Seahawks still pondering what to do with No. 4 pick

The protocol for making the fourth pick in the NFL draft seems pretty straightforward.

Make a list of top four players available, arrange them in order of preference and wait to see which one is available after the Lions, Rams and Chiefs make choices Nos. 1 through 3.

Just don't try telling president Tim Ruskell that holding the fourth pick is any easier than picking in the second half of the first round.

"A lot more work is required," he said. "You can focus on a smaller group, but you have to spend more time with those people. You're spending a lot more money here, and a lot more is going to be asked of them."

And then there's the question of just where Seattle plans to put the player it picks. When a player is drafted that high and paid this much, it's going to have a trickle-down effect on other players on the roster.

"There isn't one thing we have to have," Ruskell said, "and yet we could accept a guy at just about every position.

"It's kind of a unique deal. We have needs, but not priorities."

Going 4-12 last season remains the hardest part about picking fourth in this year's draft, but that doesn't mean deciding who to pick is easy. There are just too many questions to consider.

Q: How about pegging a quarterback? After all, the Seahawks hope they're never in this draft position again, so maybe it's time to pick Matt Hasselbeck's successor.

A: Well, that's certainly one line of thinking. Hasselbeck missed nine games with a back injury last season, he will turn 34 next season, and there have been persistent reports over the past month the Seahawks are very interested in USC quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Two things to consider, though.

1) The Seahawks have a quarterback — a pretty good one — whom Ruskell still believes is in his prime. Choosing Sanchez would start the clock ticking on Hasselbeck's time in Seattle.

2) Grade inflation is an annual occurrence for that position in the draft. Franchise quarterbacks are like gold in the NFL only a lot more rare, and each year teams talk themselves into the idea certain quarterbacks are the answer, sending them floating up the draft order. It's a unique reality of that position in the draft.

"If we waited until June, I think it would be 1-2-3 [all] quarterbacks," Ruskell joked.

Q: Well, how about receiver? The Seahawks were an injury or two away from holding open tryouts for the position last year so why not take Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree, the only player to win consecutive Biletnikoff Awards as the top collegiate receiver?

A: Valid logic, and Crabtree is that game-breaker type of athlete, but he's 2 inches shorter than the 6 feet 3 he was advertised at Texas Tech and was diagnosed with a stress fracture that required surgery and prevented him from running the 40-yard dash for NFL teams.

On top of all that, wide receivers drafted in the top 10 have been known to wind up notorious busts. Charles Rogers, Mike Williams and Reggie Williams were all top-10 picks at the position in the past six years. None are currently on an NFL roster.

Q: Well, who's the safest pick then?

A: Probably linebacker Aaron Curry of Wake Forest. He has been called the best linebacking prospect in a decade, but he's one of the players the Lions are considering with the first pick. If he doesn't go there, plenty of people think the Chiefs are going to snap him up.

Q: OK, how about a big meat-eating lineman then? The Seahawks have made three top-10 choices in the past 12 drafts: Koren Robinson (No. 9 in 2001), Shawn Springs (No. 3 in 1997) and Walter Jones (No. 6 in 1997). Of those three, Jones was the biggest success.

A: Tackles have become trendy. There were eight tackles chosen in the first round of the draft last year — an all-time high — and four who are considered worthy of top-20 choices this season. But where would they play in Seattle? Jones has been so darn good he's still a perennial Pro Bowler and even coming off knee surgery, it's hard to see anyone else starting at left tackle for Seattle.

There are others to consider. Sean Locklear was re-signed in 2008 behind the rationale he could move to left tackle after Jones retires, and the Seahawks re-signed Ray Willis for around $3 million per year.

Finally, Ruskell has never been an advocate of picking offensive linemen early in the draft. His draft history certainly points to that predilection. Since he became Tampa Bay's director of college scouting in 1992, the team he has worked for has chosen one offensive lineman in the first round.

Q: Well, why not just trade down and pick up a later-round pick and save some money on the contract that will go to the first-round pick?

A: Sounds great, and if you can find a team willing to give up picks and take on the contractual obligations to move up to No. 4, Ruskell would love to know.

"The phone's not ringing off the hook for that," Ruskell said. "I would say if there's movement and change you will see it below us."

There hasn't been a trade in the top five since 2004 when the Chargers traded Eli Manning — the top overall pick — to the New York Giants. A team hasn't traded its way into the top five since 2003 when the Jets gave up the No. 13 and No. 22 picks and a fourth-rounder to Chicago for the fourth overall pick.

So the Seahawks are getting ready to use the fourth overall pick in Sunday's draft. They've settled on the players they will consider with the pick, now it's just a matter of determining order of preference.

"Our list isn't going to change, but we're still arguing order," Ruskell said.