This is not a good D-line class — confirmed

The Seahawks better get ready because free agency is going to cost them some serious money.

If the 2019 draft was the year of the defensive lineman, the 2020 draft is anything but. This is the most underwhelming set of testing results we’ve seen from a defensive line class in recent history.

Let’s get into it…

EDGE rushers

Speed

The Seahawks love edge rushers that are twitchy athletes with elite speed, burst and difference making traits. A 10-yard split in the 1.5’s is considered ‘elite’. Cliff Avril ran a 1.50 and Bruce Irvin ran a 1.55.

A year ago, 12 players ran a 10-yard split between 1.55 and 1.62 seconds.

Here’s the list of 2019 EDGE rushers who ran a 1.5 today…

Yep, that’s right. Not a single edge rusher in this years draft ran an elite 10-yard split. The NFL Network broadcast repeatedly praised times in the late 1.6’s for players weighing about 255lbs. That is not a good time.

The only player to run an impressive split was Florida’s Jabari Zuniga (1.61). He had a good day overall. He looked terrific physically during drills and he’s in fantastic shape. He ran a 4.64 forty then jumped a 33 inch vertical and a 10-7 broad. He didn’t do any of the agility testing. His arms are 32 7/8 inches long so couldn’t be any closer to the 33 inch threshold. The Seahawks might be willing to overlook that. He could be an option if he lasts into the middle rounds.

He was a rare bright spot.

A few days ago Pete Carroll was interviewed by John Clayton. He discussed in some detail his desire to add a premier pass rusher to play the LEO.

This combine class isn’t going to answer the call.

We can only hope that if/when Julian Okwara has a pro-day, he can flash to provide at least one option.

Yetur Gross-Matos, Chase Young and Javon Kinlaw chose not to run today.

Agility

Bruce Irvin (4.03) and Frank Clark (4.05) both ran incredible short shuttles. Cassius Marsh’s 4.25 and Obum Gwacham’s 4.28 were also really good. In the three cone, Clark and Marsh both ran a 7.08. Obum Gwacham ran a 7.28. Irvin had an incredible 6.70. So the Seahawks pay close attention to the agility testing.

Here’s this years group of edge rushers who completed the tests:

Short shuttle

Alex Highsmith — 4.31
Alton Robinson — 4.32
Jonathan Greenard — 4.34
Derrek Tuszka — 4.34
James Lynch — 4.39
Bradlee Anae — 4.43
DJ Wonnum — 4.44
AJ Epenesa — 4.46
LaDarius Hamilton — 4.49
James Smith-Williams — 4.52
Kendall Coleman — 4.62
Chauncey Rivers — 4.70

Alex Highsmith’s top short shuttle time of 4.31 is only 14th best in the last five years. So while he led the 2020 group, it’s more ‘decent’ than ‘great’ compared to previous drafts. He does have 33 inch arms but his 10-yard split was only a 1.68 at 248lbs.

Alton Robinson was just behind with a 4.32 but he has 32 3/8 inch arms so lacks the preferred length. His shuttle time mixed with some explosive testing results (more on that later) mean he had one of the better combine performances.

Three cone

Derrek Tuszka — 6.87
Jonathan Greenard — 7.13
DJ Wonnum — 7.25
Alex Highsmith — 7.32
Alton Robinson — 7.32
Chauncey Rivers — 7.33
AJ Epenesa — 7.34
James Smith-Williams — 7.35
James Lynch — 7.39
Kenny Willekes — 7.39
Bradlee Anae — 7.44
Kendall Coleman — 7.50
LaDarius Hamilton — 7.68

As expected Jonathan Greenard ran a slow forty time (4.87) and 10-yard split (1.71). At least he showed reasonably well in the agility testing. His short shuttle of 4.34 is decent and his 7.13 three cone was only 0.03 seconds slower than Nick Bosa’s (although Bosa ran an elite 4.14 short shuttle).

Greenard has good size and length (6-3, 263lbs, 35 inch arms) but has had injury issues. If he lasts he could be an option later on if they’re willing to overlook his lack of quick-twitch get-off.

What does today tell us?

This performance by the pass rushers is going to put serious pressure on the veteran market. Teams will not see solutions within this class. Unfortunately this is going to make things increasingly difficult for Seattle to fix their pass rushing dilemma in free agency. They’ll be bidding in a spenders market.

For that reason, I wonder if this increases the chances of them trading a high pick for a pass rusher on an existing contract. With the top offensive tackles impressing and moving up boards and with a complete dearth of good defensive linemen available — they might think the best use of #27 is to use it to acquire someone to fix their biggest problem. It’s also a way to avoid overspending.

It’ll depend on what’s available (and teams might not be willing to sell assets after looking at this D-line class) but it’s something to seriously consider now. Especially with the clear ‘Seahawks’ options at #27 appearing limited.

I’ll write about this in more detail in the coming days but who are the first round ‘Seahawks’ that you’ve seen at this combine so far? Jonathan Taylor is one but he might be gone by #27 after his workout and it’s questionable whether another first round running back is likely. Will any of the top offensive linemen last to the back end of round one considering the extreme league-wide need at the position? They could go receiver but it’s a position of depth in this class.

It’s also possible they’ll simply resign themselves to spending big in free agency. We’ll see. The wretched performance of this pass rush class hasn’t helped their cause though. They’re facing a big couple of weeks before the market opens.

Defensive tackles or inside/out rushers

The short shuttle times are key

Rasheem Green (4.39), Quinton Jefferson (4.37), Jordan Hill (4.51), Jaye Howard (4.47) and Malik McDowell (4.53) all tested superbly in the short shuttle. If you’re looking for possible Seahawks targets at defensive tackle or inside/out rusher — this is the test to focus on.

Here are this years numbers:

Jason Strowbridge — 4.37
Rob Windsor — 4.44
Larrell Murchison — 4.51
Carlos Davis — 4.52
Ross Blacklock — 4.61
Jordan Elliott — 4.73
Raequan Williams — 4.78
Derrick Brown — 4.79
Josiah Coatney — 4.82
Raekwon Davis — 4.86
Darrion Daniels — 4.93
John Penisini — 4.93
Neville Gallimore — 5.01
Benito Jones — 5.27

Jason Strowbridge’s 4.37 is interesting. He also had a terrific Senior Bowl. He only has 32 3/8 inch arms though. The next defensive lineman Seattle drafts with sub-33 inch arms will be the first in the Carroll era.

Apart from Strowbridge nothing else stands out. The big names like Ross Blacklock and Jordan Elliott failed to impress. Neville Gallimore’s 5.01 is shocking. If you’re looking for an interior rusher or inside/out rusher in this group who fits the Seahawks — you’re out of luck.

What about the three cone?

For defensive tackles or inside/out rushers, it doesn’t seem to be quite as important:

Rasheem Green — 7.24
Jaye Howard — 7.32
Jordan Hill — 7.49
Malik McDowell — 7.69
L.J. Collier — 7.71
Jarran Reed — 7.77
Naz Jones — 7.93
Quinton Jefferson — 7.95

There’s certainly no correlation here like we see with the consistently strong short shuttle times.

Even so, here’s how the DT’s and inside/out rushers ranked for the three-cone:

Justin Madubuike — 7.37
Jason Strowbridge — 7.45
Rob Windsor — 7.47
DaVon Hamilton — 7.72
Raequan Williams — 7.72
Darrion Daniels — 7.75
Ross Blacklock — 7.77
Larrell Murchison — 7.89
Raekwon Davis — 7.95
Neville Gallimore — 7.97
Rashard Lawrence — 8.03
Josiah Coatney — 8.07
Benito Jones — 8.21
Derrick Brown — 8.22

Justin Madubuike didn’t do the short shuttle for some reason. His 7.37 three cone is the 23rd best time by a defensive tackle in the last 10 years. It’s also the same time that Grady Jarrett ran in 2015. Chris Jones ran a 7.44 in 2016.

Madubuike was one of the standout performers during drills too. He was smooth, fluid and moved around the field with ease. He’s undersized at 6-2 and 293lbs but has 33.5 inch arms. He ran a 4.83 and a 1.73 10-yard split. It’s difficult to imagine what his role would be in Seattle’s defense at that size other than situational interior rusher but he was one of the few quality performers today.

10-yard splits

For an inside/out type rusher or power end, a 1.6 time is impressive. For the defensive tackles listed near or over 300lbs, a 1.7 is equally good.

The players with +33 inch arms are in bold:

McTelvin Agim — 1.76
Ross Blacklock — 1.70
Derrick Brown — 1.78
Josiah Coatney — 1.80
Darrion Daniels — 1.81
Marlon Davidson — 1.78
Carlos Davis — 1.67
Khalil Davis — 1.66
Jordan Elliott — 1.71
Leki Fotu — 1.80
Neville Gallimore — 1.71
DaVon Hamilton — 1.80
Benito Jones — 1.80
Rashard Lawrence — 1.72
Justin Madubuike — 1.73
Larrell Murchison — 1.81
Raequan Williams — 1.78
Rob Windsor — 1.74

We can also throw in the following players who tested with the DE’s:

Raekwon Davis — 1.78
AJ Epenesa — 1.78
James Lynch — 1.73
Jason Strowbridge — 1.72

These are much more encouraging results than the edge rushers. The Seahawks appear quite stringent when it comes to the short shuttle so these times might be redundant. Even so, players such as Rashard Lawrence running a 1.72 with his size and length could provide an interesting option if he lasts deep into the draft.

An interesting comparison

Recently we’ve been discussing the possibility of the Seahawks drafting Raekwon Davis to be their next attempt to find a Calais Campbell type player. For years Carroll and Schneider have made reference to Campbell and have spent multiple high picks trying to fill the void.

Let’s compare Campbell’s combine to Davis’:

Calais Campbell
Height: 6-8
Weight: 290lbs
Arm length: 35 3/4 inches
Hand size: 9.5 inches
Forty: 5.11
10-yard: 1.74
Vertical: 29.5 inches
Broad: 9-3
Three cone: 4.69
Short shuttle: 7.45
Bench: 16 reps

Raekwon Davis
Height: 6-6
Weight: 311lbs
Arm length: 33 7/8 inches
Hand size: 11 inches
Forty: 5.12
10-yard: 1.78
Vertical: 28 inches
Broad: 9-3
Three cone: 4.86
Short shuttle: 7.95
Bench: 24 reps

There are some clear similarities. The forty times are practically identical and they both recorded a 9-3 broad jump. The vertical jumps are similar.

Davis performs better in the bench press but his extra size and shorter arms provided an advantage. Campbell was quicker in the three cone and short shuttle but he was also 21lbs lighter than Davis.

Campbell has been one of the very best players in the NFL for the last decade. He’s been a top five defensive lineman in the league for the last three years. Nobody should expect to try and find a player who can emulate what he is currently achieving. Physically though, you can at least try and find a match.

Davis looked good during drills and has an impressive physique. He might fall due to a lack of pass-rush production but Campbell himself lasted until pick #50 in 2008.

If the Seahawks need an interior defensive line anchor with great size and yet plays with excellent leverage — Davis could be a solid bet.

TEF Scores for defensive linemen

For the last few years we’ve used TEF (explained here) to measure the explosive traits of the offensive linemen. The formula is based purely on O-line physical ideals. Even so, we can still use it to compare offensive and defensive line classes. Here’s what we discovered over the years…

Explosive offensive linemen at the combine:

2016 — 6
2017 — 3
2018 — 7
2019 — 8
2020 — 8

Explosive defensive linemen at the combine:

2016 — 26
2017 — 30
2018 — 22
2019 — 24
2020 — 14

It’s another hammer blow to the quality of this D-line class. Although a number of players didn’t do one or more of the tests, this is by far the least explosive D-line class we’ve covered using TEF. We’ve never had less than 20 explosive D-liners in a draft before. This year there are only 14.

Despite that — they still beat the O-line by six players (which sums up the major problem the NFL has with the complete dearth of top athletes choosing to play O-line in college).

Here are the TEF results for the D-line class:

Jabari Zuniga — 3.76
Kenny Willekes — 3.57
Jonathan Garvin — 3.56
James Smith-Williams — 3.55
Alton Robinson — 3.41
Derrek Tuszka — 3.34
DJ Wonnum — 3.33
Larrell Murchison — 3.31
Qaadir Sheppard — 3.26
Yetur Gross-Matos — 3.21
LaDarius Hamilton — 3.14
Bradlee Anae — 3.13
Jason Strowbridge — 3.11
DaVon Hamilton — 3.02
AJ Epenesa — 2.95
Jonathan Greenard — 2.94
Raekwon Davis — 2.88
Malcolm Roach — 2.88
Derrick Brown — 2.87
James Lynch — 2.87
Rob Windsor — 2.78
Josiah Coatney — 2.46
Darrion Daniels — 2.68
Chauncey Rivers — 2.67
Raequan Williams — 2.27

Here are the 35 most explosive defensive linemen from 2016-20 (2020 prospects in bold):

Myles Garrett — 4.21
Ben Banogu — 4.05
Haason Reddick — 3.93
Solomon Thomas — 3.83
Jabari Zuniga — 3.76
Ed Oliver — 3.72
Jordan Willis — 3.70
Jordan Brailford — 3.61
Ife Odenigbo — 3.61
Taven Bryan — 3.58
Ade Aruna — 3.57
Derek Rivers — 3.57
Kenny Willekes — 3.57
Rashan Gary — 3.56
Jonathan Garvin — 3.56
James Smith-Williams — 3.55
Carl Lawson — 3.54
Dean Lowry — 3.54
Sheldon Rankins — 3.52
Montez Sweat — 3.49
Porter Gustin — 3.48
Kylie Fitts — 3.47
Robert Nkemdiche — 3.47
Bradley Chubb — 3.46
Harrison Phillips — 3.46
Noah Spence — 3.46
Renell Wren — 3.45
Yannick Ngakoue — 3.44
Marcus Davenport — 3.41
Alton Robinson — 3.41
Jamal Davis — 3.40
Kevin Givens — 3.39
Harold Landry — 3.39
Trysten Hill — 3.37
Nick Bosa — 3.36

Here are some other big-name NFL defensive linemen and their pre-draft TEF scores:

Mario Williams — 3.97
J.J. Watt — 3.82
Khalil Mack — 3.81
Aaron Donald — 3.53
Jadeveon Clowney — 3.50

Weighted TEF scores

In previous years I haven’t used weighted TEF on the D-line class and I should’ve done. There are major discrepancies in size that you just don’t see with the offensive linemen.

