Exclusive: Travis Feeney (LB, Washington) vs Oregon

You won’t find this anywhere else. One of our readers put this together for us — major, major props to Justin.

145 Comments

  1. Nathan_12thMan

    Sure looks like he could fill the void from losing Irvin. And if he isn’t a good enough pass rusher (or in certain situations you want more) I imagine we can always rotate him out on 3rd down once in a while in favor of something like Avril-Bennett-pass rushing DT (Hill?)-Clark.

    The only thing that is scary is his injury history. I am a big proponent of “availability > ability”. I’d rather take a 7 outta 10 talent that is healthy 98% of the time than a 9 outta 10 talent who is healthy 60% of the time. But predicting health/injuries seems like a really difficult if not impossible thing to do so i trust in JS.

    • RWIII

      Freeney hits as hard as Chancellor and he already has medical concerns. You have to wonder how many years he can be productive.

      • Nathan_12thMan

        It’s less about “years productive” to me and how many games does he miss due to injury? He can be breaking down by the time his 4 year rookie deal is up, i’d feel bad for him as a person and player tried to get paid but in thinking like a FO exec I am okay getting 4 really good years out of a position player but him not looking durable enough to re-sign.

        I’d rather that then drafting the player and in his first season he plays 8 games then is on IR, his second season he plays 12 games then is on IR, his third season he plays 14 games (misses games due to injuries but not on IR) and his fourth season he plays 4 games then is on IR. You know?

        I hate spotty availability, only thing I hate more is complete unavailability (P-Rich, Tharold, etc).

  2. CHawk Talker Eric

    Looks like SEA tendered Burley

  3. Darth12er

    Rap sheet :

    1-year deal between #Giants & Jason Pierre-Paul sounds like a real $10M deal with a chance to make $10.5M. #AZCardinals offered much more

    Makes me wonder how much they offered, and if Irvin is destined to go there.

    • Del tre

      Nah he us going to oakland

  4. TTDub

    Combine: T. Feeney 6-4 230lbs 40yd: 4.5 10yd: 1.59 vert: 40 inch shuttle: 4.42 bench: n/a

    Pro day: E. Pinkies 6-3 220lbs 40yd: 4.44 10yd: 1.59. Vert: 39.5 Shuttle: 4.31 Bench: 25 reps at 225lbs

    With all the health concerns associated with Feeney why would you draft him with a second or early third round pic when you already have Pinkins on the roster. Am I missing something here?

    • Rob Staton

      Feeney has produced at the position he’d play in Seattle.

      It’s a nice comp — but there is something to be said for production and actually playing the position.

  5. CHawk Talker Eric

    It’s clear Feeney’s a good athlete. He can cover ground quickly. He looks like a solid ST contributor.

    But he gets pushed around a lot. Once a blocker gets a hold of him (even a TE), he’s out of the play. He also doesn’t play with much aggression, nor does he seem to have much intuition, the result being he doesn’t impact as many plays as his athleticism otherwise allows.

    He makes a handful of splash plays in this game vs ORE, enough to give a glimpse of his upside. But I’m not sure I see a R2 prospect, let alone a solid rookie year replacement for Irvin.

    • Trevor

      Washington only played with 2 down lineman. He will be kept much cleaner with Seattle and allowed to use his speed.

    • rowdy

      Same here, I seen him get consistently pushed out of plays. I didn’t see a pass rusher at all at the next level. I’ve never seen him as a second round pick either and after his combine I seen a player that goes into the end of Rd 4. Before the combine people were talking about him being a part 7th/udfa and them bump him in to the second based of some fast times.

      • Naks8

        Agreed. If he doesn’t juke the blocker he gets pushed around a bit. Also he doesn’t have a lot of pass rushing moves besides the speed rush. Round 2 seems a bit steep

  6. Trevor

    Great work Justin putting that together. Appreciate it!

    Hard not to like Feeney as a replacement for Bruce. I have no doubt if the shoulder checks out and he can stay healthy that he would have an impact as a rookie.

    • CHawk Talker Eric

      Yes, meant to say thanks to Justin for the cut up!

