By Jared Stanger

I don’t do mock drafts. I just don’t. Years ago I was talking with a friend of mine and I was telling her how I don’t care much for small-talk…for BS’ing with people. She says to me, “that’s because you research your bullshit.” I mean, she nailed it. So, in order for me to do a mock draft that I would feel comfortable publishing and being accountable for, I would first want to do enough research on all 32 teams in order to trust that I’m not bullshitting or short-changing any fanbase. But that is an amount of work I just can’t do while maintaining my real-life day-job.

I also don’t really like giving a point by point listing of how I value players. I’d rather see how everyone else values them, and then steal who I think is undervalued. Nothing about a draft matters except who you pull the trigger on when you’re on the clock on draft day. It doesn’t matter if you got a player that “fell” on draft day, it doesn’t matter if you “reached” on your guy…all that matters is: one year, five years, a career later…did that player give you the best value for who was available when you picked.

This will be as close to a mock as I’ll ever come, but really it’s more of a “big board”, and it’s not even “mine”.

The other reason I wanted to write this is: we are well into December and something that I started noticing months ago about the 2019 draft class is still holding true: there is very little consensus about the first round.

Now, this can mean one of two polar-opposite things: 1) it’s not a great class and media is forcing players up into the first, or 2) it IS a great class and there are just too many legit possibilities that could end up in the first. I’m leaning towards the latter.

In order to survey the draft landscape, I looked at 10 different first round mock drafts. I used mostly bigger outlets, and I only used a mock if it had been published since December 1st. The mocks I ended up using: Sports Illustrated, Draftwire- Easterling, Walterfootball, Sporting News, ESPN- McShay, CBS- Trapasso, CBS- Wilson, Tankathon, PFF- Renner, Bleacher Report- Miller. I would have liked to use someone from NFL Network, but I don’t think any have been published in December.

I’ll start with the most general of numbers from the results, and work towards the specific 32 names that end up with the highest scores/best 1st round probability.

Across these 10 mock drafts; 65 unique players were named. That’s a lot. Literally two rounds of players that at least one of these writers put a 1st round grade on. Of the 65; 16 were only named on one ballot. So 49 unique players were named on multiple mocks. Still a lot.

POSITION BATTLE

Position breakdown of the 65 (I made some executive decisions on guys like Josh Allen who could fit multiple positions): Offense 28, Defense 37. So that fits with the overall feeling that this is a better defensive draft.

11 Defensive End
10 Cornerback
9 Defensive Tackle
7 Offensive Tackle
7 Wide Receiver
5 Quarterback
4 Safety
3 Offensive Guard
3 Linebacker
2 Center
2 Tight End
2 Running Back

To me, the one surprise here is Cornerback coming in 2nd. I don’t think the narrative all year has been that this is a good Corner class (*caveat to the CB group: a lot of the guys named are underclassmen that haven’t declared). But the DL numbers fit exactly into the season-long narrative. Low Safety numbers do not surprise me. Low Linebacker number is partly due to me defaulting most of the LB/DE tweeners to the DE side. I believe there will be good LB value in later rounds as this class has better depth than ceiling.

The OT number is decent with the asterisk that many of them are college Right Tackles. Low TE and RB numbers are just good common sense for a first round.

Now, the position breakdown of the names that made the top 32 for this exercise:

8 Defensive End
6 Defensive Tackle
5 Offensive Tackle
4 Quarterback
4 Wide Receiver
3 Cornerback
1 Linebacker
1 Safety

This list puts an even finer point on the top end of this class. CB falls off telling us that most of the CB named are late in the round and with little-to-no agreement of which guys will crack the top 32. DL becomes the obvious strength of the class. RB and TE correctly fall completely out of the round (Noah Fant is the “first guy out” of any position on the outside of the 1st round).

It’s a pretty accurate snapshot of what I think this class feels like. Personally, I would steal a slot from WR to give to another position. Maybe LB, maybe IOL. And DT might be high by one; with teams looking to find a Jarran Reed dropping to the 2nd round.

There are 11 players that were named unanimously to all 10 mocks, plus 2-3 named on 9/10 ballots creates a very obvious first tier. I think the second tier is only 3-5 players long. There is a no-man’s land where it will be extremely hard to find correct value that sits between roughly #15-19 overall. And then the third tier is close to 40 players deep. That’s 40 players for 12 draft spots. If you can flip one pick between 16-25 into two picks between 20-60…I’d do it.

TOP 32

For each player in the top 32 players I will give their cumulative average score, ballot percentage, and pick range:

#1 – Nick Bosa, Ohio State DE

NICK BOSA
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
1.1	100%	1	2

#2 – Quinnen Williams, Alabama DT

QUINNEN WILLIAMS
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
4.9	100%	2	15

#3 – Josh Allen, Kentucky DE

JOSH ALLEN
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
5.2	100%	3	10

#4 – Ed Oliver, Houston DT

ED OLIVER
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
6.7	100%	2	12

#5 – Justin Herbert, Oregon QB

JUSTIN HERBERT
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
6.8	100%	2	14

#6 – Greedy Williams, LSU CB

GREEDY WILLIAMS
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
7.5	100%	3	12

#7 – Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State QB

DWAYNE HASKINS
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
8.1	100%	5	12

#8 – Jonah Williams, Alabama OT

JONAH WILLIAMS
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
9	90%	1	33*

#9 – Clelin Ferrell, Clemson DE

CLELIN FERRELL
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
10.5	100%	4	22

#10 – Devin White, LSU LB

DEVIN WHITE
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
12.5	100%	4	24

#11 – Deandre Baker, Georgia CB

DEANDRE BAKER
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
16.6	100%	7	24

#12 – Rashan Gary, Michigan DE

RASHAN GARY
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
16.9	80%	2	33*

#13 – Deionte Thompson, Alabama FS

DEIONTE THOMPSON
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
18.3	90%	5	33*

#14 – Jachai Polite, Florida DE

JACHAI POLITE
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
19.8	100%	11	26

#15 – Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State DT

JEFFERY SIMMONS
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
20.1	80%	11	33*

#16 – Dalton Risner, Kansas State OT

DALTON RISNER
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
20.3	50%	8	33*

#17 – Greg Little, Mississippi OT

GREG LITTLE
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
20.6	90%	14	33*

#18 – Christian Wilkins, Clemson DT

CHRISTIAN WILKINS
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
22.3	70%	7	33*

#19 – AJ Brown, Mississippi WR

AJ BROWN
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
22.7	70%	5	33*

#20 – Brian Burns, Florida State DE

BRIAN BURNS
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
23	70%	6	33*

#21 – Dexter Lawrence, Clemson DT

DEXTER LAWRENCE
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
23.1	70%	5	33*

#22 – N’Keal Harry, Arizona State WR

N’KEAL HARRY
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
23.1	60%	11	33*

#23 – Byron Murphy, Washington CB

BYRON MURPHY
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
23.4	80%	11	33*