Jabari Zuniga — 99.2
Larrell Murchison — 98.3
DaVon Hamilton — 96.6
Kenny Willekes — 94.2
Derrick Brown — 93.4
James Smith-Williams — 94.1
Jonathan Garvin — 93.6
Alton Robinson — 90.0
Raekwon Davis — 89.6
DJ Wonnum — 85.9
Jason Strowbridge — 85.5
Malcolm Roach — 85.5
Yetur Gross-Matos — 85.3
Qaadir Sheppard — 85.0
Derrek Tuszka — 83.8
Darrion Daniels — 83.3
James Lynch — 82.9
LaDarius Hamilton — 82.2
AJ Epenesa — 81.1
Rob Windsor — 80.6
Bradlee Anae — 80.4
Jonathan Greenard — 77.3
Josiah Coatney — 75.8
Chauncey Rivers — 70.0
Raequan Williams — 70.0

Who expected Kenny Willekes to be more explosive than Derrick Brown?

Here’s how the D-line class compares to the O-line class (the D-liners are in bold):

Tristan Wirfs — 111.0
Isaiah Wilson — 103.6
Austin Jackson — 103.4
John Simpson — 102.7
Cesar Ruiz — 99.8
Jabari Zuniga — 99.2
Hakeem Adeniji — 98.8
Ezra Cleveland — 98.3
Larrell Murchison — 98.3
Matt Peart — 98.0
Damien Lewis — 97.1
DaVon Hamilton — 96.6
John Molchon — 95.5
Kenny Willekes — 94.2
Derrick Brown — 93.4
James Smith-Williams — 94.1
Jonathan Garvin — 93.6
Justin Herron — 91.8
Jack Driscoll — 91.2
Joshua Jones — 90.1
Alton Robinson — 90.0
Raekwon Davis — 89.6
Danny Pinter — 88.7
Matt Hennessy — 88.4
Terence Steele — 88.3
Andrew Thomas — 87.9
Joe Runyan — 87.2
Charlie Heck — 87.1
Alex Taylor — 86.9
DJ Wonnum — 85.9
Jason Strowbridge — 85.5
Malcolm Roach — 85.5
Yetur Gross-Matos — 85.3
Qaadir Sheppard — 85.0
Derrek Tuszka — 83.8
Darrion Daniels — 83.3
Tremayne Anchrum — 83.2
James Lynch — 82.9
LaDarius Hamilton — 82.2
AJ Epenesa — 81.1
Rob Windsor — 80.6
Bradlee Anae — 80.4
Jonah Jackson — 80.2
Cameron Clark — 79.8
Kyle Murphy — 79.0
Calvin Throckmorton — 77.7
Nick Harris — 77.3
Jonathan Greenard — 77.3
Colt McKivitz — 77.1
Darryl Williams — 76.6
Cordel Iwuagwu — 76.0
Josiah Coatney — 75.8
Tyre Phillips — 75.0
Chauncey Rivers — 70.0
Raequan Williams — 70.0

Even though there are more explosive defensive linemen in this 2020 draft, it’s a hollow victory. The most explosive players play O-line this year.

Linebackers

The Seahawks have tended to look for two types of player at linebacker — freakish athletes and players with great short-area quickness and agility.

Kevin Pierre-Louis, Korey Toomer, Malcolm Smith and Eric Pinkins all ran between a 4.44 and a 4.51 in the forty. Shaquem Griffin topped the lot with a 4.38. Pierre-Louis, Smith and Pinkins all jumped +39 inches in the vertical. Bobby Wagner was a 4.4 runner at his pro-day with a 39.5-inch vertical. Of the five players they’ve drafted with a +140 SPARQ score, Wagner, Pierre-Louis and Bruce Irvin are included.

They’ve also targeted players who performed especially strongly in the short shuttle. Here are the top-15 short shuttle times run by a linebacker since 2010:

Jordan Tripp — 3.96
Nick Bellore — 4.00
Ben Heeney — 4.00
Mike Mohamed — 4.00
Nick Vigil — 4.00
Kevin Pierre-Louis — 4.02
Stephone Anthony — 4.03
Cody Barton — 4.03
Dakota Allen — 4.03
Von Miller — 4.06
Josh Hull — 4.07
Dorian O’Daniel — 4.07
Avery Williamson — 4.07
Shaq Thompson — 4.08
Ben Burr-Kirven — 4.09

The players in bold have been either drafted or signed by the Seahawks during the Pete Carroll era. A third of the players.

So are there any linebackers in this years draft who fit the bill?

Nobody ran in the 4.0’s. Missouri’s Cale Garrett ran a 4.13 — the eighth best time by a linebacker in the last five years. He also ran a 4.92 forty and it’s hard to imagine the Seahawks taking a linebacker with that lack of speed.

Isaiah Simmons didn’t run any of the agility tests. He shut it down, probably on the advice of his agent, after running a 4.39. Kenneth Murray and Patrick Queen both pulled hamstrings during their second runs and didn’t test either. Joshua Uche didn’t do any of the tests other than the bench (18 reps).

Here are the short shuttle times in full:

Cale Garrett — 4.13
Casey Toohill — 4.21
Evan Weaver — 4.21
Shaun Bradley — 4.24
Mykal Walker — 4.25
Davion Taylor — 4.26
Curtis Weaver — 4.27
Willie Gay Jr — 4.30
Zack Baun — 4.31
Scoota Harris — 4.32
Malik Harrison — 4.32
Dante Olson — 4.32
Jacob Phillips — 4.33
Joe Bachie — 4.34
David Woodward — 4.37
Chapelle Russell — 4.41
Azur Kamara — 4.46
Justin Strnad — 4.49

There are some good times here but nothing outstanding.

In terms of overall outstanding athleticism — Willie Gay Jr’s workout virtually emulated his SPARQ performance in High School. He ran a 4.46 forty, jumped a 39.5 inch vertical and an 11-4 broad and finished off with a 4.30 short shuttle and a 7.08 three cone. These are all highly impressive marks at 243lbs. His broad jump was the third best by a linebacker in the last decade behind only Jamie Collins (11-7) and Bud Dupree (11-6). He has first round talent and a top-tier physical profile but character issues will determine how high he goes in the draft. He matches up with some of the best athletes Seattle has taken at linebacker though and, perhaps importantly, he’s a playmaker who excels in coverage.

Zack Baun is a linebacker prospect who predominantly acted as a pass rusher at Wisconsin. He was tipped by some in the media to have an outstanding workout but it didn’t really happen. He ran a 4.65 at 238lbs — so basically the same time as Jabari Zuniga despite the fact he’s nearly 30lbs lighter. His 4.31 short shuttle would’ve matched Alex Highsmith’s best time but again — Highsmith is 10lbs heavier. His best test was a 7.00 three cone — the same time as Montez Sweat and 0.01 seconds faster than Brian Burns. For a third time though — he’s 238lbs and considerably lighter.

Curtis Weaver’s 4.27 short shuttle at 265lbs is very impressive but he has sub-33 inch arms. He also ran a 7.00 three cone. I’m not really sure why he tested with the linebackers rather than the EDGE rushers. Weaver boosted his stock with his agility testing scores and he also had a decent 32.5 inch vertical.

Here are the three cone times:

Malik Harrison — 6.83
Cale Garrett — 6.91
Joe Bachie — 6.93
Davion Taylor — 6.96
Zack Baun — 7.00
Dante Olson — 7.00
Curtis Weaver — 7.00
Evan Weaver — 7.02
Shaun Bradley — 7.07
Logan Wilson — 7.07
Willie Gay Jr — 7.08
Casey Toohill — 7.08
Mykal Walker — 7.09
Azur Kamara — 7.20
David Woodward — 7.34
Scoota Harris — 7.38
Jacob Phillips — 7.38
Chapelle Russell — 7.38

Malik Harrison’s 6.83 is the eighth best time in the last five years. Ben Burr-Kirven ran a 6.85 last year.

So will they draft a linebacker from this group?

Unless the Seahawks feel inclined to spend their top pick on one of Kenneth Murray or Patrick Queen (and both might be off the board by #27) there’s little here to occupy our time over the coming weeks. For that reason, they might be more inclined to try and re-sign Mychal Kendricks and/or consider retaining K.J. Wright on his $10m cap hit. Unless they believe Cody Barton is ready to move into a starting role, which is debatable.

Isaiah Simmons stands out

Although this is by far a better draft for the offense, the top of the draft is loaded with elite defensive players. Tomorrow Jeff Okudah will blow up the combine. Chase Young appears destined to be the #2 pick and Derrick Brown is a top-10 lock.

The best player of the lot, however, could be Isaiah Simmons.

It’s astonishing what he achieved today. On top of running a 4.39 at 6-4 and 238lbs, he also jumped a 39 inch vertical and an 11-0 broad. He even has decent arm length (33 3/8 inches).

Simmons’ profile is comparable to Julio Jones. Every now and again a player comes along that we haven’t seen before. Simmons is that man. His ability to play anywhere at the second level of a defense is unheard of. He’s a superstar in the making and after this performance the only thing that will keep him out of the top-five is a couple of quarterback trades.

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Feel free to use this as an open thread. I will post forty yard dash times here and any other testing numbers. At the end of the day I will post a comprehensive review including defensive line TEF and weighted TEF scores — plus we’ll list the linebackers who ‘fit’ the Seahawks.

If you want a refresher on what to look out for at each position check out our massive combine preview.

Javon Kinlaw is not working out today. Neither is Chase Young.

The NFL Network provided an early shot of Pete and John…

Forty times

Defensive tackles

(10-yard splits are in brackets)

The players with a star before their name have 33 inch arms (the Seahawks have not drafted a D-liner with sub-33 inch arms in the Carroll era).

*McTelvin Agim — 4.99 (1.76) & 5.27 (1.84)
Ross Blacklock — 4.97 (1.73) & 4.91 (1.70)
*Derrick Brown — 5.11 (?) & 5.17 (1.78)
Josiah Coatney — 5.22 (1.81) & 5.25 (1.80)
*Darrion Daniels — 5.20 (1.85) & 5.19 (1.81)
*Marlon Davidson — 5.04 (1.79) & 5.06 (1.78)
Carlos Davis — 4.82 (1.68) & 4.82 (1.67)
Khalil Davis — 4.79 (1.68) & 4.76 (1.66)
Jordan Elliott — 5.03 (1.74) & 5.03 (1.71)
*Leki Fotu — 5.16 (1.80) & DNP
Neville Gallimore — 4.85 (1.71) & 4.79 (1.71)
*DaVon Hamilton — 5.14 (1.82) & 5.16 (1.80)
Benito Jones — 5.36 (1.86) & 5.26 (1.80)
*Javon Kinlaw — DNP
*Rashard Lawrence — 5.08 (1.72) & 5.13 (1.72)
*Justin Madubuike — 4.83 (1.73) & 4.83 (1.74)
Larrell Murchison — 5.05 (1.81) & 5.09 (1.82)
John Penisini — DNP
Malcolm Roach — DNP
Broderick Washington — DNP
*Raequan Williams — 5.08 (1.78) & 5.05 (1.78)
*Rob Windsor — 4.93 (1.74) & 4.90 (1.76)

In the drills, Justin Madubuike was by far the most fluid and natural mover. Very little wasted movement, clearly an athlete and everything was in control.

Defensive ends

Bradlee Anae — 4.92 (1.69) & 4.91 (1.68)
Kendall Coleman — 4.96 (1.70) & 4.99 (1.72)
*Raekwon Davis — 5.17 (1.78) & 5.13 (1.78)
*AJ Epenesa — 5.10 (1.81) & 5.05 (1.78)
*Jonathan Garvin — 4.82 (1.67) & 4.86 (1.71)
*Trevis Gipson — DNP
*Jonathan Greenard — 4.88 (1.71) & 4.92 (1.72)
*Yetur Gross-Matos — DNP
LaDarius Hamilton — 4.89 (1.74) & 5.00 (1.83)
*Alex Highsmith — 4.70 (1.68) & 4.76 (1.69)
Trevon Hill — 4.92 (1.77) & 4.90 (1.70)
*Khalid Kareem — DNP
James Lynch — 5.01 (1.73) & DNP
*Julian Okwara — DNP
Chauncey Rivers — 4.97 (1.81) & 5.05 (1.80)
Malcom Roach — 4.85 (1.68) & 4.89 (1.70)
Alton Robinson — 4.73 (1.66) & 4.69 (1.65)
Qaadir Sheppard — 4.84 (1.67) & 4.93 (1.77)
*James Smith-Williams — 4.62 (1.63) & 4.61 (1.62)
Jason Strowbridge — 4.90 (1.75) & 4.94 (1.72)
Derrek Tuszka — 4.79 (1.69) & 4.83 (1.70)
Kenny Willekes — 4.93 (1.69) & 4.88 (1.70)
*DJ Wonnum — 4.73 (1.70) & 4.78 (1.70)
*Chase Young — DNP
Jabari Zuniga — 4.66 (1.64) & 4.64 (1.61)

Here are the D-line vertical jumps:

Jonathan Garvin — 36
Alton Robinson — 35.5
DJ Wonnum — 34.5
Yetur Gross-Matos — 34
Derrek Tuszka — 33.5
Alex Highsmith — 33
Jabari Zuniga — 33
AJ Epenesa — 32.5
Kenny Willekes — 32.5
Kendall Coleman — 32
James Smith-Williams — 32
Qaadir Sheppard — 31.5
Bradlee Anae — 31
Jason Strowbridge — 31
Jonathan Greenard — 30.5
Chauncey Rivers — 30.5
LaDarius Hamilton — 30
Malcolm Roach — 30
DaVon Hamilton — 29.5
Ross Blacklock — 29
James Lynch — 29
Rob Windsor — 28.5
Raekwon Davis — 28
Trevon Hill — 28
Jordan Elliott — 27.5
Derrick Brown — 27
Josiah Coatney — 27
Darrion Daniels — 27
Benito Jones — 26.5
John Penisini — 25.5
Raequan Williams — 25.5

Here are the top-15 broad jumps:

Jabari Zuniga — 10-7
Jonathan Garvin — 10-5
Alex Highsmith — 10-5
James Smith- Williams — 10-3
DJ Wonnum — 10-3
Yetur Gross-Matos — 10-0
Derrek Tuszka — 10-0
Alton Robinson — 9-11
Kenny Willekes — 9-11
Larrell Murchison — 9-10
AJ Epenesa — 9-9
Bradlee Anae — 9-7
Qaadir Sheppard — 9-7
Kendall Coleman — 9-6
Ladarius Hamilton — 9-6

The agility testing was awful. More in the review later.

Linebackers

They are not showing the 10-yard splits for the linebackers, despite moving several pass rushers into this group.

