At first glance, it appears that Wagner will be looked upon to immediately fill the void left by David Hawthorne, who signed a five-year deal with the New Orleans Saints this offseason. Hawthorne led Seattle in 2011 with 115 total tackles playing alongside fellow starters Leroy Hill and K.J. Wright.
As is generally the case with second round picks, Wagner should be counted on to compete for, and likely earn a starting role. This all obviously looks that much more likely with Hawthorne being out of the picture now.
For anyone who has scouted Wagner extensively, this should not come as a surprise. Wagner is similar to Hawthorne in size, and with his instincts and ball-hawking ability, should be able to fit in nicely with Hill and Wright's experience.
Hill is a seasoned veteran at this point, having surpassed 70 tackles in five of his six NFL seasons, and going over 80 tackles in four of his last five. His 89 tackles in 2011 was the second highest total of his career (all with Seattle).
Wright had a solid rookie season coming to the Seahawks out of Mississippi State as a fourth round draft pick in 2011. He played in all 16 games, racking up 65 tackles (50 solo, 15 ast) to go with two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He's a bigger body than both Wagner and Hill, standing at 6-foot-4.
Also in the mix at linebacker will be Bruce Irvin, who was selected by the Seahawks with the 15th overall pick in the draft Thursday. Irvin however is currently being listed as a defensive end on the Seahawks' website, where he looks to likely have the biggest potential impact in the NFL as an edge-rusher type D-end.
UTAH STATE DRAFT HISTORY
With Wagner's selection in the second round, he becomes the highest drafted USU player since 1980 when Rulon Jones was drafted in the second round (No. 42 overall) by the Denver Broncos. He is also one of just 11 USU players ever picked in the top two rounds of the NFL draft.
MEL KIPER SAID WHAT??
This is just a little bit of ranting, but what the hell was Mel Kiper watching when he scouted Wagner? He said that the knock on Wagner was his instincts and reaction time, which is odd because for anyone who has watched Wagner, you would know that instincts and reactions are the one thing he lacks the absolute least!
Knock him for being undersized and I'll understand, but Kiper clearly hasn't been doing enough homework if he's knocking Wagner for that.
But then again, this is a guy who gushed like crazy about how good Rex Grossman was going to be once upon a time. Have fun never living that one down Mel. I hope you go bald.
Regardless, congrats to Bobby Wagner. You've earned my man!!
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