  7. CHawk Talker Eric

    @TonyPauline: Can confirm, NY Jets one of a half dozen teams in final mix for offensive lineman JR Sweezy. Market for Sweezy getting hot.

  8. CHawk Talker Eric

    @kentsomers: to reiterate, #azcardinals are interested in Bruce Irvin at the right price, per two NFL sources. We will see how it turns out.

  9. CHawk Talker Eric

    @DavisHsuSeattle: ok- ran the numbers again- Seattle has about $14M left to spend on Free Agents over $2M when you ignore Jon Ryan

  10. seahawks509

    What a great tape. I think he’s worth a pick at 26. There are things he needs to work on but you can tell he has so much potential. I think he has pro bowl talent.

    • Greg Haugsven

      I don’t know about 26 but I like him as well.

      • smitty1547

        At 26 hawks get laughed out of the draft and not eligible to draft again

        • GeoffU

          Pretty sure that happens to us every year, except now it comes with an asterisk.

    • Michael M.

      Could you elaborate on what you saw from this tape that make you say that? Personally I didn’t see anything exciting at all.

      • seahawks509

        He brought incredible energy and showed great athleticism. He would over pursue plays and put himself in bad position at times. I think that will come with coaching, knowing what to see and how to attack a play, as well as experience. He’s an explosive hard nosed player. He gave the Olineman fits all game and they continually held him. He showed pass rush ability as well as an ability to chase players from behind. He popped lineman and really made plays in the run game. He also played sideline to sideline which makes me think he would be PERFECT in Seattle. He also showed an ability to cover. He’s long and is someone we could use on TE. As long as he can improve on not overreacting to a play then I could see us just penciling him into our lineup. He was just all over the place. Great athlete with a motor and nose for the ball. Sounds Seahawky to me. I say take him at 26 because I doubt he’ll be there in the 2nd and it fills a need without reaching, IMO.

        • seahawks509

          Plus he has great size.

          • Michael M.

            He has great length, not great size.

            • seahawks509

              He’s 6’4 230. Deone Bucannon was 6’1 211, Wagner was 6’0 233, 6’3 246, Kevin Pierre-Louis is 6’0 232. He also has room to grow because of his length. Dude will be a stud.

              • seahawks509

                KJ was 6’3 246****

  11. Greg Haugsven

    Great video Justin, the first thing that pops in my head is he sets a good edge on the run game. Doesn’t get sucked in trying to make a tackle.

    • matt

      Yep plays assignment based defense well. That’s a big part of job. Watching Feeney play LB in previous years he shows the knack to play in space-another big part of SAM responsibilities in our defense. He’s a great fit to replace Irvin no doubt.

  12. Darth12er

    Am I the only one who noticed that Feeney gave up on way too many plays? I see his closing speed, you gotta like that. And he seems like a pretty tough dude. I just don’t like how he quit before the whistle blew.

    • seahawks509

      Not at all. Dude has a motor

  13. matt

    Great job on the Feeney tape Justin! This game is a prime example of why Feeney is getting valued all over the place. His athleticism shows up, sets the edge nicely(lacks some strength), makes a splash play(forced fumble) and injures his shoulder. Talentwise Feeney is a borderline first rounder. Medicalwise might be UDFA status. We don’t really know.

    • j hawk

      Feeney looks great and has good instincts but he is too light to hold the edge in the NFL. On this site people have said this is the new way of the league. I get that a LB has to cover more but when a lineman or TE is headed your way you need to have sand in your pants to hold the fort. Irvine for me was perfect 6-3 260lbs with speed to cover. Now if you put Feeney”s instincts in Irvins body, now we”re talkin. I would not touch him before round 3. I am a loooooong time lurker and this my first post. I have enjoyed my many hours on this site and thanks to Rob and all, for the many wise contributions.

      • Rob Staton

        Thanks for the kind words.

        I will also point out J that Deone Bucannon is 211lbs and Mark Barron 213lbs. Feeney is 230lbs. They’d all play the same position. The Seahawks also benched Irvin for 225lbs Malcolm Smith in 2013 and had 235lbs Mike Morgan playing instead of Irvin quite a lot at the end of last season.