Joe Bachie — 4.67 & 4.80
Markus Bailey — DNP
Zack Baun — 4.65 & 4.71
Francis Bernard — 4.82 & 4.86
Daniel Bituli — 4.84 & 4.89
Shaun Bradley — 4.51 & 4.63
Jordan Brooks — 4.55 & 4.54
Cameron Brown — 4.73 & 4.86
K’Lavon Chaisson — DNP
Nick Coe — 4.89 & 4.91
Carter Coughlin — 4.58 & 4.63
Akeem Davis-Gaither — DNP
Michael Divinity — 4.91 & 4.85
Troy Dye — DNP
Tipa Galeai — DNP
Cale Garrett — 4.93 & 4.92
Willie Gay Jr — 4.46 & 4.48
Scoota Harris — 4.70 & 4.76
Malik Harrison — 4.66 & 4.69
Khaleke Hudson — 4.57 & 4.57
Anfernee Jennings — DNP
Clay Johnston — DNP
Azur Kamara — 4.59 & 4.67
Terrell Lewis — DNP
Jordan Mack — DNP
Kamal Martin — DNP
Kenneth Murray — 4.52 & DNF
Dante Olson — 4.89 & 4.89
Jacob Phillips — 4.66 & 4.78
Michael Pinckney — DNP
Shaquil Quarterman — 4.78 & 4.75
Patrick Queen — 4.56 & 4.51
Chapelle Russell — 4.70 & 4.71
Isaiah Simmons — 4.39 & DNP
Justin Strnad — 4.74 & 4.79
Darrell Taylor — DNP
Davion Taylor — 4.53 & 4.50
Casey Toohill — 4.68 & 4.65
Josh Uche — DNP
Mykal Walker — 4.65 & 4.71
Curtis Weaver — DNP
Evan Weaver — 4.76 & 4.85
Logan Wilson — 4.63 & DNP
David Woodward — 4.83 & 4.80

Kenneth Murray pulled his hamstring during his second run and did not finish. Patrick Queen also pulled his hamstring after completing his second run.

Vertical jumps:

Dante Olson — 42
Willie Gay Jr — 39.5
Jacob Phillips — 39
Isaiah Simmons — 39
Casey Toohill — 39
Kenneth Murray — 38
Terrell Lewis — 37
Carter Coughlin — 36
Malik Harrison — 36
Cameron Brown — 35.5
Patrick Queen — 35
Chapelle Russell — 35
Davion Taylor — 35
Joe Bachie — 33.5
David Woodward — 33.5
Scoota Harris — 33
Khaleke Hudson — 33
Mykal Walker — 33
Zack Baun — 32.5
Curtis Weaver — 32.5

Broad jumps:

Willie Gay Jr — 11-4
Isaiah Simmons — 11
Kenneth Murray — 10-9
Davion Taylor — 10-7
Carter Coughlin — 10-6
Jacob Phillips — 10-6
Casey Toohill — 10-6
Patrick Queen — 10-5
Cale Garrett — 10-4
Terrell Lewis — 10-4
Dante Olson — 10-4
Cameron Brown — 10-3
Malik Harrison — 10-2
Mykal Walker — 10-2
Daniel Bituli — 10-1

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Who are the most explosive offensive linemen in the 2019 draft? And which running backs are the Seahawks likely to show interest in?

Let’s find out…

Is it an explosive offensive line class?

It is — but in terms of the number of explosive testers overall it’s identical to last year. The big difference is the way the top testers performed. Tristan Wirfs set an O-line record in the vertical and equalled the record in the broad jump. Of the eight best testers in weighted TEF since 2016, half are players from the 2020 draft class. It’s close but this is the most explosive offensive line group we’ve seen in recent years.

How and why do we test explosive traits?

In 2016 we created a formula called TEF (Trench Explosion Formula). For a full breakdown of what the formula is and why we use it, click here. Essentially, any prospect scoring 3.00 or higher is an explosive athlete.

Here’s the formula we use:

1. Vertical ÷ 31
2. Broad ÷ 9, then cube the result
3. Bench ÷ 27
4. Results added together = TEF

And here are the 2020 results:

Tristan Wirfs — 3.47
Hakeem Adeniji — 3.27
Cesar Ruiz — 3.25
Austin Jackson — 3.21
John Simpson — 3.20
Ezra Cleveland — 3.16
John Molchon — 3.09
Matt Peart — 3.08
Jack Driscoll — 2.98
Justin Herron — 2.98
Damien Lewis — 2.97
Isaiah Wilson — 2.96
Danny Pinter — 2.90
Matt Hennessy — 2.88
Joe Runyan — 2.85
Joshua Jones — 2.84
Terence Steele — 2.83
Alex Taylor — 2.82
Charlie Heck — 2.80
Andrew Thomas — 2.79
Tremayne Anchrum — 2.65
Jonah Jackson — 2.62
Cameron Clark — 2.59
Nick Harris — 2.56
Colt McKivitz — 2.52
Darryl Williams — 2.52
Kyle Murphy — 2.50
Cordel Iwuagwu — 2.46
Calvin Throckmorton — 2.45
Tyre Phillips — 2.26

How does this compare to the previous four drafts?

Players scoring a 3.00 or more:

2016 — 6
2017 — 3
2018 — 7
2019 — 8
2020 — 8

Players scoring at least a 2.85:

2016 — 9
2017 — 8
2018 — 8
2019 — 15
2020 — 15

Here’s the combined top-10 testers from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (in bold):

Iosua Opeta — 3.62
Jason Spriggs — 3.54
Braden Smith — 3.52
Tristan Wirfs — 3.47
Kolton Miller — 3.31
Connor McGovern: 3.29
Hakeem Adeniji — 3.27
Cesar Ruiz — 3.25
Forrest Lamp — 3.23
Phil Haynes — 3.22
Wyatt Teller — 3.22
Scott Quessenberry — 3.22
Austin Jackson — 3.21
John Simpson — 3.20
Chris Lindstrom — 3.18
Connor Williams — 3.18
Ezra Cleveland — 3.16
Garrett Bradbury — 3.15
Andre Dillard — 3.13
Nico Siragusa — 3.13
Alex Redmond — 3.10
John Molchon — 3.09
Matt Peart — 3.08
Quenton Nelson — 3.07
Joe Haeg — 3.06
Joe Dahl — 3.05
Erik McCoy — 3.05
Will Hernandez — 3.04
Joe Thuney — 3.04
Kaleb McGary — 3.02
Elgton Jenkins — 3.01
Garett Bolles — 3.00
Michael Jordan — 2.99
Jack Driscoll — 2.98
Justin Herron — 2.98
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: 2.97
Germain Ifedi — 2.97
Isaac Asiata — 2.96
Hjalte Froholdt — 2.95
Dorian Johnson — 2.92
Brandon Shell — 2.91
Antonio Garcia — 2.89
Sean Harlow — 2.87
Taylor Moton — 2.86
Colby Gossett — 2.86
Will Holden — 2.84
Ryan Kelly — 2.84
Ethan Pocic — 2.81
Toby Weathersby — 2.77
James Daniels — 2.76

The following players did not take part in one or more of the tests and therefore couldn’t be scored:

Mekhi Becton
Logan Stenberg
Netane Muti
Lloyd Cushenberry
Trey Adams
Tyler Biadasz
Ben Bredeson
Saahdiq Charles
Solomon Kindley
Shane Lemieux
Lucas Niang
Prince Tega Wanogho
Jedrick Wills

It’s very likely Jedrick Wills would’ve received a high TEF score. He jumped a 34.5 inch vertical and a 9-5 broad. Prince Tega Wanogho was also expected to jump a 32 inch vertical. A fair projection is that this class has at least 10 genuinely explosive offensive linemen — the most since we started using TEF.

As noted in our combine preview, TEF is not an attempt to determine who is a good or bad offensive linemen. It’s merely a calculation to judge explosive traits. And while that’s only one part of any evaluation — it’s still absolutely vital.

Two years ago, only seven offensive linemen scored an optimal 3.00 or higher in TEF. Of the seven, Quenton Nelson and Kolton Miller were both high first round picks. Braden Smith, Connor Williams and Will Hernandez were second round picks. In 2019, only eight players scored an optimal 3.00 or higher. This included Chris Lindstrom, Garrett Bradbury, Andre Dillard and Kaleb McGary (all drafted in round one). Erik McCoy and Elgton Jenkins were also top-50 picks.

It’s not a coincidence that the most explosive offensive linemen are being drafted early. The top performers this years will also probably receive a boost to their stock.

What about weighted TEF (wTEF)?

Jumping a vertical at 320lbs is considerably more challenging than jumping a vertical at 295lbs. We created a second formula to account for weight:

Weight x TEF x 0.1

We can give players a score that sufficiently emphasises their unique size.

Germain Ifedi — 324 x 2.97 x 0.1 = 96.1

wTEF scores for the 2020 draft class

Tristan Wirfs — 111.0
Isaiah Wilson — 103.6
Austin Jackson — 103.4
John Simpson — 102.7
Cesar Ruiz — 99.8
Hakeem Adeniji — 98.8
Ezra Cleveland — 98.3
Matt Peart — 98.0
Damien Lewis — 97.1
John Molchon — 95.5
Justin Herron — 91.8
Jack Driscoll — 91.2
Joshua Jones — 90.1
Danny Pinter — 88.7
Matt Hennessy — 88.4
Terence Steele — 88.3
Andrew Thomas — 87.9
Joe Runyan — 87.2
Charlie Heck — 87.1
Alex Taylor — 86.9
Tremayne Anchrum — 83.2
Jonah Jackson — 80.2
Cameron Clark — 79.8
Kyle Murphy — 79.0
Calvin Throckmorton — 77.7
Nick Harris — 77.3
Colt McKivitz — 77.1
Darryl Williams — 76.6
Cordel Iwuagwu — 76.0
Tyre Phillips — 75.0

How does this compare to previous years?

Here are the top-10 wTEF scores from 2016-2020 combined:

Tristan Wirfs — 111.0
Braden Smith — 110.9
Iousa Opeta — 109.0
Spriggs, Jason —- 104.9
Phil Haynes — 103.7
Isaiah Wilson — 103.6
Austin Jackson — 103.4
John Simpson — 102.7
Kolton Miller — 102.3
Scott Quessenberry — 101.4
McGovern, Conner —- 101.4
Cesar Ruiz — 99.8
Forrest Lamp —- 99.8
Nico Siragusa —- 99.8
Quenton Nelson — 99.8
Will Hernandez — 99.4
Hakeem Adeniji — 98.8
Andre Dillard — 98.6
Ezra Cleveland — 98.3
Matt Peart — 98.0
Chris Lindstrom — 97.9
Damien Lewis — 97.1
Teller Wyatt — 96.9
Garrett Bradbury — 96.4
Ifedi, Germain —- 96.1
Kaleb McGary — 95.7
Isaac Asiata —- 95.6
John Molchon — 95.5
Max Scharping — 94.8
Shell, Brandon —- 94.4
Connor Williams — 94.1
Vaitai, Halapoulivaati —- 93.8
Nembot, Stephane —- 93.6
Elgton Jenkins — 93.3
Michael Jordan — 93.3
Dahl, Joe —- 93.2
Joe Haeg —- 93.0
Erik McCoy — 92.4
Thuney, Joe —- 91.6
Robertson, Dominique —- 91.5
Taylor Moton —- 91.2
Colby Gossett — 90.1
Garett Bolles —- 89.1
Will Holden —- 88.3
Jessamen Dunker —- 88.0
Ben Braden —- 87.8
Toby Weathersby — 87.8
Dorian Johnson —- 87.6
Antonio Garcia —- 87.2
James Daniels — 84.45

What are the highlights?

— Tristan Wirfs is the best combination of size and explosive traits TEF has ever recorded. He defeats Braden Smith’s weighted TEF record from 2018 with a brilliant 111.0. Smith lasted until pick #37 because of his short arms (32 1/4 inches) and guard frame. Wirfs has no such issues and teams will love his incredible size, length and explosive traits. It’s very likely his floor will be the Jets at #11.

— Isaiah Wilson looked incredible at 350lbs and his 103.6 score should secure his place in round one. If you want a hulking, powerful, explosive right tackle — Wilson fits the bill. For the record, his score is virtually identical to Phil Haynes’ (103.7) and it dwarfs Germain Ifedi’s 96.1 (although Ifedi was a more fluid athlete and certainly performed a lot better in the mirror drill).

— Austin Jackson has increasingly been tipped to go in the top-20. We knew he was a great athlete but his 3.21 TEF score and 103.4 weighted TEF mark also show off his size and extreme explosive qualities.

— We’ve been talking about Cesar Ruiz as a first round pick for months. Today, he confirmed it. The tape made it pretty clear he was the most talented center in the draft. He ticked every box here. Great size, length and highly explosive testing (3.25). Ruiz is a stud who could go as early as Atlanta in round one — at #16 or after a small trade down. Think that’s too early? He just scored the same weighted TEF mark as Quenton Nelson and easily topped Chris Lindstrom’s score — (the #14 pick in last years draft).

— Clemson guard John Simpson could easily have secured a second round grade today with his scores of 3.20 and 102.7.

— Two other guards we’ve talked about a lot since the Senior Bowl also showed well. I thought Hakeem Adeniji looked really good in Mobile and he scored a 3.27 in TEF and a 98.8 in weighted TEF. He is a strong mid-round option for Seattle with experience at tackle and guard. Damien Lewis looks like a potential second rounder and a weighted TEF score of 97.1 could easily secure that type of grade. Matt Peart could provide a really nice mid-round tackle project for a team able to be patient.

— Ezra Cleveland registered the kind of score that could push him into round one. After running a 4.93 he managed an explosive 3.16 in TEF. That’s a superior score to Andre Dillard and in the same ballpark as Chris Lindstrom and Garrett Bradbury. All three went in round one a year ago. Cleveland also performed very well in the agility testing (more on that in a moment).

— On the slightly negative side of things, Andrew Thomas was a mediocre TEF tester at 2.79. Even weighted TEF didn’t promote him up the list too much (87.9). He showed well in the mirror and wave drills and clearly he’s athletic. Yet with Mekhi Becton wowing everyone with his size, Tristan Wirfs winning day two, Austin Jackson and Ezra Cleveland testing superbly and Jedrick Wills looking both explosive and agile — that projected fall might become a reality after all (even if he will still very likely go in the top-22).

— The other somewhat mediocre performance was Joshua Jones. He didn’t finish in the top-10 for TEF or weighted TEF in this class and he only ran a 5.27. Jones has felt like a media creation more than a legit first rounder and this was perhaps a reality check moment.

What else did we learn today?

Tristan Wirfs set the combine record for an offensive lineman in the vertical jump with his 36.5 inch attempt but he wasn’t alone. Jedrick Wills’ 34.5 inch jump was the fourth best in the last decade and Hakeem Adeniji’s and John Molchon’s 34 inch attempts were the sixth best.

Alex Taylor’s 9-8 broad jump was tied seventh best by an offensive lineman in the last decade (level with Eric Fisher). Hakeem Adeniji’s and Austin Jackson’s 9-7 jumps rank tied 10th.

Three-cone and short shuttle times

Agility testing is often touted as important for offensive linemen but it’s not something the Seahawks have focused on. For example, Germain Ifedi ran a 4.75 short shuttle and was taken in round one. Justin Britt ran a 4.69. Russell Okung ran a 4.80.

