The live blog will be updated throughout the day. Keeping refreshing and join in the discussion in the comments section.

This could be the best day so far at this years combine. This is a loaded draft for safety’s and cornerbacks. There’s a good chance multiple players competing today will be drafted by the Seahawks.

Here’s a list of all the cornerbacks with +32 inch arms (Seattle’s apparent cut-off for length):

Brian Allen — 6-3, 34
Jeremy Clark — 6-3, 32 7/8
Gareon Conley — 6-0, 33
Treston Decoud — 6-2, 33
Rasul Douglas — 6-2, 32 3/8
Shaquill Griffin — 6-0, 32 3/8
Marlon Humphrey — 6-0, 32 1/4
Kevin King — 6-3, 32
Brendan Langley — 6-0, 32 3/8
Teez Tabor — 6-0, 32 1/4
Cordrea Tankersley — 6-1, 32 1/4
Marquez White — 6-0, 32 1/8
Tre’Davious White — 5-11, 32 1/8
Quincy Wilson — 6-1, 32 1/4
Ahkello Witherspoon — 6-3, 33

Look for CB’s that run a sub-4.55, have the 32 inch arms and perform well in the vertical (+35 inches) and broad (around 10-5).

Forty yard dash times — Group 1

Players with +32 inch arms in bold

Jamal Adams — 4.56 & 4.56
Brian Allen — 4.43 & 4.48
Chidobe Awuzie — 4.44 & 4.46
Budda Baker — 4.46 & 4.51
Jamal Carter — 4.72 & 4.65
Chuck Clark — 4.55 & 4.55
Gareon Conley — 4.45 & 4.48
Treston Decoud — 4.64 & 4.63
Rasul Douglas — 4.60 & 4.63
Cord Elder — 4.56 & 4.59
Justin Evans — DNP
Shaquill Griffin — 4.39 & 4.40
Nate Hairston — 4.56 & 4.53
Josh Harvey-Clemons — DNP
Delano Hill — 4.48 & 4.54
Malik Hooker — DNP
Marlon Humphrey — 4.41 & 4.46
Adoree’ Jackson — 4.39 & 4.42
Eddie Jackson — DNP
Rayshawn Jenkins — 4.51 & 4.55
Lorenzo Jerome — 4.73 & 4.71
Jadar Johnson — 4.71 & 4.61
John Johnson — 4.61 & 4.67
Josh Jones — 4.41 & 4.44
Sidney Jones — 4.48 & 4.52
Damontae Kazee — 4.59 & 4.54
Desmond King — DNP

The most interesting names on this list for Seattle could be Shaq Griffin, Rayshawn Jenkins, Gareon Conley and Josh Jones.

Jenkins in particular is a positive. He’s a talented jumper so should perform well in the vertical and broad. He’s been as big as 6-1, 220lbs and has the ‘grit’ Seattle loves. He’s a fighter on and off the field.

Budda Baker and Sidney Jones both get into the 4.4’s. That’s good enough for both to retain the high stock they’ve been receiving.

The only real disappointment is John Johnson running in the 4.6’s. He looked fast at the Senior Bowl.

The first drill is a back-pedal, turn and finish. It’s a timed drill (Mayock says that isn’t a good thing). Brian Allen looked really smooth for a 6-3, 215lbs corner. Unlocked his hips. Great rep.

Gareon Conley performed poorly in this drill and nearly ran off the track while turning. Shaq Griffin’s good day continues, he turned well and transitioned well into a sprint. Adoree’ Jackson’s transition was also really good and Marlon Humphrey is as good as advertised. Rayshawn Jenkins also performed well for his size.

During the catching drills (downfield throws) Budda Baker looks sluggish and drops a pass. Mike Mayock: “He can’t catch a cold”. Ouch.

Ike Taylor is a little more positive, listing Baker as his #1 safety ahead of Jamal Adams and Malik Hooker.

Conley’s back-pedal/change of direction drill looked good — as did Budda Baker. Possibly their best drills so far. Shaq Griffin continues to impress. Marlon Humphrey and Adoree’ Jackson also looked good. After a bit of warming up the DB’s are hitting their stride.

Conley continues to get better and better. After this performance today — and presuming he jumps well — he’s going to rise well into round one.

Budda Baker a good overall workout. Very solid.

Linebacker agility tests

While these DB drills are ongoing, the NFL has finally released the three cone and short shuttle results for the linebackers yesterday. Here’s the big news:

— Tyus Bowser had the best three cone by any player working out on Sunday (6.75). It’s also the fifth best time by a D-liner or linebacker in the last five years.

— T.J. Watt had the second best three cone on Sunday (6.79) and the best short shuttle (4.13). His three cone is the eighth best by a DL or LB in the last five years and his short shuttle is the 11th best (and only 0.08 slower than Frank Clark’s).

These are really good times for both players.

Official DB 40 times (group 1) (top-10)

Shaq Griffin — 4.38
Marlon Humphrey — 4.41
Josh Jones — 4.41
Adoree’ Jackson — 4.42
Chidobe Awuzie — 4.43
Gareon Conley — 4.44
Budda Baker — 4.45
Delano Hill — 4.47
Sidney Jones — 4.47
Brian Allen — 4.48

Broad jump and vertical notes (DB’s)

Obi Melifonwu just jumped an 11-9 broad jump. What a freak. It’s the second best broad jump ever, only topped by Byron Jones (12-3). His 44 inch vertical is the third highest ever. He will be an option at #26.

Here’s a piece we wrote about him in November if you want to know more.

UNBELIEVABLE!

Obi Melifonwu (DB – @UConnFootball) has a 44" vertical jump. 😱😱😱 #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/F3YCqaWdNo

— NFL (@NFL) March 6, 2017

He almost jumped TOO far!

This is crazy: Obi Melifonwu (DB – @UConnFootball) broad jumps 11'9"!!! #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/uWo06moyb7

— NFL (@NFL) March 6, 2017

Broad jumps

Marshon Lattimore — 11-0
Obi Melifonwu — 11-9
Fabian Moreau — 11-4
Josh Jones — 11-0
Gareon Conley — 10-9
Marcus Williams — 10-9
Rayshawn Jenkins — 10-8
Ahkello Witherspoon — 10-7
Marlon Humphrey — 10-5
Sidney Jones — 10-3
Adoree’ Jackson — 10-2
Cordrea Tankersley — 10-1
Jamal Adams — 10-0
Rasul Douglas — 10-0
Teez Tabor — 10-0
Tre’Davious White — 9-11
Quincy Wilson — 9-10
Tedric Thompson — 9-9
Shalom Luani — 9-8
Budda Baker — 9-7
Brian Allen — 9-4

Vertical jumps

Obi Melifonwu — 44 inches
Marcus Williams — 43.5 inches
Ahkello Witherspoon — 40.5 inches
Kevin King — 39.5 inches
Marshon Lattimore — 38.5 inches
Fabian Moreau — 38 inches
Josh Jones — 37.5 inches
Gareon Conley — 37 inches
Rayshawn Jenkins — 37 inches
Sidney Jones — 33.5 inches
Jamal Adams — 31.5 inches
Adoree Jackson — 36 inches
Brian Allen — 34.5 inches
Rasul Douglas — 33.5 inches
Budda Baker — 32.5 inches
Tedric Thompson — 32.5 inches
Tre’Davious White — 32 inches
Quincy Wilson — 32 inches
Shalom Luani — 31 inches
Teez Tabor — 31 inches
Coredrea Tankersley — 29.5 inches
Marlon Humphrey — DNP

Forty yard dash times — Group 2

Players with +32 inch arms in bold

Kevin King — 4.44 & 4.48
Ashton Lampkin — 4.53 & 4.58
Brendan Langley — 4.44 & 4.47
Marshon Lattimore — 4.36 & 4.37
Jourdan Lewis — 4.55 & 4.59
Will Likely — DNP
Shalom Luani — 4.56 & 4.56
Arthur Maulet — 4.66 & 4.63
Marcus Maye — DNP
Obi Melifonwu — 4.46 & 4.40
Fabian Moreau — 4.35 & 4.39
Jalen Myrick — 4.29 & 4.32
Montae Nicholson — 4.48 & 4.43
Ezra Robinson — 4.48 & 4.50
Sojourn Shelton — 4.58 &
Channing Stribling — 4.68 & 4.60
Cameron Sutton — 4.53 & 4.57
Teez Tabor — 4.63 & 4.68
Cordrea Tankersley — 4.47 & 4.40
Tedric Thompson — 4.60 & 4.63
Jack Tocho — 4.55 & 4.60
Michael Tyson — 4.53 & 4.64
Marquez White — 4.68 & 4.60
Tre’Davious White — 4.47 & 4.55
Marcus Williams — 4.57 & 4.58
Howard Wilson — 4.58 & 4.62
Quincy Wilson — 4.56 & 4.54
Ahkello Witherspoon — 4.45 & 4.49
Xavier Woods — 4.54 & 4.58

Welcome to a possible first round grade, Kevin King. A 4.44? Wonderful. He’s another option for the Seahawks. Shalom Luani’s 4.56 is good enough.