#24 – Montez Sweat, Mississippi State DE

MONTEZ SWEAT
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
24.2	70%	15	33*

#25 – Derrick Brown, Auburn DT

DERRICK BROWN
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
26.1	40%	6	33*

#26 – DK Metcalf, Mississipi WR

DK METCALF
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
26.1	40%	10	33*

#27 – Will Grier, West Virginia QB

WILL GRIER
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
26.2	40%	6	33*

#28 – Cody Ford, Oklahoma OT

CODY FORD
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
26.3	40%	13	33*

#29 – Drew Lock, Missouri QB

DREW LOCK
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
26.4	40%	14	33*

#30 – Jawaan Taylor, Florida OT

JAWAAN TAYLOR
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
26.5	40%	8	33*

#31 – Kelvin Harmon, NC State WR

KELVIN HARMON
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
26.8	50%	19	33*

#32 – Zach Allen, Boston College DE

ZACH ALLEN
SCORE	% BALLOTS	HIGH	LOW
27.6	60%	12	33*

Something that I didn’t include for each player, but that could be an interesting sidenote with inferences of player buzz; was the average inclusion score. Which is to say, of the mock drafts that included the player; how high was his average placement? Could also be considered the “bang the table” score. For example: where Cody Ford was included; his average placement was #16.3. If a single team/GM gets a specific draft crush on a player; this could be closer to where they’re drafted.

A few more inclusion scores:

Dalton Risner 7.6
Will Grier 16.0
Trayvon Mullen 16.0
Cody Ford 16.3
Daniel Jones 18.5
Marquise Brown 21.7
Raekwon Davis 21.8
Mack Wilson 23.6

SEAHAWKS

The Seahawks currently hold the #22 overall pick. Which, theoretically, would put them close to the range for a DE like Brian Burns or Montez Sweat. Certainly in line for one of a few RT options. Those would be the smart money positions to look at should Seattle not trade back.

If they prefer to trade back; some of the names that didn’t make this first round projection include a couple intriguing 3-Tech options in Dre’mont Jones and Jerry Tillery, small-school DE’s Oshane Ximines and Jaylon Ferguson, OG’s Michael Deiter and Terronne Prescod, and the second-highest rated Safety: Taylor Rapp. There were also a handful of CB names that scored very similarly (towards the 2nd round), but that don’t feel like a “need” right now for Seattle.

By Jared Stanger

Most of the roster for the 2019 Senior Bowl were announced last week, so I’ll be spending some time working through many of the position groups. I’m beginning with Offensive Line.

The announced/accepted invites currently break down with 9 players at OT, 5 players at OG, and 2 players at OC.

Tackle

Yodny Cajuste, WVU

I’ve been watching Cajuste since his sophomore tape, and recently he’s become a consistent presence in 2019 mock draft first rounds. I think this is an overdraft. I don’t think he sticks at LT. I have him in the 2nd round.

Dennis Daley, South Carolina

I haven’t cut tape of Daley, but I did watch two games earlier in the fall. I didn’t see much there. He’s a bit of a waist-bender that projects as a backup for me.

Nate Davis, Charlotte

This is the only announced OL that I haven’t seen tape of. But with listed height at 6’3″ I have to wonder if he won’t spend time at Center, where the roster is currently pretty shallow.

Andre Dillard, Washington State

I first watched Dillard over the summer from his 2017 game tape and kinda dug it, and I’ve recently watched a couple more games from 2018 and it’s really impressive tape. This is now a guy that I’m really looking forward to see at the combine; in addition to the Senior Bowl. My only criticism as of now is that I’d like to see him add some weight (just, like, 4-5 lbs) to his 6’5″/306 current size.

Dillard really feels like the only college LEFT tackle on the roster that I could see sticking at LT. His footwork will catch your eye first, but he’s been one of the more advanced guys I’ve watched with his hand usage.

Chuma Edoga, USC

This is one of a few of the invitees I hadn’t studied before they were announced, but he’s the one I’m most-excited about now that I have. Unlike many of the guys playing LT for their college teams but look like pro RT; Edoga is playing RT for USC, but might be able to play LT in the league.

Tytus Howard, Alabama State

Another guy I hadn’t watched before this week, but my first impression was more moderate. The first tape I watched he was playing LT and didn’t stand out. The second tape I watched he was playing RT. I’m not sure when or why he made the switch, or if he flipped back and forth all year, but I, personally, preferred his tape at RT.

Kaleb McGary, Washington

I haven’t cut tape on McGary, but being at Washington I’ve seen most of the games he’s ever played. I’ve also been able to see him test athletically at UW combine’s. I think Kaleb is going to make a ton of money at the combine.

Dalton Risner, Kansas State

Risner is an interesting evaluation. He’s playing RT this year, with some expecting a move to Guard or Center. I’m not sure if that projection is based on “athleticism”, expected arm length, or ability at Tackle. To my eye; I think his athleticism is pretty good. I’m more worried about his ability. The first game I watched on Risner this year was vs Mississippi State and DE Montez Sweat.

Sweat is potentially a first round pick himself, so it’s an important game to evaluate.

Max Scharping, NIU

Scharping is the kind of OT that I always find myself liking. Similar to Jack Conklin or Ryan Ramczyk…super solid, non-flashy, lunch-pail kinda guys. Both of those guys have ended up in the first round (#8 and #32), but then moved to right tackle as pro’s.

Personally, I don’t love stamping a guy as a probably right tackle and in the next breath putting him in the first round. I don’t think that’s great business. But clearly the league will pay a 1st for a RT. So maybe Scharping will hit some helium in Mobile and/or Indy.

Like with Risner, Scharping had a 1v1 matchup with potential first round DE Brian Burns. Burns is a super-smooth, athletic mover and Scharping honestly won the day vs him.

Guard

Beau Benzschawel, Wisconsin

Michael Deiter, Wisconsin

Of the five announced Guards; four of them are respective duos from the same schools. Two Wisconsin, two Oklahoma. I’m on record that I prefer the Wisconsin pair. I especially like Badger LG Michael Deiter.

Deiter has a similar profile to Dalton Risner. He’s played multiple positions, and there’s varied opinion of which spot he ends up at. I’m in favor of keeping him where he’s currently playing: LG. But there would be more value if he ended up at Center. He comes across like he’d have a good mind for Center, I just wonder how many teams want a 6’6″ Center.

Benzschawel also has good tape, but at Right Guard with less position versatility…less value, for me.

Chris Lindstrom, Boston College

I briefly watched some of his tape about a month ago and really wasn’t that impressed.

Ben Powers, Oklahoma

Dru Samia, Oklahoma

The Sooner pair feel overrated to me. Their tape looked like 3rd-4th round tape. I know this is the opposite of the popular opinion, but it’s where I’m at. It’s not bad tape, just not as special as what I’ve read from others.

