Seahawks Haul In Galloway Fleet Receiver Fills Primary Need

In the time it takes to read this sentence, Joey Galloway can run 40 yards.

As for strength, he could benchpress Cortez Kennedy. If Kennedy didn’t squirm too much.

And by simply calling his name Saturday - with the eighth pick in the first round of the NFL draft the Seattle Seahawks added a critical element to what could become a fearsome offensive attack.

The Ohio State graduate, the fastest man in the 1995 draft, should serve - immediately - as a deep threat from his wide receiver post.

“We’re just thrilled to death with this pick,” said Seahawks rookie coach Dennis Erickson, whose first draft choice perfectly reflects his priority - a quick-strike offense.

“We felt we needed a deep threat, a guy who could force people to get off our coverage to free up (receivers) Brian Blades and Ricky Proehl,” Erickson said. “This is what we wanted all along.”

And it was the exact prescription to cure Seattle’s ailing passing game, which finished ranked 26th in the 28-team league last year.

Galloway features such rare physical gifts that if he can’t run past a defender (4.18 40 time), or jump over him (40-inch vertical leap), then he can just go ahead and power his way through them (415-pound bench press).

In the second round, the Hawks added to that attack by taking Colorado tight end Christian Fauria (6-foot-4, 245 pounds).

Teams will sort through the final five rounds today, starting at 9 a.m.

Of the state of Washington collegians available, Washington State linebacker Mark Fields (No. 13 pick to New Orleans), Washington running back Napoleon Kaufman (No. 18 to the Raiders) and UW tight end Mark Bruener (No. 27 to Pittsburgh) went in the first round.

Galloway, a pocket rocket at 5-10 and 185 pounds, decided not to sweat out the draft in front of the tube. “Actually, when the Seahawks came on the clock, I was at the gym playing basketball,” said Galloway, who already has collected his degree in marketing from OSU. “I had to hurry up and come home to get to the phone.”

If Galloway was hurrying, it didn’t take him long to get home.

“The bottom line what he brings to this football team is speed,” Erickson said. “But besides speed, he’s a great athlete. You just can’t let that kind of speed go. It just does everything to make this offense better.”

Seattle has drafted speedy players before (see: Michael Bates, Doug Thomas, David Daniels, Terrence Warren), but those burners have pulled in only a handful of receptions among them.

Galloway, though, is not simply a sprinter in pads.

“It’s not only the speed factor, he’s a complete player,” Hawks offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said. “He’s a refined route runner, he’s very acrobatic, he can hang in the air and make the spectacular catches and he’s very powerful for someone that size. He can run through traffic and he can get out of a hold.”

Erickson and Bratkowski each praised Galloway’s character and intellect.

“He’s a very intelligent man who knows how to set things up and get separation - he’s very advanced in that area - and when you combine that with his speed, that makes him something very special,” Bratkowski said.

Galloway’s success has come with a price. In the second game of his sophomore year, against Bowling Green, Galloway took a shot to the right knee and needed reconstructive surgery.

Having bounced back from that, Galloway ran into trouble after his junior year, when he was “almost 100 percent” certain he would turn pro. During that time, he accepted $200 from a financial adviser. When he decided to stay in school, though, that loan became an NCAA violation and he was suspended for two games his senior season.

“I sat down with my family and talked about it and we realized that the degree was the No. 1 thing and I came back and got that,” Galloway said of his decision not to bid a premature goodbye to Columbus.

Galloway will be used as an outside receiver in the three-receiver set, with Blades or Proehl in the slot position. He will also be used as a punt returner, but not on kickoff returns “because we don’t want him to be on the field the whole game,” Erickson said.

Erickson contended Saturday that Galloway was his targeted receiver all along. Colorado’s Michael Westbrook was taken by Washington with the No. 4 pick, but the Hawks had Galloway rated higher than Westbrook from the start, Erickson said.

By waiving tight end Ferrell Edmunds, the Hawks were down to an inexperienced group of Paul Green, Carlester Crumpler and Trey Junkin at tight end.

Fauria (pronounced: four-ee-yeah) was considered the third-best tight end in the draft, with Penn State’s Kyle Brady and Bruener going in the first round.

“I’m hoping I can compete right away,” said Fauria, who caught 37 passes for 359 yards last year. “I’d like to play as soon as possible.”

Fauria had a good game two years ago against Miami, which Erickson recalled vividly. “He’s a great blocker and runs great routes and he’s a guy who will bring a lot of toughness to this team.”

Erickson said the first day of the draft went exactly as he’d hoped, getting Galloway and a top-rated tight end. Today, though, the focus will shift from addressing specific needs to simply getting the best athletes left when the Hawks take their remaining four picks (one in the fourth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh).

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NEWEST SEAHAWKS Thumbnail sketches on the Seattle Seahawks’ first two draft picks: Joey Galloway WR, 5-10 1/2, 185, Ohio State, from Bellaire, Ohio. Only Buckeye in history to run faster than a 4.2 40 and bench press in excess of 400 pounds. Caught 44 passes for 669 yards in 11 games as a senior. As a junior, had 47 catches for 946 yards in 12 games. First wide receiver to be drafted in the first round by the Seahawks. The Hawks have never had an Ohio State product on their roster. Finished four-year career ranked second in school history in touchdown receptions with 19, trailing only Cris Carter. Had two games with three touchdown receptions. Was first-team All-Big-10 as a junior and second-team as a senior. Has degree in marketing. Born Nov. 20, 1971 in Bellaire, Ohio.

Christian Fauria TE, 6-4, 245, Colorado, from Harbor City, Calif. Highest pick by the Seahawks on a tight end. Finished his career with 98 receptions and 12 touchdowns. First-team All-Big Eight as a senior and third-team AP All-American. Finished his degree in speech communications last Seahawks: Galloway, Fauria plug holes in receiving corps spring. Brother Lance played at Washington in the mid-1980s, and brother Quinn played fullback at Northern Arizona. Born Sept. 22, 1971. Nicknamed “Rocky” after decking an upperclassman in a fight during practice his freshman year.