Obi Melifonwu ran a 4.40 adding to his great day. Wow. A 4.40 flat on his second run. Incredible.

Melifonwu’s day — 4.40 forty, 44 inch vertical, 11-9 broad.

This was Pete Carroll and John Schneider’s reaction to Melifonwu’s workout:

Watch Pete Carroll turn to Kris Richard after watching Obi Melifonwu run a 4.40 #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/eA4JGHuJaZ

— Rob Staton (@robstaton) March 6, 2017

Watch Carroll turn to Kris Richard.

Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson confirmed their lack of elite speed, running in the 4.6’s and 4.5’s respectively. That’s how they ran in 2013 too. Wilson’s 4.54 isn’t a bad time but this is a really competitive group of cornerbacks.

No big surprises today in terms of Seattle at #26. We thought Obi Melifonwu and Kevin King were options at #26 and that has been confirmed.

In the initial drills, Kevin King and Ahkello Witherspoon are looking really good for their size. Obi Melifonwu doesn’t look stiff at all in his back-pedal despite his size. Shalom Luani is looking good too.

Both NFL Network and NFL.com haven’t shown much of the drills from group two. Lot’s of adverts on the Network, lot’s of interviews on the website. Shame.

Kevin King jumped a 39.5 inch vertical. Ahkello Witherspoon had a 40.5 inch vertical. These are two guys having an amazing day.

Don’t sleep on Luani. His ‘W’ drill was really good for a safety. He’s going to be a good player for someone. He and Rayshawn Jenkins are really intriguing at safety. Ditto Montae Nicholson and Josh Jones.

Official DB 40 times (top-10)

Jalen Myrick — 4.28
Fabian Moreau — 4.35
Marshon Lattimore — 4.36
Shaq Griffin — 4.38
Obi Melifonwu — 4.40
Cordrea Tankersley — 4.40
Marlon Humphrey — 4.41
Josh Jones — 4.41
Adoree’ Jackson — 4.42
Montae Nicholson — 4.42

Other notable forty times:

Chidobe Awuzie — 4.43
Gareon Conley — 4.44
Budda Baker — 4.45
Delano Hill — 4.47
Sidney Jones — 4.47
Brian Allen — 4.48

That concludes the final day of the combine. Thanks for joining us for the live blogs. I’ll have a review piece up shortly. Stay tuned.

TEF proves the NFL has an O-line problem (still)

Why are explosive physical traits important? Pat Kirwan — a confidant of Pete Carroll — tells us why in this piece:

Every time a ball is snapped to start a play there is a critical element of explosiveness that takes place. When two players collide in an attempt to physically dominate each other, the athlete with the edge in explosiveness has the best chance to win the confrontation. It could be a blocker vs. a tackler, a tackler vs. a ball carrier, or many other examples of winning at the point of contact.

Explosiveness is defined in the dictionary as a violent release of energy, a sudden outburst. Football is a series of explosions. How do you measure it in athletes trying to play NFL football?

Take the vertical jump, standing broad jump and the bench press test results and add them together. If the combined score is over 70 there is a reason to consider the candidate at some point in the draft process for his explosiveness.

Kirwan’s formula is flawed because it diminishes the impact of the broad jump. A superb 9-7 only achieves a 1.2 point advantage over a below par 8-5. That’s why we developed our own formula (TEF) to essentially do what Kirwan intended — measure explosive traits equally and emphasise their combined importance.

Last year we used TEF to measure offensive and defensive linemen and compare the results. At the 2016 combine there were six prospects we could classify as having an explosive physical profile. In comparison, there were 26 defensive linemen hitting the same mark.

This year, the results are even more comprehensive.

There are only three offensive lineman scoring a 3.00 in TEF:

Forrest Lamp — 3.23
Nico Siragusa — 3.13
Garett Bolles — 3.00

In comparison, there are 30 (thirty) defensive linemen scoring at least a 3.00. Here’s the list in full, with the players scoring a +3.00 highlighted in bold:

Montravius Adams — 2.75
Jonathan Allen — 2.75
Derek Barnett — 3.16
Tarell Basham — 2.91
Tashawn Bower — 3.16
Caleb Brantley — 2.57
Fadol Brown — 3.01
Josh Carraway — 3.25
Taco Charlton — 3.23
Bryan Cox Jr. — 2.48
Dylan Donahue — 3.15
Ken Ekanem — 3.08
Myles Garrett — 4.21
Ryan Glasgow — 2.55
Daeshon Hall — 3.31
Charles Harris — 2.84
Trey Hendrickson — 3.41
Jaleel Johnson — 2.40
D.J. Jones — 2.85
Nazair Jones — 2.50
Tanoh Kpassagnon — 3.48
Carl Lawson — 3.54
Jeremiah Ledbetter — 3.27
Malik McDowell — 2.89
Takk McKinley — 3.39
Avery Moss — 2.74
Al-quadin Muhammad — 3.07
Noble Nwachukwu — 3.04
Ife Odenigbo — 3.61
Olumide Ogunjobi — 3.23
Carroll Phillips — 3.30
Ejuan Price — 3.03
Elijah Qualls — 3.16
Haason Reddick — 3.93
Derek Rivers — 3.57
Isaac Rochell — 3.12
Garrett Sickels — 2.56
Tanzel Smart — 2.60
Dawuane Smoot — 3.11
Pita Taumoepenu — 2.92
Vincent Taylor — 2.88
Solomon Thomas — 3.83
Dalvin Tomlinson — 2.82
Steve Tu’ikolovatu — 2.43
Eddie Vanderdoes — 3.04
Charles Walker — 2.80
Tim Williams — 3.48
Jordan Willis — 3.70
Deatrick Wise — 3.43

Simply put, this is a shockingly explosive group of defensive linemen. An unreal bunch even compared to last year.

Here’s the top five ‘TEF’ scores among defensive linemen a year ago:

Dean Lowry: 3.54
Sheldon Rankins: 3.52
Robert Nkemdiche: 3.47
Noah Spence: 3.46
Yannick Ngakoue: 3.44

There are seven players alone in this draft that beat or equal Dean Lowry’s 3.54:

Myles Garrett — 4.21
Haason Reddick — 3.93
Solomon Thomas — 3.83
Jordan Willis — 3.70
Ife Odenigbo — 3.61
Derek Rivers — 3.57
Carl Lawson — 3.54

If you’re wondering why teams like Seattle, who never get a chance to pick the handful of good offensive lineman that get drafted in the top-15, struggle on the offensive line — here’s your answer.

In the last two years alone, college football has sent nine ‘explosive’ athletes playing O-line to the combine. They’ve sent 56 defensive linemen.

Talk about an ever expanding mismatch in the trenches.

Once again it highlights the problem the NFL is dealing with. The top High School athletes, most of which play O-line and D-line, are using their preference to play defense as a recruiting tool. They know where the money and the glamour is at the next level. Equally, the sudden rise of extreme spread offenses isn’t developing the players who end up being left to play O-line in college.

It’s never been more important to find capable athletes who can match-up physically to the defensive linemen coming into the league. And while the Seahawks suffered severe growing pains in 2016 — the athletic potential of their young O-line is as good as some of monsters they’ll be facing. It’s a worthwhile project for Seattle even if they need to add some veteran support in free agency this week.

The top-three TEF scores among the defensive linemen are no real surprise. Myles Garrett’s insane 4.21 confirms what everyone already knows — he is genuinely special and definitely warrants the #1 overall pick. Haason Reddick and Solomon Thomas, two other big names in this class, will also leave the board very quickly. Thomas might go #2 to San Francisco — and it’s now highly unlikely Reddick will last anywhere near Seattle’s pick at #26.

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

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

Garrett, Reddick and Thomas are physical peers.

The sheer depth of explosive athletes in this class will provide teams with opportunities beyond round one. The Seahawks will probably tap into this group at some point. There are too many freaks not to.

10-yard splits are important

A 10-yard split in the 1.5’s is considered ‘elite’. Today Haason Reddick (1.59), Jordan Willis (1.54) and Trey Hendrickson (1.59) all achieved the mark.

Cliff Avril ran a 1.50 at his combine, with Bruce Irvin recording a 1.55.

Willis in particular might be one to monitor. He has a similar physical profile to Irvin:

Name: Jordan Willis
Height: 6-4
Weight: 255lbs
Arm length: 33.5 inch arms
Forty: 4.53
Split: 1.54
Vertical: 39 inches
Broad: 10-5

Name: Bruce Irvin
Height: 6-3
Weight: 245lbs
Arm length: 33 inch arms
Forty: 4.50
Split: 1.55 split
Vertical: 33.5 inches
Broad: 10-3

Willis is 10lbs heavier than Irvin but has comparable speed and length plus a more explosive physical profile.

It’s possible they see him purely as a LEO/EDGE rather than a SAM linebacker — but Willis is someone to keep in mind the rest of the way.

Agility drills

A handful of defensive linemen have been drafted by Seattle having really impressed in the agility tests (short shuttle, three cone).