Several key players didn’t do the testing including Nick Harris, Hakeem Adeniji, Mekhi Becton, Joshua Jones and Damien Lewis. Jedrick Wills didn’t run a three cone and Austin Jackson didn’t do the short shuttle.

— Here are the top-15 three-cone times:

Ezra Cleveland — 7.26
Matt Hennessy — 7.45
Joe Runyan — 7.57
Andrew Thomas — 7.58
Tristan Wirfs — 7.65
Danny Pinter — 7.76
Alex Taylor — 7.77
Kyle Murphy — 7.81
Jonah Jackson — 7.83
John Molchon — 7.85
Colt McKivitz — 7.87
Darryl Williams — 7.88
Cesar Ruiz — 7.91
Austin Jackson — 7.95
Logan Stenberg — 8.00

Cleveland’s 7.26 three cone is the fifth fastest time in the last decade by an offensive lineman. It’s the only real positive though. Last year four players recorded a time in the 7.4’s. This year, there’s only Matt Hennessy.

— Here are the top-15 short shuttle times:

Ezra Cleveland — 4.46
Matt Hennessy –4.60
Danny Pinter — 4.62
Cesar Ruiz — 4.64
Keith Ismael — 4.65
Andrew Thomas — 4.66
Tristan Wirfs — 4.68
Kyle Murphy — 4.68
Joe Runyan — 4.69
John Molchon — 4.73
Darryl Williams — 4.76
Alex Taylor — 4.79
Logan Stenberg — 4.83
Jedrick Wills — 4.84
Charlie Heck — 4.86

Last year Andre Dillard ran a 4.40 but nobody else cracked the 4.4’s. However, nine players recorded a time in the 4.5’s. This is a disappointing set of 2020 short shuttle times. Cleveland’s 4.46 is the only real highlight and it just missed out on the top-10 for the last decade.

It’s safe to say that while this is a class rich in explosive traits — the agility is lacking.

Potential running back targets

The Seahawks have consistently drafted running backs with explosive athleticism and size during the Pete Carroll era. We explained in our combine preview the type of profile they look for (and there’s a clear trend).

Using this information, we highlighted the following players in 2016, 2017 and 2018 as potential targets:

2016:

C.J. Prosise — 6-0, 220lbs, 35.5 inch vert, 10-1 broad
Kenneth Dixon — 5-10, 215lbs, 37.5 inch vert, 10-8 broad

(They drafted Prosise)

2017:

Christopher Carson — 6-0, 218lbs, 37 inch vert, 10-10 broad
Brian Hill — 6-0, 219lbs, 34 inch vert, 10-5 broad
Alvin Kamara — 5-10, 214lbs, 39.5 inch vert, 10-11 broad
Joe Williams — 5-11, 210lbs, 35 inch vert, 10-5 broad

(They drafted Carson)

2018:

Saquon Barkley — 6-0, 233lbs, 41 inch vert DNP broad
Kerryon Johnson — 511, 213lbs 40 inch vert, 10-6 broad
Bo Scarborough — 6-0, 228lbs, 40 inch vert, 10-9 broad
Nick Chubb — 5-11, 227lbs, 38.5 inch vert, 10-8 broad
John Kelly — 5-10, 216lbs, 35 inch vert, 10-0 broad
Lavon Coleman — 5-10, 223lbs, 33 inch vert, 10-0 broad
Rashaad Penny — 5-11, 220lbs, 32.5 inch vert, 10-0 broad
Royce Freeman — 5-11, 229lbs, 34 inch vert, 9-10 broad

(They drafted Penny and signed Coleman, Scarborough)

Last year they didn’t draft a running back until round six which isn’t that surprising considering the prior first round investment in Penny and the strong belief they have in Carson. Travis Homer was selected more for his special teams value than his ability as a runner.

So who are the potential targets this year?

Jonathan Taylor — 5-10, 226lbs, 36 inch vert, 10-3 broad
Cam Akers — 5-10, 217lbs, 35.5 inch vert, 10-2 broad
Deejay Dallas — 5-10, 217lbs, 33.5 inch vert, 9-11 broad
AJ Dillon — 6-0, 247lbs, 41 inch vert, 10-11 broad
Zack Moss — 5-9, 223lbs, 33 inch vert, DNP broad
James Robinson — 5-9, 219lbs, 40 inch vert, 10-5 broad
Patrick Taylor — 6-0, 217lbs, 34 inch vert, 10-3 broad

I’ve included both Moss and Robinson despite the fact the Seahawks generally target runners between 5-10 and 6-0 in height. They’re both 5-9 but well sized. Seattle hasn’t drafted a back as big as AJ Dillon in the Carroll era but Dillon’s vertical, broad jump and playing style are worthy of inclusion.

The two names at the top stand out. Jonathan Taylor is every bit a Seahawks running back. He has prototype size and an explosive testing profile. The fact he also ran a 4.39 is a mere bonus. Cam Akers also performed right in their preferred range for size and explosive traits.

Taylor’s time is not a surprise. He ran a 4.42 at SPARQ and here he ran a 4.39. In our combine preview we predicted a time in the 4.3’s. He interviewed with the Seahawks this week and practically announced his man-crush for Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson on PFT. With his size, explosive testing and forty — if the Seahawks want him it’ll probably need to be with their first pick.

Akers provides a potential alternative in the middle rounds. The opportunity to consider Taylor really comes down to what they get done in free agency. If questions are answered on the O-line and D-line, they’ll be in a better position to take what could be deemed a luxury pick (although Rashaad Penny’s injury and Chris Carson’s contract makes adding a running back more likely than it otherwise would be).

Last year I vowed to never ignore an obvious ‘Seahawk’ again. I assumed, wrongly, that with only four draft picks and having re-signed K.J. Wright and Mychal Kendricks — the Seahawks wouldn’t draft a linebacker. Yet Cody Barton and Ben Burr-Kirven fit exactly what they look for in terms of physical profile at the linebacker position (the short shuttle is key). I should’ve spotted that and made a mistake.

Jonathan Taylor is a Seahawk. His character, running style and physical profile tick every box. Hunter Bryant, who tested yesterday, could also be considered a ‘Seahawk’. He too has an ideal personality and attitude and he tested in the exact range they target TE’s in the short short shuttle and three cone. There are other names that I could mention too (we’ll run through those after the combine).

Going back to Taylor, he’s someone we need to take seriously as a potential target. That doesn’t mean they’ll use the #27 pick on him. After this workout, he might not make it that far. Yet he’s a player to keep an open mind about — even if they have other far greater needs currently.

I’m surprised Clyde Edwards-Helaire could only manage a 4.61. He ran a 4.47 at SPARQ. However, his 39.5 inch vertical and sensational playing style, production and ball security continue to warrant praise. He might not go as early as I was initially projecting but he still ran a faster time than Mark Ingram who was a late first round pick. I still think he’s one of the top players in this class.

It’s also worth noting what Mike Mayock said during today’s TV coverage. He was willing Josh Jacobs to run a slow forty time a year ago so he would last to the Raiders at #24. He ran in the 4.6’s. Mayock didn’t care — he was taking him whatever he ran. Explosive traits and playing style are more important than speed at running back. Edwards-Helaire has the traits and the playing style.

Sum up Friday at the combine…

— In terms of pure numbers, the 2020 O-line class doesn’t have a lot more superior testers than a year ago. What is impressive is the way certain O-liners performed — especially those with massive size. Wirfs, Wills, Becton, Jackson, Wilson, Simpson, Ruiz. Expect this group to be off the board quickly.

— The big question now is — who will be left who is a realistic option for the Seahawks if they want to go O-line at #27? Forget Wirfs, Wills, Becton and Jackson. I’ve had Cesar Ruiz in the top-20 for a long time and I think it’s fairly certain he will be gone by the time they pick. Andrew Thomas, despite a mixed combine, possibly won’t be there. I think it really comes down to Isaiah Wilson and Ezra Cleveland. And with Minnesota at #25 and Miami at #26 — it’s not a lock they’ll make it through to Seattle. The league is hungry for offensive linemen with upside.

— Every year we always put the defensive line class through TEF to compare how explosive both groups are. And every year, the D-liners come out way on top. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. It’s a thinner D-line class than previous years. There might not be a Tristan Wirfs-level tester but I still think there will be far more explosive defenders.

— I thought the running back class would test better than this and make more headlines. Instead, it’s really been left up to Jonathan Taylor. His performance was outstanding. The rest? Not so much. How early could Taylor go after this? It’s hard to ignore his size, speed, traits and character — even if the running back position is devalued in the draft these days.

— In the running back drills, D’Andre Swift looked excellent. His footwork, quickness and burst were impressive. Although Nick Harris didn’t have an explosive workout, I also thought he performed well during drills today. He was the standout performer in the mirror drill among interior linemen. Jedrick Wills had the best rep by the tackles.

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Feel free to use this as an open thread. I will post forty yard dash times here and any other testing numbers. At the end of the day I will post a comprehensive review including 2020 TEF and weighted TEF scores — plus we’ll list the running backs who ‘fit’ Seattle’s profile.

If you want a refresher on what to look out for at each position check out our massive combine preview.

Forty times

O-line

(10-yard splits are in brackets)

Group 1

Trey Adams — 5.60 (1.89) & 5.62 (1.92)
Hakeem Adeniji — 5.23 (1.81) & 5.17 (1.78)
Tremayne Anchrum — 5.22 (1.85) & 5.27 (1.88)
Ben Bartch — DNP
Mekhi Becton — 5.11 (1.80) & 5.13 (1.77)
Tyler Biadasz — DNP
Ben Bredeson — DNP
Cohl Cabral — DNP
Saahdiq Charles — 5.06 (1.87) & 5.36 (1.90)
Cameron Clark — 5.29 (1.85) & 5.32 (1.81)
Ezra Cleveland — 4.94 (1.74) & 4.94 (1.73)
Trystan Colon-Castillo — DNP
Lloyd Cushenberry — 5.28 (1.82) & DNF
Jack Driscoll — 5.02 (1.75) & 5.03 (1.74)
Yasir Durant — 5.53 (1.95) & 5.63 (1.97)
Jake Hanson — 5.51 (1.95) & DNP
Nick Harris — 5.10 (1.76) & 5.17 (1.82)
Charlie Heck — 5.19 (1.81) & 5.16 (1.80)
Matt Hennessy — 5.23 (1.86) & 5.19 (1.80)

Mekhi Becton running an official 5.10 with a 1.77 split will secure his place in the first eleven picks of the draft. The most impressive thing is how he’s carrying minimal bad weight on his gigantic frame. However, he then complained about ‘tightness’ after running the wave drill and called it a day. I wonder if he got a call from his agent?

Lloyd Cushenberry pulled his hamstring and didn’t complete his second forty run. He’s out for the rest of the day (so no TEF score for Becton or Cushenberry).

Ezra Cleveland’s official 40 times was a 4.93. Nick Harris ran a 5.10 and Matt Hennessy a 5.18.

Apparently the sled drills were so bad with the tight ends yesterday, they’ve got rid of them.

Mike Solari, as usual, was front and centre leading the O-line drills:

Nick Harris looks excellent in drills. His wave and long pull looked fluid. His ability to change direction, avoid clicking his heels and retain balance is impressive. Shaun O’Hara is raving about him in the broadcast. His mirror drill is one of the best I’ve seen from an interior lineman. Seriously. Quick, sharp changes of direction. Complete balance. The ability to transfer his weight onto both feet and shift back. Harris is having a superb workout.

Matt Hennessy also looked as smooth as silk in the mirror, wave and screen drill. Hakeem Adeniji had the strongest strike on the bags and Ezra Cleveland did well in the modified mirror drill.

Group 2

Tristan Wirfs is the fourth most explosive TEF tester I’ve recorded. I’ll publish the full results later. He just set a combine O-line record for the vertical jump (36.5 inches) and equalled Kolton Miller’s 10-1 broad. He then ran a 4.86. Like Becton, he has secured his place in the top-11.

Justin Herron — 5.26 (1.88) & 5.31 (1.88)
Robert Hunt — DNP
Keith Ismael — 5.35 (1.81) & 5.43 (1.88)
Cordel Iwuagwu — 5.23 (1.80) & 5.34 (1.89)
Austin Jackson — 5.07 (1.73) & 5.12 (1.73)
Jonah Jackson — 5.23 (1.84) & 5.29 (1.86)
Joshua Jones — 5.28 (1.81) & 5.33 (1.84)
Solomon Kindley — DNP
Shane Lemieux — 5.14 (1.83) & 5.11 (1.84)
Damien Lewis — 5.24 (1.85) & 5.24 (1.83)
Colt McKivitz — 5.35 (1.80) & 5.37 (1.82)
John Molchon — 5.13 (1.80) & 5.19 (1.82)
Kyle Murphy — 5.30 (1.86) & 5.35 (1.86)
Netane Muti — DNP
Lucas Niang — DNP
Mike Onwenu — DNP
Matt Peart — 5.01 (1.77) & 5.07 (1.75)
Tyre Phillips — 5.54 (1.96) & 5.38 (1.84)
Danny Pinter — 4.91 (1.73) & 4.94 (1.74)
Cesar Ruiz — 5.08 (1.77) & 5.13 (1.78)
Joe Runyan — 5.08 (1.79) & 5.13 (1.81)
John Simpson — 5.24 (1.81) & 5.35 (1.88)
Terence Steele — 5.03 (1.74) & 5.14 (1.77)
Logan Stenberg — 5.35 (1.86) & 5.31 (1.86)
Simon Stepaniak — DNP
Alex Taylor — 5.10 (1.79) & 5.10 (1.80)
Andrew Thomas — 5.22 (1.83) & 5.23 (1.85)
Calvin Throckmorton — 5.62 (1.95) & 5.58 (1.96)
Prince Tega Wanogho — DNP
Darryl Williams — 5.28 (1.82) & 5.24 (1.80)
Jedrick Wills — 5.09 (1.83) & 5.05 (1.81)
Isaiah Wilson — 5.33 (1.79) & 5.47 (1.87)
Tristan Wirfs — 4.86 (1.69) & 4.88 (1.72)

Cesar Ruiz and Andrew Thomas looked superb in the wave drill. Thomas had a terrific mirror too but Jedrick Wills was the best performer.