  14. Kevin

    Am I the only one who thinks he often loses leverage? The athleticism is clear but I felt like he got stood up a fair amount

    • rowdy

      You’re not the only one

    • Darth12er

      Yeah, he can get swallowed up a bit

    • lil'stink

      I wonder how well he can set the edge against the run in the NFL. Hopefully he can add some weight/strength to his frame without losing his speed. Irvin was able to, but Feeney seems more wirey than Bruce was.

      Feeney seems like he has a lot of upside. Those shoulders worry me, though, and I’m still not sure how high SAM is on our needs list. Those 2 taken together would make me reluctant to take him until day 3. The team obviously knows more than us about the potential of someone like Pinkins at SAM or if they want to bring Morgan back. Maybe SAM is more/less of a need than we think.

    • seahawks509

      He shredded a lot of blocks though. I think it’ll all come with coaching

  15. Veryal

    Fee-hee-hee-henay!!

    • Michael M.

      Boy Meets World quote?

      • Veryal

        Yep haha

  16. GeoffU

    There’s some promise there. Seams pretty assignment correct. There is some LEO potential there, but I’m not convinced he’ll make a good pass rusher. Probably too light anyway. First half he seemed to play better than the second.

    Despite injury issues, he has played 51 games in four years.

  17. Volume12

    Bruce Irvin is a Raider. Watch out Denver, the Silver andBlack are coming for ya.

    • Rob Staton

      Probably replaces Aldon Smith in their defense.

      • Volume12

        Irvin, Khalil Mack, Dan Williams, Mario Edwards jr., Malcom Smith. Wow! Some nice peices.

        They just need a couple CBs, safeties, another RB to pair with Murray, and one more weapon for Carr. They aren’t far off from being a very good team.

        • Volume12

          And Osemele.

        • mishima

          I think they make the playoffs.

    • Ground_Hawk

      Nice!

    • Ground_Hawk

      Hopefully it’s official. That would be weird if he goes to Arizona.

      • Volume12

        What if QB Brock Osweiler signs with Houston?

        What does Denver do? Take a QB at the end of round 1?

        And man did Philly just screw Miami or what? Get rid of 2 guy’s that didn’t fit, and they move into the top 10 of the draft?

        • Rob Staton

          No word on the compensation on the Miami trades yet, which is weird. But that report on moving into the top ten was described as erroneous by Jeff Lane.

          • Volume12

            That is weird.

            Thanks for the clarification.

            • Greg Haugsven

              N I’ve to keep him out of the NFL as well. Will really only have to play against probably 1 time.

              • Greg Haugsven

                Nice to keep him out of the NFL that is…solid typing.

                • Greg Haugsven

                  Nfc

        • Ground_Hawk

          Osweiler to Houston would make sense for them, but your right Denver would almost be forced to take a QB in the first. The fans would be upset, but maybe riding the superbowl high will mediate it? I haven’t heard much about the Phi and Miami trade. I would hope that their FO is smarter than that.

          • Michael M.

            If they can win the Superbowl with Peyton Manning’s corpse at QB, they should be ok with a bandaid until they find a new guy.

    • Darth12er

      This is fine, I’d like to see Norton do well

    • TJ

      Just read that too. Hopefully his signing turns into a 3rd round comp pick next year.

  18. Ground_Hawk

    According to 710 ESPN radio Rappaport claimed that Irvin is signing with the Raiders. With the Kevin Norton connection that makes sense. I guess it’s in the early stages, so we’ll see.

    • bobbyk

      I bet they go for Mebane and Lane, too.

  19. Volume12

    Regarding LB Travis Feeney.

    First off, great cut up there Justin,

    Secondly, it’s not what he can’t do or isn’t. Too much focus on the negatives.

    • Volume12

      A unique playmaker that will thrive in a system where the DTs can keep him clean.

    • Darth12er

      Agree there, and I really shouldn’t dwell on the negatives. That’s not what this team really does, they more focus on what they can do. PC said this about Rubin “he’s an unusual player in pursuit for a big man, he chases the ball like crazy”. If he says this about his DT, what should he expect from his LB? And I don’t know Feeney, but what I saw from the clip above didn’t always show pursuit to the whistle. Maybe this isn’t a knock on him and I’m wishing for more..