Frank Clark’s 4.05 short shuttle is the second best time recorded in the last five years. Jackson Jeffcoat, an UDFA who signed with Seattle, has the third best time (4.18) and Cassius Marsh is at #10 (4.25)

This year, Carl Lawson ran a 4.19 (#4 in the last five years) and Trey Hendrickson a 4.20 (#7). Both are faster than the 4.21 run by Joey Bosa a year ago.

Jordan Willis meanwhile had the fourth best three-cone drill in the last five years (6.85) again beating Bosa’s time (6.89). Pita Taumoepenu (6.91), Derek Rivers (6.94), Solomon Thomas (6.95) and Derek Barnett (6.96) all cracked the top-15.

Basically, a lot of teams are going to go back and review Willis’ tape after today.

Haason Reddick ran a 4.37 short shuttle and a 7.01 three-cone.

Linebackers hard to judge

This was a weird day for the linebackers. It started well enough — Tyus Bowser, T.J. Watt and Zach Cunningham all performed very well in the broad and vertical jumps:

Tyus Bowser: 37.5 inch vert, 10-7 broad
T.J. Watt: 37 inch vert, 10-8 broad
Zach Cunningham: 35 inch vert, 10-5 broad

This was encouraging, especially with Reddick likely moving himself out of range for the Seahawks at #26.

However, none of the three ran particularly well. Bowser ran an official 4.65 with a nice 1.59 split, with Watt managing a 4.69 and Cunningham a 4.67.

None of these times are horrible but compared to Haason Reddick’s 4.52, they don’t look particularly great either.

Bowser might be in play at the SAM, just like Jordan Willis. His split in particular is encouraging, he has experience at linebacker with Houston and he has the size and length to make that role work.

Cunningham is really lean with a safety-like appearance. He has good length and attitude — but are the Seahawks going to draft a 4.67 linebacker at #26? T.J. Watt is explosive and tough but looks more like a Paul Kruger-type 3-4 OLB.

One final note on the linebackers — we know Pete Carroll coached Clay Matthews at USC and used him as a SAM. Here are Matthews’ combine numbers:

Name: Clay Matthews
Height: 6-3
Weight: 240lbs
Forty: 4.67
Split: 1.61 split
Vertical: 35.5 inches
Broad: 10-1
Bench: 23 reps

And here’s Jordan Willis, Tyus Bowser and T.J. Watt:

Name: Jordan Willis
Height: 6-4
Weight: 255lbs
Forty: 4.53
Split: 1.54
Vertical: 39 inches
Broad: 10-5

Name: Tyus Bowser
Height: 6-3
Weight: 247lbs
Forty: 4.65
Split: 1.59
Vertical: 37.5 inches
Broad: 10-7

Name: T.J. Watt
Height: 6-4
Weight: 252lbs
Forty: 4.69
Split: Unknown
Vertical: 37 inches
Broad: 10-8

It’s unclear whether Carroll would’ve hand-picked Matthews to feature for the Seahawks in the NFL — but the three 2017 prospects have a superior physical profile.

It’s possible all three are considered better suited as an EDGE rather than a SAM — but it’s food for thought.

Florida’s Jarrad Davis could also be an option for the Seahawks. He didn’t workout at the combine as he continues to recover from an injury. He’ll perform at the Florida pro-day on March 28th.

Thoughts on how the combine so far impacts Seattle at #26

For a few weeks now it’s felt like the key to this draft (based on who is available) would be Seattle’s ability to add a cornerback capable of competing to start, find better depth at safety and linebacker and identify a solution for this position:

The role highlighted by the green circle could be a SAM or it could be a ‘Buffalo’ nickel (the position is explained in more detail here).

It’s entirely possible they could draft a strong-side linebacker at #26 or in the second round. Pete Carroll referenced his desire to add a linebacker at the end of the season. In the past, players like Malcolm Smith and Bruce Irvin have featured in games taking 90% of the defensive snaps.

However, in 2016 they showed their willingness to play predominantly in a 4-2-5. Mike Morgan (starting SAM) only had one game where he played more than 50% of the snaps (@ LA). When he returned from a sports hernia injury, he only had one game where he had more than 30% of the snaps (vs Arizona).

Jeremy Lane on the other hand played 71% of the defensive snaps in 2016.

Finding someone who can combine the two roles is very trendy in the NFL — but with good reason (see: the tight end workouts on Saturday).

Eric Edholm reported earlier today that the Seahawks have spent a lot of time speaking to Obi Melifonwu. Shalom Luani also revealed he met with the Seahawks in Indianapolis.

Both players have the size and length Seattle likes at corner, the speed to handle coverage duties and the size/tackling qualities of a lighter linebacker.

Melifonwu was measured at 6-4, 224lbs at the combine. Deion Jones was 6-1 and 222lbs a year ago. If Jones can become one of the more impactful defenders in the NFL at that size, why can’t Melifonwu? Especially considering he’s expected to have a phenomenal workout tomorrow.

You could end up with a starter at nickel who can provide depth for Earl Thomas and/or Kam Chancellor at safety.

This might also be a way for the Seahawks to justify taking Budda Baker despite his lack of size (5-10, 195lbs) or length (30 5/8 inch arms). The 4-2-5 puts a safety hybrid in the nickel (a role Baker is familiar with) but also has a common look with a pair of rangy free safety’s playing cover-2 and the strong safety lining up at the LOS (something Kam Chancellor is capable of doing).

“I love @Earl_Thomas. The way he plays the game whatever he’s doing he’s always next to the ball.” @UW_Football‘s @buddabaker32 #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/DBcQm4NFWZ

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) March 5, 2017

It’s interesting though that they’re clearly doing their homework on Melifonwu and Luani — two safety’s that have size, length and athleticism.

If the likes of Haason Reddick, Garett Bolles and Forrest Lamp don’t make it into range at #26 — and if they’re not sold on the likes of Tyus Bowser, T.J. Watt, Zach Cunningham or Jordan Willis at #26 — getting an athletic safety carries some logic.

It wouldn’t be a big shock if Seattle ultimately goes safety/hyrbid and cornerback with their first two picks. The talent is their to justify it.

Tomorrow is a big day at the combine. The entire league is going to want to tap into this incredible DB class. Our next live blog begins at 2pm PST on Monday and we’ll be providing updates throughout the day.

The live blog will be updated throughout the day. Keeping refreshing and join in the discussion in the comments section.

Today the defensive linemen and linebackers workout. Pete Carroll named linebacker as one of three priority needs at the end of the season (CB, LB, OL). This is a group to monitor closely.

Unfortunately Florida’s Jarrad Davis will not take part due to injury.

Later today we’ll put the defensive linemen through TEF to see how they compare athletically to the offensive linemen in this class.

D-line forty yard dash (10-yard split in brackets)

An ‘elite’ split is a 1.5

Group 1:

Montravius Adams — 4.88 (1.72) & 4.94 (1.74)
Jonathan Allen — 5.00 (1.74) & 5.02 (1.76)
Derek Barnett — 4.88 (1.70) & 4.92 (1.70)
Tarell Basham — 4.81 (1.68) 4.70 (1.61)
Tashawn Bower — 4.85 (1.69) & 4.82 (1.66)
Caleb Brantley — 5.15 (1.78) & 5.18 (1.84)
Fadol Brown — 4.94 (1.72) & 4.97 (1.74)
Josh Carraway — 4.74 (1.71) & 4.76 (1.72)
Taco Charlton — 4.92 (1.73) & 4.92 (1.70)
Bryan Cox Jr. — 4.90 (1.74) & 4.91 (1.74)
Keionta Davis — DNP
Dylan Donahue — 4.76 (1.67) & 4.80 (1.68)
Ken Ekanem — 4.89 (1.68) & 4.89 (1.70)
Myles Garrett — 4.64 (1.63) & 4.74 (1.69)
Ryan Glasgow — 5.14 (1.85) & 5.30 (1.93)
Davon Godchaux — 5.27 (1.84) & DNP
Daeshon Hall — 4.76 (1.68) & 4.77 (1.67)
Charles Harris — 4.84 (1.65) & 4.82 (1.66)
Trey Hendrickson — 4.68 (1.62) & 4.64 (1.59)
Treyvon Hester — DNP
Jaleel Johnson — 5.49 (2.03) & 5.38 (1.92)
D.J. Jones — 5.06 (1.76) & 5.04 (1.77)
Jarron Jones — 5.43 (1.96) & 5.34 (1.87)
Nazair Jones — 5.12 (1.81) & 5.18 (1.81)
Tanoh Kpassagnon — 4.83 (1.69) & 4.92 (1.75)
Carl Lawson — 4.82 (1.68) & 4.68 (1.60)
Jeremiah Ledbetter — 4.85 (1.72) & 4.94 (1.79)
Malik McDowell — 4.90 (1.72) & 4.86 (1.69)

A so-so start to the day. In terms of edge rushers, Bruce Irvin ran a 1.55 split and Cliff Avril had a 1.50. The only EDGE here that ran a 1.5 was Trey Hendrickson (1.59).

Frank Clark was considered more of an explosive inside/out rusher and he ran a 1.69 split at 271lbs. Malik McDowell managed the same 1.69 split at 295lbs. Montravius Adams ran a 1.72 at 304lbs. Tarell Basham ran a 1.61 at 269lbs which is pretty freaky. Unlike Adams and Hendrickson, he also has length (34 1/4 inch arms).

Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson and Charles Harris looked really smooth in the initial movement drills. All three looked comfortable in space, changing direction and moving with instinct. Most of the group looked really stiff (not a surprise, they’re D-liners) but these three excelled.

Moving over the bags, Caleb Brantley followed up a ‘meh’ forty with a bad movement drill. Montravius Adams, Jonathan Allen, Derek Barnett and Tarrell Basham were really good here. Taco Charlton was decent. Myles Garrett’s technique on this drill was awful.

Charles Harris absolutely NAILED this drill. Wow. Quickness, smooth, explosive. The best by a country mile so far.

GROUP ONE OFFICIAL FORTY TIMES (top-10)

Myles Garrett — 4.64
Trey Hendrickson — 4.65
Carl Lawson — 4.67
Tarrell Basham — 4.70
Josh Carraway — 4.74
Dylan Donahue — 4.75
Daeshon Hall — 4.76
Tashawn Bower — 4.82
Charles Harris — 4.82
Tanoh Kpassagnon — 4.83

In the club/rip drills — Carl Lawson looked powerful and quick. Unsurprisingly Myles Garrett excelled here, showing great power, bend and lean. Ole Miss’ D.J. Jones is performing well but is tiring.

Lawson’s second rep in the club/rip was even better than the first. Superb.

Onto the stack-and-shed drills. Nice rep for Tarrell Basham who’s having a good day. Caleb Brantley bends his waist and looks lethargic. Taco Charlton looked powerful here — his best drill so far.

Most of the players messed up this drill, as is the case every year. So many rush through it, ‘push’ the bag instead of strike and treat is as a quickness test (it isn’t). Basham, Charlton, Lawson and Kpassagnon got it right but the coaches were constantly reminding the group it wasn’t a race.

In the re-direct and chase drill, Harris again excelled. He’s really smooth. You see traits on tape and while he didn’t run a 1.5 split (1.66) his ability to express power and speed, change direction and accelerate is on show today. He looks like a sure-fire first rounder on this evidence.

Taco Charlton is a curious one. He didn’t run well. He’s not moving well in drills. He’s shown some power on the bags. Mike Mayock is comparing him to Carlos Dunlap during the broadcast but Dunlap ran a 4.71 (1.65 split) at 6-6 and 277lbs. Charlton ran a 4.92 with a 1.73 split at the exact same height/size. Dunlap is a superior athlete and it’s hard to watch Charlton’s combine and imagine him being the top-15 pick many are projecting.

Charlton also went through linebacker drills but he looked mechanical and uncomfortable. He’s the opposite of ‘twitchy’. Charles Harris on the other hand — WOW, again. He’s showing a natural fluidity in space, the ability to unlock his hips and change direction. He’s moving like a 220lbs linebacker. The star of the drills so far.

Broad jump

Haason Reddick — 11-1
Myles Garrett — 10-8
Tanoh Kpassagnon — 10-8
Solomon Thomas — 10-6
Jordan Willis — 10-5
Deatrich Wise — 10-5
Tim Williams — 10-4
Daeshon Hall — 10-3
Derek Rivers — 10-3
Trey Hendrickson — 10-2
Taco Charlton — 9-8
Carl Lawson — 9-6
Malik McDowell — 9-4

Vertical

Myles Garrett — 41 inches
Jordan Willis — 39 inches
Haason Reddick — 36.5 inches
Daeshon Hall — 36 inches
Solomon Thomas — 35 inches
Derek Rivers — 35 inches
Fadol Brown — 34 inches
Tim Williams — 33.5 inches
Carl Lawson — 33 inches
Takk McKinley — 33 inches
Taco Charlton — 33 inches
Deatrich Wise — 33 inches
Charles Harris — 32 inches
Tanoh Kpassagnon — 30 inches

Haason Reddick delivering as expected. A sensational 11-1 broad jump and a 36.5 inch vertical to match. He’s a 40-yard dash in the 4.47-4.55 range away from freak status.

The ideal pick at #26 for this team could be Reddick.

WOW!@Haason7Reddick (DE – @TempleOwls) goes 11'1" in the Broad Jump! #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/7dGoECUleL

— NFL (@NFL) March 5, 2017

According to this Tweet, the Seahawks are doing their homework on Obi Melifonwu:

Team that has shown most interest/done most work on UConn S Obi Melinfonwu are #Seahawks. Met with him several times, senior Bowl, combine..

— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) March 5, 2017

This isn’t a surprise. Melifonwu has the size and profile they love. He’s a definite athletic freak. However — they need to be sure he fits mentally as well as physically. Seattle’s alpha’s play in the secondary (Kam, Earl, Sherm). A shrinking violet might not be the answer here, especially if they cost a first round pick.

The regular meetings are probably about working out who he is because physically he’s an ideal match for this team. Is he ‘pissed off for greatness’? Is there any dog in him? That’s what they need to find out.

Meanwhile this is a big disappointment:

Justin Evans/S/TAMU not running tomorrow due to a strained quad. 50/50 on participating in position drills.

— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) March 5, 2017

Evans had a chance to be the star of the combine.

D-line forty yard dash (10-yard split in brackets)

An ‘elite’ split is a 1.5

Group 2:

Takk McKinley — 4.59 (1.61) & 4.64 (1.67)
Avery Moss — 4.86 (1.67) & 4.80 (1.63)
Al-quadin Muhammad — 4.91 (1.73) & 4.89 (1.74)
Noble Nwachukwu — 4.85 (1.72) & 4.84 (unknown)
Ife Odenigbo — 4.72 (1.66) & 4.75 (1.69)
Olumide Ogunjobi — 5.09 (1.84) & 4.98 (1.77)
Carroll Phillips — 4.64 (1.64) & 4.66 (1.65)
Ejuan Price — 4.84 (1.66) & 4.89 (1.66)
Elijah Qualls — 5.13 (1.74) & 5.19 (1.79)
Haason Reddick — 4.52 (1.60) & 4.53 (1.59)
Derek Rivers — 4.61 (1.61) & 4.65 (1.63)
Isaac Rochell — 4.89 (1.72) & 4.93 (unknown)
Garrett Sickels — 4.90 (1.72) & 4.97 (unknown)
Tanzel Smart — 5.24 (1.86) & 5.30 (unknown)
Dawuane Smoot — 4.77 (1.68) & 4.80 (1.71)
Pita Taumoepenu — 4.67 (1.66) & 4.71 (1.65)
Vincent Taylor — 5.16 (1.79) 5.07 (1.77)
Solomon Thomas — 4.70 (1.66) & 4.71 (1.66)
Dalvin Tomlinson — 5.20 (1.81) & 5.21 (1.83)
Steve Tu’ikolovatu — 5.46 (1.86) & 5.42 (1.72)
Eddie Vanderdoes — 5.00 (1.74) & 5.00 (1.70)
Charles Walker — 4.96 (1.75) & 4.96 (1.77)
Demarcus Walker — DNP
Carlos Watkins — DNP
Tim Williams — 4.70 (1.66) & 4.69 (1.64)
Jordan Willis — 4.53 (1.58) & 4.55 (1.54)
Deatrick Wise — 4.93 (1.70) &
Chris Wormley — DNP

Mike Mayock is projecting Haason Reddick as a late first or early second round pick. Daniel Jeremiah: “He’s going in the first round”.

On Reddick’s second run he clinched an ‘elite’ 1.5 split (1.59). The NFL Network did a simulcast of Reddick running his forty vs LeVeon Bell, Antonio Brown and Mike Evans. Reddick won easily.

I put Reddick’s numbers through TEF to judge how explosive he is. He scored a 3.93 (!!!!!).

Jordan Willis achieved the third ‘elite’ 10-yard split (1.54). That’s a superb split for Willis.

In the initial wave drill, Elijah Qualls looked really agile for his size. No surprise here but Haason Reddick looked good changing direction and working in space. Mayock and the rest of the NFL Network are raving about him. Jordan Willis also looked smooth.

Takk McKinley is struggling to follow instructions from the coaches during the first two drills. His bag/movement drill was cut short. Carroll Phillips didn’t use his arms and was called out by the coaches. Qualls again performed well, followed by Reddick who again excelled.

REALLY good drill by Thomas here. His technique was really good, arms and quick feet powering around the bags. This was a first glimpse at the top-10 potential of Thomas. He also looked explosive in the club/rip. “That’s how it should be done” yells a coach after Thomas’ effort.

Eddie Vanderdoes had a nice rep on the club/rip. Nice quick swipe to the bag and then sprint. Jordan Willis was also drawing praise from the coaches again for his rep. Willis is having a really good day.

Ejuan Price working the bag nicely before Reddick — stop me if you’ve heard this already — looks fantastic. Nice quick club, moves the arm inside, stayed really low and exploded to the QB to finish. Brilliant rep.

Takk McKinley had his best drill in the stack-and-shead drill. Willie McGinest described Reddick’s stack-and-shead as “perfect”.