Terronne Prescod, NC State

Prescod isn’t currently on the roster, but watching tape of his linemate at Center who IS on the Senior Bowl roster; I couldn’t help but wonder if Terronne will be joining him soon.

Prescod is a really thick, well-anchoring, great run-blocking LG. If the current Seahawks’ OL configuration is how Solari prefers his line; then Prescod would be more of the RG profile, with a guy like Samia (who reads athletic on tape) playing at LG for Seattle.

Center

Garrett Bradbury, NC State

There might have been other years that I would have like Bradbury’s tape more. He reads very athletic for a Center, but listed at 6’3″/300lbs I just didn’t feel he was consistently strong enough anchoring.

Elgton Jenkins, Mississippi State

Jenkins, in a sense, is the opposite of Bradbury. He’s 100% anchor. If Elgton every gave up yardage to a bull-rush this year; I didn’t see it. It’s a little ironic that Jenkins is such a solid pass-blocking Center, but he plays for a team that is so heavy on QB running. I think he’ll hit more upside once he finds a legit, NFL passing scheme offense.

Jenkins also has position versatility to play Guard, if desired.

In terms of Seattle’s likely interests; JR Sweezy is on a one-year contract, so any of the LG’s should be a focus, with Deiter as my favorite. Germain Ifedi has another year after this, but Seattle sometimes drafts a replacement a year early to allow a redshirt. I’d love a 2nd rounder to spend on Scharping and let him backup both Duane Brown and Ifedi.

The Senior Bowl takes place in Mobile, Alabama Saturday, January 26th, with practices beginning Tuesday, January 22nd.

By Jared Stanger

Welcome to the Seahawks’ bye week downtime. With no game to watch, I’ve taken the opportunity to write my midseason SeaMock.

We always need to start with where Seattle currently stands in the draft. And it’s kinda bad news. The Seahawks stand at drafting #16 overall…dead center of the round. That means they aren’t doing enough to make the playoffs, but also not doing little enough to get a top-10 pick. But that’s not the bad news.

1.16
3.78
4.113
5.144

That is the entirety of Seattle’s draft inventory for 2019. THAT’s the bad news. The 2nd rounder is in Houston for the Duane Brown trade. The 6th rounder is in Green Bay for the Brett Hundley trade. The 7th rounder is in Oakland for the Shalom Luani trade. There are currently no compensatory picks coming. This is what we’re working with (barring trade deadline sell-offs or cutting guys currently eliminating comp picks like Stephens or Dickson).

So clearly, we’re going to trade back the 1st. Or, at least, I am. Trading back is, in part, an acknowledgement of the strength of a draft class. If a class is 20-deep in the 1st you drop down four spots. If a class is 15 deep in the first tier you can drop down to the middle-to-late of the second tier (back of the 1st round…maybe to mid-2nd).

That, then, begs the question: “how do I evaluate this class?” I think it’s a good class. I judge this by a few things: 1) my own observation, 2) how a multitude of draft evaluators are observing this class. In the latter, I’m taking note of a very noticeable lack of consensus across the country. The lack of consensus could mean a shallow class where everyone is forcing guys UP into the 1st, or…it could be a deep class and there are legitimately more than 32 first round worthy players, and everyone is simply disagreeing on which 32. Combine the second option to my own observation, and we end up with a deep class.

From there, we try to decide HOW deep. Is it 25-32 deep? 40 deep? 45 deep? That specificity will come later. For now, I feel safe thinking it’s 30-32 deep. So that’s my trade-back range. Then comes the trade targets.

One way to target a trade partner that could come up in a round is to note who has the inventory? Who has an extra 1st or 2nd? Well, Green Bay has two picks in the 1st (theirs and the Saints’), and nine picks overall. New England has a 1st and two 2nd’s. Either of these teams currently sit at #29 and #30 overall. That’s a good range to hit.

And conveniently, those same two teams also own #54 and #55 overall…which added with 29/30 gets you pretty close to chart value for #16 (to be clear; Green Bay trade would be #30+#54, New England would be #29+#55). John Schneider has done trades with both of these teams in recent years, so that wouldn’t be an issue. Green Bay has more inventory. New England may be hunting for a higher pick to draft Brady’s successor. Coin flip…

Heads. I’ll do the Green Bay deal for #30 + #54. I think there will be more trades later in the draft to augment the late rounds, but this early in the draft process those late round players are pretty much a dart-toss anyways, so I’ll stick to mocking only 5 rounds today.

#30

I think the position this player will be is pretty clear. Maybe there’s a 5% chance that things align correctly and like a Dre’mont Jones or Deionte Thompson falls and you go that direction, and then adjust in the 2nd, but for now…I’m planning on a DE in the 1st.

DE is a wonderfully deep position group this year, and doesn’t have much consensus after 1-Nick Bosa, 2-Clelin Ferrell. Some mocks go Zach Allen, some Brian Burns, some Josh Allen, some Jachai Polite, some Montez Sweat. That depth is good for teams in the actual draft, but bad for mocking the draft. Pretty tough to lock onto who comes off earlier, and therefore who will fall to later.

FSU DE Brian Burns

I’ve seen mocks with Burns off higher than this, but I think more often, due to his lighter weight, Burns is the one of this DE class that people are letting slide until later. Neither would surprise me.

But I like the value of Burns at this spot in the 1st. He’s got the passrushing chops to be a 1st, but he’s got the “defect” of being undersized (6’5″/235lbs) that would let him slide. And, with their history with Bruce Irvin, he’d make sense going to Seattle.

Here’s a quick little 2-play snapshot of some of Burns’ ability. 1) He’s consistently shown a pretty wicked spin move, and then 2) he’s got one of the best straight speed rushes in the class. Burns is currently 2nd in the country in sacks, and he’s also top-10 in forced fumbles…which is something that I think is becoming more useful in an NFL world where it’s illegal to hit the QB.

I’m also digging what I’m learning about Brian’s intangibles in between the plays. I think he’s more representative of the kind of Smart-Tough-Reliable players that Seattle targeted after shrinking down their draftboard in 2018. We’ll see if they keep that up in 2019 when there are quite a few intriguing players with some redflags.

#54

This is a tough call. This is sort of like player development/bust game of chicken. I think this spot you need to consider pulling the plug on Germain Ifedi or Tedric Thompson. Even if those two have played at a replacement level this year; if you’re counting on them NOT regressing; you’re driving at a cliff and waiting until the last minute to jump out of the car.

Even if you let Ifedi play out his rookie deal and just don’t re-up him, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to draft his successor a year early. It is a pretty good OT class…especially if you’re thinking primarily RT.

NIU OT Max Scharping

I first noticed Scharping over the summer from his Junior tape, and as I’ve followed him this year he looks significantly better now as a senior. Ironically, he matched up vs Brian Burns a couple weeks ago.

And then this is Burns trying to use inside counter after using primarily outside speed rush. Scharping handles it really well.

Scharping is listed 6’6″/320lbs and reminds me of Ryan Ramczyk. You could probably use him similarly to how the Saints used Ramczyk in his rookie year, then start him in year two.