      • Robert

        That’s a bonus. The main thing Pete likes about Rubin is his ability to consistently stalemate double teams, which he sees often in our scheme.

  20. Trevor

    Things seem very quiet on the Kearse front. I am guessing his market is not what he thought. With no real WR free agent on the market if he is every going to get over paid the time is now but who knows.

    • sdcoug

      Kearse was never going to be a first-wave FA. He’ll have a market when the dominoes start to fall

  21. J2MED

    Bruce Irvin to the Raiders? Aw damn…

  22. LikwidIce

    The bucs cut Bruce Carter OLB today. He was due 4.25M. He lost out on the starting job to kwon alexander last season. 1 yr prove it deal?

  23. Volume12

    FA OT Donald Stephenson signing with the Broncos. Should be interesting to see how much he’s getting.

  24. manthony

    That’s a pretty good performance against my Ducks.
    I think he looked good against the zone read and we can use some of that experience now that Chips with SF.
    With the ZRO, defenses have to locate the ball and execute their assignment, then make the tackle. Add to that, the Ducks are a really good offense and get a play off every 20 seconds, and its very difficult to play against, and fatigue becomes a factor.
    But Feeney looked good to me, I see people mentioning he “got swallowed up a bit” but I don’t think we’ll be using him in that capacity, we just resigned Rubin to swallow up blockers. I dont think we’ll see him on the DL.
    This is the first video I’ve seen on Feeney, if his shoulders check out I can get excited about this even if he’s a Fusky
    if we’re comparing him to LB Brandon Marshall, in the 2nd, it’d be nice, if we could get him later thatd be even better.

  25. Ground_Hawk

    I just saw that either Kiper or Mayock mocked K. Fuller to Seattle at 26. I would be disappointed if that came to pass. They had them passing up on Ogbah, who went to the Arizona fwiw.

    • Ground_Hawk

      It was Kiper after all.

      • Greg Haugsven

        I would be as well. It’s not the Seahawks MO to draft an early corner.

    • TJ

      I don’t think Kiper has ever… and I do mean EVER… correctly predicted a Seattle pick. After what seemed like 10-12 straight years of “The Seahawks will look to add a wideout” I stopped paying attention to his mocks (they never added that wideout he so confidently claimed they would take)

  26. Ground_Hawk

    Feeney is a play maker, no doubt about it. I would be happy if Seattle picked him up with one of their 3rds, but with the 2nd I’d rather see them address the trenches.

    • Greg Haugsven

      I agree, either of the 2 thirds would be good

  27. C-Dog

    I’ve always liked Feeney as a player, and have thought about him as a potential replacement for Irving. IMO, I think we could start seeing more Husky players pop on that defense. I think Greg Gaines is a player to watch emerge. They were a fun team to watch last year defensively. At any rate, I’d be very happy to see Feeney in Seahawks blue next year.

  28. C-Dog

    Hey, y’all might want to check out Frank Clark’s latest tweet. Simply says “Y’all think I haven’t been workin! The plan been in affect,” and then shows his feet on a scale showing his weight at 257lbs.

    Soooo, I going to guess so much for the plan at moving him inside more. Could this be Bruce Irving’s replacement? I think he started out as a linebacker for Michigan. Could this also be the reason Seattle was chatting with pass rushers at the combine?

    • Greg Haugsven

      Opens up for drafting another Bennett type. Tapper, Ogbah, Dodd, Lawson. All about 270-275

      • C-Dog

        Lots of them. I’d add Kaufusi, Nassib, and Judon to the list. Really like those prospects.

        • Volume12

          Yup- It’s the way to go in this draft with the type of DEs there are. I kinda thought they might target a Bennett type.

          And Frank Clark has always had the athleticism to play any of the DE spots/alignments.

          • C-Dog

            Definitely nothing wrong with adding another Bennett type. I would nab one at 26 if the Hulk isn’t available.

