Houshmandzadeh in, Crabtree Out: What Is Going To Happen with the No. 4 Pick?

It's official. After a nailbiting weekend and $40 million, T.J. Houshmandzadeh is going to be the new go-to guy for Matt Hasselbeck. With Nate Burleson and Deion Branch returning, I think we can make a few assumptions about the receiver corps in the pacific Northwest:

1. Michael Crabtree is no longer the target for the 'Hawks fourth pick in the draft. Considering that he showed up to the combine two inches short and with a broken foot, this is simply too much risk for a team that needs an immediate impact.
2. If Bobby Engram wants to stay in town, he's going to have to do it for much less than he wants. To be honest, at his age I can't imagine he's getting a lot of suitors, given the more youthful options throughout the league. (NOTE: I believe he is visiting KC.)
   

That being said, what the heck do we do with the No. 4 pick?

We could use help in the secondary, but, unfortunately, there simply isn't top five talent in that area in this draft.

I think the signing of Colin Cole was fully intended to be the replacement of Rocky Bernard. I'm not entirely sure why we are putting this much stake in an unproven backup, but I'm hoping Mora sees something the rest of us don't.

This makes the odds of Seattle reaching for B.J. Raji less likely.

Some people are thinking about the tackle of the future. Jason Smith (Baylor) isn't going to fall to No. 4 any way we slice it. If the Lions pass on him, the Rams certainly won't. Behind Smith, there simply isn't an offensive tackle worth selecting at No. 4.

Ruskell has never been a big fan of picking tackles that high in the draft, and this is a wise choice this season. Eugene Monroe (the next best after Jason Smith) is a weak left tackle (23 reps in the bench).

Monroe also reportedly had difficulty filling in for D'Brickashaw Ferguson. If that's the case, how can we expect him to fill in for Walter Jones?

I know that Mora has been on record talking about not reaching for a position to fill a need, but I think the best value they can have right now at No. 4 is to reach slightly for Brian Orakpo (DE/OLB) from Texas.

With Kerney being an injury risk, and an unproven tandem of Darryl Tapp and Lawrence Jackson, Orakpo could be insurance at defensive end. He's also able to play OLB, which gives us some depth behind Hill and Peterson as well, both of which have shown injury problems in recent seasons.

Orakpo isn't the sexiest pick on the board for a team in Seattle's situation, and drafting a DE two years in a row might be frowned on, but I think it's the smartest choice if we absolutely have to spend the pick. 

Drafting Monroe as a tackle is simply wasting a pick on someone they'll need to replace in a few years. With an aging Kerney and Peterson, Orakpo will fit in nicely for quite some time.

Let's look at another recent trade that might spoil Seattle's plans. Bill Belichick recently dealt Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs for their second round pick. I know a lot of skeptics have questioned this trade; however, I think it was brilliant.

Cassel isn't the Pats future, and Vrabel was probably going to be released anyway. Rather than having him count against the cap, he was probably used to sweeten the deal to get a second rate QB offloaded for a fairly high draft pick.

Why?

I think Belichick made this trade explicitly to trump Seattle. Rashad Johnson (S, 'Bama) has been consistently predicted as the second-round selection for Seattle. Nick Saban called him the most intelligent player he has ever coached.

This is Bill Belichick's kind of guy. Plain and simple. It's no secret that New England needs to improve it's defensive backfield.

The trade to KC put the Pats ahead of Seattle in the second round, and I think we are going to see New England steal away another pick from the 'Hawks (see Daniel Graham and Vince Wilfork).

Another option is to make a draft day trade. Throw the pick on the block and see what folks are offering. We might be able to get a player and a late first-round pick in the swap, or maybe simply adding a few more picks.

This puts us in a position to address our defensive back situation, which is an area of need right now. I never liked the idea of drafting the best player available as a high draft pick, because the fact remains:

If you don't need him, you probably can't use him. If you don't use him, he makes no impact.

Whatever they decide to do with the fourth pick is going to be very interesting to say the least.