#78

As of today, I’m currently looking at Seattle’s TE situation and thinking it’s in pretty bad shape. Dissly is out for the year, and even when he gets back next year he’s going to be slowed the same way Jimmy Graham was the first year after his patellar injury. Vannett has been pretty much a non-factor all year, even after two TE in front of him have been out with injury, AND he’s apparently dealing with some recurring back injury. Dickson has yet to play a snap. I don’t even know who the fuck else is on the roster right now.

The 2019 TE class isn’t highly thought of. But neither was 2018 and Seattle came out with Vannett who was having a huge year before his injury. I think there are TE gems to be mined from the 2019 class.

LSU TE Foster Moreau

I’m going with LSU’s Foster Moreau. 6’6″/256lbs and, like Dissly, known more for his blocking. But with sneaky receiving ability.

#113

I’ve seen a lot of interest on the tweets from people wanting to draft another linebacker. I don’t relate. Wagz is a pro bowl player. Even if KJ walks; Mingo is under contract for another year and appears to be making a transition to playing more of the WILL spot. Shaquem, Martin, and Calitro are young and under club control with upside.

I think a more interesting play is looking for a WR5 to develop. I think there will be room for a big WR with Marshall moving on, but I’m not going to look for that, specifically. Instead, I’m just mocking a guy that is showing qualities I’m enjoying on tape.

OSU WR Terry McLaurin

The first thing I started noticing on McLaurin was his TD to catch ratio. At one point this year it was 6 TD on 13 catches. Currently he’s at 8 TD on 21 catches.

Then I noticed his depth of reception. Currently 25th in the country at 18.95ypc (and that was higher two weeks ago).

And THEN I noticed his blocking. This guy is just a solid team player. Like, give me good FOOTBALL PLAYERS and then find the plays they are good at making.

Decleater.

And I’m not overlooking his receiving.

#144

I think a pass-rushing 3-tech is a pretty big need this year, and under the right circumstance(s) I’d draft one in the 1st, but I’m also watching the next guy and seeing his lack of recognition/buzz and drafting backwards. If I can get this guy in the 5th, let’s have some fun in the picks prior.

Cincinnati DL Cortez Broughton

Tez is one of the guys I spotted early, hit many of my attribute wishlist, and he’s been matching it with his play on the field. Although Cincy is using him a bit as a DE, and maybe he could take some of the snaps QJeff is currently playing at base DE, I think Broughton’s primary value is 3rd down 3-tech. He’s what we’re missing now with Michael Bennett gone.

Tez has 12.0 TFL and 4.0 sacks on the year…a pace for 22 TFL and 7-sack season, which is great from a DT.

Final haul:

1.30- DE Brian Burns
2.54- OT Max Scharping
3.78- TE Foster Moreau
4.113- WR Terry McLaurin
5.144- DT Cortez Broughton

They’ll need trades/trade-backs to fill in the 6th and 7th rounds where they can target DB’s and LB’s.

By Jared Stanger

Not all sacks are created equal, and the boxscore can sometimes lie. So we watch the film. And there are very few things that pique my attention watching film quite like an Olimpico sack.

Okay, first, you may be asking: “what is an Olimpico sack?” It’s a term I stole from soccer that basically means an unassisted, corner-kick goal. Here’s a video:

It’s a individual-effort kick with the perfect blend of speed, power, and bend. Those are the same qualities that apply to an Olimpico sack. A defensive end that has fired off the snap/kick with power…he’s got enough speed to blow past the tackle/keeper…but enough bend not to overshoot the QB/goal. No stunting. No “assist”. It’s just mano e mano…speed and angles. And it’s a beautiful thing to behold.

Here are some of my favorite Olimpico sacks for this year’s draft-eligible DE.

Josh Allen

Nick Bosa

Jordan Brailford

Brian Burns

Malik Carney

Clelin Ferrell

Chuck Harris

Trevon Hill

Khalid Kareem

Technically not a sack, but still a nice rush.

Anthony Nelson

Charles Omenihu

Jachai Polite

Wyatt Ray

Oshane Ximines

Having this many examples of Olimpico’s may make it seem commonplace, but they actually aren’t. It’s really more an indication of how many cool edge rushers there are this year.

How do you pick a favorite??? If voting purely on the Olimpico’s…I think the medalists are some combination of Bosa, Polite, and Brailford. Those three seem to hit terminal velocity onto the QB’s.

In terms of the draft; the Seniors include Allen, Carney, Harris, Omenihu, Ray, Ximines (not pictured: Jaylon Ferguson, Montez Sweat). The Juniors include Bosa, Brailford, Burns, Ferrell, Hill, Kareem, Nelson, Polite. If you get half of the Juniors (and we already know Bosa is coming out) it’s a very good class.

By Jared Stanger

Two games in to the Seahawks’ 2018 season and we already find ourselves deeply frustrated with how the team has looked. So many players are gone or injured, the team has no identity, the coaching seems very troubling, and both games have ended in loss.

The silver lining for someone that enjoys the draft as much as I do is that I find more people already looking ahead, and talking about the 2019 draft. For the first time in a long time; Seattle is currently in position to draft in the top 10 overall (technically the top 7 as of the loss on MNF).

So let’s take a look at some first round possibilities through the quarter-pole of the college season.

DE Nick Bosa – 6’4″/263lbs, Ohio State

The younger brother of Joey was off to a great start in 2018 before suffering a groin injury partway through week three: 14 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 1 hurry, 1 forced fumble. This is a player with fantastic skillset and the upside to make it to 1.1 overall.

DT Dre’Mont Jones – 6’3″/286lbs, Ohio State

There’s a few really talented collective defensive lines in college football this year. At least three come to mind with multiple potential first round picks: Clemson, Mississippi State, and Ohio State. Clemson has the most players, but I’m not sure that Ohio State doesn’t have the best players.

Dre’Mont has shown the best interior passrush of the class: 11 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 1 hurry, 1 INT.

DE Clelin Ferrell – 6’4″/265lbs, Clemson

Another of the most highly-touted edge players before the season; Ferrell is also producing to expectations: 12 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 5.0 sacks (#1 in the country), 3 hurries, 1 forced fumble.

We’ll come back around to some of the other Clemson DL later.

DE Montez Sweat = 6’6″/244lbs, Mississippi State

Touted and producing at a decent rate (11 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 2 hurries); Sweat is not a guy that I love much on tape. It really seems like there are huge gaps between his splash plays.

DT Jeffery Simmons – 6’4″/300lbs, Mississippi State

Of the Hail State DL; I actually find Simmons the bigger talent. 11 tackles, 5.5 TFL, and 1 hurry. He’s a really impressive athlete for a 300-pounder. The big question for Simmons is how the NFL will process the filmed and well-publicized incident from his youth hitting a woman.

