On Marshall: Food for Thought

Bradon Marshall's pending visit to Seattle has already turned into quite the polarizing topic, and it's only gettng more attention by the minute.

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Though both sides of the argument make sense (on-field performance vs. off-field character issues), we need to look at the risk investment the Seahawks are possibly making by adding Marshall.

First of all, look at his stats. He's posted over 100 catches in each of the past three seasons, and that's from Jay Cutler and Kyle Orton alike. In each of those three seasons, he's tallied over 1,000 receiving yards, averaging roughly 12 yards per catch. If Denver loses him, they'll be sorely lacking a vital offensive weapon, but Marshall has already made it clear that he's tired of Denver and needs a change of scenery sooner rather than later.

But if he can play that well while disgruntled and unhappy, imagine what he can do if he's content with where he is.

Kevin Roberts at Bleacher Report makes a strong case for the Seahawks pursuing Marshall as well. Roberts:

From a risk standpoint, the Seahawks aren't throwing anymore on the line than any other team would and instead of drafting a young receiver with one of their first round picks, they'd be getting a 25-year-old stud receiver who has caught 100+ balls in each of the past three seasons.

The Seahawks are also said to be interested in landing a quarterback in the 2010 NFL Draft and acquiring an ultra-talented receiver like Marshall could go a long way in speeding up the development of whichever passer they select.

This move just makes too much sense by now to pass on. The fact that the Seahawks have two first-round draft picks is a luxury, and giving one of them back to Denver (poetically enough, the source in which they acquired the pick in the first place) is a worthy price to pay for a player like Marshall. The other pick, as Roberts says, can be used on a QB of the future, but I'd favor an offensive lineman first. Matt Hasselbeck can perform at a high level when he has pass protection better than cellophane. (On a side note, it's also good to see Schneider and Carroll going after a proven lineman like Ben Hamilton, also from the Broncos.)

Mike Sando also chimes in with some insight that may answer a few questions about how the deal would go down here.