The Seattle Seahawks selected ILB Bobby Wagner out of Utah State with the 47th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2012 NFL Draft.  Wagner plays hard and is a self motivator, which works to his advantage.  He doesn’t play with much power as he is more of a drag down tackler than a hard hitter.  He didn’t face much competition in college and that could have pumped up his numbers a bit.  Wagner played in 13 games (all starts) at Utah State last year and he had 147 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks and 2 interceptions.  He played in 48 games (46 starts) in his four years at Utah State and he had 445 tackles, 28.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, 7 passes broken up and 4 interceptions.  The Seahawks are hoping that Wagner can beat out Barrett Ruud for a starting job in training camp.   This pick was another reach for the Seahawks as Wagner was projected to get picked in the 5th or 6th round by most draft “experts”.

The Seahawks traded down from #12 to #15 with the Eagles, and they picked up the #114 overall pick (4th round) and the #172 overall pick (6th round) in the deal.  With the #15 overall pick in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Seahawks picked OLB Bruce Irvin.  Irvin is 6’3″, 234 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40, as he is a great athlete.  But, he was a college DE and he’s too small for that role in the NFL.  He doesn’t have the power to deal with O-Linemen, so it will be interesting to see if his speed rush translates at the NFL level.  Irvin played in 13 games (6 starts) for West Virginia last year and he had 40 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.  Irvin played in 26 games (6 starts) in his two years with the Mountaineers and he had 61 tackles, 29 tackles for a loss, 22.5 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.  This was a big reach for the Seahawks so early in the draft as a lot of “experts” had a 3rd or 4th round grade on Irvin.

The Seahawks are going to be looking for high impact players in next weekend’s NFL Draft.  Here is who I saw them landing in my mock 2012 NFL Draft found on bloglockers.com:

1. (12) Quinton Couples, DE, North Carolina

2. (43) Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin

3. (75) James-Michael Johnson, ILB, Nevada

4. (106) Demario Davis, OLB, Arkansas State

6. (181) Tim Benford, WR, Tennessee Tech

7. (225) Antoine McClain, OG, Clemson

The Seahawks have re-signed 10 of their own free agents they have signed six more free agents to add to the mix in 2012.  Here is a look at the new guys and the guys returning in 2012:

Offensively:  The Seahawks’ biggest move of the off-season was to re-sign RB Marshawn Lynch.  The next biggest thing they did was sign up QB Matt Flynn to take over under center for the Seahawks for 2012 and hopefully beyond.  The Seahawks have re-signed G Paul McQuistan and T Breno Giacomini and they have signed G Deuce Lutui and OT Frank Omiyale to help add some juice to the O-Line in 2012.  The Seahawks have brought back fullback Michael Robinson who is a good offensive player and an outstanding special teams player.  The Seahawks have also brought in RB Kregg Lumpkin to help out as a backup.

Defensively:  The Seahawks have signed DT Jason Jones and inside linebacker Barrett Ruud to help out with the run defense in 2012.  They have also re-signed DE Red Bryant and LB Leroy Hill to start on the D once again in 2012.  CB Roy Lewis, LB Heath Farwell, CB Marcus Trufant and LB Matt McCoy will add depth to the D as they have all been re-signed by the Seahawks.

GRADE SO FAR THIS OFF-SEASON:  B

The Seahawks have re-signed 29-year old LB Matt McCoy.  McCoy played in 4 games for the Seahawks last year and he had 15 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  McCoy has now played in 18 games in his first two years with the Seahawks and he has 34 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  This was a good move for the Seahawks as McCoy is a pretty solid special teams player.

The Seahawks have re-signed 29-year old LB Leroy Hill.  Hill played in all 16 games for the Seahawks last year and he had 89 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  He has now played in 83 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 464 tackles, 18.5 sacks, 26 tackles for a loss, 7 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 11 passes defensed.  This was a good move for the Seahawks as Hill is the best linebacker on the team with David Hawthorne off to the Saints.

The Seahawks have signed 28-year old OG Deuce Lutui.  Lutui played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year.  He has now played in 93 games (72 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  His specialty is run blocking as he is huge and he has a nasty attitude.  This was a good move for the Seahawks.

The Seahawks have re-signed 26-year old CB Roy Lewis.  Lewis played in 10 games for the Seahawks last year and he had 24 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 32 games in his first three years with the Seahawks and he has 53 tackles, 5 passes defensed, 2 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries.  It was smart to bring Lewis back for 2012.

The Seahawks have signed 28-year old inside linebacker Barrett Ruud.  Ruud played in 9 games for the Titans last year and he had 57 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 interception and 3 passes defensed.  He has now played in 104 games in his first seven years in the NFL and he has 642 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 23 passes defensed and 7 interceptions.  This was a good move for the Seahawks as Ruud makes a lot of tackles.

The Seahawks have signed 27-year old RB Kregg Lumpkin.  Lumpkin played in all 16 games for the Buccaneers last year and he carried the ball 31 times for 105 yards (3.4 ypc).  He also caught 41 passes for 291 yards (7.1 avg) for the Bucs last year.  Lumpkin has now played in 29 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 33 times for 124 yards (3.8 ypc).  He has also caught 45 passes for 325 yards (7.2 avg) so far in his career.  He projects to be the Seahawks’ #3 RB in 2012.