DT Ed Oliver – 6’3″/292lbs, Houston

Oliver is an absolute freakshow of an athlete. I’ve heard people compare him to Aaron Donald, which infuriates me. Donald could rush the passer. Oliver would be more accurately compared to Sheldon Richardson. Sheldon was drafted #13 overall and it seems more and more that Oliver is trending down from a top 3 pick to that range. Also, and I have no way to explain this, I have a bad vibe about Oliver’s longterm ability to stay healthy.

DB Deionte Thompson – 6’2″/196lbs, Alabama

The first DB on my list; Thompson is playing primarily free safety for Bama and he’s got the range for it, but with his size and ball skills I wonder about him playing CB. 15 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 2 INT, 3 PBU.

WR AJ Brown – 6’1″/230lbs, Ole Miss

Ole Miss has this trio of Clydesdales at WR and it will be fun to track which one ends up the higher pick. Damarkus Lodge is a Senior and the lesser-productive of the three, Brown is a Junior and leading the team in receiving, but redshirt sophomore DK Metcalf at 6’4″/230lbs and long might be the most interesting. We’ll take a look at a play from each of Brown and Metcalf:

DT Christian Wilkins – 6’4″/310lbs, Clemson

Another freaky athletic big man.

OT Jonah Williams – 6’5″/301lbs, Alabama

Of the offensive tackles I’ve watched this year; Jonah has consistently been the best. His pass pro has been light and nimble, and his runblocking has been strong. He mirrors passrushers brilliantly, he squares up linebackers on the second level, he knocks tackles back off the ball on down-blocks…it’s a super well-rounded game.

WR N’Keal Harry – 6’4″/213lbs, Arizona State

A huge target that can make plays downfield and break tackles on short screens. Harry is top 20 in FBS in receiving and could be top 20 in the draft.

QB Will Grier – 6’2″/223lbs, West Virginia

I’m not sure he passes all of my QB checklist, but Grier has certainly been the best QB on the field to start the year. Not only is he completing over 75% of his passes, but he’s doing it with deep balls and an impressive 12.7 YPA. Also 9 TD to 1 INT through two games. Grier has a very good arm, exceptional ball placement, and is a nice point guard.

DE Jalen Jelks – 6’6″/245lbs, Oregon

After too much misuse as a DT in 2017 under Taggart; Jelks has been allowed to play more DE this year with new coach Cristobal. And his production has ticked up as a result. 20 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 1 hurry, 1 PBU.

DE Brian Burns – 6’5″/235lbs, Florida State

Burns is a really fun player with a ton of upside. Electric getoff, but an undersized upper body. It will be interesting to see where he falls on the Von Miller, Vic Beasley, Bruce Irvin spectrum. This year: 11 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 1 hurry, 1 PBU. All rates are up through his first three games this year.

WR Emanuel Hall – 6’3″/195lbs, Missouri

I was interested in Hall in preseason and he has not disappointed. The speedster has erupted to the tune of 18×430 yards (*2nd in the country), 23.89 YPC (*13th in the country), and 3 TD. With any 40 time in the 4.3’s; Hall could easily put himself into the late-1st round.

CB Amani Oruwariye – 6’1″/203lbs, Penn State

Great size, great intangibles, and great production. Oruwariye is top 10 nationally in pass defenses and INT.

DT Jerry Tillery – 6’7″/305lbs, Notre Dame

A terrific athlete coming out of highschool as an OL; Tillery is on pace to obliterate his personal-best in season sacks after opening with 3.0 through three games.

CB Greedy Williams – 6’3″/184lbs, LSU

Although he’s a little slight, Greedy is one of the better press corners in football. You’d like to see him build up to at least 190lbs, but otherwise a very good player. Ability to locate the ball in the air is an underappreciated skill from a CB, and Greedy shows he can do it here:

CB Derrick Baity – 6’3″/188lbs, Kentucky

The last of my big corners that I’ve spotted so far in 2018. Baity doesn’t have a first round projection on most boards that I’ve seen. He’s my pet project. I just love his technique and patience. The production hasn’t been there, but with a CB sometimes that can be an indication that he’s playing so well he isn’t being targeted.

I haven’t counted to see if I’ve got 32 names to this piece. That’s not really important at this point. Big boards and mock drafts aren’t gonna be very accurate this early. The important thing is to get a sense of the greater element(s) of this draft. I haven’t done a thorough film sesh on the QB class, and inevitably there will be more QB’s drafted in the 1st. I don’t have any RB in the 1st this year, but I think that is actually plausible. I also didn’t end up with any LB in the 1st. That will likely change as I watch more of guys like Devin White and Te’von Coney.

 

By Jared Stanger

We’re a few hours out from the final preseason game this year for the Seahawks and I’m going to squeeze in my guess at the final 53-man roster. Of course, I already assume this won’t be correct as my guess is Seattle makes some trades and/or waiver claims before the end of the weekend.

Let me start with the positional breakdown. I literally just sketched this out on my whiteboard freestyle, then counted up what I had alotted to each position, and I actually came up with exactly 53. So that’s a good sign, and I’ll just roll with it.

QB-2, RB-4, TE-3, WR-6, OL-10
DT-4, DE-5, LB-6, CB-6, S-4
K-1, P-1, LS-1

Quarterback– Russell Wilson, Brett Hundley

I still think it’s weird they traded for Hundley and I hope the draftpick going to GB is conditional, and that the condition is never met.

I know the idea behind the backup QB is an expensive insurance policy, but I also know how rarely you need to call your insurance agent when Russell is your starter. So you only keep 2 QB on the roster (one of which never plays), and I can’t imagine Alex McGough gets the job now that they’ve dealt for Hundley.

Running Back– Chris Carson, Mike Davis, CJ Prosise, Rashaad Penny

First thing you’ll note: I did not keep a fullback. I just don’t think they have a viable candidate after losing Khalid Hill and the Alabama guy to injury, losing Tre Madden to mystery cause, and only picking up the Stanford guy this week. I think they make-do with a TE as fullback short-term, and maybe they come back to using a fullback after a week (or six).

At RB; Carson is your clear starter. In my opinion (and by game usage) Mike Davis is RB2 until Penny gets back. And then you’re left to choose between currently nicked up JD Mckissic and soon-to-be nicked up CJ Prosise as a receiving back specialist. A JD or a CJ. I am no Prosise fan, but I have no winning argument for McKissic over Prosise at the moment.

Tightend– Nick Vannett, Will Dissly, Tyrone Swoopes

This is an easy position to project. Vannett is the incumbent TE1, Dissly is the stud blocking TE, and Swoopes is a position-holder until Ed Dickson gets off of NFI.

Wide Receiver– Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, David Moore, Brandon Marshall, Jaron Brown, Marcus Johnson

This is a very hard group to finish predicting. That sixth spot came down to four names for me: Reynolds, Stringfellow, Johnson, Darboh. I don’t really think it’s Darboh; who may spend the year on IR. I don’t really think it’s String; although I like the idea of him. It’s Reynolds if you’re concerned about Doug’s health. It’s Johnson if you go for speed.

