By Jared Stanger

The NFL Scouting Combine concluded on Monday, the league announced Tuesday the complete order of the this year’s draft, and so I figured it was a great time for my next seven round Seahawks mock draft.

If you missed it earlier, here is the breakdown of where Seattle currently has picks:

1.18
4.120
5.141 (Brown)
5.146 (Lynch)
5.168 (Marsh)
7.226 (Kearse)
7.248 (Brock)
7.250 (Marsh)

Eight picks total, but seven of them on day three. It just will not do. We need trades. We need 2nd’s and 3rd’s. Seattle has been a frequent entrant in the league trade rumors with the primary names mentioned being Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, and Michael Bennett. You’d have to figure at least one of them gets moved. Wouldn’t be surprised at two.

Personally, I’m moving the one that is the biggest asset of the three, who also happened to have walked up to another team and asked them to acquire him. And I will give Earl what he wants (or who he wants), and trade him to Dallas. Now, putting the right value on what Earl would fetch in return is a whole ‘nother matter.

Because it’s a hypothetical; I’m trading Earl to Dallas for their 2018 2nd rounder (#50), 2018 compensatory 5th (#171), and their 2019 2nd rounder. This moves Seattle UP to ten picks, and Dallas down to eight.

In addition to this, I will trade Seattle back from #18. Cleveland has a million picks, and quite a few in the range I would target moving Seattle to, so it’s an easy projection: #1.18 for Cleveland’s #2.33, #2.64, #4.123.

So the new, modified Seattle draft becomes:
2.33
2.50
2.64
4.120
4.123
5.141
5.146
5.168
5.171
7.226
7.248
7.250

Holy Shit, that’s a lot of picks. But really, I need one more. If you’re in a rebuild, you’ll need a lot of bricks.

#2.33 – RB Ronald Jones

In the “what have you done for me lately” world of draft speculating, Rojo missed the combine after pulling a hammy in his first forty, while Derrius Guice ran well. So people want to talk about Guice again as RB2, and Jones is more high to mid 2nd round. Blessing in disguise.

Quick aside on Guice…a few weeks, maybe a couple months ago, he was on Instagram live…I tuned in some time after it started, but when I did it was just him sitting in front of the phone/camera in a barely-lit room…somewhere behind the camera you hear a female voice…then Guice looks at whoever the woman was, and in an entirely-too-terrifying voice, he barks at her, “shut the fuck up”. This happened. I’ve interpreted it how I’ve interpreted it, and I have removed him from my board.

I think Ronald Jones has the potential to be special. At his floor, he gives you Alvin Kamara. At his best, he gives you peak Jamaal Charles.

#2.50 – OL Tyrell Crosby

I’m about 80% sure Seattle, and their new OL coach, are looking more for a Left Guard from a pretty solid interior line class, than a Tackle. I think Virginia Tech LG Wyatt Teller is a pretty legit name to watch, but he is probably available a round later than this.

The thing about Tyrell is: he can back-up (or replace) Duane Brown at some point, he can be your starting right tackle immediately…could he play Guard? I mean, he can’t be worse than Joeckel. Tyrell might be the 2nd-nastiest OL available this draft behind Quenton Nelson, so his temperament is great.

#2.64 – DE Duke Ejiofor

I could see Seattle targeting an edge rusher sooner than this. Potentially losing both Cliff Avril and Mike Bennett in the same offseason could be disastrous. But I just can’t stop feeling like Ejiofor is better than many of the DE projecting ahead of him. And Duke missing the combine after having recent labrum surgery kind of doesn’t help him, but does help the team looking to draft him.

Duke is my Mike Bennett mirror. Same size. Same usage (as hybrid DE/DT).

I thought about doing some more trading around to put Seattle into the 3rd round, but I really like the 2nd so much. It’s possible some of these 4th-5th round guys might come off in the 3rd round. I certainly have 3rd round grades on a couple of them.

#4.120 – DE/LB/S Shaquem Griffin

There’s a lot of split opinion on Shaquem. Many media (and Richard Sherman) think that his combine performance has moved him up into the 3rd round. But the report that came out Tuesday that Seattle was the only team to give Quem a formal interview at the combine suggests that the league still views him as different. Flawed, maybe. A mystery, at minimum.