OFFICIAL DL FORTY TIMES (top-10)

Haason Reddick — 4.52
Jordan Willis — 4.53
Takk McKinley — 4.59
Derek Rivers — 4.61
Myles Garrett — 4.64
Carroll Phillips — 4.64
Trey Hendrickson — 4.65
Carl Lawson — 4.67
Pita Taumoepenu — 4.67
Tim Williams — 4.68

I posted a few different vertical and broad jumps above for the D-line class. There were some negatives. Caleb Brantley has short arms, ran relatively slowly and then posted a thoroughly mediocre 8-9 broad jump and 27 inch vertical. He is not explosive. Neither is Jaleel Johnson — he ran a 5.38 and jumped an 8-4 and a 28. Ugly.

I’ll post TEF scores for all of the defensive linemen later. If nothing else, it enables us to compare the class in terms of explosive traits.

Linebacker vertical jumps

Tyus Bowser — 37.5 inches
TJ Watt — 37 inches
Zach Cunningham — 35 inches
Jabrill Peppers 35.5 inches
Duke Riley — 34.5 inches
Raekwon McMillan — 33 inches
Alex Anzalone — 30.5 inches

Linebacker broad jumps

TJ Watt — 10-8
Jabrill Peppers — 10-8
Tyus Bowser — 10-7
Zach Cunningham — 10-5
Alex Anzalone 9-8

It’s official — Watt, Bowser and Cunningham are very interesting. Those are ‘wow’ numbers for TJ Watt.

Linebacker yard dash

NFL Network didn’t post the 10-yard splits

Ryan Anderson — 4.79 & 4.75
Alex Anzalone — 4.64 & 4.63
Kendell Beckwith — DNP
Vince Biegel — 4.68 & 4.68
Ben Boulware — DNP
Tyus Bowser — 4.71 & 4.66 (1.59)
Blair Brown — 4.66 & 4.66
Jayon Brown — 4.70 & 4.67
Riley Bullough — DNP
Zach Cunningham — 4.71 & 4.68
Jarrad Davis — DNP
Kevin Davis — 4.93 & 4.92
Brooks Ellis — 4.80 & 4.83
Devonte Fields — 4.72 & 4.77
Reuben Foster — DNP
Ben Gedeon — 4.75 & 4.80
Connor Harris — 4.74 & 4.75
Marquel Lee — DNP
JoJo Mathis — DNP
Raekwon McMillan — 4.61 & 4.69
Matt Milano — 4.67 & unkown
Hardy Nickerson — 4.79 & 4.79
Jabrill Peppers — 4.47 & 4.46
Jalen Reeves-Maybin — DNP
Duke Riley — 4.59 & 4.59
Tanner Vallejo — 4.65 & 4.65
Anthony Walker — 4.66 & 4.66
T.J. Watt — 4.71 & 4.70

Raekwon McMillan ran a nice 4.61. Zach Cunningham and Tyus Bowser were both slower than expected (4.71). McMillan also had a 33 inch vertical and a 10-1 broad. Good day for him — surprisingly good.

It’s strange that Bowser, Cunningham and Watt — having all performed brilliantly in the vertical/broad jumps — all ran a middling 4.71. They’re all explosive but don’t have twitchy speed.

Bowser’s second run was a lot better — a 4.66 with an elite 1.59 split.

He looked really smooth during the agility/footwork drills, as did McMillan again. Zach Cunningham looks incredibly lean, almost like a safety. It’s a shame he only ran a 4.68.

Bowser has been the most impressive player in this group so far in terms of the drills. He just looks so smooth. He’s a possible high pick at SAM.

It’s quite clear Jabrill Peppers should be working out with the DB’s tomorrow.

T.J. Watt is a good looking prospect. Nice size, had a really explosive performance in the jumps. He’s not bad in space but is much more suited to be being a pass rusher. He’s probably a pure 3-4 OLB.

Bowser stumbled on the deep drop drill. He’s better in space than Watt, just more loose and fluid. Yet he’s not completely comfortable in space (he is 247lbs after all).

McMillan has been a surprise today. He looks smooth running in space, he ran and jumped well. He’s not an elite athlete but this was a better day than expected.

I’m going to wrap up the live blog for today and start on a review piece. This will include thoughts on options at #26 based on what we learned today and TEF scores for the defensive linemen. Stay tuned.

WR John Ross breaks 40-yard dash record with unofficial time of 4.22 pic.twitter.com/Lq7u9QpeTS

— NFL News (@New_NFL_News) March 4, 2017

Wide receivers

John Ross broke the record for the fastest 40-yard-dash at the combine, nailing an official 4.22. He’s a top-20 lock. The national media narrative has talked up Mike Williams and Corey Davis constantly. Ross is the #1 receiver in this draft and has been for months. His speed, explosive athleticism (37 inch vertical, 11-1 broad jump) and ability to explode out of his breaks and get open is unmatched. There are injury concerns but he has the potential to be the next star receiver in the NFL.

There were a handful of other good performers but nothing close to Ross’ brilliance. Here are some of the names that could be on Seattle’s radar (with their height, weight, forty time, vertical and broad jump marks noted).

Quincy Adeboyejo — 6-3, 197lbs, 4.42, 34.5, 10-3
Jehu Chesson — 6-2, 204lbs, 4.47, 35.5, 11-0
Robert Davis — 6-3, 219lbs, 4.44, 41, 11-4
Malachi Dupre — 6-2, 196lbs, 4.52, 39.5, 11-3
Krishawn Hogan — 6-3, 222lbs, 4.56, 36.5, 10-4
Chris Godwin — 6-1, 209lbs, 4.42, 36, 10-6
Zay Jones — 6-2, 201lbs, 4.45, 36.5, 11-1
Josh Reynolds — 6-3, 194lbs, 4.52, 37, 10-4
Curtis Samuel — 5-10, 196lbs, 4.31, 37, 9-11

We started the 2016 season talking up Jehu Chesson as a Seahawks option and that remains the case. He’s quick (4.47) and explosive (35.5 inch vert, 11-0 broad) with the ability to impact games as a blocker, returner and downfield threat. He didn’t get many targets in Michigan’s run-heavy offense — but Chesson has a complete skill-set.

The Seahawks might add a receiver between rounds 3-7. However, there aren’t a ton of viable options compared to other positions.

Tight ends

Now we’re talking. In recent years the tight end workouts have provided a good excuse to go outside and do something else. Finally — with the league crying out for mismatch targets in the passing game — the combine delivers a handful of insane athletes.

The highlights? Bucky Hodges had an unreal broad jump (11-2), O.J. Howard ran the same time as Leonard Fournette despite weighing 10lbs more and Evan Engram managed a 4.42 at 234lbs.

When Julio Jones recorded an 11-3 broad jump in 2011 the NFL world stood still. For Hodges to come within an inch of that mark and for David Njoku (11-1) and George Kittle (11-0) to be in the vicinity too is remarkable.

Eric Ebron’s 4.60 in 2014 convinced the Detroit Lions to take him at #10 ahead of Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Donald. Engram (4.42), Hodges (4.57), Howard (4.51) and Kittle (4.52) all topped Ebron’s time — and Njoku wasn’t far behind (4.64) while having vastly superior vertical (37.5) and broad (11-1) jumps.

The following players are going to be off the board pretty quickly:

(height, weight, forty, vertical, broad)

Evan Engram — 6-3, 234lbs, 4.42, 36, 10-5
Gerald Everett — 6-3, 239lbs, 4.62, 37.5, 10-6
Bucky Hodges — 6-6, 257lbs, 4.57, 39, 11-2
O.J. Howard — 6-6, 251lbs, 4.51, 30, 10-1
George Kittle — 6-4, 247lbs, 4.52, 35, 11-0
David Njoku — 6-4, 246lbs, 4.64, 37.5, 11-1
Adam Shaheen — 6-6, 278lbs, 4.79, 32.5, 10-1
Jonnu Smith — 6-3, 6-3, 248lbs, 4.62, 38, 10-7

This draft class will be defined by explosive mismatch tight ends and the players drafted to cover them (more on the safety/hybrid class later).

This is arugbaly the most dynamic group of TE’s ever. Engram, Hodges, Howard and Njoku will all likely be off the board in the top-45.

Quarterbacks

I didn’t personally see the quarterback workouts due to work commitments — but the praise bestowed upon Deshaun Watson was interesting:

Media (like myself) invited inside to watch QB workouts are not allowed to tweet until after they end. Now that it has… wow #DeshaunWatson

— Rob Rang (@RobRang) March 4, 2017

Asked scouts and coaches for a half-dozen NFL teams about QB throwing sessions. One strong consensus: Clemson's Deshaun Watson won this day.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 4, 2017

We’ve talked about this before — but it’s staggering really how the media and/or the NFL views Watson compared to Jared Goff a year ago. While Watson is far from flawless, Goff was an inconsistent passer playing in the most extreme spread-offense imaginable — failing to lift his team beyond average. Watson has better production, arguably better physical skills and shares some of the same issues as Goff (turnovers, occasional misreads etc).

The Rams ended up trading multiple picks for the right to select Goff. Before today, most pundits rated Watson as a late first or early second round prospect.

Why the discrepancy between the two?