I went with Johnson for his speed and the fact I’m not sure he can be added to the practice squad. Reynolds, at this point, is a mere shadow of the player Doug is; and he needs seasoning.

Offensive Line– Duane Brown, Ethan Pocic, Justin Britt, DJ Fluker, Germain Ifedi, George Fant, Rees Odhiambo, Joey Hunt, Jordan Roos, Isaiah Battle

For better or worse, I think the five starters are pretty well set. Maybe Fant takes ahold of RT in time, but for now I think they bring him along slowly. I think you have to carry a pure-center backup on the roster, so Hunt makes it. I think Jamarco Jones starts on IR, but may be a candidate for the return designation.

I’m cutting Sweezy because we just haven’t seen him, plus Odhiambo brings better bench versatility. If Sweezy does make the team I think it comes at the expense of Roos.

Battle is an extra tackle in place of Jones and likely goes inactive on gamedays.

Defensive Tackle– Jarran Reed, Tom Johnson, Naz Jones, Poona Ford

Right from jump; I doubt myself on this group already. Pete has never kept a player like Poona; who is a very young, very short, very nose-tackle-only defensive lineman. I think he’s earned a spot, but Pete won’t pull the trigger. Hope I’m wrong.

Poona stays at the expense of Shamar Stephen; who is redundant with Naz Jones.

Defensive End– Frank Clark, Rasheem Green, Erik Walden, Jacob Martin, Quinton Jefferson

Walden takes the spot vacated by the newly-retired Marcus Smith. Martin is listed at DE, but could work at SAM LB as well. And I’ve gone with Jefferson over Branden Jackson in the battle of dead presidents. I like Jefferson’s versatility and preseason performance better.

Linebacker– Bobby Wagner, KJ Wright, Barkevious Mingo, Shaquem Griffin, Austin Calitro, Jacob Pugh

To me, this is an easy group to call. The starters are obvious even with KJ likely missing week 1 (maybe longer). Calitro has led the team in preseason tackles as your backup MIKE. And I’m bringing along Pugh in place of DJ Alexander; who has just never looked healthy and able to compete for that top special teams spot. Plus, I think the team likes Pugh.

Safety– Bradley McDougald, Tedric Thompson, Delano Hill, Mike Tyson

In perhaps my biggest surprise move; I’m keeping Tyson on the 53. I liked his game playing free safety vs Minnesota, but he can also play strong and maybe corner. I’d like to keep five safeties to start the year because a couple of them are nicked up, but I also know it’s impossible to hide cornerbacks on practice squads in the NFL. So my 10th DB spot will need to be an extra corner.

Cornerback– Shaquill Griffin, Dontae Johnson, Justin Coleman, Tre Flowers, Akeem King, Neiko Thorpe

So this grouping may look strange, but here are the reasonings:

Byron Maxwell has NOT made this team. Period. To keep him, I would want him starting and not just a backup who can’t play special teams. I’d rather keep Neiko for Teams.

Dontae has looked the best at RCB of the guys on the team. He’s won a starting job in my mind.

In an interesting twist; both Flowers and King have experience at Safety. So keeping both of those guys is actually lengthening the DB bench while, as I mentioned, the Safety health is not 100%.

Kicker– Sebastian Janikowski
Longsnapper– Tyler Ott
MVP– Michael Dickson…the ‘P’ stands for ‘Punter’ (wink).

By Jared Stanger

The Seattle Seahawk 89-man roster will report to VMAC Wednesday and fans will get their first look at the group on Thursday as we begin the final step of offseason. The 2018 season is surely going to be one of the most unpredictable Seattle seasons of the last decade. These are some of the story lines that I am most curious about:

Defensive Tackle

The middle of the DL is full of question marks. Anchored by newcoming vets Tom Johnson and Shamar Stephens, but then augmented by rookie contract players like the enigmatic Jarran Reed, the intriguing Naz Jones, and a couple rookie free agents in Poona Ford and Eddy Wilson. Are ANY of these guys any good??

I’ve got a longstanding distrust of players from Alabama so I’m no fan of Jarran Reed. 30 games and 21 starts into his pro career and he’s sitting at 3.0 career sacks. Naz posted 2.0 his rookie year. And, of course, there’s more to playing DT than sacks; but there just never seems to be much disruption from Jarran. But if you want Bobby Wagner making 200 tackles, I suppose Reed can help.

I like Naz Jones. I like his backstory. I like his makeup. I like his upside. I don’t have a strong feeling that he’ll make a huge leap in year 2, but I feel like he could become something by year 3 or 4. I agree with the voters that he should out-play Reed only because I don’t expect much from Reed.

In fact, one of my sleeper picks for the 53-man roster is Eddy Wilson. That may come at the expense of an injured vet, or from out-playing Jarran.

Defensive End

This is the biggest question mark position for me. Frank Clark is now your veteran presence entering his 4th season, and he’s always a wildcard simply for his personality. Dion Jordan: question mark for his knee health. Branden Jacksen: question mark because you aren’t completely sure he is still on the team. Jacob Martin and Rasheem Green: question marks for being rookies.

That is literally the entirety of the players listed at DE. Now, guys like Marcus Smith and Barkevious Mingo can (and almost certainly will) play some DE, but they are listed as LB.

I’m on record that I have next to no faith that Green will make it in the league. Certainly I think it will take him a while. I have more faith in Martin longterm, but I’m not sure he gets much more than special teams this year. I will be watching closely to see if either are cracking the first team DL.

Running Back

Hopefully this will be an exciting group to watch. Lots of tough runners. Lots of solid pass-catchers. Chris Carson feels like the favorite to lead in carries early on, but Rashaad Penny was a first round pick and seems the more durable player. Mike Davis is still a personal favorite and I think deserves a long look as a 3rd down option. JD McKissic is the outlier due to his size (or lack-of), but doesn’t really carry any special athleticism/speed to compensate. CJ Prosise is easily an afterthought to me…I can’t trust him to open the mail for fear of a DL-inducing papercut, let alone trust him to carry the mail as a RB.

Making a prediction this early on a RB1 is a bit foolhardy, as someone will go down in preseason, but I think the poll results are fair.

Safety

Or is THIS the biggest position question mark??? Shit.

Sadly, I think we know more answers here but we just hate what they are. Kam and Earl are likely gone. Your starting safety tandem is quite probably Bradley McDougald and Delano Hill.

I’m not on board with the results of this poll. Not to the extreme that they came out to be. Lano was a very good college player from one of Pete and John’s favorite college coaches. And keep in mind…Lano runs a 4.47s verified combine forty while McDougald runs a 4.51s pro day hand-time.

Tight End

Perhaps the primary question about the tight end group isn’t even “who?” but “what?” As in, in the post-Jimmy era; WHAT does the expectation of the tight end position look like?? Because there are certain potential expectations that make the poll results, and an idea of Will Dissly being a strong early contributor, totally plausible.