Questions about his hand. Questions about which position he’ll play. I just don’t care. Get the guy in the building and find ways to use him. He is beyond special. Bigger than any safety at the combine. Faster than most of the corners. More sacks the last two years than Marcus Davenport and Arden Key. FIND.WAYS.TO.USE.HIM.

#4.123 – CB Isaac Yiadom

This really isn’t a great draft for the long, Seattle-type corners. It’s better for smaller guys that would pretty much be reserved for nickel in Seattle. And in that nickel category, this draft is exceptional.

The one guy that fits the bill for me in all the attributes I’m looking for is Yiadom. 6’1″/190lbs, 32 1/4″ arms, 4.52s forty, 10’00” broad jump, awesome motor. And the tape is fantastic press-man tape.

#5.141 – S Jeremy Reaves

I tend to think Shaquem ends up at Strong Safety, though he does have enough speed to play single-high Free. So we’re going to need another pick devoted to FS. Reaves is my pick. Similar size, similar speed, off the charts intangibles and football IQ.

#5.146 – TE Durham Smythe

Seattle currently needs two TE. Preferably, a receiving TE and a blocking TE. There are approximately three worthwhile receiving TE in this class. And you will have to pay a pretty penny to get one of them.

But the blocking TE are underrated and one of the better uses of a late pick. Smythe isn’t an athlete, but he runs good routes and he has good hands. I like the work he does as a blocker. He’s the TE you want if you’re planning on re-establishing your run game.

#5.168 – QB Kyle Lauletta

I’m not actually sure if Lauletta lasts this long, but backup QB isn’t a spot I want to spend higher than a 5th round pick on. Hopefully you get one of Lauletta or JT Barrett.

I think the pro comp for Kyle is Alex Smith. Very similar in their athleticism. Both get negged for their arm strength, but really both are fine.

#5.171 – WR Keke Coutee

Another guy I could see drafted earlier than this. Coutee didn’t hit the forty at the combine like I thought he might, but that will help him last this late.

If reports are true, Schottenheimer may like a talent like Keke. He would provide a great deep-threat replacement for Paul Richardson should Paul sign elsewhere.

#7.226 – DE/OLB Dorance Armstrong

This is a bit of an upside flyer. You like Armstrong’s 2016 tape and hope he can return to that form under better usage/coaching.

This is the Avril hedge.

#2.248 – RB Chris Warren III

My guess is that Seattle drafts two RB in a good RB class. Jones gives you lightning. I think Seattle will look late rounds for thunder. I think one option is Louisville’s Malik Williams, but another is the son of former Seattle RB Chris Warren.

Warren is a massive man at 6’2″/247lbs. He shows decent blocking. He averaged over 12ypc on his 2017 receptions. And, in spite of his less-than-spectacular forty time of 4.69s; Warren is over 57th percentile athlete (relative to his weight).

#7.250 – PK Trevor Moore

After missing on Harrison Butker in the draft last year, and Blair Walsh missing on Sundays, I’d like to see Seattle actually draft a kicker this year. I’ve targeted Trevor Moore for his value and accuracy over 40 yards.

The dirty dozen, final picks:

2.33 RB Jones
2.50 OT Crosby
2.64 DE Ejiofor
4.120 SS Griffin
4.123 CB Yiadom
5.141 FS Reaves
5.146 TE Smythe
5.168 QB Lauletta
5.171 WR Coutee
7.226 DE Armstrong
7.248 RB Warren
7.250 PK Moore

Double-dips at DE and RB, a few cool new players for the LOB, and a few players at positions of need. I passed on DT cause it’s a poor class, and I passed on LB cause a) it may be Shaquem, b) may be able to find one in UDFA.

By Jared Stanger

Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine brought us field tests from QB, WR, and TE. I won’t be writing about the QB’s (I’m sure you can find plenty of others that have), but here are some of my favorite performances from the pass catchers.

We have SPARQ numbers from 3sigmaathlete.com as well, so we can already look at the composite athleticism. At TE, we can now see how this class compares with the stacked 2017 class.

Last year, there were nine TE that tested over 50th percentile. This year, there are four (but one is Jaylen Samuels…a more likely fullback). Last year, there were seven TE that tested as at least a sigma. This year, there’s only one…Mike Gesicki.

