I’ll update this post as we go along. Feel free to use it as an open thread. The TE’s and O-liners get measured today. Good times.
While we’re waiting — this week I was invited to join Adam Emmert and Brandan Schulze on the official Sea Hawkers Podcast. We talk free agency and the draft.
Check it out by clicking here. The interview begins 45:31 into the piece.
The big news of the day so far is a new deal for Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona. He’ll finish his career with the Cardinals. Strike off one veteran receiver option for the Seahawks.
Marshawn Lynch update
#Seahawks are hoping to hear from Marshawn Lynch this week about his future, per @RapSheet
— Chris Cluff (@CHawk_Talk) February 18, 2015
Some of the OL measurements are trickling out:
Jake Fisher (T, Oregon) — 6-6, 306lbs, 33 3/4 inch arms
Ereck Flowers (T, Miami) — 6-6, 329lbs, 34 1/2 inch arms
Cameron Erving (T, G, C, Florida State) — 6-5, 313lbs, 34 1/8 inch arms
Cedric Ogbuehi (T, Texas A&M) — 6-5, 306lbs, 35 7/8 inch arms
Andrus Peat (T, Stanford) — 6-7, 313lbs, 34 3/8 inch arms
La’el Collins (T/G, LSU) — 6-4, 305lbs, 33 /14 inch arms
Jeremiah Poutasi (T/G, Utah) — 6-5, 335lbs, 33 7/8 inch arms
D.J. Humphries (T, Florida) — 6-5, 307lbs, 33 5/8 inch arms
T.J. Clemmings (T, Pittsburgh) — 6-5, 309lbs, 35 1/8 inch arms
Rob Crisp (T, NC State) — 6-6, 301lbs, 34 1/2 inch arms
Terry Poole (T, San Diego State) — 6-5, 307lbs, 33 1/4 inch arms
Corey Robinson (T, South Carolina) — 6-7, 324lbs, 35 5/8 inch arms
Ty Sambrailo (T/G, Colorado State) — 6-6, 311lbs, 33 inch arms
Brandon Scherff (T/G, Iowa) — 6-5, 319lbs, 33 3/8 inch arms
Donovan Smith (T, Penn State) — 6-6, 338lbs, 34 3/8 inch arms
Tyrus Thompson (T, Oklahoma) — 6-5, 324lbs, 34 7/8 inch arms
Daryl Williams (T, Oklahoma) — 6-5, 327lbs, 35 inch arms
Some comparisons from last year:
Taylor Lewan — 6-7, 309lbs, 33 7/8 inch arms
Joel Bitonio — 6-4, 302lbs, 33 7/8 inch arms
Justin Britt — 6-5, 325lbs, 33 1/2 inch arms
Zack Martin — 6-4, 308lbs, 32 7/8 inch arms
Jake Matthews — 6-5, 308lbs, 33 3/8 inch arms
Greg Robinson — 6-5, 332lbs, 35 inch arms
Some thoughts on the numbers here:
— Cedric Ogbuehi, Corey Robinson and Daryl Williams have incredible size. Someone will get a nice player in Robinson later on. Ogbuehi is recovering from a torn ACL after a disappointing 2014 season.
— Ty Sambrailo is a T-Rex — 6-6 and 33 inch arms. It’s hard to imagine he’ll play tackle at the next level and should kick inside to guard, although it’s worth noting Justin Britt has 33 1/2 inch arms and the Seahawks were comfortable playing him at right tackle.
— D.J. Humphries has cracked the 300lbs mark — if he moves well in drills he’ll continue to bolster his stock. I skimmed two Florida games on Monday and came away impressed.
— Brandon Scherff has almost identical size to Riley Reiff and Robert Gallery. And like that pair — his future is almost certainly at guard or right tackle.
— Rob Crisp has good size — he’s a later round sleeper to keep an eye on. He did a great job against Vic Beasley in 2014.
— Jeremiah Poutasi has been compared to Mike Iupati. You’ve got to like his size working inside at 335lbs and 33 7/8 inch arms.
— Ereck Flowers looks the part at 6-6, 329lbs and 34 1/2 inch arms. Andrus Peat was as tall as advertised at 6-7 and has 34 3/8 inch arms.
— Is Donovan Smith too big at 338bs?
Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams will be meeting with the Seahawks at the combine:
Minnesota's Maxx Williams, regarded by many as the top TE on the board, said Seahawks are one of the 21 teams he will meet with at Combine.
