This was a better day than yesterday overall, highlighted by one of the greatest on-field performances I can recall in 18 years of blogging. More on that individual when we get to the safeties.
Cornerback review
The cornerback class has some depth and this could really play into Seattle’s hands. They don’t need a true #1 corner, someone who is going to need to come in and solve a drastic need. They have Devon Witherspoon and the expectation is Josh Jobe will return. They will need to replace Riq Woolen.
There are ample players they can strongly consider, including with their picks on day two.
So who stood out today?
Firstly, Avieon Terrell. The Clemson cornerback had an outstanding on-field performance. He just looks so natural, which isn’t a surprise given his bloodlines. The transitions were easy for him on every backpedal drill. His starting footwork was better than most for the ‘W’ drill. He showed explosive forward movements after his initial backpedal. On the #2 Teryl Austin drill his pivot and change of direction was whiplash worthy.
In every way he looked like a productive starting NFL cornerback. I’ve had him as CB1 for a while and given Jermod McCoy and Mansoor Delane did no testing here, I think he caught them on the hop, flashing what he’s about.
His brother AJ was the 16th pick in the 2020 draft. For me, Terrell should expect to go in the same kind of range. He is one of the best players in this draft.
The Seahawks are not likely to get a shot at him but one player who could be on their radar is Georgia’s Daylen Everette. I’ve gone back and forth on his grade. There are some iffy tape moments and we saw that at the Senior Bowl too. Yet watching him today, I think I have some clarity on what to make of a player who has everything except consistency.
Everette just looks the part. A dude. He looked different next to many of the other cornerbacks. He has a fantastic body type on a 6-1, 198lbs frame. He has 32 inch arms and ran a 4.38 forty.
Everything looked natural to him, including an outstanding gauntlet drill. All of his backpedals were smooth with no wasted motion. His ball-tracking was good. Every single rep was a tick in the box. The only minor error was a slightly shortened final backpedal on the ‘W’.
He’s well known as the leader of the Georgia secondary.
Sometimes you just see the way a player looks with their build and they flash their natural athleticism and you just know — this is the type of player you can work on. You can bring out the talent here. Watching Everette today it was easy to feel like he gives you as good a chance as anyone to find a diamond at corner.
He will be moving back into the day two range for me. He could easily be an option for the Seahawks as they look to replace Woolen with someone who also has a high ceiling.
Other players who impressed included Julian Neal. He’s another big, long corner who transitioned a lot better than you could reasonably expect for his size. His ball-tracking wasn’t the best but for a bigger guy, he’s another player who did a very decent job during drills.
Colton Hood looked bigger on the field today than he did on tape. He moved well enough and was another player who showed well with his backpedal and transition.
Hezekiah Masses isn’t someone I’ve studied yet but I liked what he showed. He was sharp, an easy mover and showed some suddenness. He high-pointed awkward passes and looked very natural. He was the most intriguing of the cornerbacks I’ve not watched so far.
D’Angelo Ponds showed a very easy backpedal and flip of the hips. His movements are dynamite but he looked tiny compared to the most of the others. During his W drill he didn’t stay in line and was a bit flat-footed on his backpedal. My view hasn’t changed on him. Even with his obvious talent and competitive nature, it’s hard to place his NFL role with his lack of size.
Toriano Pride ran the fastest forty but showed some stiffness with his change of direction and poor ball-skills. He was a little bit pigeon toed in the backpedal.
Davison Igbinosun had a good W, as did TJ Hall. However, Igbinosun’s gauntlet was about as bad as you’ll ever see. He was moving around the line so much he looked like he’d had 10 pints of strong German lager.
The NFL Network went a bit OTT on Chris Johnson. He moved well but his frame looks challengeable. He’s smaller, lacks length. I would put my biggest guy on him. He had a good day but the praise he got compared to some of the others was too much.
It would’ve been good to see Brandon Cisse do drills and test, especially given big things were expected. Even so, today reaffirmed there will be options for the Seahawks and it doesn’t have to be with their first round pick. In fact, if they wanted to trade #32, they can go cornerback and running back on day two I think.
Safety review
Multiple safeties ran excellent forty times. It isn’t typical to see several 4.3 and 4.4 runners at this position. Of the 14 running a forty, 10 ran a sub-4.5.
Let’s not bury the lede though. Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman produced one of the all time great on-field workout performances. He started off by running a 4.35 and jumping a 41-inch vertical. Yet it was how he moved during drills that was frankly quite stunning.
His backpedal and transition was as good as any cornerback I’ve seen. His movements were so sudden and deliberate with zero wasted motion. He did it all with a muscular looking 6-0 and 201lbs frame. He looked bigger, yet moved incredibly. It was genuinely a thrill to watch him compete.
Even on the gauntlet, where he got his body twisted around half-way through, he still contorted to catch everything.
I’ve been high on Thieneman for a long time. I’ve had him as a fringe first grade dating back to mid-season, where he stood out in multiple games. Sometimes you just need that little nudge to confirm how good a player is. Today, that’s what I got. He’s a legit first round talent.
At a time where the draft media has been so desperate to push Emmanuel McNeil-Warren as a first round pick, Thieneman is the actual real deal. It’s very easy to imagine him enjoying a long NFL career. He can play single-high and roam as an eraser. He can play around the line if you want him to do that. He doesn’t have Nick Emmanwori’s size so I would prefer to keep him deep — but whatever your idea on his role, there’s no reason to believe he won’t thrive.