Almost a year ago to today’s date I tweeted that Gesicki would be the 2018 TE1, and today he proved me wrong.

He’s not TE1…he’s an extremely large WR. At least that’s what his athleticism suggests. A 4.54s forty, a 41.5″ vertical, a 10’9″ broad jump, a 4.10s shuttle, and a 6.76s three-cone. It all adds up to 2.4 sigma…which is better than all TE this year by 1.5 sigma, and all of the very good 2017 TE by 0.5 sigma. It’s an unbelievable performance.

Gesicki finishes 52% better athlete than frequently mentioned TE1 Hayden Hurst, and 70% better than Mark Andrews. Dallas Goedert has not yet tested. The numbers will send scouts and GM’s back to the tape on Gesicki. Typically, there aren’t many TE drafted in the 1st round, but Gesicki will likely now be one.

The 2018 WR class is also down athletically from the 2017 group. We saw 12 unique WR over 1.0 sigma last year, and only three have passed the mark this year. Those three: Dylan Cantrell, DJ Moore, and Courtland Sutton.

Sutton is the guy that I’ve had as my WR1 all year. His composite 86th percentile puts him 59% better than Christian Kirk and 79% better than Calvin Ridley. So, I think Courtland made some money today, but he’s not the guy that is my WR winner.

My WR winner is Tre’Quan Smith. After finding out about Brian Schottenheimer being hired as the new OC, reading about his preference for the air Coryell scheme; I was looking into the best deep threats in college. Tre’Quan was a guy I didn’t have a good feel for.

Today, Quan posted a 4.49s forty, 37.5″ vert, 10’10” broad jump, and a 6.97s cone at 6’2″/203lbs. That athleticism explains how Smith could be 15th in the country in YPC (19.85), 12th in receiving yards, 7th in explosive receptions, 4th in receiving TD’s (13).

A performance like today’s could move Tre’Quan from a 4th-5th round pick up into day two.

By Jared Stanger

For me, I look for something a little different in a Combine “winner”. To me, it’s not the guys that are expected to do well and then do it. It’s the guys that we think are unathletic and then show that they are, in fact, very athletic. Or maybe their athleticism hasn’t been thought of much at all.

My first winner is Oregon RB Royce Freeman. Weighing in at 6’0″/229lbs, Royce is one of the top 5 biggest RB in this class. He put together a workout that included a 4.54s forty (9th in group), 17 reps in the bench (12th in group), 34″ vert (12th in group), broad jump 9’10” (16th in group). But then here is where things get interesting…agility.

Freeman posted the 3rd-best three-cone drill at 6.90, and the 3rd-best short shuttle at 4.16. The two guys with better times in both agility tests weighed 193lbs and 205lbs, respectively.

To look at it as a pro-comp, I’m going to stack Royce up next to another guy that had a ton of “mileage” in college: Le’veon Bell.

Le’veon: 6’1″/230lbs, 4.60s forty, 24 bench, 31.5″ vert, 9’10” broad, 6.75 cone, 4.24 shuttle
Royce: 6’0″/229lbs, 4.54s forty, 18 bench, 34″ vert, 9’10” broad, 6.90 cone, 4.16 shuttle

From the Offensive Line groups, I will briefly acknowledge the day that Tyrell Crosby had (14th in forty, 8th in vert, 16th in broad) because that athleticism puts him ahead of the athleticism of the tackles generally projected ahead of him (McGlinchey, Brown).

I also think Wyatt Teller had a great day. 6’4″/301lbs with 34″ arms (nice for a guard), he ran a 5.24s forty, 30 bench, 29″ vert, the 2nd-best broad jump at 9’6″, the 5th-best cone drill.

But the guy that was a surprise winner for me was UCLA center Scott Quessenberry. I haven’t been watching the Center class very thoroughly, but I did a couple games on Kolton Miller, which allowed me to also notice Quiz. I thought the tape vs UW and Vita Vea was specifically noteworthy.

And then, today, Scott posted a workout of: 5.09s forty (unheard of for a center and 6th in this OL class), 33.5″ vert (2nd), 9’3″ broad (6th), and a 7.50 cone (6th). Every guy with a better forty and cone time weighs at least 6 lbs less than Quessenberry. So his SPARQ score could end up higher relative to weight.