ESPN analyst says 'it takes some stones' to do what Seahawks have done this offseason

Signing DeMarcus Lawrence was questionable and not aggressively going after offensive linemen was inexcusable. That said, we really like the major moves the Seattle Seahawks have made in the month of March. In essence, their two big trades and two big signings amounted to this change: Geno Smith and DK Metcalf are out, while Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp are in - plus the Seahawks got about $25 million more in cap space, two top-100 picks and seven years younger at quarterback.

That really doesn't seem like a hard sell from where we're sitting, but most of the national media disagrees. The Seahawks have earned mostly poor grades for signing Darnold and Cupp as well as trading Geno and DK away.

It looks like another rare exception to the rule is Field Yates at ESPN. While he doesnt think it's a slam-dunk, you can tell he actually sees the vision. Here's what he said about the Seahawks' bold moves earlier this week on Brock & Salk.

It does take a lot of guts to blow up your passing game after three straight winning seasons - but that's exactly the kind of move it takes to break out of the middle of the pack in the NFL.

It should go without saying that the Darnold-Cupp move won't work unless the Seahawks actually find some improvements for their offensive line. In most of the discussion of these deals, the same rule doesn't seem to apply to the Seahawks keeping Smith and Metcalf, even though we know that Seattle's ceiling with their previous core was an embarrassing Wild Card exit.

The Seahawks would probably get bounced by any other NFC playoff team today with Darnold and Cupp starting, but the work isn't done yet by a long shot. Those two extra Day 2 picks that Seattle picked up brings their total to five selections in the top 100 overall, which should have a huge impact on improving the overall roster.

With more cap flexibility and a significantly younger QB, the Seahawks effectively bought themselves more time and more resources to figure things out and catch up with the other NFC contenders. They also landed the only QB upgrade they were going to get this year, either in free agency or the draft.

The debate won't end here, nor even after the first several games of this new arrangement - but we're confident these big moves will pay off in the long run.