Listening to Daniel Jeremiah discuss the quarterback class, it sounds like Mitch Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes also impressed — as did Brad Kaaya — while Deshone Kizer had an inconsistent day.

Increasingly it looks like at the very least Watson, Trubisky and Mahomes will be early first round picks.

Defensive back measurements

We know the Seahawks haven’t drafted a cornerback with sub-32 inch arms during the Pete Carroll era. Length matters in Seattle (innuendo intended).

Here’s a list of all the cornerbacks next to their height and arm length. The players with ‘Seahawky size’ are in bold:

Brian Allen — 6-3, 34
Chidobe Awuzie — 6-0, 30 5/8
Jeremy Clark — 6-3, 32 7/8
Gareon Conley — 6-0, 33
Treston Decoud — 6-2, 33
Rasul Douglas — 6-2, 32 3/8
Corn Elder — 5-11, 31 1/4
Marlon Humphrey — 6-0, 32 1/4
Adoree’ Jackson — 5-10, 31 3/8
Sidney Jones — 6-0, 31 1/2
Damontae Kazee — 5-10, 30 7/8
Desmond King — 5-10, 31 1/8
Kevin King — 6-3, 32
Ashton Lampkin — 6-0, 31
Brendan Langley — 6-0, 32 3/8
Marshon Lattimore — 6-0, 31 1/4
Jourdan Lewis — 5-10, 31 5/8
Fabian Moreau — 6-0, 31 3/8
Channing Stribling — 6-1, 31 1/2
Cam Sutton — 5-11, 30
Teez Tabor — 6-0, 32 1/4
Cordrea Tankersley — 6-1, 32 1/4
Marquez White — 6-0, 32 1/8
Tre’Davious White — 5-11, 32 1/8
Howard Wilson — 6-1, 31 3/8
Quincy Wilson — 6-1, 32 1/4
Ahkello Witherspoon — 6-3, 33

There are 14 cornerbacks with 32-inch arms. That’s a nice group for the Seahawks to pick from.

Possible options in rounds 1-2 include:

Gareon Conley (Ohio State)
Rasul Douglas (West Virginia)
Marlon Humphrey (Alabama)
Kevin King (Washington)
Teez Tabor (Florida)
Cordrea Tankersley (Clemson)
Tre’Davious White (LSU)
Quincy Wilson (Florida)
Ahkello Witherspoon (Colorado)

For any of these players to be considered they’re probably going to need to have a terrific workout on Monday. The Seahawks haven’t drafted a cornerback before the fourth round in the Carroll era. If they’re going to break that trend in 2017 — it probably won’t be for an average athlete.

Of the names above, Kevin King is the best bet for a sensational performance. Seattle will find at least one corner they like in this class — and the chances are it’ll be one of the 14 names in bold listed above.

It was disappointing to see Houston’s Howard Wilson measure up short. It looks like he’s off the radar.

The safety class provides even more excitement. Arm length isn’t quite as important here but I’ve highlighted the players with +32 inch arms anyway:

Jamal Adams — 6-0, 33 3/8
Budda Baker — 5-10, 30 5/8
Chuck Clark — 6-0 32 1/4
Justin Evans — 6-0, 32
Josh Harvey-Clemons — 6-4, 35 3/8
Delano Hill — 6-1, 32 1/8
Malik Hooker — 6-1, 33 1/4
Eddie Jackson — 6-0, 32 1/4
Rayshawn Jenkins — 6-1, 32 3/4
Lorenzo Jerome — 5-10, 30 5/8
Jadar Johnson — 6-0, 32
John Johnson — 6-0, 32 1/2
Josh Jones — 6-1, 32
Shalom Luani — 5-11, 32
Marcus Maye — 6-0, 32 1/2
Obi Melifonwu — 6-4, 32 1/2
Montae Nicholson — 6-2, 33 3/8
Tedric Thompson — 6-0, 31 1/2
Marcus Williams — 6-1, 32 1/2

Incredibly, nearly every safety has +32 inch arms.

This is important in relation to the Seahawks. Jeremy Lane played 71.39% of the defensive snaps in 2016. Seattle frequently played in a 4-2-5, with Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright both playing nearly 100% of the snaps.

Mike Morgan, the starting SAM when healthy, only had one game where he played more than 50% of the snaps (vs LA in week 2). After recovering from a sports hernia, on average he played 24.92% of the defensive snaps.

Who knows how they would’ve divided the snaps if Bruce Irvin was still on the roster as the SAM? Nevertheless, they played a lot of 4-2-5 in 2016.

Given the sheer number of safety’s with 32 inch arms in this class, it’s possible they’d be willing to select a hybrid to replace Lane in the slot (he could move outside).

If you missed our piece on ‘Buffalo’ big nickels — check it out here.

Ultimately this seems to be the way the league’s going. Match-ups are key.

For one of the names above to be considered for this role, they’d likely need a superb workout. If you can get the length and athleticism of a corner in a safety body — this seems like a realistic consideration.

Here are some names to keep an eye on:

Shalom Luani (Washington State)
Obi Melifonwu (Connecticut)
Josh Johnson (Boston College)
Justin Evans (Texas A&M)

All four are highly athletic. Big things are expected of Melifonwu and Evans. Two days after seeing a collection of freaky TE prospects workout, the league is going to be seeking an antidote.

The other name to monitor is Budda Baker. He’s small (5-10, 195lbs) with short arms (30 5/8) but he just looks like the type of player this team will love. They might think he’ll be too much of a size mismatch from the slot and there’s every chance he’ll be off the board by pick #26 anyway. If there’s a smaller prospect this team is willing to take a chance on though — it could easily be Baker.

One final note on the defensive backs — last year there were 19 DB’s with +32 inch arms. This year there are 30. Big difference.

Tomorrow the defensive linemen and linebackers workout. Pete Carroll stated they’ll be drafting for the linebacker position in his end-of-season press conference, so Sunday is a key day at the combine.

Our live blog begins at 6am PST with constant updates throughout.

I’m away with work today so there’s no live blog unfortunately. I’ll be doing a review piece later but in the meantime feel free to use this as an open thread.

The key thing to look out for are the defensive back measurements. In the Pete Carroll era, the Seahawks have never drafted a cornerback with sub-32 inch arms.

DB height/arm length (+32 inch arm length in bold):

Jamal Adams — 6-0, 33 3/8
Brian Allen — 6-3, 34
Chidobe Awuzie — 6-0, 30 5/8
Budda Baker — 5-10, 30 5/8
Chuck Clark — 6-0 32 1/4
Jeremy Clark — 6-3, 32 7/8
Gareon Conley — 6-0, 33
Treston Decoud — 6-2, 33
Rasul Douglas — 6-2, 32 3/8
Corn Elder — 5-11, 31 1/4
Justin Evans — 6-0, 32
Josh Harvey-Clemons — 6-4, 35 3/8
Delano Hill — 6-1, 32 1/8
Malik Hooker — 6-1, 33 1/4
Marlon Humphrey — 6-0, 32 1/4
Eddie Jackson — 6-0, 32 1/4
Rayshawn Jenkins — 6-1, 32 3/4
Lorenzo Jerome — 5-10, 30 5/8
Jadar Johnson — 6-0, 32
John Johnson — 6-0, 32 1/2
Josh Jones — 6-1, 32
Sidney Jones — 6-0, 31 1/2
Damontae Kazee — 5-10, 30 7/8
Desmond King — 5-10, 31 1/8
Kevin King — 6-3, 32
Ashton Lampkin — 6-0, 31
Brendan Langley — 6-0, 32 3/8
Marshon Lattimore — 6-0, 31 1/4
Jourdan Lewis — 5-10, 31 5/8
Shalom Luani — 5-11, 32
Marcus Maye — 6-0, 32 1/2
Obi Melifonwu — 6-4, 32 1/2
Fabian Moreau — 6-0, 31 3/8
Montae Nicholson — 6-2, 33 3/8
Channing Stribling — 6-1, 31 1/2
Cam Sutton — 5-11, 30
Teez Tabor — 6-0, 32 1/4
Cordrea Tankersley — 6-1, 32 1/4
Tedric Thompson — 6-0, 31 1/2
Marquez White — 6-0, 32 1/8
Tre’Davious White — 5-11, 32 1/8
Marcus Williams — 6-1, 32 1/2
Howard Wilson — 6-1, 31 3/8
Quincy Wilson — 6-1, 32 1/4
Ahkello Witherspoon — 6-3, 33

This live blog will be updated throughout the day. Keeping refreshing and join in the discussion in the comments section.

Today the offensive lineman and running backs workout. We’ll also get the measurements for the defensive linemen and linebackers.

If you missed yesterday’s TEF preview, check it out. The workouts to monitor for the offensive linemen are the vertical and broad jumps. We already have the bench press numbers from yesterday.

As soon as we have all the data we’ll be posting 2017 TEF scores for this draft class.

For the running backs, explosive testing (vertical, broad) is also important. The Seahawks have not drafted 4.3-4.4 runners. Speed and the forty yard dash will not necessarily be a key factor. Explosive testing, physicality (running style) and size (+220lbs) is important.