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) February 18, 2015
Here are some of the tight end measurements:
E.J. Bibbs (Iowa State) — 6-2, 258lbs, 31 1/8 inch arms, 10 1/4 inch hands
Nick Boyle (Delaware) — 6-4, 268lbs, 33 3/8 inch arms, 10 3/8 inch hands
Jeff Heuerman (Ohio State) — 6-5, 254lbs, 33 1/4 inch arms, 10 1/8 inch hands
Jesse James (Penn State) — 6-7, 261lbs, 33 inch arms, 9 3/8 inch hands
Ben Koyack (Notre Dame) — 6-5, 255lbs, 32 5/8 inch arms, 10 3/4 inch hands
Tyler Kroft (Rutgers) — 6-6, 246lbs, 33 inch arms, 9 5/8 inch hands
Nick O’Leary (Florida State) — 6-3, 252lbs, 29 3/4 inch arms, 9 3/8 inch hands
Wes Saxton (South Alabama) — 6-3, 248lbs, 32 inch arms, 9 5/8 inch hands
Jean Sifrin (UMass) — 6-5, 245lbs, 33 3/8 inch arms, 11 inch hands
Clive Walford (Miami) — 6-4, 251lbs, 34 inch arms, 10 1/4 inch hands
Maxx Williams (Minnesota) — 6-4, 249lbs, 33 1/2 inch arms, 10 3/8 inch hands
— Jean Sifrin is a basketball-style talent with massive 11-inch hands. One thing to remember though — he’s already 27. Meaning he’s two years older than Rob Gronkowski.
— Maxx Williams matches his listed size by Minnesota. He has decent length and huge hands. He doesn’t drop passes on tape. Very consistent catcher. Only one receiver in the 2014 draft had hands as big as Williams — Jordan Matthews. Mike Evans’ hands are 9 5/8 inches. This is a major positive for Williams.
— Jesse James is 6-7, but has shorter arms than Maxx Williams and only 9 3/8 inch hands.
— Devin Funchess was originally listed to work out as a tight end. He didn’t measure today or take interviews. Presumably we’ll see him with the receivers after all.
Yesterday we debated Melvin Gordon’s stock. If you need convincing over his willingness and ability to run up the middle, get the tough yards, patiently set up blocks, exploit small holes to make big gains, push the pile for extra yards, produce in the red zone and be a chunk-yard specialist — here’s the tape vs Auburn:
Great to hear you Rob. Speaking reveals so much more quickly what you see.
It’d be awesome to maybe have a podcast clip for each article. Your words match well with the blog…
Cheers! Thanks!
I’m considering doing more audio (it’s quicker for a start!). As long as people can cope with the British accent 🙂
I for one, actually dig British accents.
Jolly good show old chap! More podcasts would be smashing! Grab a pint, some crisps, some seahawks news and bob’s your uncle!
🙂
“British accents are sexy, baby!” (Austin Powers)
It is a trip to hear such detailed analysis from a Brit… You surpass the ‘homeland natives’…by far.
11M per. Larry Fitz getting paid for what he did, not for what he’ll do.
I’m glad the temptation is off the table… kinda like when your wife takes the last slice of pizza. You know it’s bad for your waistline (cap) in the long-run, but damn it would be so good in the short term (2015).
Sweet, Sheard and Paea! Right on Rob :). If we did grab those guys in FA, do you think we’d still try drafting a guy like Eli Harold in the 1st?
If they sign Sheard I think it’s very unlikely.
One thing I’ve noticed about this draft and the DE position is, if you don’t take one in the 1st three rounds there’s not going to be very good value later on.
As Rob has pointed out before, not a whole lot of LEO candidates in this year’s class.
2 DE-LEOs I do like as day 3 guys are Montana’s Zach Wagenmann and W. Virginia’s Shaq Riddick.
I think there’s going to be a rush on DE’s in round one and the value might never match up for Seattle. Could push them towards FA, where there’s going to be a few nice options on the DL.
I know your not a fan of him Rob, but LSU DE Danielle Hunter may just be the athletic freak and ‘swing for the fences’ type pick that could appeal to Seattle.
I really can’t think of a better fir for Hunter himself. He’s raw, needs technical refinement, but playing behind and learning from Bennett, Avril, and Bruce would be so instrumental for him. Use him exclusively in certain packages, and in a year or two, they could end up with Julius Peppers lite.
The look on his face during games and interviews says ‘I’d be thrilled to rip off your head and spit down your throat.
As much of an upside that he has, he doesn’t have a lot of production. If we’re going to do a swing for the fences type of upside, I’d rather it be on someone that has produced at a high level in college, rather than just average stats and hope he gets better.
I agree. There’s always an outlier though.
I could definitely see why he’d appeal to Seattle. LSUs defense is pretty ‘Seahawky,’ and they have a nice track record of producing good to great NFL players.
I wish the Seahawks had a better track record picking LSU players.
I hate his tape. Struggles to get off blocks, resorts mostly to trying to jump up and deflect the football. He’s very athletic but a major project.
Definitely a project. He tries to run through blocks it looks like.
Love his motor, athleticism, length, character, and upside. Looks like Bam Bam on the D-line.
For some reason, John Chavis and Les Miles don’t really coach up their defensive personnel outside of the DBs.
Put this kid, and he’s basically a teenager still, with a defensive master-mind and in a rotation, and watch out.
Interested to see what Eli Harold weighs in at. I’ve seem 251 but mostly I’ve seen 235.
