Seahawks add to official 30 visit list
Tyrice Knight, Malachi Corley, John Rhys Plumlee and Grayson Murphy are all confirmed as making a trip to Seattle. Per Tony Pauline, big nose tackle Khristian Boyd will also visit. A separate report confirmed linebacker Nathaniel Watson would also take an official-30 visit.
I really like Watson — an old-school, heavy-hitting linebacker with outstanding blitz potential. There are a couple of reasons why Seahawks fans should keep him in mind. Firstly, he called the plays for the Mississippi State defense. John Schneider highlighted how much value they placed on Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson being ‘green dot’ players (meaning they get the defensive play-calls in their helmets) when they were signed. Watson fits that mould too.
Secondly, Mike Macdonald recently referenced the need for players to be able to blitz in his scheme. Watson had 21 career sacks at Mississippi State and 35 TFL’s. Jim Nagy told us in our interview yesterday he’s an ideal fit for a 3-4 defense and can play inside or outside linebacker. It’s no surprise he’s on Seattle’s radar. When I watched him I thought he’d be an ideal target — and while I have him graded in round three, I think he could be available in round four.
Boyd was a combine snub after impressing at the Shrine Bowl. On tape he does flash some quickness for his size. It’ll be interesting to see how he tests — he’s going to do a joint session with Cooper DeJean on the 8th April given both players are currently rehabbing from injury.
Michael Penix Jr at #16?
A source who was at UW messaged me yesterday, as soon as Penix Jr ran his forty, with the number ‘4.53’. Regulars to the blog will know this isn’t unexpected. When I was at the facility last year, I saw the testing data for Washington’s players. Penix Jr has actually jumped a 38 inch vertical, as noted in November, which is better than his pro-day number of 36.5 inches. So the fact he’s a great athlete is no big shock.
That same source told me a few weeks ago, when I asked about Penix Jr’s likely draft range, that he didn’t see him getting to #16. The medicals will obviously impact things. Yet increasingly it does feel like Vegas at #13 could be a serious landing spot — if not one of the teams picking before the Raiders. It’s quite easy to imagine Brian Daboll appreciating his arm talent and the Giants took a large contingent to Washington’s pro-day.
However, two mocks paired the Husky quarterback to Seattle yesterday. Firstly, Colin Cowherd had the Seahawks trading up to #12 to take him. Then, Charles Davis put Penix Jr at #16 in his latest projection.
As I wrote the other day, I don’t think it’s something to be dismissed. Increasingly though, I don’t think he’ll be there. The arm talent is too good. If teams are willing to look beyond Drake Maye’s poor technique and J.J. McCarthy’s physical limitations — provided Penix Jr is medically cleared, why won’t teams look beyond the inconsistencies in his game for a shot at having that arm lead them to glory?
Schneider mentioned recently that part of the reason for trading for Sam Howell was because they looked at the NFL landscape and saw numerous teams who needed quarterbacks picking ahead of them. I think he anticipates five could be off the board by #16. Thus, he made the Howell trade and is expecting to do something else with the top pick.
If he does last though — or if the Seahawks can trade down and take him later on — it shouldn’t be a huge shock.
Notes on Drake Maye’s pro-day
Back in 2021, I remember watching Trey Lance’s pro-day and thinking it was a really poor session. Numerous passes were off target or incomplete. Yet after, Lance gained rave reviews. It didn’t make any sense — unlike Lance’s predictable struggle to transfer to the pro’s. San Francisco’s decision to bet the farm on a player who’d shown so little in college was remarkable. He was taken for size and traits — yet neither were so good to warrant the incredible haul the 49ers spent.
Maye’s pro-day wasn’t as bad as Lance’s — but I don’t think it was a million miles off. I have a lot of similar concerns.
He started the session extremely poorly. On basic routes just to get warmed up, he sailed passes over the heads of receivers or threw behind. These were just easy lay-ups to get things going.
The same problems you see on tape were on show here. His footwork is not good, he moves off the center and drifts — preventing the opportunity to set with base and throw consistently. This messes with his mechanics and too often the ball placement suffers.
It’s stating the obvious to say when you see something on tape then it happens again in a setting 100% designed for the quarterback to impress — with no defenders on the field — that’s a concern.
When he planted his feet and threw with a strong base you could see how much more comfortable he was. Yet the team drafting Maye is going to probably have to spend considerable time working on his technique, footwork and mechanics before he takes the field. Or, they’re going to have to suffer as he learns on the fly.
