NFL Report

It wasn’t a single-file sprint to a meeting room – but it was clear Seattle Seahawks president Tim Ruskell had convened the troops in the middle of Monday afternoon, as the NFL Combine had less than 24 hours remaining before they were to fly back to Seattle.

Regional scouting directors Scott Fitterer and Mike Yowarsky were moving across the broad hallway of the Indiana Convention Center faster than anyone had seen them move in years.

“Let him tell you what’s going on – he’s the expert,” Fitterer chuckled, pointing at Yowarsky. They’ve all been engaged for weeks now in sharing information. Fitterer is in charge of the West scouts and Yowarsky the East. They’ve galvanized as a group for specific positions they’re after – most likely defensive line, safety, tight end and guard – but Ruskell will virtually always go for the highest ranking player on his draft board that is available, regardless of position.

In accordance with the availability of free agents on the NFL market, they’ll utilize their draft picks from rounds 2-7, with the second round pick No. 55 overall. This year’s first round pick was traded to New England for wide receiver Deion Branch.

“It’s been a good week because we’ve seen everyone,” Yowarsky said. “There are a lot of players that have verified what we’ve been thinking about them, and some that have actually surprised us - like a couple of the small-college guys. Through the process of interviews and the workouts, it’s been a productive week.”

And then Yowarsky took off for the meeting.

On came pro personnel director Will Lewis, with assistant director Lake Dawson and pro scout Chris Culmer.

“It’s our job to become familiar with these guys for later – after they’ve been in the league or if they become available in training camp,” Lewis said. “We’ve been working on the free agent market too.”

This week was all about coordinating the efforts of the staff to assure they will fill the holes and supplement the strengths from last year’s team that won its third consecutive NFC West title. Ruskell says he’s comfortable they’re on the right track, even without a first round draft choice.

He’s quick to point out young starters last year Lofa Tatupu (2005 second round), LeRoy Hill (2005 third round), Rob Sims (2006 fourth round) and Ryan Plackemeier (2006 seventh round) are just as significant as first round choices.

“We’re not all that worried about going into the first round,” Ruskell said. “We’ve done well with our 2-7 the last two years. We use just as much energy and have success finding those players 2-7 as we would have for the first rounder. So we stay the course with the same kind of intensity all the way through.

“It’s been a good week. Everything we’ve needed to do in terms of the interviews and the workouts – everybody we’ve needed to talk to – all of it has gone smoothly. Then again, it usually does because everybody is here – you can’t run away from anybody. A good percentage of the guys have worked out, and that’s always a good thing. We’ve had really good interviews where the players are staying. It’s been informative, so it’s been good.”

There haven’t been many surprises, and with virtually all of the best players working out if healthy, it’s validating the process. The key for the Seahawks is finding the right balance of free agents and draft choices to fulfill the needs. Fortunately, when vice president Mike Reinfeldt, the lead contract negotiator and salary cap expert, left to become general manager at Tennessee, Ruskell was able to quickly lock up John Idzik, who did the same job at Arizona and had previously worked with Ruskell and vice president Ruston Webster at Tampa Bay.

“It was a big help getting John on board quickly,” Ruskell said. “We’ve done this for a few years now so we know how to prioritize our time and focus between the draft and free agency. Since John and I had worked together, it made a big difference in the transition because he got up to speed quickly.

“We’ve been comfortable with what we’ve seen, and most of these guys have been true to form. Between free agency and the draft I think we’re going to be able to do the things we need to do.”