Running backs

Saivon Ahmed — 4.63 & 4.67
Cam Akers — 4.47 & 4.53
Jet Anderson — 4.69 & 4.61
LeVante Bellamy — 4.51 & DNP
Eno Benjamin — 4.57 & 4.61
Raymond Calais — 4.42 & 4.43
DeeJay Dallas — 4.64 & 4.58
AJ Dillon — 4.53 & 4.57
JK Dobbins — DNP
Rico Dowdle — 4.56 & 4.54
Clyde Edwards-Helaire — 4.61 & 4.62
Darrynton Evans — 4.42 & 4.52
JaMycal Hasty — 4.58 & 4.56
Brian Herrien — 4.62 & 4.66
Tony Jones — 4.70 & 4.69
Joshua Kelley — 4.50 & 4.56
Javon Leake — 4.65 & 4.75
Benny LeMay — 4.85 & 4.80
Anthony McFarland — 4.45 & 4.51
Zack Moss — 4.72 & 4.70
Sewo Olonilua — 4.69 & 4.67
La’Mical Perine — 4.65 & 4.62
Scottie Phillips — 4.59 & 4.56
James Robinson — 4.64 & 4.68
D’Andre Swift — 4.49 & 4.48
JJ Taylor — 4.62 & 4.66
Jonathan Taylor — 4.41 & 4.42
Patrick Taylor — 4.57 & 4.69
Ke’Shawn Vaughn — 4.52 & 4.52
Mike Warren — DNP

I’m surprised Clyde Edwards-Helaire could only manage a 4.61. He ran a 4.47 at SPARQ. However — Jonathan Taylor’s time is not a surprise. He ran a 4.42 at SPARQ and here he ran a 4.41. He interviewed with the Seahawks and practically announced his man-crush for Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson. With his size, explosive testing and forty — if the Seahawks want him it’ll need to be their first pick.

The explosive testing numbers are in (the vital numbers at running back):

Vertical:

AJ Dillon — 41
James Robinson — 40
LeVante Bellamy — 39.5
Clde Edwards-Helaire — 39.5
Eno Benjamin — 39
JaMycal Hasty — 39
Brian Herrien — 38.5
Rico Dowdle — 38
Raymond Calais — 37.5
Jonathan Taylor — 36
Cam Akers — 35.5
D’Andre Swift — 35.5
Zack Moss — 33
Joshua Kelley — 31
Anthony McFarland — 29.5

Broad:

AJ Dillon — 10-11
Clyde Edwards-Helaire — 10-3
Jonathan Taylor — 10-3
Cam Akers — 10-2
Eno Benjamin — 10-2

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Four potential tight end targets emerge

As noted in our big combine preview, the Seahawks pay a lot of attention to agility testing at tight end. The short shuttle and three cone results of the past can help us identify potential TE targets in the 2020 class.

Obviously there’s a lot more that goes into a projection than simply agility testing. Performance, character, playing style — there are multiple strands.

However — we’re a decade into the Carroll/Schneider era and certain trends have emerged at positions like tight end.

Here are the players they’ve drafted or added since 2010, with their short shuttle (ss) and three cone (3c) times:

Luke Willson — 4.29 (ss), 7.08 (3c)
Will Dissly — 4.40 (ss), 7.07 (3c)
Nick Vannett — 4.20 (ss), 7.05 (3c)
Anthony McCoy — 4.57 (ss), 6.99 (3c)
Zach Miller — 4.42 (ss), 7.01 (3c)
Jimmy Graham — 4.45 (ss), 6.90 (3c)
Greg Olsen — 4.48 (ss), 7.04 (3c)

Everyone apart from Anthony McCoy has run a 4.4 or faster short shuttle. Every single player has run a sub-7.10 three cone.

Using this information, we can predict four potential Seahawks targets based on today’s combine testing:

Adam Trautman — 4.27 (ss), 6.78 (3c)
Charlie Taumoepeau — 4.27 (ss), 7.00 (3c)
Dalton Keene — 4.19 (ss), 7.07 (3c)
Hunter Bryant — 4.46 (ss), 7.08 (3c)

Trautman’s 6.78 three cone is the fourth fastest by a tight end in the last 10 years. Keene’s 4.19 short shuttle is the 11th fastest in the last decade.

Last year only Noah Fant (6.81), TJ Hockenson (7.02) and Kaden Smith (7.08) ran a sub-7.10. Hockenson ran a 4.18 short shuttle and Fant a 4.22. They were both top-20 picks. Smith ran a 4.47 was drafted by San Francisco in round six but he did run a 4.92 forty.

It’s perhaps more likely than not — following the addition of Greg Olsen — that the Seahawks won’t draft a tight end this year. If they do take one there’s a reasonable chance it’ll be one of the four names above.

It’s also worth noting that the Seahawks were paying attention to Hunter Bryant’s forty (note Pete Carroll’s point). They also, seemingly, have some fancy new technology…

Pete Carroll and John Schneider at the combine (with an exciting new tablet apparently) #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/Fma6Jibb6m

— Rob Staton (@robstaton) February 27, 2020

The other highlights were Albert Okwuegbunam’s blazing 4.49 at nearly nearly 6-6 and 258lbs. He didn’t compete in the short shuttle or three cone, however.

Cole Kmet looks the part and was particularly smooth running routes and catching the football. Kmet ran the second slowest three cone (7.44) though with only LSU’s Stephen Sullivan running a slower time (7.51). For what it’s worth, Sullivan also ran the slowest short shuttle (4.62).

A mixed bag from the receivers

This has long been considered a receiver draft — with multiple possible first round picks. The combine was supposed to be the moment this was confirmed. Yet overall there were positives and negatives.

Denzel Mims was possibly the biggest winner. He was extremely impressive at the Senior Bowl and flashed a ‘pissed off for greatness’ attitude during TV interviews. Today he ran a 4.39 at 6-3 and 207lbs and jumped a 38.5 inch vertical and a 10-11 broad. Unlike D.K. Metcalf a year ago, he also excelled in the three cone — running the fastest time at 6.66 — a full 0.34 faster than second placed Juwan Johnson (6.94).

Mims has 34 inch arms too and an excellent catching radius. His speciality is an ability to win contested catches but with 4.39 speed he has major upside. He will likely overtake a number of other players after this.

Chase Claypool had a superb overall workout — running a 4.42 and jumping a 40.5 inch vertical at 6-4 and 238lbs. There’s been talk of a conversion to tight end but it so rarely works out. Claypool proved today he has the speed to stick at receiver. Notre Dame teammate Miles Boykin jumped into round three after an excellent combine a year ago and Claypool should also see a nice rise after today.

Henry Ruggs was always expected to run in the 4.2’s so his 4.27 forty wasn’t a surprise. He hurt a quad running though and didn’t do anything other than a forty. It’ll be a surprise if he’s not the first or second receiver off the board. He might be in a direct competition with Alabama teammate Jerry Jeudy (who could appeal to teams with young QB’s due to his consistency and route running). Ruggs’ floor is probably Denver at #15.

Jalen Reagor was projected to run faster than a 4.47 but it’s still a perfectly decent time for a player with his explosive traits (42 inch vertical, 11-6 broad). He also looked very natural catching the football during drills — including making one really awkward low grab on a wayward Shea Patterson throw. He also had a superb high-pointed catch on a fade drill.

Brandon Aiyuk ran a slower-than-expected 4.50. It’s not a disaster with his explosive testing (40 inch vertical, 10-8 broad) and enormous catching radius (33.5 inch arms, 80 inch wingspan). Expect both to remain in the first round mix — albeit perhaps not quite as early as recently projected.

Jerry Jeudy (4.45) and Ceedee Lamb (4.50) ran decent but not great times. In the fade route drills they both had the coaches hollering for the way they used footwork to get open then high-pointed the ball. Lamb’s effort in particular was a highlight reel moment.

Donovan Peoples-Jones missed out on equalling the combine receiver record for a vertical jump by half an inch. He also ran a decent 4.48.

Laviska Shenault ran a 4.59. He lined up wearing a baggy T-shirt, ran a poor time then didn’t take his second attempt and called it a day. If it’s an injury — he has too many. Either way, a poor showing that unfortunately wasn’t that unpredictable.

Tee Higgins opted not to do anything, citing he was ‘resting’. A few teams might decide to ‘rest’ Higgins from their draft boards. KJ Hamler didn’t work out either because he’s nursing a hamstring injury.

From the Seahawks perspective, Pete Carroll has only drafted three receivers who haven’t run a 4.4 forty or faster (Kenny Lawler 4.64, Chris Harper 4.50, John Ursua 4.56). Paul Richardson (4.40), Golden Tate (4.42), Tyler Lockett (4.40), Kris Durham (4.46), Kevin Norwood (4.48), Amara Darboh (4.45), David Moore (4.42) and D.K. Metcalf (4.33) all cracked the 4.4’s.

Plenty of players ran a 4.4 but it just didn’t feel like the group sparkled as much as expected. It’s possible expectations had reached an unrealistic level.

Instead of feeling like there might be a ‘must draft’ prospect in the top-45, this now feels like a situation where the Seahawks might be best served using the depth of the receiver class to their advantage and finding a player they like later on.

There were 20 receivers who ran an official 4.4 forty:

Henry Ruggs — 4.27
Quez Watkins — 4.35
Denzel Mims — 4.38
Darnell Mooney — 4.38
Devin Duvernay — 4.39
Antonio Gibson — 4.39
Chase Claypool — 4.42
John Hightower — 4.43
Justin Jefferson — 4.43
Isaiah Coulter — 4.45
Jerry Jeudy — 4.45
Jeff Thomas — 4.45
Tyrie Cleveland — 4.46
Freddie Swain — 4.46
Stephen Guidry — 4.47
Jalen Reagor — 4.47
Joe Reed — 4.47
KJ Osborn — 4.48
Dezmon Patmon — 4.48
Donovan Peoples-Jones — 4.48

Brandon Aiyuk (4.50), Ceedee Lamb (4.50), Trishton Jackson (4.50) and Michael Pittman Jr (4.52) just missed out.

A year ago there were 18 4.4 runners or faster. So it’s a similar amount.

KJ Hamler and Bryan Edwards didn’t test and could easily be on Seattle’s radar. That’s something to keep in mind moving forward.

Of the quarterback performances there were no big shocks. Justin Herbert and Jacob Eason both have strong arms and threw the deep ball as well as expected. Of the others in the group, Jalen Hurts showed off a stronger-than-expected arm and can be very pleased with his performance. Steven Montez has natural arm talent and this was an ideal environment for him to show off his quality. He looked great. I thought Jordan Love’s accuracy was hit and miss at the start but he threw some beautiful deep passes late in the session.

Previewing tomorrow

On Friday the offensive linemen and running backs will perform drills. As we’ve done for the last four years, we’ll run the O-liners through our TEF (and weighted TEF) formula to determine who are the most explosive players in the class.

The formula is explained in full here.

Unfortunately the following key names didn’t do the bench press so we won’t be able to give them a score:

Logan Stenberg
Trey Adams
Tyler Biadasz
Ben Bredeson
Saahdiq Charles
Solomon Kindley
Shane Lemieux
Lucas Niang
Prince Tega Wanogho
Jedrick Wills

There were some positive reps from those who did compete. John Simpson (34), Ezra Cleveland (30), Jonah Jackson (28), Cesar Ruiz (28), Austin Jackson (27) and Damien Lewis (27) all managed an optimal explosive score (27 reps).

Several players weren’t far behind and also had impressive tallies considering their long arms — including Isaiah Wilson (26), Matt Peart (26), Hakeem Adeniji (26) and Lloyd Cushenberry (25).

It should be a highly explosive showing from the running backs. J.K. Dobbins has said he’s struggling with a sore hamstring and might not workout. However, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Cam Akers, Jonathan Taylor and A.J. Dillon are capable of a big performance.

Missing players

It feels like a larger than normal number of big name players are not working out at the combine this year. Some are legit. Tua Tagovailoa for example. Yet a strong quota of LSU players are not performing (Thaddeus Moss, K’Lavon Chaisson, Grant Delpit, Joe Burrow). Chase Young won’t do any drills. Tee Higgins is having his ‘rest’. Price Tega Wanogho and Terrell Lewis aren’t healthy enough to work out and Yetur Gross-Matos is a doubt too.

Pete Carroll reveals free agency plan

Speaking to John Clayton on 710 ESPN, Carroll made some interesting remarks when quizzed about the plan for free agency. Unsurprisingly he confirmed that improving the pass rush was a focal point. He spoke very specifically about the need to find a premier pass rusher to fill the LEO spot. Carroll also noted they’d zoned in on half a dozen free agency targets to add to the D-line.

You can hear the interview in full here.

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Feel free to use this as an open thread. I will post forty yard dash times here and any other testing numbers. At the end of the day I will post a comprehensive review.

If you want a refresher on what to look out for at each position check out our massive combine preview.

Forty times

Tight ends

Devin Asiasi — 4.80 & 4.74
Jacob Breeland — DNP
Harrison Bryant — 4.74 & DNP
Hunter Bryant — 4.75 & 4.77
Josiah Deguara — 4.73 & 4.74
Brycen Hopkins — 4.67 & 4.75
Dalton Keane — 4.73 & 4.72
Cole Kmet — 4.70 & 4.71
Sean McKeon — DNP
Thaddeus Moss — DNP
CJ O’Grady — 4.81 & 4.83
Albert Okwuegbunam — 4.49 & 4.50
Colby Parkinson — 4.78 & 4.84
Jared Pinkney — 5.00 & 4.96
Stephen Sullivan — 4.66 & 4.67
Charle Taumoepeau — 4.75 & 4.79
Adam Trautman — 4.79 & 4.80
Mitchell Wilcox — 4.88 & 4.95
Charlie Woerner — 4.79 & 4.81
Dom Wood-Anderson — 4.94 & 4.92

The Seahawks were paying attention to Hunter Bryant’s forty (note Pete Carroll’s point). They also, seemingly, have some fancy new technology…

Pete Carroll and John Schneider at the combine (with an exciting new tablet apparently) #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/Fma6Jibb6m

— Rob Staton (@robstaton) February 27, 2020

Albert Okwuegbunam ran a 4.49 which is superb at his size (nearly 6-6 and 258lbs). The big question with Okwuegbunam is he was deciding between a medical career and a football career. Clearly, he’s a terrific athlete.

Here are the official forty times:

Tight end broad jumps

Dalton Keene — 10-5
Cole Kmet — 10-3
Stephen Sullivan — 10-3
Charlie Taumoepeau — 10-1
Charlie Woerner — 10-0
CJ O’Grady — 9-11
Dom Wood-Anders — 9-11
Brycen Hopkins — 9-8
Devin Asiasi — 9-7
Hunter Bryant — 9-7
Josiah Deguara — 9-7
Adam Trautman — 9-6
Mitchell Wilcox — 9-4
Harrison Bryant — 9-2
Colby Parkinson — 9-1

Tight end vertical jumps

Cole Kmet — 37 inches
Stephen Sullivan — 36.5 inches
Charlie Taumoepeau — 36.5 inches
Josiah Deguara — 35.5 inches
Dom Wood-Anders — 35 inches
Adam Trautman — 34.5 inches
Charlie Woerner — 34.5 inches
Dalton Keene — 34 inches
CJ O’Grady — 34 inches
Brycen Hopkins — 33 inches
Harrison Bryant — 32.5 inches
Hunter Bryant — 32.5 inches
Colby Parkinson — 32.5 inches
Mitchell Wilcox — 31 inches
Devin Asiasi — 30.5 inches

To compare, Nick Vannett jumped a 30.5 inch vertical and Will Dissly jumped a 28 inch vertical.

