he moves the offense because of the scheme and because they win the field position battle week in and week out. His style of play does not transcend the system. His career could have gone the opposite way elsewhere.
Extra Point
We had a very high opinion of Thomas Rawls when he came out of college in 2015. He’s an undervalued commodity, and is a physical, downhill, violent runner who refuses to be tackled. But we didn’t trust our gut or what we saw on tape, and instead, he went undrafted. When he ran for 169 yards against the Bengals, I was pissed off because I know what he could have done for us.
