It’s the final day of combine workouts and it’s an important one. The Seahawks simply have to improve their offensive line this off-season. They successfully transformed their defensive line over the last three off-seasons, by drafting and acquiring talent. A similar approach is now required on the other side of the ball.
ESPN is reporting today that the Seahawks are “lurking” in the offensive line free agent market. I hope it’s more than a lurk. They aggressively pursued Dre’Mont Jones and Leonard Williams over the last two years. It’s important to try and land a top linemen, such as Drew Dalman, rather than settle for less. ESPN says Dalman, Will Fries and Aaron Banks are all set to be paid. All have experience in the zone system. I’d suggest there’s a marked difference in appeal between Dalman and the other two names.
Dan Graziano says the Falcons are resigned to Dalman leaving because his market is too rich. Last week there were suggestions he could get around $20m-a-year as the top interior lineman left on the market. That might price the Seahawks out. If so, I hope they’re ready to act on Ryan Kelly. They need solutions up front to set up a ‘best player available’ approach at #18 in the draft.
Even if they make additions in free agency, it’d still be good to see the Seahawks draft for the O-line too. He might not have the zone blocking grades to excite but Tyler Booker is an incredible prospect. He’s 6-4 1/2, 321lbs, he has 34.5-inch arms and massive 11-inch hands. He is the best pure guard to enter the league since Quenton Nelson. Scheme be damned — take this guy. I believe he’s athletic enough to do what you need in zone. I am not convinced he will last to #18.
It’s a terribly weak center class but several developmental prospects for the position have emerged. Ideally you have 10-inch hands for the role, to go with strong agility testing and explosive traits. Connor Colby, Jared Wilson, Marcus Mbow, Clay Webb and Luke Kandra all have 10-inch hands.
You can find all the measurement information here.
I really believe Grey Zabel is an ideal scheme fit for the system and will be monitoring him closely during drills.
I will be looking for offensive linemen who perform in these ranges (matching the average marks for the top-10 interior zone blockers currently in the NFL):
40-yard dash: 5.00-5.10
10-yard split: 1.73-1.76
Short shuttle: 4.50-4.55
Vertical jump: 30-32 inches
If you missed my day one review, read it here. For day two, click here and here’s my day three report on the quarterbacks, receivers and running backs.
Don’t forget to use this as an open thread. I will be posting regularly in the comments so join in. At the completion of the workouts Robbie and I will be jumping on a live stream and I’ll have my final review article up on the blog shortly after. Thank you to everyone who has followed our combine coverage this year.