            I peaked around more at Frank’s twitter feed. He also mentioned wanting to improve his first step and flexibility, I think in reference to shedding 20 pounds. They could be viewing him as a leo type, as well. Just kinda interesting he decided to share this the day Irving agreed with the Raiders.

            • Volume12

              Not a coincidence my man.

  29. icb12

    Didn’t Chris Johnson only sign a 1 year contract with Arizona?
    Is he available?

    Personally I’d be interested… and he might be ready to chase a ring.
    Chris Johnson, Rawls and CMike??

  30. nichansen01

    Could we possibly resign Jeremy Lane and sign Raiders left tackle Donald Penn? Or maybe even let Lane walk in order to sign Penn?

    If we target Ifedi in the first and Westerman in the second, I believe a lineup of:

    Donald Penn – Germaine Ifedi – Christian Westerman – Mark Glowinski – Gary Gilliam

    would be very effective.

    If it means letting Lane leave, starting right corner (not to mention slot corner) might come into question though. Yet remember Shead and Burley will both be returning, and the likes of Tharold Simon, Tye Smith, SJB and Mo Seisey will compete in camp.

    It would be great if you could sign Penn and resign Lane though.

    1. Germaine Ifedi
    2. Christian Westerman
    3. Willie Henry
    3c. Travis Feeney
    4. Javon Hargrave

    This would deb a dream draft scenario for me.

    • CharlieTheUnicorn

      I’m thinking, it will be OL with one for the first 2 picks. The other pick could be a defensive player out of DE / LB and DT most likely. Personally it doesn’t matter to me particularly who they get and where, just get the “right” guy for the scheme. I would rather draft a guy who has played center, then try to convert a guy who played tackle or guard in CFB/CFL to center in NFL. With all that being said, Westerman could be a very fine player at guard, which is also a position of concern for the Seattle OL.

      • Greg Haugsven

        I agree Charlie, let’s just draft a damp center that’s actually hiked the ball before and stop goofing around. E end though I like Westerman.

        • Volume12

          I kinda think Seattle’s 1st 4 picks will be 2 O-lineman, DE, and a DT. Not in any order.

          • Volume12

            And they’ll grab a WR earlier than expected if they don’t add a FA.

          • C-Dog

            I would be so incredibly happy about that.

    • EranUngar

      3 players on the inside of that line with 1 NFL start combined?

      Scary, very very scary….

      • mishima

        Britt, Lewis and nobody: scarier.

        • EranUngar

          I’m sure you hated Carp and Breno too….

    • Rob Staton

      Would rather have Lane than Penn personally.

      • Volume12

        Absolutely.

        If Lane doesn’t re-sign, he’ll be a big loss. Not sure why people don’t realize that. No rookie corner is gonna step right in.

        Yeah, they got depth. But, who’s your vetsatile inside-out corner? Not Burley.

        Hoping it looks like this next year

        CB Sherm
        CB Seisay- SJB and Simon could be in the mix too, but I think they like and got a lot of time for Seisay
        NCB Lane- can mix and match depending on opponet

        Backups: Shead, Smith

    • Ignorant

      I love this mock.

  31. Ben2

    Irvin has agreed in principle with Oakland – knew it was gonna happen, now we know where. Anybody hear terms?

    • Greg Haugsven

      Not yet, hopefully it’s 10 plus to get us a third round comp. Hopefully 5 for 50

      • ClevelandDuck

        Helps that it is the Raiders. The Jags and the Raiders appear to really have to overpay free agents – not a surprise really, but striking how well the agents have been sweating the teams with too much money for the first-day signings. Good for Bruce and, let’s hope, good for the Hawks. Only a couple of players left who seem likely to get huge deals, although if Osweiller and Fitzpatrick move teams, we could fall to fourth round comp. Selfishly, gotta hope that they resign with the Broncos and Jets respectively. Otherwise, it looks like Vernon, Mack and Jenkins perhaps are the most likely possibilities for high average yearly pay. And I’ve heard nothing about a market for Jenkins and only early very loose rumors about the Jags “obviously” targeting Mack, so who knows. Particularly Mack, I could see the Browns resigning him. They’ve got a ton of cap room and there really aren’t many guys left to give money to.

