2011 NFL Draft Round 4: Seattle Seahawks Select K.J. Wright, Kris Dunham

Pete Carroll and John Schneider are building their franchise, but their fourth-round selections of OLB K.J. Wright and WR Kris Dunham will do little to offer clarity to skeptical fans and critics.

The drafting duo has taken heat for taking James Carpenter in the first round.  Many fans point to Mel Kiper's draft board, where he was listed as a third-round player.  In defense of the Seahawks, that was a huge oversight on Kiper's part.  Carpenter was an early second-round pick on most draft boards, and Rob Rang was linking him to the Steelers in the first round.

The Carpenter pick came down to the Seahawks liking him better than Gabe Carimi, an OT from Wisconsin.  Side by side, Carimi looks like the better prospect.  However, Seattle felt Carpenter was a better fit for their system, and it is hard to argue with them on that.

Round four brought Seattle a chance at redemption, as they had the second and tenth pick.  There was still a lot of talent at positions of need on the board.  Players like Standford FB Owen Marecic, Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi and Mount Union WR Cecil Shorts.  

Also on the draft board was the fourth-rated 4-3 OLB K.J. Wright.  Seattle has seen their LB group wilt over recent seasons, and while K.J. Wright needs to develop, he could be a solid starter.  

The WR selection was particularly odd, though.  Durham was expected to be a seventh-round pick, likely coming in the compensatory range of picks.  He was ranked in the 25-30 range for WRs in the draft.  To be fair, I did find him in the top 10 on one draft board.

It isn't hard to see why Seattle likes him.  He has great size at 6'5", 216 pounds.  He has solid speed as well, turning in a 40-yard dash time of 4.46 and his vertical leap was an impressive 36 inches (all figures are from he pro day, as he wasn't invited to the scouting combine).

Durham's time playing against top competition likely gave him the nod over Shorts, but the timing seems odd.  Seattle could have picked up a solid FB in Marecic and looked at Durham in Round 5.

Draft place aside, Durham was the No. 2 receiver for Georgia.  He posted decent numbers while filling in for A.J. Green.  In those four games he posted 324 yards on 16 receptions.  Over the course of his senior season he averaged 20.6 yards per game, compiling three TDs and 659 yards on 32 receptions.  He would have had a few more TDs if his freshman QB could have led him better on a few passes. 

At this point the critics will continue to give Seattle a poor draft grade.  Fans, however, will need to give the Seahawks the benefit of the doubt on the talent they need to build a winner.  It may not be easy, but they have shown they will take the players that best fit their system at a spot that guarantees they don't miss drafting the player.