John Idzik’s Draft History with the Seattle Seahawks: 2011

Feb 5, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback

(25) waves to the crowd during a Super Bowl championship parade in downtown Seattle. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning Jets fans, and happy Sunday. Well, as happy as it can be, since it is our first Sunday without football. Hopefully everyone has found something to do, to pass the time as we await the Combine, free agency, and eventually the NFL draft.

Let’s continue our look back. Over the last several days, we have been looking back at the draft classes of the Seattle Seahawks, during John Idzik’s tenure there. Yes, he was not the general manager of the Seahawks, that role belonged to John Schneider for the majority of the time. However, Idzik WAS part of the process, and his experience is what he will translate over to his work here in New York.

So far, we have looked at the classes of: 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

All of that being said, let’s take a look at the Seahawks’ draft class of 2011.  How did they do?  Let’s find out……

Nine picks are always a recipe for success, we have been over and over that point. And again, I think there are some names on this list that we recognize, don’t you?

First, we have offensive guard John Carpenter, who has started 26 out of 32 games since 2011.

Oh yes, the fifth round pick yielded some defensive back named Richard Sherman. 57 pass breakups, 20 interceptions, two of them run back for touchdowns since 2011. Richard has also recorded four forced fumbles in that time. He saved the NFC championship game for his team.

Richard may talk a lot, but as much as I hate guys that talk, he backs it up.

And their final pick of the 2011 draft was a guy we recently learned about, due to his performance at MetLife in Super Bowl 48. His name is Malcolm Smith.

He isn’t a guy that is known as a star, but his performance was huge in the Super Bowl. He picked off Peyton Manning and took it back 69 yards for a touchdown. He also recovered a Demaryius Thomas fumble later on in the game, helping him to earn MVP honors.

As I said, John Idzik did not make the final call on these picks, as John Schneider was the general manager. But, he was part of the process, learning what it took to build a team through the draft. Bringing this process over to the Jets? It’s already in the works, and over the next couple of years, it’s only going to get better.