Now here’s the all-important short shuttle and three cone times. This is what the Seahawks seemingly pay a great deal of attention to. Anything in the 4.4’s or faster is pretty good:

Short shuttle times

Dalton Keene — 4.19
Charlie Taumoepeau — 4.27
Adam Trautman — 4.27
Brycen Hopkins — 4.28
CJ O’Grady — 4.34
Josiah Deguara — 4.35
Harrison Bryant — 4.37
Cole Kmet — 4.41
Mitchell Wilcox — 4.43
Hunter Bryant — 4.46
Colby Parkinson — 4.46
Stephen Sullivan — 4.62
Dom Wood-Anders — DNP
Charlie Woerner — DNP
Devin Asiasi — DNP

For comparison — Vannett ran a 4.20 and Dissly ran a 4.40.

Three cone times

Adam Trautman — 6.78
Charlie Taumoepeau — 7.00
Dalton Keene — 7.07
Hunter Bryant — 7.08
Josiah Deguara — 7.15
Colby Parkinson — 7.15
Charlie Woerner — 7.18
Brycen Hopkins — 7.25
CJ O’Grady — 7.30
Mitchell Wilcox — 7.37
Harrison Bryant — 7.41
Cole Kmet — 7.44
Stephen Sullivan — 7.51
Dom Wood-Anders — DNP
Devin Asiasi — DNP

Again for comparison — Vannett ran a 7.05 and Dissly ran a 7.07.

Wide receivers

Neither Tee Higgins (‘resting’) or KJ Hamler (hamstring) are testing today.

The big name receivers tested brilliantly in the vertical jump:

Donovan Peoples-Jones — 44.5
Jalen Reagor — 42
Henry Ruggs — 42
Chase Claypool — 40.5
Brandon Aiyuk — 40
Denzel Mims — 38.5
Justin Jefferson — 37.5
Michael Pittman Jr — 36.5
Jerry Jeudy — 35
Ceedee Lamb — 34

Here are the broad jump results:

Donovan Peoples-Jones — 11-7
Jalen Reagor — 11-6
Henry Ruggs — 10-11
Denzel Mims — 10-11
Brandon Aiyuk — 10-8
Chase Claypool — 10-6
Justin Jefferson — 10-6
Ceedee Lamb — 10-4
Michael Pittman Jr — 10-1
Jerry Jeudy — 10-0

Laviska Shenault Jr didn’t jump a broad or vertical.

Group 1

Brandon Aiyuk — 4.50 & 4.53
Omar Bayless — 4.62 & 4.68
Lynn Bowden — DNP
Tony Brown — 4.68 & 4.66
Lawrence Cager — DNP
Marquez Callaway — 4.63 & 4.56
Quintez Cephus — 4.73 & 4.74
Chase Claypool — 4.45 & 4.43
Tyrie Cleveland — 4.47 & 4.51
Isaiah Coulter — 4.46 & 4.46
Gabe Davis — 4.54 & 4.55
Quartney Davis — 4.55 & 4.55
Devin Duvernay — 4.40 & 4.46
Bryan Edwards — DNP
Chris Finke — 4.57 & 4.64
Aaron Fuller — 4.64 & 4.59
Antonio Gandy Golden — 4.60 & 4.62
Antonio Gibson — 4.40 & 4.43
Stephen Guidry — 4.48 & 4.48
KJ Hamler — DNP
Tee Higgins — DNP
John Hightower — 4.44 & 4.53
KJ Hill — 4.60 & 4.62
Isaiah Hodgins — 4.61 & ?
Trishton Jackson — 4.52 & ?
Justin Jefferson — 4.44 & ?

Group 2

Van Jefferson — DNP
Jauan Jennings — 4.73 & 4.73
Jerry Jeudy — 4.46 & 4.52
Collin Johnson — DNP
Juwan Johnson — 4.59 & 4.62
Tyler Johnson — DNP
Ceedee Lamb — 4.51 & 4.51
Kalija Lipscomb — 4.58 & 4.58
Austin Mack — 4.62 & 4.60
Denzel Mims — 4.40 & 4.39
Darnell Mooney — 4.38 & 4.43
KJ Osborn — 4.48 & 4.49
Aaron Parker — 4.57 & 4.62
Dezmon Patmon — 4.51 & 4.49
Donovan Peoples-Jones — 4.56 & 4.48
Malcolm Perry — 4.63 & 4.65
Michael Pittman Jr — 4.52 & 4.54
James Proche — DNP
Jalen Reagor — 4.47 & 4.50
Joe Reed — 4.51 & 4.47
Kendrick Rogers — 4.52 & 4.57
Henry Ruggs — 4.28 & 4.31
Laviska Shenault — 4.59 & DNP
Darrell Stewart — DNP
Freddie Swain — 4.46 & 4.50
Jeff Thomas — 4.46 & 4.51
Ben Victor — 4.63 & 4.61
Quez Watkins — 4.36 & 4.38
Cody White — 4.70 & 4.67

Quarterbacks

Group 1

Kelly Bryant — 4.69 & 4.69
Joe Burrow — DNP
Kevin Davidson — 5.05 & 5.00
Jacob Eason — 4.90 & 4.90
Jake Fromm — 5.01 & 5.04
Anthony Gordon — DNP
Justin Herbert — 4.71 & 4.69
Jalen Hurts — 4.64 & 4.59
Brian Lewerke — 4.99 & 4.95

Group 2

Jordan Love — 4.69 & 4.65
Jake Luton — DNP
Cole McDonald — 4.60 & 4.54
Steven Montez — 4.58 & 4.65
James Morgan — 4.92 & 4.89
Shea Patterson — 4.73 & 4.67
Nate Stanley — 4.79 & 4.83
Tua Tagovailoa — DNP

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In the video above Jonathan Taylor confirms he’s had an official combine interview with the Seahawks. It’s a revealing watch for a number of reasons.

Firstly, you could be forgiven for thinking he has his heart set on coming to Seattle. When asked which player he’d be most excited to be on the same field with, he said Russell Wilson. When asked which GM or coach had him a little starstruck during interviews, he said Pete Carroll.

Mike Florio connected the dots and suggested the Seahawks were high on his list of potential destinations, to which he said he’d love to play in Seattle.

Taylor is 5-10 and 226lbs — the prototype size for a Seahawks runner. He has a great personality, as you can tell from the interview. He’s a great tester and will run at least a 4.4 in the forty. We’ll see if his explosive testing is also strong (important for the Seahawks).

The only problem is ball security.

Taylor had 15 fumbles in three years at Wisconsin. He also had over 300 carries in those three years — a lot more than most running backs. Clyde Edwards-Helaire didn’t fumble once at LSU but he only had 370 career carries. Taylor had 320 in 2019 alone.

Seattle gave away 14 fumbles in 2019 — ten more than their 2018 total. For all of Taylor’s great qualities — I’m sure one of the first questions in his combine interview was, ‘why so many fumbles?’ and ‘can we trust you?’

The running back position is worth discussing for a number of reasons. It was revealed this week that Rashaad Penny might start the year on the PUP list. C.J. Prosise will depart as a free agent. Chris Carson’s injury isn’t serious but he’s in a contract year and has had a string of injuries in his career (plus a lot of fumbles in 2019).

It’s gone under the radar but this is actually a really good looking running back class. I think Edwards-Helaire is the best and a top-20 player. With Taylor, D’Andre Swift and J.K. Dobbins there are options in the top-50. Then there’s some depth with Anthony McFarland, Zack Moss, Cam Akers and a handful of others.

If you own a pick between 25-45 — the chances are the best player on the board when you pick in terms of pure grade will be a running back. It doesn’t mean teams will take one because clearly the position is devalued these days in some parts of the league. Yet if you were truly planning to go best player available, it’s very possible the BPA will be one of Edwards-Helaire, Taylor, Swift or Dobbins.

For the Seahawks to have the luxury of going down that road they’d need to be very busy in free agency. With their first pick — and possibly their two in the second frame — there needs to be a focus on D-line, O-line and receiver. The more you do in the market, the more flexibility you have later on.

We’ve all seen the D.K. Metcalf meeting clip with Carroll taking his shirt off. Despite the relative love-in there, the Seahawks still took two other players before Metcalf and only stopped his fall by trading back into the last pick of round two.

A meeting with Taylor doesn’t mean much at all. It certainly doesn’t say they’re going to take him at #27 or after trading down.

However — it shows they’re digging into this running back class. Size-wise, Taylor is the most Seahawky of the lot. Let’s see if he can test in a way to give him a shot to play with Russell Wilson as he said he would like to.

Chris Jones will be tagged

Not a surprise and fully expected but the Chiefs aren’t letting Chris Jones test the market. Expect Jacksonville to follow suit with Yannick Ngakoue.

Today’s coverage of the drills

The combine workouts begin today with the tight ends, quarterbacks and receivers. It starts at 9pm my time and is scheduled to run until 4am. In previous years, when the combine started at 2pm in the UK, I used to book four days off work and provide an extensive live blog. I can’t do that until 4am three nights in a row (the Sunday workouts are a bit earlier). I’m still going to stay up to watch the drills and provide live coverage. I will post forty yard dash times as they happen plus some other significant testing numbers. Please use that article as an open thread and get involved. Then at the end I will write a review of the day as usual.

Defensive back measurements

Remember the 32 inch arm threshold for cornerbacks… and prepare to be disappointed…

For a full list check out Charles Robinson’s timeline here.

Damon Arnette
Height: 5-11 5/8
Weight: 195
Hand: 9/18
Arm: 30
Wingspan: 74 4/8

Cam Dantzler
Height: 6-2 2/8
Weight: 188
Hand: 9
Arm: 30 5/8
Wingspan: 72 3/8

Trevon Diggs
Height: 6-1 3/8
Weight: 205
Hand: 9 3/8
Arm: 32 6/8
Wingspan: 78 3/8

Kristian Fulton
Height: 5-11 5/8
Weight: 197
Hand: 9 1/8
Arm: 30 5/8
Wingspan: 71 7/8

Jeff Gladney
Height: 5-10 2/8
Weight: 191
Hand: 9
Arm: 31 7/8
Wingspan: 75 2/8

AJ Green
Height: 6-1 4/8
Weight: 202
Hand: 9
Arm: 30 7/8
Wingspan: 74 7/8

Bryce Hall
Height: 6-1 2/8
Weight: 202
Hand: 9 5/8
Arm: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 78 4/8

CJ Henderson
Height: 6-0 6/8
Weight: 204
Hand: 9
Arm: 31 5/8
Wingspan: 75 7/8

Noah Igbinoghene
Height: 5-10
Weight: 198
Hand: 9 3/8
Arm: 31 6/8
Wingspan: 75 1/8

Lamar Jackson
Height: 6-2
Weight: 208
Hand: 9 4/8
Arm: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 77 7/8

Jaylon Johnson
Height: 5-11 7/8
Weight: 193
Hand: 9 3/8
Arm: 31 3/8
Wingspan: 74 3/8

Jeff Okudah
Height: 6-1 1/8
Weight: 205
Hand: 9 1/8
Arm: 32 5/8
Wingspan: 78 5/8

Amik Robertson
Height: 5-8 3/8
Weight: 187
Hand: 9
Arm: 30 2/8
Wingspan: 73 7/8

Stanford Samuels
Height: 6-1
Weight: 187
Hand: 10 1/8
Arm: 31 6/8
Wingspan: 76 3/8

AJ Terrell
Height: 6-1 1/8
Weight: 195
Hand: 9
Arm: 31 2/8
Wingspan: 75 5/8

Jeremy Chinn
Height: 6-3
Weight: 221
Hand: 9 5/8
Arm: 32 1/8
Wingspan: 77 5/8

Ashtyn Davis
Height: 6-0 7/8
Weight: 202
Hand: 9 3/8
Arm: 30 4/8
Wingspan: 75 1/8

Grant Delpit
Height: 6-2 4/8
Weight: 213
Hand: 9 1/8
Arm: 30 3/8
Wingspan: 74 4/8

Kyle Dugger
Height: 6-0 7/8
Weight: 217
Hand: 10 3/8
Arm: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 78 4/8

Xavier McKinney
Height: 6-0 3/8
Weight: 201
Hand: 8 5/8
Arm: 30 7/8
Wingspan: 75 4/8

JR Reed
Height: 6-0 6/8
Weight: 202
Hand: 9 7/8
Arm: 32 4/8
Wingspan: 76 3/8

Antoine Winfield Jr
Height: 5-9 1/8
Weight: 203
Hand: 9 4/8
Arm: 30 1/8
Wingspan: 72 6/8

Big thanks to SeaMode for putting this list together:

Qualifiers from the Combine (measurables)

CB Jeff Okudah, Ohio St., 6011, 205, 9 1/8 hand, 32 5/8 arm, 78 5/8 wing
CB Trevon Diggs, Alabama, 6013, 205, 9 3/8 hand, 32 3/4 arm, 78 3/8 wing
CB BoPete Keyes, Tulane, 6007, 202, 8 3/4 hand, 32 5/8 arm, 78 1/4 wing
S Kyle Dugger, Lenoir-Rhyne, 6007, 217, 10 3/8 hand, 32 7/8 arm, 78 1/2 wing
CB Bryce Hall, Virginia, 6012, 202, 9 5/8 hand, 32 1/4 arm, 78 1/2 wing
CB Lamar Jackson, Nebraska, 6020, 208, 9 1/2 hand, 32 1/4 arm, 77 7/8 wing
S Jeremy Chinn, Southern Illinois, 6030, 221, 9 5/8 hand, 32 1/8 arm, 77 5/8 wing
CB Michael Ojemudia, Iowa, 6005, 200, 8 7/8 hand, 32 1/4 arm, 77 3/4 wing

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Today at the combine

Three news stories to start the day. Firstly, players will be weighed a second time before workouts this year. It’s to ensure players test at their actual listed weight.

Also, this was interesting from Tony Pauline:

The Falcons have told people at the Combine that tight end, along with strong-side linebacker and center, are their priority positions come draft day unless something changes.

It’s interesting that center is listed here. Cutting Alex Mack saves $8m. The Falcons need to create room and don’t have many other ways to do it. If the Seahawks end up in the market at the position, Mack could be a veteran option.

Meanwhile another center — Wisconsin’s Tyler Biadasz — has become the latest player to pull out of combine drills. He’s apparently recovering from a shoulder injury. A whole host of big names are not working out this year.

Measurements

I’ve posted the highlights below. Check out Charles Robinson’s timeline on Twitter for the full list.

With the defensive line group, pay close attention to the arm length. The Seahawks are strict on a +33 inch arm threshold.

It’s good news for most of the big name edge rushers. Many of them have exceptional length (+34 inch arms). In particular, Julian Okwara stands out with his frame. It’s a shame he’s unable to workout due to injury — but his combination of speed, size and length will presumably be very attractive to the Seahawks.