        • Volume12

          Heard something about Atlanta and Alex Mack.

  32. 503Hawk

    So much depends on what Okung does. If he leaves, Hawks are forced to get a plug & play tackle. If he stays, a lot of options open up.

    Like Feeneys athleticism, no earlier than R3 for me though. Either way, we are going to miss Irvin (not consistently spectacular, but dude is an immovable force!!!)

  33. CharlieTheUnicorn

    Feeney has another gear when pursuing the ball on the video that was linked. When the ball was near him, he got involved in the action. His pursuit of the RBs was pretty impressive and he dropped into zone coverage similar to the Seahawks. He also held his own trying to contain or bring down V. Adams.
    He got some nice pressures on the QB, which should have been enough to stop accurate passes, but the CBs played like garbage.

  34. Michael M.

    Didn’t see much to get me going here. Doesn’t look like much of a tackler (though that may be the case for most college players nowadays) and I thought he spent a lot of time leaving his feet to dive for a guys ankles trying to trip him up. Didn’t seem to make up for this lack of form with ‘hair on fire’ effort either.

    I have to wonder if he was tasked as a sort of QB spy on some of the plays where he is ‘rushing the passer’ because he never really looked to be in attack mode.

    Based on this and his injury history, I’ll be fine letting another team take him unless he makes it to the bottom of the 4th round or so.

  35. Volume12

    Looks like 2 RBs are off the market.

    Doug ‘Muscle Hamster’ Martin is nearing a deal to stay in TB and Chris Ivory is expected to sign with Jacksonville.

  36. EranUngar

    They tendered Burley (as i predicted).

    It made no sense to avoid tendering him. Glad to see it done.

    • franks

      No it sounded fairly bizarre, glad it’s resolved. I wonder if they’re not sending him a message that he better bring it this year.

    • Rob Staton

      Nobody predicted it wouldn’t happen.

      Everyone said it was bizarre that they didn’t.

      And it’s still slightly bizarre that it happened a few days after everyone else.

  37. franks

    MOCK DRAFT FEENEY EDITION->

    1- Trade down #26 to Miami for R2-42 and R3-73. Near-perfect match on the value chart. Dolphins take Shon Coleman.

    2-Nkemdiche DT

    2-Austin Johnson DT

    3-Connor McGovern RT, Week One Starter.

    3-Landon Turner LG. Powerhouse, maybe the best fit for Cable-LG in the draft. Plays through the whistle. Looks fine pass blocking. Gets caught leaning or confused sometimes. From nfl.com: “Thickly built with a bulldozer for a lower body. Grown man strength with jolting power in his hands. Blows the doors off of defensive tackles that don’t have meat on their bones and power to match up. Explodes with full force into his target, bench presses his victim and runs feet after contact to finish the job. Seals down blocks and can redirect gap shooters as long as he gets his hands on them.”

    Run blocking tape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuBz65SDJ3c
    Pass blocking tape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzSwGMX8ovM

    3-Dieondre Hall CB. Replaces Lane at a higher level.

    4-Feeney. The tape shows he has speed to chase down plays and the strength and discipline to set the edge. Still the injuries drop him I think, to Day 3. CBS rates him R4-5.

    5-Pearce Slater RT. Stock was rising before the combine, according to Rob Rang. Big man with good feet for his size.

    6-David Morgan TE, Texas-San Antonio. 6’4 260 pounder who PFF grades as “easily the best [blocker] we’ve seen in two years in the FBS.” He can catch too, and get in the end zone, set school record for TDs with 5. Second team All American. Competes to start.

    7-Keith Lumpkin, OT Rutgers. Leraven Clark-type at a much lower cost.

    7-Drew Kaser, Punter. Strong leg and quick get-off, athletic like Jon Ryan.

