Seahawks got away with robbery
So why did John Schneider settle for just Jadeveon Clowney?
It’s a shock that the Seahawks GM didn’t insist that Houston toss in all-world wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
I mean, if you’re going to just go rob somebody, finish it off and sack the place.
Would you steal only one masterpiece but leave the Mona Lisa hanging right there by herself, almost calling your name?
Yes, of course, we’re joking about Hopkins (at least I think we are), but there’s no question that Schneider robbed the Texans blind in the deal for Clowney.
Think about it.
Barkevious Mingo (who would have been cut a few hours later), backup linebacker Jacob Martin and a third-round draft pick…
For Jadeveon Clowney?
That’s an honest-to-goodness felony.
Sure, the Hawks are only guaranteed to have Clowney for this season — unless he loves Seattle and Schneider wants to pay him free agent money at the end of the year.
And that’s possible, I guess.
BUT IN the meantime, we’ve all heard Schneider and Pete Carroll insist that they’re always in “win now” mode.
Hell, yes.
They sure ought to be thinking “win now” after paying Russell Wilson the most money in the history of the league, and making Bobby Wagner the highest-earning middle linebacker.
You don’t want to waste the seasons those guys will give you, so absolutely, you go out and get all the complementary pieces you can find.
Schneider doesn’t like doing much free-agent business, but there are times when it’s necessary to “win now.”
On that score, believe me when I say that Jadeveon Clowney will be a whole lot more than a roster-filler, cheering from the sidelines.
Seahawk fans are all carrying on about how the pass rush issue has been solved, what with Ziggy Ansah healthy and now Clowney joining the party.
There’s something you might not know, however.
For a guy who is something of a hybrid defensive end and linebacker — at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds — Clowney is hardly just a third-down rusher.
The respected Pro Football Focus rated him the second-best run stuffer among edge rushers last season — the highest ranking of his career.
Then you’ve probably heard the knock that Clowney has injury issues.
That’s ancient history, folks.
In the past two seasons, he’s been on the field for more than 80 percent of Houston’s defensive snaps — 902 plays last year and just shy of 900 in 2017.
In other words, he’s a baller who isn’t afraid to stick his nose in the pile and get dirty.
IT’LL BE interesting to see what Carroll and his lieutenants do with Clowney once he’s “game fit” along with Ansah and top draft pick L.J. Collier.
The Seahawks drafted Collier to play mostly five-technique, more of a brawling type of end — as opposed to the LEO position, where guys like Ansah, Clowney (and yes, Frank Clark) thrive on cutting loose to rush the quarterback.
Clowney can fly in from the edge, but he also could do some serious five-technique work (his success against the run game should tell you that) — and he’s also attacked from various linebacker spots.
The guy can play just about anywhere among the front seven and be a disruptive force.
THERE WAS a remarkable quote caught by a microphone on the sideline of a Houston-Denver game. Broncos lineman Bradley Chubb was heard offering this thought…
“Somebody said that when Clowney turns it on, no one in the world can stop him.”
That’s even better news for the Seahawks, since Clowney — who is still just 26 — will be playing on a $16 million franchise tag this year, and no doubt will do everything possible to get himself in the shop window going forward.
There are amazing changes week to week in pro football, but right now this appears to be a deal with massive upside.
It doesn’t exactly make the Hawks a Super Bowl team.
But it puts them closer to the inner circle.
Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball once monthly during the offseason.
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