His pressure percentage in 2018 and 2019 was a strong 18.4%. Before he got injured he had the third best pass rush win percentage (23%) in 2019.

These are all things to tick off. Considering players like Charles Harris went #22 overall in 2017, nobody should be surprised if Okwara goes in a similar range. Pass rushers, offensive linemen and cornerbacks generally go early.

Okwara’s tape is mixed. He dominated Virginia’s raw offensive line but failed to impress against Georgia’s two first round offensive tackles. Even so — his physical profile, speed and overall production is strong enough to go in round one.

On the contrary, K’Lavon Chaisson (who gets a lot more hype) is less impressive. He lacks length (32 2/8 inch arms) and his college production was poor and relied a lot on stunts. His 2019 13.1% pass rush win percentage was the lowest among edge rushers eligible for this draft.

He’s also decided against testing at the combine — so he can’t make up for it with a great workout. He only ran a 4.69 at SPARQ. A lot of people assume he’s a freak athlete who will go in the top-15. Okwara has a superior profile.

LSU’s Rashard Lawrence played the 2019 season as if his life depended on it. His +34 inch arms on a 6-2, 308lbs frame is outstanding. He also has enormous 11 inch hands. Don’t be surprised if he goes earlier than people are currently suggesting.

Defensive linemen

Ross Blacklock
Height: 6-3 1/8
Weight: 290
Hand: 9 6/8
Arm: 32 3/8
Wingspan: 78 6/8

Derrick Brown
Height: 6-4 5/8
Weight: 326
Hand: 9
Arm: 34 2/8
Wingspan: 80 7/8

Marlon Davidson
Height: 6-3 3/8
Weight: 303
Hand: 10
Arm: 33
Wingspan: 80 4/8

Jordan Elliott
Height: 6-3 7/8
Weight: 302
Hand: 10 2/8
Arm: 32 3/8
Wingspan: 79

Leki Fotu
Height: 6-5 3/8
Weight: 330
Hand: 10 5/8
Arm: 34 2/8
Wingspan: 78 7/8

Neville Gallimore
Height: 6-2
Weight: 304
Hand: 9 5/8
Arm: 32 6/8
Wingspan: 77 2/8

Davon Hamilton
Height: 6-3 3/8
Weight: 320
Hand: 9 6/8
Arm: 33
Wingspan: 79 2/8

Javon Kinlaw
Height: 6-5 1/8
Weight: 324
Hand: 10 4/8
Arm: 34 7/8
Wingspan: 83 6/8

Rashard Lawrence
Height: 6-2
Weight: 308
Hand: 11
Arm: 34 1/8
Wingspan: 80 3/8

Justin Madubuike
Height: 6-2 5/8
Weight: 293
Hand: 9
Arm: 33 4/8
Wingspan: 80 4/8

Chase Young
Height: 6-4 7/8
Weight: 264
Hand: 10
Arm: 33 6/8
Wingspan: 80 5/8

Bradlee Anae
Height: 6-3 3/8
Weight: 257
Hand: 10 1/8
Arm: 32 1/8
Wingspan: 78 1/8

Raekwon Davis
Height: 6-6
Weight: 311
Hand: 11
Arm: 33 7/8
Wingspan: 85 2/8

AJ Epenesa
Height: 6-5 1/8
Weight: 275
Hand: 10 1/8
Arm: 34 4/8
Wingspan: 81 2/8

Jonathan Greenard
Height: 6-3
Weight: 263
Hand: 9 2/8
Arm: 34 7/8
Wingspan: 81 2/8

Yetur Gross-Matos
Height: 6-5
Weight: 266
Hand: 9 6/8
Arm: 34 7/8
Wingspan: 82 2/8

Trevis Gipson
Height: 6-3 3/8
Weight: 261
Hand: 9 5/8
Arm: 33 7/8
Wingspan: 81 2/8

Jonathan Garvin
Height: 6-4 1/8
Weight: 263
Hand: 9 5/8
Arm: 34
Wingspan: 80 2/8

Alex Highsmith
Height: 6-3 1/8
Weight: 248
Hand: 9 1/8
Arm: 33 1/8
Wingspan: 76 7/8

Khalid Kareem
Height: 6-3 6/8
Weight: 268
Hand: 10 7/8
Arm: 34 3/8
Wingspan: 84

James Lynch
Height: 6-3 5/8
Weight: 289
Hand: 9 7/8
Arm: 31 7/8
Wingspan: 76 7/8

Julian Okwara
Height: 6-4 2/8
Weight: 252
Hand: 10 2/8
Arm: 34 3/8
Wingspan: 81 6/8

Jason Strowbridge
Height: 6-4 2/8
Weight: 275
Hand: 10 1/8
Arm: 32 3/8
Wingspan: 80 3/8

Jabari Zuniga
Height: 6-3 3/8
Weight: 264
Hand: 10 3/8
Arm: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 79

Linebackers

Zack Baun
Height: 6-2 3/8
Weight: 238
Hand: 9 5/8
Arm: 32 6/8
Wingspan: 78 2/8

Jordan Brooks
Height: 6-0
Weight: 240
Hand: 9 1/8
Arm: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 79 3/8

K’Lavon Chaisson
Height: 6-3
Weight: 254
Hand: 9 7/8
Arm: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 79 2/8

Troy Dye
Height: 6-3 2/8
Weight: 231
Hand: 9 3/8
Arm: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 78

Willie Gay Jr
Height: 6-1 1/8
Weight: 243
Hand: 10 4/8
Arm: 32 5/8
Wingspan: 77 78

Malik Harrison
Height: 6-2 5/8
Weight: 247
Hand: 10 2/8
Arm: 32 6/8
Wingspan: 79 3/8

Anfernee Jennings
Height: 6-2 1/8
Weight: 256
Hand: 9 1/8
Arm: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 79 4/8

Terrell Lewis
Height: 6-5 2/8
Weight: 262
Hand: 9 7/8
Arm: 33 7/8
Wingspan: 83 3/8

Kenneth Murray
Height: 6-2 4/8
Weight: 241
Hand: 9 4/8
Arm: 32 6/8
Wingspan: 80

Patrick Queen
Height: 6-0 2/8
Weight: 229
Hand: 10
Arm: 31 5/8
Wingspan: 76 7/8

Isaiah Simmons
Height: 6-3 5/8
Weight: 238
Hand: 9 5/8
Arm: 33 3/8
Wingspan: 81 7/8

Darrell Taylor
Height: 6-3 5/8
Weight: 267
Hand: 9 6/8
Arm: 33
Wingspan: 80

Josh Uche
Height: 6-1 2/8
Weight: 245
Hand: 9 4/8
Arm: 33 5/8
Wingspan: 80

Curtis Weaver
Height: 6-2 3/8
Weight: 265
Hand: 10
Arm: 32 3/8
Wingspan: 78 1/8

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Latest from the combine

It seems like LSU are having a week off. Grant Delpit, as he recovers from an ankle injury, won’t do drills. Thaddeus Moss isn’t going to test. There’s talk K’Lavon Chaisson won’t work out and Joe Burrow says he won’t do anything.

How disappointing.

As you’ll see in the measurements below, there are some enormous, talented offensive tackles in this class. It makes life a lot easier for the Seahawks. They can fix the D-line in free agency. Then, if needed, they can replace Germain Ifedi (assuming he departs) with their first pick in the draft.

Mock draft

I’ve not done one of these in weeks. So I thought I’d do a ‘before and after’ mock draft. Let’s see how things change after the combine. I’ve included a few trades as you’ll see (one involves the Seahawks).

Underneath the mock I will post all of today’s offensive line and running back measurements.

Don’t forget to check out our big combine preview by clicking here. It has all the information you need on what to look for at the combine from a Seahawks perpsective.

Mock draft

First round

#1 Cincinnati — Joe Burrow (QB, LSU)
#2 Washington — Chase Young (EDGE, Ohio State)
#3 LA Chargers (v/DET) — Justin Herbert (QB, Oregon)
#4 New York Giants — Isaiah Simmons (LB, Clemson)
#5 Miami — Tua Tagovailoa (QB, Alabama)
#6 Detroit (v/LAC) — Jeff Okudah (CB, Ohio State)
#7 Carolina — Derrick Brown (DT, Alabama)
#8 Dallas (v/ARI) — Henry Ruggs (WR, Alabama)
#9 Jacksonville — Javon Kinlaw (DT, South Carolina)
#10 Cleveland — Andrew Thomas (T, Georgia)
#11 New York Jets — Mekhi Becton (T, Louisville)
#12 Las Vegas — Jerry Jeudy (WR, Alabama)
#13 Indianapolis — Tristan Wirfs (T, Iowa)
#14 Tampa Bay — Jedrick Wills (T, Alabama)
#15 Denver — Jalen Reagor (WR, TCU)
#16 Philadelphia (v/ATL) — CeeDee Lamb (WR, Oklahoma)
#17 Arizona (v/DAL) — Austin Jackson (T, USC)
#18 Miami (v/PIT) — Grant Delpit (S, LSU)
#19 Las Vegas (v/CHI) — CJ Henderson (CB, Florida)
#20 Jacksonville (v/LAR) — Cesar Ruiz (C, Michigan)
#21 Atlanta (v/PHI) — Patrick Queen (LB, LSU)
#22 Buffalo — Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB, LSU)
#23 New England — Brandon Aiyuk (WR, Arizona State)
#24 New Orleans — K.J. Hamler (WR, Penn State)
#25 Minnesota — Isaiah Wilson (T, Georgia)
#26 Miami (v/HOU) — Josh Jones (T, Houston)
#27 Carolina (v/SEA) — Jordan Love (QB, Utah State)
#28 Baltimore — A.J. Epenesa (DE, Iowa)
#29 Tennessee — Trevon Diggs (CB, Alabama)
#30 Green Bay — Tee Higgins (WR, Clemson)
#31 San Francisco — Laviska Shenault (WR, Colorado)
#32 Kansas City — D’Andre Swift (RB, Georgia)

Second round

#33 Cincinnati — Kenneth Murray (LB, Oklahoma)
#34 Indianapolis (v/WAS) — Kyle Dugger (S, Lenoir-Rhyne)
#35 Detroit — Julian Okwara (DE, Notre Dame)
#36 New York Giants — Kristian Fulton (CB, LSU)
#37 Detroit (v/LAC) — Zack Baun (LB, Wisconsin)
#38 Seattle (v/CAR) — Prince Tega Wanogho (T, Auburn)
#39 Miami — Jonathan Taylor (RB, Wisconsin)
#40 Arizona — Jaylon Johnson (CB, Utah)
#41 Cleveland — Xavier McKinney (S, Alabama)
#42 Jacksonville — Jeff Gladney (CB, TCU)
#43 Chicago — Damien Lewis (G, LSU)
#44 Indianapolis — Justin Jefferson (WR, LSU)
#45 Tampa Bay — Ross Blacklock (DT, TCU)
#46 Denver — Damon Arnette (CB, Ohio State)
#47 Atlanta — K’Lavon Chaisson (LB, LSU)
#48 New York Jets — Yetur Gross-Matos (DE, Penn State)
#49 Pittsburgh — J.K. Dobbins (RB, Ohio State)
#50 Seattle (v/CHI) — Raekwon Davis (DT, Alabama)
#51 Arizona (v/DAL) — Denzel Mims (WR, Baylor)
#52 LA Rams — Ezra Cleveland (T, Boise State)
#53 Philadelphia — Cam Dantzler (CB, Miss State)
#54 Buffalo — Van Jefferson (WR, Florida)
#55 Atlanta (v/NE) — Matt Hennessy (C, Temple)
#56 Miami — Lloyd Cushenberry (C, LSU)
#57 Houston — Cole Kmet (TE, Notre Dame)
#58 Minnesota — Curtis Weaver (DE, Boise State)
#59 Chicago (v/SEA) — Hunter Bryant (TE, Washington)
#60 Baltimore — Michael Pittman Jr (WR, USC)
#61 Tennessee — Joshua Uche (LB, Michigan)
#62 Green Bay — Jacob Eason (QB, Washington)
#63 Kansas City (v/SF) — Quintez Cephus (WR, Kansas City)
#64 Seattle — Bryan Edwards (WR, South Carolina)

The trades explained

The LA Chargers (#6) trade with Detroit (#3)
As they prepare to move into a new stadium, the Chargers make a splash and jump up to #3 to get a quarterback (Justin Herbert). They trade two second round picks — one this year and one in 2021 — to make the move.

Dallas (#17) trades with Arizona (#8)
There’s been the odd whisper about Dallas preparing to be bold in this draft. Let’s assume they get everything done in free agency and keep Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper and Robert Quinn. In this scenario they jump up nine spots, surrendering their second round pick, to get Henry Ruggs after he runs a 4.2 at the combine to try and increase their offensive potency.

Philadelphia (#21) trades with Atlanta (#16)
The Eagles see the run on receivers and don’t hang about. Ceedee Lamb doesn’t run as well as some of the others at the combine and lasts a bit longer than many are projecting. They move up by giving Atlanta their third round pick.

Carolina (#38) trades with Seattle (#27)
Some teams are going to look at Jordan Love and believe he can be their future. The teams who believe that might need to get ahead of Green Bay at #30 (who appear ready to start planning ahead). The Panthers, under new leadership, give Seattle a third round pick (#69) and some 2021 compensation to move up to #27.

The Seahawks picks explained

Seattle sees a run on receivers and offensive linemen and gratefully takes the opportunity to trade down (again) while adding an extra early third round pick.

In this scenario they’ve invested heavily in the pass rush during free agency — retaining Jadeveon Clowney, signing Everson Griffen and then bringing in one other (either via trade or signing). Germain Ifedi has signed elsewhere. I don’t think it matters whether they re-sign George Fant or not for this. He’d be a hedge and/or competition.

Prince Tega Wanogho is highly athletic and was expected to run a time in the 4.95 range and jump a 32 inch vertical before he had to withdraw from combine testing. He has experience at right and left tackle, he’s very good on the move and he’s extremely physical.

He could compete to start at right tackle and could even be an eventual heir-apparent to Duane Brown on the left. He has a good backstory and stayed at Auburn a year ago to finish a second degree. His dream is to return to Nigeria as a coach and help others live out their NFL dream.

An alternative option could be Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland.

Despite bolstering their pass rush via the open market, the Seahawks return to the D-line with their second pick. For the last five years they’ve spent one of their top-two picks on a defensive lineman. That trend will likely continue this year.

For years they’ve been looking for their answer to Calais Campbell. Alabama’s Raekwon Davis fits the bill. He’s 6-7, 315lbs and a ‘first off the bus’ physical specimen. His run defense is superb, he anchored Alabama’s line and he has the unique ability to gain leverage despite his height.