Forty yard dash (OL)

Group one

Isaac Asiata — 5.35 & 5.44
Erik Austell — 5.21 & 5.23
Zach Banner — 5.58 & 5.60
Adam Bisnowaty — 5.23 & 5.26
Garett Bolles — 4.96 & 5.02
Ben Braden — 5.05 & 5.03
Aviante Collins — 4.78 & 4.82
Ethan Cooper — 5.38 & 5.36
Julie’n Davenport — 5.48 & 5.46
Dion Dawkins — 5.11 & 5.15
Jessamen Dunker — 5.05 & 5.00
Pat Elflein — 5.32 & 5.33
Jermaine Eluemunor — 5.17 & 5.22
Dan Feeney — 5.28 & 5.25

Garett Bolles had a 1.71 10-yard split. Aviante Collins had the fastest split (1.68).

Collins (TCU) hurt himself in the initial movement drill. Pat Elflein’s footwork was impressive, ditto Eluemunor and Dan Feeney. Solid.

Nobody is on Bolles’ level of movement and athleticism so far. His balance, control and quick change of direction is so good. Mike Mayock just compared Bolles to Terron Armstead.

The NFL Network has gone to an ad break. NFL.com is showing Tweets by Annie Apple and Nick Mangold. Do they not realise the only people watching this want to see the drills?

Dion Dawkins looked smooth in the 5-yard wave drill.

In the next cone drill, Bolles just exploded out of his stance and sprinted beautifully downfield — again putting the rest of this group to shame.

Bolles is the clear leader among this group. So far Dion Dawkins has looked the next best O-liner in group one.

In the kick slide, Zach Banner laboured. Bolles looked really good again. No surprise there. He was so quick he had to wait for the ‘rabbit’ (O-liner acting as a DE) to catch-up to complete the drill. Dawkins’ kick slide was quite smooth too and Elflein (with a football to snap as a center) also looked good. Eluemunor struggled.

They ask the O-liners to do a drop-back DB drill to test their hip flexibility. Group one was a mess overall. I don’t need to tell you the name of the one guy who looked comfortable. Nobody compared to Laremy Tunsil’s sensational performance in this drill a year ago.

Adam Bisnowaty and Bolles both excelled in the mirror drill. Asiata was nicely controlled for an interior lineman.

Official 40-yard dash times (top-10)

Aviante Collins — 4.81
Garett Bolles — 4.95
Jessamen Dunker — 4.98
Ben Braden — 5.04
Dion Dawkins — 5.11
Jermaine Eluemunor — 5.22
Adam Bisnowaty — 5.23
Erik Austell — 5.23
Dan Feeney — 5.24
Pat Elflein — 5.32

Defensive line & linebacker measurements

Myles Garrett — 6-4, 272lbs, 10 1/4 hands, 35 1/4 arms,
Solomon Thomas — 6-2 5/8, 273lbs, 9 3/8 hands, 33 arms
Charles Walker — 6-1 7/8, 310lbs, 9 5/8 hands, 35 3/4 arms
Deatrich Wise — 6-5 1/4, 274lbs, 10 1/2 inch hands, 35 5/8 arms
Tim Williams — 6-2 7/8, 244lbs, 9 1/4 hands, 32 3/4 arms
DeMarcus Walker — 6-3 5/8, 280lbs, 10 1/2 hands, 33 inch arms
Reuben Foster — 6-0, 229lbs, 10 1/4 hands, 32 3/8 arms
Jabrill Peppers — 5-10 7/8, 213lbs, 9 5/8 hands, 30 3/4 arms
Raekwon McMillan — 6-1 7/8, 240lbs, 9 1/2 hands, 32 1/2 arms
TJ Watt — 6-4 1/2, 252lbs, 11 hands, 33 1/8 arms
Jonathan Allen — 6-3, 286lbs, 33 5/8 arms
Derek Barnett — 6-3, 259lbs, 32 1/8 arms
Taco Charlton — 6-6, 277lbs, 34 1/4 arms
Caleb Brantley — 6-3, 307lbs, 32 arms
Charles Harris — 6-3, 253lbs, 32 3/8 arms
Davon Godchaux — 6-3, 310lbs, 32 3/8 arms
Malik McDowell — 6-6, 295lbs, 34 3/4 arms
Takkarist McKinley — 6-2, 250lbs, 34 3/4 arms
Haason Reddick — 6-1, 237lbs, 32 3/4 arms
Carroll Phillips — 6-3, 242lbs 33 3/4 arms
Ryan Anderson — 6-2, 253lbs, 31 1/2 arms
Alex Anzalone — 6-3, 241lbs, 32 1/8 arms
Kendell Beckwith — 6-2, 243lbs, 33 arms
Montravius Adams — 6-4, 304lbs, 32 3/4 arms
Jaleel Johnson — 6-3, 316lbs, 33 1/4 arms
Tanoh Kpassagnon — 6-7, 289lbs, 35 5/8 arms
Carl Lawson — 6-2, 261lbs, 31 1/2 arms
Elijah Qualls — 6-1, 313lbs, 30 5/8 arms
Dalvin Tomlinson — 6-3, 310lbs, 33 1/2 arms
Stevie Tu’Ikolovatu — 6-1, 331lbs, 33 7/8 arms
Eddie Vanderdoes — 6-3, 305lbs, 33 1/8 arms
Carlos Watkins — 6-3, 309lbs, 34 5/8 arms
Jordan Willis — 6-4, 255lbs, 33 1/2 arms
Chris Wormley — 6-5, 298lbs, 34 1/8 arms
Tyus Bowser — 6-3, 247lbs, 33 1/4
Zach Cunningham — 6-3, 234lbs, 34 3/8 arms
Jarrad Davis — 6-1, 238lbs, 33 1/2 arms
Anthony Walker — 6-1, 238lbs, 30 3/8 arms
Joe Mathis — 6-2, 266lbs, 33 arms, 9 hands

A reminder — Seattle hasn’t drafted a defensive lineman with sub-33 inch arms.

The first thing that stands out is the length of Zach Cunningham and Jarrad Davis. Cunningham has 34.5 inch arms, Davis 33.5 inch arms. Cunningham can help himself this weekend but Davis won’t work out until his pro-day due to injury.

Myles Garrett, Takk McKinley, Malik McDowell, Taco Charlton, Charles Walker and Deatrich Wise have great length.

Some of the potential day 2/3 options also have attractive length — Carlos Watkins, Eddie Vanderdoes, Stevie Tu’Ikolovatu, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Jaleel Johnson, Chris Wormley and Jordan Willis

Charles Harris, Caleb Brantley, Derek Barnett and Tim Williams are all sub-33 inches for arm length. Carl Lawson’s 31.5 inch arms are a worry.

Group two forty yard dash

Kyle Fuller — 5.25 & 5.27
Antonio Garcia — 5.26 & 5.16
Avery Gennesy — 5.42 & 5.35
Sean Harlow — 5.15 & 5.16
Will Holden — 5.45 & 5.48
Danny Isidora — 5.04 & 5.01
Dorian Johnson — 5.28 & 5.33
Roderick Johnson — DNP
Forrest Lamp — 4.99 & 5.00
Cameron Lee — 5.40 & 5.45
Damien Mama — 5.84 & 5.86
Conor McDermott — 5.19 & 5.15
Jordan Morgan — 5.36 & 5.39
Taylor Moton — 5.18 & 5.22
Ethan Pocic — 5.12 & 5.17
Ryan Ramcyzk — DNP
Cam Robinson — 5.15 & 5.16
Justin Senior — 5.64 & 5.56
David Sharpe — 5.46 & 5.44
Nico Siragusa — 5.42 & 5.36
Dan Skipper — 5.42 & 5.42
Sam Tevi — 5.28 & 5.30
Nate Theaker — 5.51 & 5.42
Jon Toth — 5.51 & 5.55
Jerry Ugokwe — 5.63 & 5.62
Chad Wheeler — 5.43 & 5.56

Roderick Johnson is not participating today due to sickness. D’Onta Foreman is not doing running back drills today. Ryan Ramcyzk had labrum surgery and is not competing.

According to Daniel Jeremiah, David Sharpe (T, Florida) is legally blind in his right eye.

Onto the drills — Taylor Moton looked good in the agility drills. Nice back-pedal, decent lateral movement. Chad Wheeler and Cam Robinson also performed well.

One thing is clear — there are not many good athletes in this second group of offensive linemen. There’a a handful at best, fronted by Forrest Lamp. I’m not optimistic we’ll see many great TEF scores when the vertical and broad jump results are made public.

Antonio Garcia got a little aggressive in the kick-slide drill, shoving his guy at the end. He’s edgy.

Taylor Moton did well in the back-pedal drills. Nice hips. Probably the best we’ve seen apart from Garett Bolles.

Broad & vertical jump results — O-line

Garett Bolles jumped a TEF-busting 9-7. That’s the fifth best broad jump by an offensive lineman since 2006.