    • CharlieTheUnicorn

      You can’t hate the move back. I’m not totally sold on Coleman anyhow. I have taken Nkemidche off my draft list now for Seattle. He doesn’t show the “want to” for football. The media interviews / comments about interviews with him.. pretty much tells me 99 million dollar body with 1 cent brain. (or 99 million pounds / 1 pence; for Rob)

      • franks

        Here he is versus Albama. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co-mI212glU

        Doesn’t look lazy to me, more like he’s keeping some gas in that tank. You can see him take some plays off and fight hard on others. Pretty active against doubleteams and big Alabama linemen, aggressive hands, slides through the line at times. 1:42, 2:35, 3:10, 4:50.

        • Rob Staton

          His play isn’t an issue.

          The fact he’s a total head-case is the reason Seattle possibly won’t even have him on their draft board.

          • franks

            His play isn’t an issue to you, because you don’t want him. The noise isn’t an issue to me, because I think it’s bs. It’s an opportunity.

            • Rob Staton

              If you think it’s bs — you’re just putting your hands over your ears and covering your eyes.

              This is about more than one isolated incident. ‘The tip of the iceberg’ was Tony Pauline’s remark about that whole window mess. As for me ‘not wanting him’ — I don’t look at these prospects like that. I judge based on their fit for the Seahawks. My assertion is the Seahawks won’t be interested.

              • franks

                That’s cool Rob. Everyone has a right to judge things for themselves.

                I watched the interview I’d heard so much about, expecting something like this:

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75uzBuT1WvA

                Instead I see a nice guy who’s had too many cups of coffee, or thought too much aou this interview. He takes responsibility for his problems on the field, acknowledges his problems off the field and wisely doesn’t admit to using synthetics before the fall, a mistake which would have cost him an unfathomable amount of money to regular people. And he might’ve really just been drunk. But big deal, he’s in college and he parties, and he’s basically upfront during interviews and answers the actual questions the media gives him, who manipulate anything he says to make him sound like a monster.

                The tip of an iceberg has to be something more condemning than this, for me to believe in the iceberg. More than likely there’s a series of college-kid things he’s done at parties. Remember Warren Sapp?

                • Rob Staton

                  He doesn’t take responsibility though. When asked about the weed he says he took the fall because others wouldn’t. He said his teammate was in the room and named him. He said he was just drunk when the evidence suggests completely otherwise.

                  You say he ‘wisely’ didn’t admit to taking synthetics. And if/when the teams find out he has an issue with it — they’ll feel they can’t trust anything he says. Him denying it doesn’t make it not true. If it is true he’d be better off owning it. Just going in and trying to play the role of misunderstood, innocent little guy isn’t going to wash when snapchats are going around the internet of you smoking a bong.

                  Read this: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/12/15/report-synthetic-marijuana-led-to-robert-nkemdiches-fall-from-window/

                  The report said Nkemdiche was convinced someone was chasing him when he went through a double-pane window and fell 15 feet to the ground. A bush apparently broke his fall. He was taken to an Atlanta hospital for stitches, and was released before being taken to jail and charged with marijuana possession.

                  Nkemdiche’s brother Denzel, a linebacker at Ole Miss, has also had issues with the drug according to the report. He was hospitalized and missed the final two games of the season after he was found near the edge of the roof of his townhome, wrapped in a blanket and afraid someone was trying to get him.”

                  I could write you out a list of issues he and his brother have had at Ole Miss. And this is just the stuff we know about. When Tony Pauline says this is just the tip of the iceberg, he infers it’s a nothing story compared to some of the stuff that hasn’t come out. Pauline is connected. And he’s not the only one saying he’s trouble.

                  Believe what you want of course franks, but if you’re pinning your hopes on Nkemdiche being on Seattle’s draft board I think you’ll be disappointed.

                  • franks

                    If you’re negotiating your pay, there’s nothing wise about giving the other guy a reason to pay you less. Rookies are real people, negotiating the biggest deal of their lives. Let’s say he smoked too much weed or spice before the fall, and didn’t admit this to the press like an idiot. So what? Warren Sapp smoked a lot, too, and a lot of teams that bought into the hype wished they hadn’t once he started playing football.

                    I’m not pinning any hopes on Nkemdiche, just taking him with the first pick in a mock draft. I’ve also taken Coleman, Ifedi, Jackson, Tapper, Fuller etc.