He should be a first round pick but he falls due to the fact he only managed two sacks in his final two years at Alabama. Jarran Reed fell to pick #49 in 2016 because teams didn’t trust his ability to be more than a good run defender. Seattle traded up to get him. In this projection I have them repeating the act — trading a fourth round pick to Chicago (who, funnily enough, were the team the Seahawks traded with to get Reed).

Having addressed both lines, Seattle’s next priority with their other second round pick is to tap into the receiver class. With a major run on the position in rounds one and two, they don’t risk waiting until the third frame. Bryan Edwards isn’t working out at the combine due to a broken foot but he’s an electric receiver with better speed than people realise. He’s mature, seems to be pissed off for greatness and broke receiving records at South Carolina. He’d be a nice compliment for Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf.

With the pick acquired from Carolina at #69, the Seahawks replace C.J. Prosise with Cam Akers. He has the size, explosive testing, pass-blocking and receiving skills to replace Prosise and he has the potential to earn a much greater role within the offense.

They will gain a third round comp pick due to Earl Thomas signing a big contract in Baltimore. They could easily return to the defense here, having already spent three picks on the offense. However — the strength of this class in the first three rounds is receiver and O-line. If they cut Justin Britt to save money they might need to find a replacement.

Nick Harris struggled in 1v1’s at the Senior Bowl but he performed much better in scrimmages. The Seahawks have drafted and started a smaller center in Joey Hunt. Harris plays with intensity and is a real fighter. He has underrated mobility when he pulls or progresses to the second level. He’s loaded with grit and leadership. People will be scared off by the size — not unfairly — but I still think Harris can make it in the NFL and might surprise a few people. Perhaps with his size they wouldn’t take him in the middle rounds but look how enamoured they’ve been with Hunt. I also think this could be an area they address in free agency if Britt moves on (Graham Glasgow? Alex Mack if cut?).

Measurements

I’m going to pick out the relevant names here (there are many) but for all the details from today’s weigh-ins check out Charles Robinson’s Twitter timeline.

Offensive line measurements

Trey Adams
Height: 6-8
Weight: 318
Hands: 9 7/8
Arm length: 34 3/8
Wingspan: 81 4/8

Hakeem Adeniji
Height: 6-4 3/8
Weight: 302
Hands: 10
Arm length: 33 6/8
Wingspan: 82 3/8

Ben Bartch
Height: 6-5 6/8
Weight: 309
Hands: 9
Arm length: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 80 4/8

Mekhi Becton
Height: 6-7 3/8
Weight: 364
Hands: 10 6/8
Arm length: 35 5/8
Wingspan: 83 2/8

Tyler Biadasz
Height: 6-3 5/8
Weight: 314
Hands: 10
Arm length: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 79 7/8

Ben Bredeson
Height: 6-4 5/8
Weight: 315
Hands: 10 1/8
Arm length: 31 1/8
Wingspan: 76 6/8

Saahdiq Charles
Height: 6-4 1/8
Weight: 321
Hands: 10
Arm length: 33
Wingspan: 80 3/8

Ezra Cleveland
Height: 6-6
Weight: 311
Hands: 9
Arm length: 33 3/8
Wingspan: 80 3/8

Lloyd Cushenberry
Height: 6-3 1/8
Weight: 312
Hands: 10 3/8
Arm length: 34 1/8
Wingspan: 84 2/8

Nick Harris
Height: 6-0 7/8
Weight: 302
Hands: 9 6/8
Arm length: 32 1/8
Wingspan: 77 4/8

Matt Hennessy
Height: 6-3 7/8
Weight: 307
Hands: 10
Arm length: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 79 6/8

Austin Jackson
Height: 6-4 7/8
Weight: 322
Hands: 10 2/8
Arm length: 34 1/8
Wingspan: 82

Jonah Jackson
Height: 6-3 4/8
Weight: 306
Hands: 10 4/8
Arm length: 33 4/8
Wingspan: 77 7/8

Joshua Jones
Height: 6-5
Weight: 319
Hands: 10 1/8
Arm length: 33 7/8
Wingspan: 79 7/8

Solomon Kindley
Height: 6-3 2/8
Weight: 337
Hands: 10
Arm length: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 77 6/8

Shane Lemieux
Height: 6-3 7/8
Weight: 310
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 77

Damien Lewis
Height: 6-2
Weight: 327
Hands: 10 2/8
Arm length: 33
Wingspan: 79 4/8

Colt McKivitz
Height: 6-6 1/8
Weight: 306
Hands: 10
Arm length: 33 6/8
Wingspan: 81 5/8

Netane Muti
Height: 6-2 7/8
Weight: 315
Hands: 10 5/8
Arm length: 31 6/8
Wingspan: 76 4/8

Lucas Niang
Height: 6-6
Weight: 315
Hands: 10 4/8
Arm length: 34 2/8
Wingspan: 83 1/8

Matt Peart
Height: 6-6 5/8
Weight: 318
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 36 5/8
Wingspan: 86 4/8

Tyre Phillips
Height: 6-5
Weight: 331
Hands: 10 3/8
Arm length: 35 1/8
Wingspan: 84 5/8

Cesar Ruiz
Height: 6-2 6/8
Weight: 307
Hands: 11
Arm length: 33 1/8
Wingspan: 79 5/8

John Simpson
Height: 6-4 1/8
Weight: 321
Hands: 11 2/8
Arm length: 34 1/8
Wingspan: 82 3/8

Logan Stenberg
Height: 6-6
Weight: 317
Hands: 10 2/8
Arm length: 32 4/8
Wingspan: 80

Alex Taylor
Height: 6-8 3/8
Weight: 308
Hands: 11 2/8
Arm length: 36 1/8
Wingspan: 88

Andrew Thomas
Height: 6-5 1/8
Weight: 315
Hands: 10 2/8
Arm length: 36 1/8
Wingspan: 83 4/8

Prince Tega Wanogho
Height: 6-5
Weight: 308
Hands: 10 3/8
Arm length: 33 4/8
Wingspan: 80 6/8

Jedrick Wills
Height: 6-4 2/8
Weight: 312
Hands: 10
Arm length: 34 2/8
Wingspan: 83 4/8

Isaiah Wilson
Height: 6-6 4/8
Weight: 350
Hands: 10 2/8
Arm length: 35 4/8
Wingspan: 84 3/8

Tristan Wirfs
Height: 6-4 7/8
Weight: 320
Hands: 10 2/8
Arm length: 34
Wingspan: 80 2/8

Running back measurements

Saivon Ahmed
Height: 5-10
Weight: 197
Hands: 8 6/8
Arm length: 29 2/8
Wingspan: 71 5/8

Cam Akers
Height: 5-10 3/8
Weight: 217
Hands: 9
Arm length: 30 5/8
Wingspan: 74 5/8

Eno Benjamin
Height: 5-8
Weight: 207
Hands: 8 5/8
Arm length: 31 2/8
Wingspan: 76

A.J. Dillon
Height: 6-0 3/8
Weight: 247
Hands: 9 5/8
Arm length: 31 5/8
Wingspan: 77 5/8

J.K. Dobbins
Height: 5-9 4/8
Weight: 209
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 29 6/8
Wingspan: 73 4/8

Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Height: 5-7 2/8
Weight: 207
Hands: 9 5/8
Arm length: 29
Wingspan: 70 5/8

Joshua Kelley
Height: 5-10 5/8
Weight: 212
Hands: 9 5/8
Arm length: 31 5/8
Wingspan: 76 2/8

Anthony McFarland
Height: 5-8 1/8
Weight: 208
Hands: 8 7/8
Arm length: 30 3/8
Wingspan: 73 7/8

Zack Moss
Height: 5-9 3/8
Weight: 223
Hands: 9 2/8
Arm length: 31 2/8
Wingspan: 75 4/8

Javon Leake
Height: 6-0
Weight: 215
Hands: 9 5/8
Arm length: 31 4/8
Wingspan: 75 6/8

D’Andre Swift
Height: 5-8 2/8
Weight: 212
Hands: 9
Arm length: 29 7/8
Wingspan: 72

Jonathan Taylor
Height: 5-10 2/8
Weight: 226
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 31 1/8
Wingspan: 75 3/8

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Brandan and I recorded a new podcast ahead of the combine. Check it out below…

The headline news today (aside from Joe Burrow only having nine-inch hands) is Chase Young won’t be working out at the combine. A reminder — he ran a 4.94 at SPARQ and only managed a 30 inch vertical. There’s no injury, this is simply his choice. I’ve been saying for a while he might not test as well as people are predicting. This, to me, seems to suggest that was probably true.

The measurements also took place today for the quarterback, receiver and tight end groups. For a full breakdown check out this link to Charles Robinson’s list. Here are some of the highlights:

Tight ends

Jacob Breeland
Height: 6-4 7/8
Weight: 252
Hands: 9 7/8
Arm length: 32 5/8
Wingspan: 78 1/8

Harrison Bryant
Height: 6-4 6/8
Weight: 243
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 30 5/8
Wingspan: 74

Hunter Bryant
Height: 6-2 2/8
Weight: 248
Hands: 10 3/8
Arm length: 32
Wingspan: 76 4/8

Brycen Hopkins
Height: 6-3 7/8
Weight: 245
Hands: 10 1/8
Arm length: 32 1/8
Wingspan: 76

Cole Kmet
Height: 6-5 6/8
Weight: 262
Hands: 10 4/8
Arm length: 33
Wingspan: 79

Sean McKeon
Height: 6-5
Weight: 242
Hands: 9 1/8
Arm length: 33 4/8
Wingspan: 78 6/8

Thaddeus Moss
Height: 6-1 7/8
Weight: 250
Hands: 9 7/8
Arm length: 31 7/8
Wingspan: 78 2/8

Albert Okwuegbunam
Height: 6-5 4/8
Weight: 258
Hands: 10 2/8
Arm length: 34 1/8
Wingspan: 79 3/8

Colby Parkinson
Height: 6-7 2/8
Weight: 252
Hands: 9 5/8
Arm length: 33 2/8
Wingspan: 78 5/8

Jared Pinkney
Height: 6-4
Weight: 257
Hands: 10 4/8
Arm length: 78 5/8
Wingspan: 78 5/8

Stephen Sullivan
Height: 6-4 7/8
Weight: 248
Hands: 10 1/8
Arm length: 35 3/8
Wingspan: 85

Adam Trautman
Height: 6-5
Weight: 255
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 32 5/8
Wingspan: 78

Devin Asiasi
Height: 6-3
Weight: 257
Hands: 9 6/8
Arm length: 33 2/8
Wingspan: 80 1/8

Quarterbacks

Kelly Bryant
Height: 6-3 1/8
Weight: 229
Hands: 9/48
Arm length: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 78

Joe Burrow
Height: 6-3 4/8
Weight: 221
Hands: 9
Arm length: 30 7/8
Wingspan: 74

Jacob Eason
Height: 6-5 7/8
Weight: 231
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 79

Jake Fromm
Height: 6-1 7/8
Weight: 219
Hands: 8 7/8
Arm length: 31 1/8
Wingspan: 75

Justin Herbert
Height: 6-6 2/8
Weight: 236
Hands: 10
Arm length: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 78 7/8

Anthony Gordon
Height: 6-2 3/8
Weight: 205
Hands: 9 6/8
Arm length: 31
Wingspan: 73

Jalen Hurts
Height: 6-1
Weight: 222
Hands: 9 6/8
Arm length: 31 6/8
Wingspan: 77 5/8

Steven Montez
Height: 6-4
Weight: 231
Hands: 9 3/8
Arm length: 32 6/8
Wingspan: 76 7/8

Tua Tagovailoa
Height: 6-0
Weight: 217
Hands: 10
Arm length: 30 4/8
Wingspan: 75 2/8

Jordan Love
Height: 6-3 6/8
Weight: 224
Hands: 10 4/8
Arm length: 32 5/8
Wingspan: 80

Wide receivers

Brandon Aiyuk
Height: 5-11 5/8
Weight: 205
Hands: 9 6/8
Arm length: 33 4/8
Wingspan: 80

Lawrence Cager
Height: 6-4 6/8
Weight: 220
Hands: 8 7/8
Arm length: 33 3/8
Wingspan: 79 3/8

Quintez Cephus
Height: 6-0 7/8
Weight: 202
Hands: 8 6/8
Arm length: 32 1/8
Wingspan: 77

Chase Claypool
Height: 6-4 2/8
Weight: 238
Hands: 9 7/8
Arm length: 32 4/8
Wingspan: 80

Gabe Davis
Height: 6-2
Weight: 216
Hands: 9 2/8
Arm length: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 77 4/8

Bryan Edwards
Height: 6-2 6/8
Weight: 212
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 78 5/8

Antonio Gandy-Golden
Height: 6-4
Weight: 223
Hands: 9 5/8
Arm length: 31 6/8
Wingspan: 77

Antonio Gibson
Height: 6-0 3/8
Weight: 228
Hands: 8 5/8
Arm length: 31 1/8
Wingspan: 75 4/8

K.J. Hamler
Height: 58 5/8
Weight: 178
Hands: 9 3/8
Arm length: 30 6/8
Wingspan: 72 4/8

Tee Higgins
Height: 6-3 5/8
Weight: 216
Hands: 9 2/8
Arm length: 34 1/8
Wingspan: 81

K.J. Hill
Height: 5-11 7/8
Weight: 196
Hands: 9 2/8
Arm length: 29 1/8
Wingspan: 72 4/8

Justin Jefferson
Height: 6-1 2/8
Weight: 202
Hands: 9 1/8
Arm length: 33
Wingspan: 78

Van Jefferson
Height: 6-1 4/8
Weight: 200
Hands: 9 1/8
Arm length: 32 6/8
Wingspan: 77 1/8

Jerry Jeudy
Height: 6-1
Weight: 193
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 32 1/8
Wingspan: 76

Ceedee Lamb
Height: 6-1 5/8
Weight: 198
Hands: 9 2/8
Arm length: 32 2/8
Wingspan: 76 5/8

Henry Ruggs
Height: 5-11
Weight: 188
Hands: 10 1/8
Arm length: 30 4/8
Wingspan: 74 4/8

Laviska Shenault Jr
Height: 6-0 5/8
Weight: 227
Hands: 9
Arm leng31 7/8th:
Wingspan: 76 2/8

Denzel Mims
Height: 6-2 7/8
Weight: 207
Hands: 9 3/8
Arm length: 33 7/8
Wingspan: 78 4/8

Michael Pittman
Height: 6-4
Weight: 223
Hands: 9 2/8
Arm length: 32 4/8
Wingspan: 79 2/8

Jalen Reagor
Height: 5-10 5/8
Weight: 206
Hands: 9 4/8
Arm length: 31 3/8
Wingspan: 74 3/8

It’s also been announced today that the Seahawks are making two new additions to their scouting department for the 2020 draft:

The #Seahawks are hiring Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith as consultants during the draft process this spring, sources say. Both know John Schneider well. Long-term options for both of the former #Browns executives remain open.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 24, 2020

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