Later on in the session he did the usual trendy ‘throwing across your body’ passes downfield — which make for great social media videos but tell us very little in terms of quarterbacking. There’s no doubt that Maye has an arm. I’m just not convinced that it’s ‘that’ special to warrant ignoring some of the flaws that appear over and over again on tape with the belief that over time he’ll iron things out.
In 2023 he did not play well. There are several games where you’re left scratching your head not just with his footwork but also his decision making. He isn’t the same physical talent, in my opinion, as Anthony Richardson and Will Levis. Both of those two players made ‘wow’ throws a year ago that I haven’t seen from Maye. Anyone taking him will be banking on a Josh Allen style development process — but for me he simply isn’t an Allen level physical talent.
I completely understand why analysts such as Lance Zierlein have suggested Maye could fall in the draft. If I were a team like the Vikings, I would not be trading major resources to go after Maye or J.J. McCarthy. I can understand why the New England Patriots are supposedly receptive to trading down.
Speaking of Jayden Daniels — I thought what I saw from his pro-day was good not great. He finished well with some nice bombs and showed off an impressive arm for the deep throws. His velocity on throws to the short and mid-range was also impressive. Physically there are no concerns here — but his accuracy did suffer a little early on.
Neither pro-day came close to the tempo, scripting and quality of CJ Stroud’s a year ago.
Updated TEF scores
Many offensive linemen opted not to do the bench press at pro-day, meaning we still have incomplete scores. However, here are confirmed TEF scores for a handful of players:
Mason McCormick — 3.60
Jacob Monk — 3.10
Blake Fisher — 2.89
Karsen Barnhart — 2.87
Charles Turner — 2.84
Amarius Mims — 2.72
Trente Jones — 2.71
Cooper Beebe — 2.66
There’s been a bit of talk recently that Cooper Beebe isn’t as highly regarded as the media thinks. I do wonder if this extremely poor testing score — which includes just 20 reps on the bench press despite benefitting from short arms — is one of the reasons why teams have soured a bit on Beebe. Explosive testing isn’t the be-all and end-all — but Beebe hasn’t performed well after opting to skip the Senior Bowl — a big mistake on his behalf.
Meanwhile, Mason McCormick is now officially the second most explosive tester since we started using the formula in 2016. This is likely one of the reasons why his stock, unlike Beebe’s, is rising.
Here’s a full list of confirmed TEF scores for this year:
Beaux Limmer — 3.68
Mason McCormick — 3.60
Jarrett Kingston — 3.29
Frank Crum — 3.19
Kingsley Suamataia — 3.11
Jacob Monk — 3.10
Jackson Powers-Johnson — 3.04
Joe Alt — 3.02
Tanor Bortolini — 2.94
Nick Gargiulo — 2.90
Blake Fisher — 2.89
Karsen Barnhart — 2.87
Charles Turner — 2.84
Christian Haynes — 2.83
KT Leveston — 2.81
Delmar Glaze — 2.79
Gottlieb Ayedze — 2.75
Amarius Mims — 2.72
Trente Jones — 2.71
Drake Nugent — 2.70
Sataoa Laumea — 2.69
Cooper Beebe — 2.66
Keaton Bills — 2.66
Javion Cohen — 2.56
Isaiah Adams — 2.45
X’Zauvea Gadlin — 2.40
Two strong pro-day performances
Duke’s Graham Barton is a terrific player and a likely first round pick. At his pro-day he ran a fantastic 4.84 forty and a 4.43 short shuttle. These are outstanding times. He also managed to get his arms measured at 33-inches (he’s 6-5 and 311lbs). Barton can play any position on the line and will be a coveted player.
Washington State pass rusher Brennan Jackson ran a really good short shuttle of 4.34 at his pro-day. He’s a seriously underrated player who is going to provide great value and leadership to a team. You can check out my interview with him here.
Chad Reuter projects a trade scenario for Seattle
With no pick between #16 and #81, the chances are the Seahawks will look to move down in round one. However, this is only possible if there’s a buyer willing to present a reasonable offer. There’s no guarantee of this. The Seahawks would also need to be wary of passing on a player that another team is so desperate to move up for.
