With Draft Wrapped Up, Real Challenges Begin for Seahawks and NFL

The 2020 NFL Draft provided a much-needed lift for a world struggling to overcome a pandemic. But now that the festivities are over, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the league and its teams in regard to when players may be able to return to action.

Starting on Thursday and concluding on Saturday, the annual three-day NFL Draft provided a welcome distraction for fans amid the coronavirus pandemic, drawing record-setting ratings each day.

It's safe to say, even with all of the obstacles coaches, executives, players, ESPN, and the league had to hurdle, this year's virtual event proved to be a roaring success. The intimacy of the broadcast was both refreshing and unique without all the usual bells and whistles.

Now that the draft is in the rear view mirror, however, the real challenges are only beginning for NFL teams such as the Seahawks who will be attempting to prepare for a season that may or may not happen. And as they did this past weekend, they'll be doing so in unconventional ways, with the vast majority of teams opening "virtual" Phase One of their offseason programs on Monday.

“We’re really in the mode of adaptation," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "Everything is kind of fluid and on the move, and you have to be flexible. It’s going to be the same with our guys as we start up Monday... Our coaches have spent a lot of time trying to be creative and inventive in how we’re going to present stuff to try to capture them. One of the things about our program it is so energetic and there is so much interaction and relationship stuff that goes on. This is going to be different. It’s going to tax us in different way."

As Carroll noted, Seattle will kick off its modified offseason program with 70 players - rookies will be initiated in their own virtual rookie minicamp at a later date - meeting as a full team before breaking off into positional units. Technical challenges surely await as coaches try to navigate uncharted territory conducting position-centric meetings, installing plays, and much more.

"We have been practicing, like always, with whatever you’re doing. You have to practice to get good at it, and our coaches have all been working at it, and we’ve been envisioning how this is going to go. It’s going to be really fascinating to see how we work. None of us can project what are we working towards."

At this stage, the NFL hasn't provided teams any additional information about when players and coaches may be able to return to the field. Though some states are starting to re-open businesses, there's a long road that must be traveled before professional sports can return and other prominent leagues such as the NBA have yet to return to play.

Given the uncertainty, as Carroll has stated previously, the Seahawks have to prepare the best they can on the presumption things could improve at any moment. They won't and can't be caught off guard whenever that time comes, whether it's in June or August or even October.

"Are we working towards Phase Two? Are we working towards coming back together? We don’t know. We don’t know about camp or any of that stuff right now. We’re just going to keep hope alive and just keep pushing and keep these guys entertained and call on them to be a very big part of what we’re doing.”

Considering the possibility traditional offseason workouts could be limited, or even eliminated completely, the Seahawks clearly emphasized experience in this year's draft. With the exception of seventh-round pick Stephen Sullivan, who general manager John Schneider called a "bit of a developmental project," the team selected a bunch of proven multi-year starters who should be able to acclimate to new surroundings quickly.

First-round pick Jordyn Brooks started all four seasons for at Texas Tech, earning All-Big 12 accolades each year. Second-round pick Darrell Taylor started games in the SEC for Tennessee at defensive end and outside linebacker, while third-round selection Damien Lewis started 28 games for LSU the last two years.

Even on day three, Seattle used most of its draft capital on proven players who started a significant number of games for Power 5 conference programs, including Syracuse defensive end Alton Robinson and Stanford tight end Colby Parkinson.

When asked if the Seahawks sought more refined prospects because of the current situation, Schneider responded, "Absolutely. Not necessarily an emphasis from a conference standpoint, but an emphasis to try to find people that will be able to click with our coaches and vibe with our locker room and be able to do that in a very, very quick manner. I thought our scouts did a very, very good job of emphasizing that and working with the coaches in terms of how they were going to fit for the 2020 Seattle Seahawks."

Once the NFL does give the green light for teams to work back into on-field activities, Carroll didn't hold anything back addressing his concerns about ensuring players receive adequate practice time to prepare to play, which he views as a very big issue.

"I know that our guys need 6 weeks of work to get rolling, and that’s what the league has always allowed us. A couple weeks, then 4 games, it takes a full 5-6 weeks in camp. Without an intense offseason, with competition and guys working against each other and all of that, I don’t know. We’re going to have to just figure it out."

Under normal circumstances, the Seahawks would be taking the field this week with rookies and veterans would start up in a few weeks for OTAs. Knowing there's a strong chance those workouts won't happen this year - at least not in a normal format - Carroll is keeping his fingers crossed the league doesn't try to rush players back into game action too swiftly.

"I’m hoping it’s not going to be let’s get two weeks of work and then let’s start playing NFL games. I hope it’s not like that because that’s going to be really challenging on their bodies and it will be almost impossible to figure that you could do it."

Referencing a prototypical training camp, Carroll discussed how teams gradually lead players back into full game action. Starters play a quarter in the first preseason game, gradually increasing their workload until the actual regular season begins. That process shouldn't be rushed, as players will be more susceptible to injury otherwise.

"We take all of that time to kind of lead them into it. There will be a lot of scientifics, a lot of analytics that will help support that, but it’s going to be a challenge to figure that out.”

For now, Carroll, his coaching staff, and players will have to make the best out of an unideal situation for all parties, preparing as much as they can for the season while still adhering to social distancing measures. When the season does start - if it starts - everyone is gearing up for the possibility fans won't be part of the equation.

While Carroll would love to see things start returning to normal sooner rather than later in unprecedented times, he knows the league doesn't get the final say in when football returns - the virus does.

"I would imagine in the next couple of weeks we will get a lot more information about that. But, who knows. We don’t know. As somebody said, this is pandemic time, so we’re in a whole new ball game right now, so we have to wait and see.”