Ed Dickson seems a safe play. Kinda like both of the free agent DT signings. Don’t expect much but then over-deliver.

Vannett…I don’t know what that story is. It’s really strange, though.

Wide Receiver

More question marks. But kind of more in a fun way. Vets, rookies, trade acquisitions, free agent acquisitions, big guys, little guys…

But really it’s a bunch of inexperienced guys. After Brandon Marshall, Doug Baldwin, and Tyler Lockett there are zero guys with over 100 career catches. 8 of 12 WR on the roster have under 20 career catches. 5 of 12 WR have zero career catches. If we’re trying to predict those 4th, 5th, 6th WR spots we’re doing it based off of college or preseason tape.

I like Tyler Lockett to have a big year. I like Stringfellow to make the team. If either of Darboh or Moore make the team, I tend to agree with the poll results that it will be Moore.

Potpourri

I think it’s worth watching the 2018 free agent signings. If any aren’t carrying their weight; they can be cut within a few weeks of the regular season and not count toward the compensatory draftpick formula. I expect this will happen to a few.

Even with Mike Solari installed as the new OL coach; I don’t think the team is evaluating OL well. If they aren’t digging hard at finding a different right tackle; we’re in trouble.

CB2 is kind of precarious. We’re expecting Byron Maxwell, at age 30, to be passable. Or not passable. What is it we want in corners? Elliott is still recovering from an injury, I think Dontae Johnson is injured, Mike Tyson is a CB in name only…the season may pivot on whether or not Tre Flowers can learn, and win, a CB spot by midpoint of the season.

For the first time maybe ever the back field of VMAC may become appointment viewing at training camp as fans clamor to get their first in-person look at rookie punter Michael Dickson.

By Jared Stanger

Four days away from the opening of Seahawks’ training camp and less than three weeks from the first preseason game, as well as a month from the opening of the college season, so it’s time to start digging into the 2019 draft. I’m beginning with one of the positions the Seahawks are most-likely to need to be looking at for an early draftpick: Defensive End.

My early study is telling me that most of the early “top 10 DE” lists are missing something…the right players. I struggle to see whatever the national media is seeing in guys like Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant, Montez Sweat, Rashan Gary, Zach Allen. I’m not going to sit here and dissect how/why I don’t like those. What I’m going to do instead is show you the guys that I do like.

Brian Burns, 6’5″/227lbs, FSU

A 2018 Junior; Burns has a year or two to add some weight to his super long frame. Guys like Vic Beasley have made it work at about 245lbs. Burns will also be challenged as the #1 DE for the Seminoles with Josh Sweat moved on to the NFL. Burns is coming off a 4.5 sack season, but posted 9.5 sacks as a freshman.

Anthony Nelson, 6’7″/260lbs, Iowa

Another Junior; Nelson has a Ryan Kerrigan vibe in his size and hand usage. Posting 13.5 sacks across his first two seasons, I really like what Nelson is showing on tape.

Jaylon Ferguson, 6’5″/269lbs, LaTech

Ferguson has been a hugely productive passrusher in the C-USA for three years with 7.0 sacks in 2017 after a career high of 14.5 sacks in 2016.

Jamal Davis, 6’4″/235lbs, Akron

Davis is a bit of a wildcard after only 2.0 sacks last year. But I like the athleticism.

Jalen Jelks, 6’6″/245lbs, Oregon

Jelks posted 6.5 sacks last year playing out of position at DT, and/or 4-tech. It’s actually impressive when you watch the tape, but then look at his weight. Jelks looks like a guy that could explode if given a shot to rush all the time at a more natural position as DE or rush LB.

Nick Bosa, 6’4″/270lbs, Ohio State

Bosa is the one guy from the preseason DE lists that I can’t argue against. Outside of an injury; it’s tough to see Bosa not becoming a top 5 draftpick if he declares after his Junior year.

Joe Jackson, 6’5″/258lbs, Miami

Probably the strongest DE I looked at. Jackson is coming off a 6.5 sack season.

Add this group of players to the list of potential vet free agent DE’s that are coming; Seattle could potential shore up their shallow passrushing in a single offseason.

Plus Preston Smith and Jadeveon Clowney.

By Jared Stanger

The Mariners wrapped up their 2018 draft on Wednesday, and a few outlets have done recaps with position and statistical breakdowns, but I wanted to take a look at tape of as many players as I could find.

Catcher

This might be my favorite group. Seattle drafted three catchers: 3rd round Cal Raleigh, 7th round Jake Anchia, 19th round Dean Nevarez.

Cal Raleigh can switch-hit and as such some reports tag him like a Jason Varitek type, but for me the size and tape suggest AJ Pierzynski but hitting both sides. Raleigh could easily become a 15 HR/80 RBI/.280 annual hitter with a couple all-star appearances. In 2018 he hit 335/461/1.061 with 13 HR, 52 RBI, and an impressive 51 to 39 BB-to-SO rate.

 

Jake Anchia looks like a pretty solid receiver with some definite power (22 homeruns this year), and my only question is his arm. He hit 340/402/1.115 with 64 RBI.

 

And from the 19th round, Dean Nevarez hit 294/378/846 with 8 HR and 32 RBI. He’s glove-first for now, but there is some upside in the swing.

 

Outfield

Surprisingly, Seattle only drafted six outfielders:

2nd round Josh Stowers
9th round Keegan McGovern
13th round Charlie McConnell
17th round Cesar Trejo
23rd round Ryan Ramiz
30th round Cody Staab

Josh Stowers is a terrific athlete with elite basestealing (4th in the country), very solid glove, and a progressing bat: 336/477/1.036, 9 HR, 60 RBI, 36 SB. His floor looks like a Michael Bourn.

 

Something on Stowers I didn’t note pre-draft was his arm, but this looks pretty solid:

 

Keenan McGovern was announced as a centerfielder, but his profile looks like a corner outfielder, maybe even first base, with some legit power potential: 319/431/1.075, 18 HR, 50 RBI, and a decent 37 BB to 46 SO rate.

 

Charlie McConnell looks to be of a similar profile to M’s AAA outfielder Ian Miller, or Braden Bishop at AA. 347/425/895 slash with not a lot of pop (2 HR, 27 RBI), but he was 2nd in the country in stolen bases (37) and fairly high up in triples (6).

 

Cesar Trejo is another very solid base-stealing OF (22 SB) that flashed decent power in 2017, but lost most of his power numbers in 2018 while drastically cutting down his strikeouts (dropped his SO rate 8%). His bio mentions that Trejo played some shortstop in 2016, so I’m wondering about him playing some other spots…maybe third. In 2018: 363/428/997, 5 HR, 50 RBI. Pretty quick hands.

 

Ryan Ramiz I couldn’t find tape of, but his statline of 316/432/859 is highlighted by more walks than strikeouts, a couple of 15+ steal years in 2016-2017, but no power whatsoever with 1 HR in four years.