In Reuter’s latest piece for NFL.com, he suggests the Chiefs move up to #16 from #32 to get Xavier Worthy. I would be stunned if the Chiefs needed to make that kind of move for Worthy. It’d make a lot more sense to do that for LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr or an offensive tackle.
The Chiefs are one of the few teams who can justify being aggressive. Per Reuter’s suggestion, the Seahawks would get the #64 pick and a 2025 third rounder to drop down half a round.
This is where the problem lies. That’s a massive drop for just one additional pick this year. Plus, you’re getting the last pick in round two. If the Chiefs continue to thrive, that 2025 third rounder will be nearer a fourth rounder.
I’m not sure I’d take that deal. I’d want more. Make that 2025 pick a second rounder, perhaps. Or make it Kansas City’s 2025 first rounder straight up, with no additional pick this year (or perhaps chuck in a fourth rounder).
I do not fear trading down. Some of the elite players in the league have been drafted in the 30’s — T.J. Watt, Lamar Jackson and Chris Jones, for example. I appreciate this fan base is scarred by memories of L.J. Collier but this is a different draft with some attractive options set to go in the #30-45 range. That’s why the Texans were so willing to move down in their deal with the Vikings.
I’d even be willing to trade down a couple of times, frankly. But it has to be for the right deal and the truth is — the right deal might not be there.
Quick hitters on a few players
— I’ve recently seen plenty of mocks with Brock Bowers sinking down boards. He is the ultimate mismatch weapon for the modern NFL. He won’t get out of the top-15. The Jets are in win-now-at-all-costs mode and just traded for Haason Reddick. If the top-three receivers are gone by #10 — I bet they take Bowers.
— Jim Nagy said in our interview that T’Vondre Sweat might be the most unique player in the draft. You can definitely make a strong case. You see every pound of his 366lbs frame when he connects with blockers and manhandles them. The fact he has an effective swim-move to work off it, at his size, is astonishing. A word of caution though. The feeling going into the 2023 season was that Sweat struggled to control his weight and had been a disappointment at Texas. There was hope the light had come on in his final year and so it proved. Yet when Jim relays a story about scouts/teams saying they didn’t expect Sweat to last the full week in Mobile — especially after he chose not to weigh-in — it shows that there’s scepticism within the league about his conditioning. Can he stay motivated? Can he last through 17 highly intense NFL games? Can he control his weight? I’d suggest he didn’t play at 366lbs last season, for example. These are valid questions to discuss. So while he’s a very intriguing, very unique player — there are also clear reasons why he might last into the second half of round two.
Case in point, here are a couple of quotes from Bob McGinn’s scouting sources on Sweat:
“He’s going to go first round but he’s an overweight lazy (bleep),” a second scout said. “He is very talented. He’s always going to have a weight problem. You can take that to the bank. He played in spurts the last couple years. But the big, strong (bleep) is hard to move.”
“He’s been up to almost 400,” said a third scout. “He’s like 380 something in-season. His football character is terrible. For people that don’t care he’s got top-two round ability. He’s not quite the freak show that Jordan Davis was but for a big, fat guy he does some pretty impressive (bleep).”
— Troy Fautanu is the best left tackle in the draft. Forget all this talk of a move to guard. He’s a legit tackle. He’s superior to Joe Alt — who let’s not forget, lost the left tackle competition to Blake Fisher at Notre Dame and only got the job due to an injury to Fisher. I think it’s optimistic to think Fautanu lasts to #16. I’d be very surprised if one of the teams picking in front of Seattle didn’t take him with the clear intention of starting him at tackle.
Here’s McGinn’s sources on Fautanu:
“I really, really like the athlete. I could see him playing left tackle because his pass pro is unreal. Plus, he’s got some prick in him. (Taliese) Fuaga played hard; he’s just not as mean as this guy. The combination of mean and athletic usually doesn’t happen. Usually you’re asking for one or the other. I think he can play left tackle at 6-3 ½ because he compensates with almost 35-inch arms and exceptional feet. Of the top guys, he has the best feet.”
“I think he’ll end up being a guard because he’s so quick and mobile. He won’t have the height or arm length you want for left tackle but he can play left tackle. I have him in the top 10 picks but I don’t know if you take a guard there. The Colts took that guy from Notre Dame (Quenton Nelson, No. 6, 2018) but I think I can find guards.”
If you didn’t watch the Jim Nagy interview yesterday, please do. There’s so much great info here so check it out, share it on other sites and forums and social media:
