Texas defensive back could be on Seattle’s radar

I wasn’t even aware that Texas’ Jahdae Barron was draft eligible. What a mistake. I watched the Arkansas game at the weekend and thought, not for the first time this year, ‘this guy will be a high pick one day’. I searched his name and saw he wasn’t jut eligible, he was a Senior.

I’ve watched all of Texas’ games this year and he has consistently stood out. He is legitimately one of the most fun players to watch in college football. You can’t block him with receivers and run stretch plays to the outside or throw receiver screens. He will get off the block and hit the ball-carrier with a real punch. Barron flies around the field and plays with the intensity and aggression usually reserved for bigger linebackers. You match this with his ability in coverage, his obvious awareness on the field and his ball skills and you’re talking about a fascinating player.

You can move him around in different spots but I think his best position will ultimately be as a hybrid. He’s played 377 snaps at cornerback, 79 in the slot, 12 at free safety, 86 in the box and six on the line this season. I think some teams will compare him to Devin Witherspoon both in playing style and talent. I’m not sure he’ll end up going sixth overall but I wouldn’t be surprised if he enjoys a similar rise through the draft process.

The thing that stands out frequently is his ability to come up to the line and play the run with aggression. He’s able to get off blocks and hit. Barron only has four missed tackles all season — not bad for a 5-11, 200lbs defensive back who isn’t just lined up at outside corner. He’s very physical for his size.

He has four interceptions and five PBU’s in 2024, with ample opportunity to collect more with Texas expected to make the playoffs. You can see he plays with great instinct and football IQ to execute the scheme. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time. As a corner there are very few concerns about his transition which adds to the promise he’ll show if you want to use him in complex coverage situations, misdirect or even just play him at corner if needs be. His balls skills are excellent.

The final positive is the way he speaks and commands himself. Team mates rave about his attitude and leadership. He’s a very mature, well spoken, driven individual.

I’ve added him immediately to the horizontal board as a player I’d take in round one. I also think he could be an option for the Seahawks.

We can all agree that the offensive line should be a priority in the off-season. However, in recent years the Seahawks under John Schneider have adopted a very clear approach to the draft. They’ve stuck to their board and taken best player available. They haven’t reached for specific positions.

Look at this year. All the late buzz was about Seattle potentially drafting a cornerback in round one — Quinyon Mitchell or Terrion Arnold. The feeling was Byron Murphy wouldn’t last to the 16th pick. If he was off the board, the chatter pre-draft was that the Seahawks might go cornerback instead. After the draft Schneider even made reference to how good the two cornerbacks were.

There’s nothing to suggest they’ll deviate from this approach in 2025. As of today, I don’t think they’ll force an O-line pick early if the value doesn’t match up with their board. It’s possible a player like Alabama left guard Tyler Booker ticks a value and need box. If they see him as more of a day-two pick, like some do, they will potentially just keep drafting best player available.

In this draft class, it could be another defender. Malaki Starks will be off the board if they pick where they are currently slated to pick at #16. Barron could be a strong alternative. He’s played a lot of college football, he has excellent tape, he has A+ character, he’s physical, he’s versatile and he can be used in a number of ways by Mike Macdonald.

When I think of the type of personality the Seahawks like to draft, it’s Jahdae Barron. His interviews are all-time. Watch this and you’ll see what I mean:

For what it’s worth, he mentioned he trained with Quandre Diggs over the summer and that he grew up looking up to him. He says that he attended Texas vs West Virginia when Geno Smith was quarterback for WVU and that he ‘got Geno’s towel’ from the game.

Jahdae Barron is definitely a name to keep an eye on.

Defensive linemen also catch the eye

I’ve had another Texas player, Alfred Collins, on my radar for two seasons. Last year I started the year giving him a tentative mid-round grade but he was outplayed by Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat and struggled to make an impact. The talent and upside has always been there and he’s showing it in recent weeks. His play has elevated, he looks athletic and dynamic and he’s playing with great effort. It’s always been there for Collins and he has every chance to be a day-two pick in the 2025 class.

Nebraska’s Ty Robinson is a player I finally had a chance to study last week and I really like his combination of size, power, quickness and disruptive ability. To me he looks like a player who might have a few hidden special traits that’ll emerge at the combine. It’s easy to picture him impacting the NFL and with his frame and size — don’t be surprised if he ends up being a riser in the pre-draft process.

It’s very difficult to get Marshall tape to watch Mike Green. I’ve been looking for clips for weeks and have been able to piece things together. He’s so quick off the edge and shows some dynamism as a rusher. Hopefully he goes to the Senior Bowl so we can see how he gets on in the 1v1’s. Based on the pass rush flashes he’s shown, round two feels like a very reasonable grade.

Finally, Ole Miss duo Jared Ivey and Princely Umanmielen quite often leave you wanting more. However, against Georgia they caused constant problems. A strong end to the season for both could put them in a great position to enhance their draft stock.

Bring on Ohio State vs Indiana

I can’t wait to watch Kurtis Rourke in this game. He’s an intriguing player who is quite difficult to project for the next level. Delivering a strong performance against the Buckeyes’ big-name defense will be a statement.

Plays like this against Michigan are why he’s interesting:

The player right in his face is future top-five pick Mason Graham. Rourke stands tall under pressure and lofts this ball perfectly downfield without ideal base. This is a 45-yard touch pass with a brilliant defensive lineman coming after you. Teams will notice plays like this.

Meanwhile, I thought Will Howard had one of his better performances against Northwestern — although he’s still too inconsistent and streaky to really believe he can be a factor in the NFL as a starter. Even so, this could be another opportunity, as he had against Oregon, to win a big game.

Throws like this show that he’s a very capable passer:

Howard just has this tendency to produce face-palm moments at any second, undermining the great combination of size and athleticism he has.

Garrett Nussmeier should return to LSU next year but…

I thought he played well against Florida and the blame really needs to go to the rest of his offense for a bad loss. He was pressured 20 times and sacked seven times as the offensive line laid another egg. It’s the fourth time this year he’s faced 16+ pressures in a game. There were also four dropped passes — a season high for LSU. He had a touchdown pass called back on an avoidable offensive pass interference call. Late in the game, trailing by seven points, he converted two ‘must have’ fourth downs, getting into a goal-to-go situation. Then a false start backed him up, the coordinator called a run on 2nd and 12 and gave him a near impossible conversion situation on 3rd and 12. He got no help.

Look at this throw from the game:

This is why he is so highly rated. There are so few college quarterbacks capable of delivering that play. His technical quality, accuracy, ability to handle adversity and throw with anticipation and timing is fantastic. He has thrown more NFL-level passes than any other quarterback in college football this year. Unsurprisingly, he’s also thrown some bad interceptions and made some mistakes. Let’s not forget this is his first season as a starting QB.

Having waited so long to start at LSU, we’ll see if he decides it’s time to turn pro. If he does, I think he’ll go in round one because the potential is there to be a very accomplished quarterback. However, he will really benefit from more playing time.

You want your players to play in attack mode at two positions

I mentioned this on my stream with Jeff Simmons on Tuesday. Every year I try and learn as much as I can about how people in the league scout. I’m lucky enough to be able to pick the brains of some people and when I asked about scouting centers earlier this year, I was told to look for players who shoot their hands quickly and set to be the aggressor from the snap. It’s one of the reasons I thought Olu Oluwatimi’s performance against San Francisco was so encouraging as he was most certainly playing this way on Sunday.

That said, it’s not easy to find a college center who consistently plays with this attitude. There are a lot of passive players who will absorb blocks and look to do just enough. It can be even worse at linebacker. This is another position where you want to see an attacking mindset. You want to see a prospect who can identify a play, then fly to the ball. Ideally they can work through traffic, sprint to the sideline, drop into coverage and disengage from blocks. A high degree of quickness, agility and explosion is preferable. But more than anything you want to see violence — and that comes with your approach. Not just how you connect in the tackle when a ball carrier runs into your area.

Carson Schwesinger at UCLA plays in attack mode. I watched the game against Minnesota to check on Max Brosmer and came away highly impressed with the Bruins linebacker who made his life a misery. I wanted to watch more, absorbed two other games and he is extremely impressive. He flies to fill gaps and penetrate at the line. There’s ample evidence of him dropping in coverage with ease — but he can also adjust when a quarterback steps up and tries to scramble, flying to make the tackle. He avoids blocks well with shiftiness at the POA and diagnoses plays better than any other linebacker I’ve watched so far this year, including arguably Jalon Walker.

He doesn’t appear to have any athletic limitations or stiffness. Schwesinger is a capable rusher when sent to the QB and has been able to power through blocks by running backs and tight ends. The way he dropped for his mid-range interception against Iowa is teaching tape for linebackers in that situation. He had a second pick in the game — a really athletic play plucking the football after a full dive right as it was about to hit the turf.

Testing results will be big for him but at the moment I’m giving him a tentative second round grade. He looks tailor made to be a starter in the NFL.

Quick-hitters

— Every time I watch Harold Fanin Jr I get more excited. He has a chance to be the next big-time pass-catching tight end in the league. He’s a very exciting receiving threat and if he tests well, I wouldn’t be that surprised if he sneaks into the back-end of round one in this draft class.

— Georgia left guard Dylan Fairchild looked as good as he has all year against Ole Miss and Tennessee. I like his size, mobility, ability to adjust to regain position and he can control blocks. However, you don’t see a lot of big-time power at the point of attack and you’d like to see more. I think he can get stronger but will need to at the next level to be a top player.

— Travis Hunter’s all-round performance vs Utah (a pick off a tip, a highlight-reel spectacular catch and a miraculous rushing touchdown) all but puts a bow on him being a top-two pick in this draft. I think the only person who could stop him going first overall is Mason Graham.

— Carson Beck got a lot of positive attention for his performance against Tennessee but with the exception of a couple of great throws, I still think the same issues showed up on tape. His ball placement is way off. He isn’t very accurate. He almost had another terrible interception in the red zone when trailing 17-14. I don’t think he’s rebuilding his stock and I think all this year has shown is that the Raiders got an absolute steal with Brock Bowers — a player who had no business lasting to the 13th overall pick.

— Regulars will know how much I rate Ricky White the receiver at UNLV. The fact he has now blocked four kicks this year just adds to how appealing he is. He can be a special teams ace right away and eventually work into a dynamic receiving threat.

— I was impressed with Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles against Northwestern. He’s doing a much better job letting the play develop and then attacking with decisiveness and you can see he’s settling into his position switch from safety. If he keeps playing like he did on Saturday, he has a chance to go earlier than I initially projected as a late round pick.

— Speaking of linebackers, I think Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell is playing at a level where he could easily end up in the top-25. His play just continues to grow game after game. I also had a chance to watch some more of Ole Miss’ Chris Paul Jr this week. I really like the way he works to the sideline, plays with great effort, can sift through traffic and has the attack mode I spoke about earlier. Paul Jr can also drop with relative ease and I’ve decided to give him a tentative third round grade, up from the fourth round mark I originally gave him.