Broad

Garett Bolles — 9-7
Dorian Johnson — 9-6
Forrest Lamp — 9-3
Will Holden — 9-3
Nico Siragusa — 9-2
Taylor Moton — 9-1
Antonio Garcia — 9-0
Jessamen Dunker — 9-0
Ethan Pocic — 8-11
Cam Robinson — 8-10
Dion Dawkins — 8-10
Chad Wheeler — 8-9
Isaac Asiata — 8-6
Dan Feeney — 8-5
Pat Elflein — 8-3
David Sharpe — 8-1
Adam Bisnowaty — 8-0
Damien Mama — 8-0
Zach Banner — 7-8

Moton was wrongly credited on the NFL Network with a 9-10 broad jump. It’s actually a 9-1.

Vertical

Forrest Lamp — 27.5
Taylor Moton — 30.5
Isaac Asiata — 25.5
Zach Banner — 23.5
Adam Bisnowaty — 29.5
Garett Bolles — 28
Ben Braden — 28
Julie’n Davenport — 27
Dion Dawkins — 26
Pat Elflein — 23.5
Dan Feeney — 28
Kyle Fuller — 26
Antonio Garcia — 31
Avery Gennesy — 20
Sean Harlow — 30.5
Will Holden — 28
Danny Isidora — 29
Dorian Johnson — 30
Damien Mama — 24.5
Conor McDermott — 28.5
Ethan Pocic — 27
Cam Robinson — 26
David Sharpe — 20.5
Nico Siragusa — 32
Dan Skipper — 26
Sam Tevi — 26
Chad Wheeler — 20.5

The big shock of the day is Leonard Fournette only managed a 28.5 inch vertical. Dalvin Cook only managed a 30.5 too. Compare that to Christian McCaffrey’s 37.5 or Alvin Kamara’s 39.5.

Fournette didn’t participate in the broad jump for some reason. Cook managed a 9-8 while McCaffrey (10-1) and Kamara (10-11!!) excelled again.

Alvin Kamara is by far the most explosive running back among this quartet.

Initial TEF scores

I’ll have a bigger piece on this later.

Taylor Moton — 2.86
Forrest Lamp — 3.23
Isaac Asiata — 2.96
Adam Bisnowaty — 2.51
Dion Dawkins — 2.75
Pat Elflein — 2.34
Dan Feeney — 2.68
Antonio Garcia — 2.89
Dorian Johnson — 2.92
Ethan Pocic — 2.81
Garett Bolles — 3.00*
Cam Robinson — 2.67*
Nico Siragusa — 3.13

* Garett Bolles and Cam Robinson did not do the bench press. They are given a projected score based on the average bench rep number for this draft class (24 reps).

I’ll have a bigger piece on this later — but so far TEF has identified only three truly explosive offensive linemen in this draft class: Forrest Lamp, Garett Bolles and Nico Siragusa.

Isaac Asiata was close (2.96). Ryan Ramcyzk and Roderick Johnson didn’t work out due to injury. I’ll have a bigger article on this later today.

Here’s a note on draft order:

Eagles win coin toss and pick 14th in first round; Colts lose flip and pick 15th.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 3, 2017

Isaac Asiata has been doing an interview with NFL.com. His character and personality are A+.

Running back forty yard dash

Chris Carson — 4.58 & 4.60
Corey Clement — 4.68 & 4.76
Tarik Cohen — 4.42 & 4.42
James Conner — 4.66 & 4.68
Dalvin Cook — 4.50 & 4.50
Leonard Fournette — 4.51 & 4.52
Wayne Gallman — 4.57 & 4.60
De’Angelo Henderson — 4.48 & 4.48
Brian Hill — 4.54 & 4.61
Elijah Hood — DNP
Kareem Hunt — 4.66 & 4.62
Aaron Jones — 4.52 & 4.50
Alvin Kamara — 4.53 & 4.65
T.J. Logan — 4.37 & 4.44
Marlon Mack — 4.50 & 4.51
Christian McCaffrey — 4.49 & 4.59
Jeremy McNichols — 4.52 & 4.49
Samaje Perine — 4.66 & 4.70
Donnel Pumphrey — 4.49 & 4.50
De’Veon Smith — DNP
Jamaal Williams — 4.60 & 4.63
Joe Williams — 4.42 & 4.54
Stanley Williams — 4.51 & 4.44

Zeke Elliott ran a 4.47 a year ago at 225lbs to put Leonard Fournette’s 4.51 at 240lbs into context. Here’s a good way of looking at it:

Zeke Elliott (225lbs) — 4.47
Dalvin Cook (210lbs) — 4.50
Leonard Fournette (240lbs) — 4.51

Fournette is 0.01 slower than Cook but weighs 30lbs more. He’s 0.04 slower than Elliott but weighs 15lbs more.

The Seahawks haven’t drafted a burner at running back. Michael (4.54), Prosise (4.48) and Turbin (4.50) were explosive rather than really fast.

There was a lot of talk pre-draft about how quick the likes of Brian Hill and Kareem Hunt would run. They only managed a 4.5 and a 4.6 respectively.

The most important numbers for this group in relation to Seattle will again be the broad and vertical jumps.

I’ve noted some key names below. For a full list click here.

Isaac Asiata — 6-3, 323lbs, 33 3/4 inch arms
Adam Bisnowaty — 6-6, 304lbs, 33 7/8 inch arms
Garett Bolles — 6-5, 297lbs, 34 inch arms
Dion Dawkins — 6-4, 314lbs, 35 inch arms
Jermaine Eluemunor — 6-4, 332lbs, 33 1/4 inch arms
Antonio Garcia — 6-6, 302lbs, 33 3/8 inch arms
Dorian Johnson — 6-5, 300lbs, 35 1/4 inch arms
Roderick Johnson — 6-7, 298lbs, 36 inch arms
Forrest Lamp — 6-4, 309lbs, 32 1/4 inch arms
Damien Mama — 6-3, 334lbs, 35 inch arms
Taylor Moton — 6-5, 319lbs, 34 1/8 inch arms
Ryan Ramcyzk — 6-6, 310lbs, 33 3/4 inch arms
Cam Robinson — 6-6, 322lbs, 35 1/2 inch arms
David Sharpe — 6-6, 343lbs, 35 3/8 inch arms
Chad Wheeler — 6-7, 306lbs, 33 1/8 inch arms

Some quick notes…

— A lot of the players, yet again, were measured short at the Senior Bowl. The likes of Forrest Lamp, Adam Bisnowaty, Dion Dawkins and others somehow managed to grow their arms by as much as an inch in the last month. It’s unclear why there’s consistently such a discrepancy between the two sets of measurements.

— The good news here? It means cornerbacks like Tre’Davious White, measured with 31.5 inch arms at the Senior Bowl, might top the 32-inch mark at the combine. The more cornerbacks fitting into Seattle’s profile the better. Only two CB’s in Mobile had 32 inch arms. They obviously do things differently in Indianapolis. (the Seahawks haven’t drafted a cornerback in the Pete Carroll era with sub-32 inch arms).

— Dorian Johnson was recruited as a 5-star tackle prospect but played guard at Pittsburgh. At 6-5, 300lbs and with +35 inch arms, he could be Branden Albert 2.0 and play tackle in the NFL.

— It might not be a great draft for offensive linemen but there’s a nice collection of size and length. Players like Damien Mama and Dion Dawkins with 35-inch arms and good size become very intriguing.

— Garett Bolles measured as expected. He’ll likely gain 10lbs quickly when he gets pro-guidance. Expect a killer workout and a top-15 grade.

— Ryan Ramcyzk’s length isn’t an issue at 33 3/4inch arms at 6-6. There were some doubts about his length — not anymore. He won’t workout due to injury.

John Schneider spoke at the podium today. This was interesting:

Schneider says the #Seahawks would like to add some veteran experience on the offensive line this offseason.

— Stephen Cohen (@scohenPI) March 1, 2017

Schneider also admitted regret in releasing Jahri Evans and suggested the Seahawks were too young on the O-line in 2016. This suggests they will look to acquire some veteran help in free agency and that early picks on the O-line (aka even more youth and inexperience) might be unlikely.

If you missed our combine preview podcast, check it out here.

Running back measurements are listed in full here.

James Conner — 6-1, 233lbs
Dalvin Cook — 5-10, 210lbs
Matt Dayes — 5-9, 205lbs
D’Onta Foreman — 6-0, 233lbs
Leonard Fournette — 6-0, 240lbs
Wayne Gallman — 6-0, 215lbs
Brian Hill — 6-0, 219lbs
Elijah Hood — 6-0, 232lbs
Kareem Hunt — 6-0, 216lbs
Alvin Kamara — 5-10, 214lbs
Christian McCaffrey — 5-11, 202lbs
Jeremy McNichols — 5-9, 214lbs
Samaje Perine — 5-11, 233lbs
Jamaal Williams — 6-0, 212lbs
Joe Williams — 5-11, 210lbs

There aren’t too many headlines. D’Onta Foreman is 16lbs lighter than the weight listed by Texas. Elijah Hood is 12lbs heavier than his expected 220lbs.

The Seahawks ‘type’ over the years has been around 5-11 in height and 220lbs. There are players close to that (eg Brian Hill) but there aren’t any real standouts. Explosive testing is the key on Friday at running back (vertical, broad jumps).

If you missed our big combine preview, click here.