His display will go down as one of my favourites since starting SDB in 2008. A real shot in the arm for a combine where more players than ever are sitting out.
Here’s my scouting notes on Thieneman from part one of my recent series, looking at players I really like. Remember, you can find links to other reports by clicking here:
He has really good size yet still has highly impressive range. Thieneman covers ground tremendously as a roaming free safety.
He has a nose for the football (six interceptions as a freshman at Purdue). He can launch downfield from deep and fly through space to hammer ball-carriers. He shows a quick trigger to sniff out plays in front of him.
Thieneman is an excellent downfield attacker and he’s willing to charge into vacant gaps and make a tackle. In multiple games he showed he’d done his homework — anticipating routes correctly. It is very evident he’s in the film room studying tape.
It’s easy to imagine him lining up anywhere. He’s a chess piece. He dodges blockers when playing in attack mode with great agility and good luck stretching out runs or bouncing outside if he has you in his sights.
He can start as a single-high safety and run 25 yards downfield to deliver hits for minimal gains. There are not many players with his size and range. He can take away a half of the field.
There’s evidence of jarring hits on tape and he plays with some violence. Centre-field players like this are not typical. There’s no hip stiffness in transition and he changes direction quickly.
There’s room for him to add more muscle without losing speed. He’s seen as one of the vocal leaders for Oregon. Reports suggest he is a football junky completely committed to his craft.
AJ Haulcy is jacked up and muscular. You can see him playing around the LOS. He’s not super quick as he ran a 4.52 and he won’t play deep. There’s ample tape of him delivering while attacking downhill though and he can be a very solid day two pick.
Jalon Kilgore definitely has something to him. He collected a decent tally of interceptions at South Carolina, he’s well sized (6-1, 210lbs) and has long arms (33 inches). He does have some potential versatility between safety and corner. He ran a 4.40 and jumped a 37 inch vertical. This was a good day for Kilgore.
I need to watch more of Treydan Stukes, who also had a very good day. Well regarded for his leadership qualities at Arizona, he ran a 4.33 and jumped a 38 inch vertical. His arm length is only a shade under 32 inches with a 6-1, 190lbs frame. You can do a lot with that physical profile. He’ll be one of the first players I go to post-combine.
Lorenzo Styles, brother of Sonny, ran a 4.27 and showed good, easy movements too. He is someone I will check in on having not studied his tape yet. I also look forward to spending time on VJ Payne and Michael Taafe. Bud Clark, who is so productive (and that has shown to translate consistently at this position) also had a good day.
I thought the other on-field performances were fairly unspectacular. McNeil-Warren showed he isn’t that fast with a 4.52 and his movements were not as natural as others. His frame is long but awkward as he’s very lean in his upper body. He doesn’t strike you as an obvious high pick, especially when he’s running in the 4.5’s.
The NFL Network did not show anywhere near enough of the drills which was frustrating, constantly cutting to close-ups of the players or going to commercials. John Schneider said he could follow the combine just as easily on the television. Today was evidence to the contrary — which makes me think, again, there’s more to his quick return to Seattle. They’re working on something, even if it’s just keeping their free agents together.
Tight end review
It wasn’t a surprise that Kenyon Sadiq tested brilliantly. The expectation of a legendary workout has long been touted. We’ll no doubt see his athleticism counted twice now in mock drafts — but let’s not forget, there are some issues with effort, consistency and route-running.
Neither was it a huge shock that Eli Stowers set a record with a 45-inch vertical. He was a very talented High Jumper in High School. Even so, this is a remarkable achievement for a player who will be a very useful ‘big slot’ at the next level.
I didn’t feel we learnt a great deal from the on-field drills. The key at this position at the 10-yard splits and the agility testing.
Here are the splits. We’re typically looking for a sub-1.62:
Kenyon Sadiq — 1.54
Jack Endries — 1.59
Eli Stowers — 1.59
John Michael Gyllenborg — 1.60
Eli Raridon — 1.60
Matthew Hibner — 1.61
Jared Kanak — 1.61
Sam Roush — 1.61
Dallen Bentley — 1.62
Tanner Koziol — 1.62
Marlin Klein — 1.64
RJ Maryland — 1.64
Josh Cuevas — 1.65
Bauer Sharp — 1.68
Khalil Dinkins — 1.70
Will Kacmarek — 1.70
Riley Nowakowski — 1.70
Miles Kitselman — 1.71
Only six tight ends ran a short shuttle. We’re looking for a sub 4.5 time ideally:
John Michael Gyllenborg — 4.22
Khalil Dinkins — 4.33
Sam Roush — 4.37
Josh Cuevas — 4.38
Nate Boerkircher — 4.40
Dallen Bentley — 4.42
Of this group, only John Michael Gyllenborg and Sam Roush had the confirmed agility and quickness you’re looking for. Obviously if more had done the short shuttle, we’d potentially be able to add to the list.
It’s a big difference from a year ago where there were eight players who ran a sub-1.60 10-yard split. The Seahawks wisely took Elijah Arroyo at the right time. This isn’t a year to covet a tight end and it’s not a position you’d expect the Seahawks to target.