And finally, Cody Staab is a very odd draftchoice because he only has 64 career at-bats at Rice U (only 27 AB in 2018). He’s a career .156 hitter. He hits and throws lefthanded…is this, maybe, a future pitcher?? Or is there someone named Staab that works for the Mariners, and this pick is a gratis pick?

Infield

10th Round, SS Matt Sanders
12th Round, 2B Ryne Ogren
22nd Round, SS Nicholas Rodriguez
25th Round, 2B Connor Kopach
26th Round, 3B Cal Hernandez
27th Round, 2B Cash Gladfelter
28th Round, 2B Beau Branton
29th Round, SS Bobby Honeyman
32nd Round, 2B Zach Scott
38th Round, 2B Jack Montgomery

Infield becomes the first group we’ve looked at to have a prep player drafted (Montgomery). Six second basemen out of ten infielders is interesting (and Rodriguez has also spent time there). No true 1B picked.

Matt Sanders continues a theme of this class: basestealing. He finished t27th in the country with 26 bags swiped. Tape suggests Sanders is an extreme slap hitter with a very good eye (44 BB to 33 SO). 378/463/1.001 and he led the country in runs scored with 87 in 61 games.

 

Sanders’ glove looks like it can stick at short.

 

Ryne Ogren looks like a very nice contact hitter, with a very low strikeout rate of 7.58%, and total BB-to-SO mark of 44-21. Overall slash of 338/451/908. Only doubles power at this point.

 

Nicholas Rodriguez strikes out a lot, but he’s got more power than the rest of this infield list (10 HR). 337/376/918 but struck out 53 times to 15 walks.

Connor Kopach is the last of the Mariners’ draftpicks to appear in the top 10 nationally in stolen bases (33). Slash of 336/424/946. Announced as a second baseman, Kopach has played shortstop this year.

Cal Hernandez appears to be fairly unremarkable as a hitter. Not a ton of power, not much speed. 329/426/846 but only a .091 ISO. Which means he hits a lot of singles. So I tried to look into whether his glove was his carrying quality. It might be.

Cash Gladfelter

Beau Branton. A pretty wee second baseman that hit 361/440/868, but his ISO of only .067 paints the picture of an extreme singles hitter.

Bobby Honeyman is one of the toughest batters to strikeout in the country. In fact, he’s literally 2nd with only one strikeout every 30.1 AB’s.

I was originally planning to do the whole draft class at once, but having taken a few days to find stats and video on most of the position players, I don’t think I’m going to include pitchers here. I’ll do a separate story for those.

But with the Everett Aquasox season kicking off this Friday; I thought it would be fun to imagine an opening day lineup comprised of the 2018 draft class.

Without any true first baseman drafted, and only one at third; I’m going to take some liberties to invent fits at those two spots. With McGovern’s power, and better athleticism from other outfielders, I’m going to move Keegan to 1B. And with some play at shortstop in his background, I’m going to try Cesar Trejo at 3B. Then, since I moved two OF into the IF, I need to move an IF to the OF. There are a plethora of 2B, and I’m gonna try Connor Kopach and his speed in LF.

1- SS Matt Sanders
2- CF Josh Stowers
3- C Cal Raleigh
4- 1B Keenan Mcgovern
5- DH Jake Anchia
6- 3B Cesar Trejo
7- 2B Ryne Ogren
8- LF Connor Kopach
9- RF Charlie McConnell

By Jared Stanger

One of the interesting variables of the MLB vs the NFL draft is the existence of high school prospects, and the potential of drafted high schoolers to decline signing and attend college.

So each team has a sort of backlog of players they have drafted but are playing elsewhere. This is the Mariners’ log of unsigned players. We’ll start with 2017 and work backwards.

2017

18th Round – OF, Myles Christian. Drafted out of high school in Mississippi, Christian is a freshman at Middle Tennessee where he is hitting 259/378/736, with 11 XBH and 9 SB.

35th Round – RHP, Hunter Lonigro. Drafted out of high school in Pennsylvania, Lonigro has no college stats to date.

36th Round – OF, Heston Kjerstad. Drafted out of high school in Texas, Kjerstad elected to attend Arkansas where he’s having a really strong freshman season, hitting 336/416/969 with 11 HR, 47 RBI. He’s still active in the 2018 College World Series where he hit 3×5, with a homerun and 4 RBI on Friday night.

37th Round – OF, Jesse Franklin. Drafted locally out of Seattle Prep, Franklin also had a great freshman season at Michigan: 327/379/967, with 10 homeruns, 47 RBI’s.

38th Round – LHP, Kolby Somers. Drafted out of high school in Oregon, Somers is attending the University of Oregon where he has made 16 appearances including 11 starts, with a 4.62 ERA, 1.35 WHIP.

39th Round – SS, Jack Smith. Drafted locally out of Mercer Island HS, Smith hit 247/286/546 in his freshman year at WSU.

2016

16th Round – C, Lyle Lin. Drafted out of high school in California, Lin is in his sophomore year at Arizona State where has posted two solid seasons, hitting 290 as a freshman and then 317/350/764 this year.

24th Round – OF, Trey Griffey. Never heard of him.

30th Round – OF, Tyler Duncan. Drafted out of high school in Canada, Duncan had a massive 2017 at Crowder College hitting 358/462/1.084 with 10 HR, 39 XBH, and 80 RBI.

31st Round – RHP, Lincoln Henzman. Drafted as an underclassmen out of Louisville, Henzman returned to college, and was drafted by the White Sox last year. He’s at 2.96 ERA, 1.13 WHIP in A-ball this year.

32nd Round – RHP, Kenyon Yovan. Drafted out of high school in Oregon, Yovan is now a sophomore starter for the Ducks after closing as a freshman. Posting a 2.98 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 10.42 SO/9 this year.

33rd Round – SS, Morgan McCullough. Drafted locally out of West Seattle HS, McCullough elected to attend Oregon where he played in 53 games as a freshman, but is apparently off the team this year.

35th Round – RHP, Will Ethridge. Drafted out of high school in Georgia, Ethridge has pitched well in his first two years at Ole Miss, pitching to a 3.19 ERA primarily out of the bullpen.

37th Round – C, Eli Wilson. Drafted out of Garfield HS, the Mariner legacy and son of Dan Wilson is in his sophomore year at the University of Minnesota where he has been very good, including hitting 301/392/843 this year with 5 HR, 33 RBI in 48 games.

38th Round – RHP, James Reilly. Drafted out of high school in New York, Reilly was slated to attend James Madison.

40th Round – C, Adley Rutschman. Drafted out of high school in Portland, Rutschman is one of the best players in the country as a sophomore, and will almost certainly be a 1st round pick in the 2019 draft. Rutschman’s 2018 season to date: 391/494/1.088, 6 HR, 63 RBI.

Seattle is eligible to draft a player they have previously drafted only if that player gives his consent, so some of these guys may still yet become Mariners.