                    Honestly I think Turner and Hall would make for a better conversation. Really interested in what Morgan could do next to Willson and Graham, he might be a poor man’s Mark Bruenner.

                    • Rob Staton

                      There’s nowhere to hide in this process. For me if he’s had issues with synthetic weed, teams would rather hear: “I had a problem, I’m dealing with it — I am receiving help. I will not let this impact my football career any longer” instead of “there is no issue” when most teams know that isn’t the case.

                  • franks

                    Nkemdiche may or may not be on the PCJS board for R1, but I guarantee you he’s there somewhere. Pete is too smart to pass on someone like that in the seventh round. Only Russkell would do something like that.

                    • Rob Staton

                      I know they’ve taken players off their board before.

                  • franks

                    Could be, but I don’t see the accusations matching up with the hype. I think we’ve seen in previous drafts that our F.O. forms its own view of what happened.

                  • franks

                    Sorry Rob I don’t see it that way at all.

                    I appreciate your work on this blog.

                  • franks

                    I don’t think marijuana’s the boogie man.

                    • Rob Staton

                      It nearly led to him killing himself jumping out of a hotel window.

                      Keep calling it all hype though.

                  • franks

                    Marijuana has been known to cause paranoia.

                    • Rob Staton

                      Only in people who are addicted to it and let it control their lives.

                      And there’s the point.

                  • franks

                    The real story there to me, is he fell 15 feet and dusted himself off like SSteven Segal.

                  • CHawk Talker Eric

                    I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I’m willing to make a wager with franks that Nkemdiche never wins any award/accolade in the NFL. He’ll never be a MVP, never be Player of the Week/Year, never be a pro-bowler.

                    He’s just another Johnny Manziel.

                  • franks

                    Bet you a soda.

                  • CHawk Talker Eric

                    Deal 🙂

                • franks

                  I can say from first hand experience that that’s not true.

  38. EranUngar

    An observation:

    We spend a lot of time here trying to evluate and anticipate the Seahawks first pick. It makes sense since that first round pick is our best chance to add a difference maker.

    On the other hand, at this moment, Earl Thomas is the only first round pick on the whole Seahawks roster.

    Makes you think…

    • EranUngar

      And…if you are wondering, we have 4 second round picks. Franck Clark and the productive trio of C-Mike, Britt and P-Rich…

      • franks

        JS is like Jermaine Kearse in a way, makes these fantastic catches and drops the easy ones.

        • EranUngar

          LOL…good analogy. JS surer makes some fantastic catches when you don’t expect them. Still, would be nice to have more than one first rounder on the roster. DEN has 9…

  39. CharlieTheUnicorn

    I noticed the Colts cut former 1st round pick OLB Bjoern Werner. He is 6’3 and roughly 255 lbs…. would he be a fit in Seattle as a depth pick / min salary type of guy??? He has some flaws, but who doesn’t love a reclamation project… and his upside (before the draft) was potentially Chris Long level.

    • Rob Staton

      Just not a good player. Heart hasn’t been in it.

  40. EranUngar

    Another piece of information:

    Donnald Penn for NFL Network : “Seattle’s been on the up and up, and you never know what they’re going to do with Okung, so that’s another possibility,”…

    Make of it what you will…

    • franks

      I was watching that not really paying attention until I heard Seattle being up and coming and Okung and what do you know there’s the guy I’ve been arguing with Rob about, on TV in a suit… He did say he wants to stay in Oakland, but I’d think he’s had some contact with us or he wouldn’t namecheck Seattle on TV.

      • EranUngar

        Yes. “Seattle’s been on the up and up” is not something you’d say without any contact…

    • franks

      Irvin to OAK

  41. C-Hawk

    Watching that tape, I saw a guy who got swallowed up too often, gave up on plays before the whistle, has average play recognition skills, and got hurt. Thinking Feeney is a 1st or 2nd round talent based on his size and 40 time is fools gold. I’d love for him to be a Seahawk, but not until the 5th round or later. He looks like a nice special teams player in the NFL who could fill in situationally every once in a while.

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