Sheard and Paea could be this years Avril and Bennett signings (to a lesser extent), and allow us to get back to a deeper rotation on the DL. I like this idea quite a bit. It could free us up to use our draft picks to focus on other areas.
I think the cost of Sheard + Paea could equal the same cost as Suh. I don’t think Sheard and Paea will be cheap.
Just one would be of a benefit… If we can get an affordable FA DT/DE, then hopefully we can swing for the fences on WR/TE’s in the draft…
I can understand Paea getting a fat contract, but why would anyone break the bank for Sheard when the guy played 5 games last year and is an injury risk?
His previous three years in the league were very good and he’s at a good age.
I’m still sad about P-Rich over Cody Latimer….sigh
+1…
Count me out.
The one guy I’m disappointed that Seattle didn’t get was HB Terrence West. They were high on him, and he would have been perfect for the RRBC that Seattle will eventually go with.
I’m more concerned that the Seahawks draft another P-RIch, speedy, tall but light receiver who won’t last through a season.
Yeah. The only WR drafted that worked took a 3 years for him to develop. Would be nice to have a very good WR, I won’t even ask for elite.
I did the research on our PC/JS drafts from 2010-2014, and they suck at drafting WR’s…
5 WR’s taken in 5 years… Golden Tate in ’10/2nd R, Kris Durham in ’11/4th R, ’12 – no WR, Chris Harper in ’13/4th R, then 2 in ’14-P.Rich/2nd R and K.Norwood/4th R.
I’m seriously hoping that Brennan Carroll, who just joined the team and is a talent scout and WR/TE coach, can help us make the correct choices at WR/TE in the draft. WE NEED THE HELP!!!
and the Seahawks need help with their pass routes. Receivers and tight ends disappear during some games and magically appear in others. Poor route planning leads to tight coverage on our receivers.
Bucs GM saying V-Jax isn’t going anywhere… Of course he wouldn’t say if they were actively shopping him, but it’s noteworthy at least
Bears GM however is not so confident that Marshall is in their plans. For equal money I would rather have marshall honestly
I’d rather spend the money on dline and grab Tre McBride! /rosy outlook
I agree. Watched chaicago v SF last night. He did what he wanted in the red zone, they couldn’t cover him.
3 tds.
a 1 handed circus grab, to horribly overthrown ball by Cutler, which should, by all rights have gone flying out of bounds over the back of the end
a nice box out on a slant, virtually undefendable
and a back shoulder fade, again, undefendable.
Great stuff Rob.
What about Charles Clay? He’s flying a little under the radar in free agency thanks to Julius Thomas and Jordan Cameron hitting the market, but he’s been quietly productive as a target in he passing game whilst in Miami and he’s still only 26. Plus, he doesn’t come with major injury worries, system fit worries, or potential character issues like Cameron, Thomas and Jermaine Gresham respectively. Zach Miller will be 30 by the time the season starts. It would be disrespectful to ask him to take another pay cut. We should move on from now.
Whenever I’ve watched Miami over the last couple of seasons he seemed to do something. I just think Cameron is a far better player and Clay is maybe a bit too similar to Luke Willson. But if they want to go TE in FA — Clay is an option.
I really like Jordan Cameron, but I think he’ll probably be too expensive. Clay sticks in my mind because he looks like a more rounded player than Willson is. He’s not as big or fast but he’s got quick feet and runs better routes. Miami lined him up everywhere. He has the potential to be a more consistent target.
Also, I could be mistaken but the interview you referred to on the podcast that had Kyle Long talking about Ndamukong Suh was from last year’s Top 100. Came across it completely by coincidence after watching Charles Clay’s segment on it.
Why is everyone writing off Miller? Has their been any negative news about his rehab to warrant everyone just assuming Miller is destined for the chopping block?
Think the serious nature of the injury, age and cost are part of the reason — plus the way Seattle played without him.
I’ve not heard anything about his rehab since he was put on IR, but the passing game needs to get better and along with drafting some receivers, I think upgrading at tight end through free agency could be part of the solution. I have nothing against Zach Miller but his value is as a blocker, and I don’t think that’s where the $4 million in cap space he costs is put to best use.
But if they cut him they’ll still have a 3.2 million dead money charge. If they keep him his salary is 3.9 million, so they’ll only be saving 700k if they cut him. How would 700k be put to better use than bringing him back?
Oops, sorry I was looking at the wrong year. Looks like for ’15 his dead money charge will only be 1 mil, so they’ll save 3 mil if they cut him.
Really looking forward to Texas A&M TE Cam Clear’s combine. At his size, if he runs in the 4.68-4.75 range, I have a feeling he’ll be a steal.
Cedric Ogbuehi (T, Texas A&M) — 6-5, 306lbs, 35 7/8 inch arms
Good lord that’s impressive
Wow, TE Jesse James has tiny ass hands for his size.
And while Donovan Smith may be too big, there’s reports/rumors out there that him and Oklahoma OL Tyrus Thompson are lazy and don’t have a great work ethic.
South Carolina OL Corey Robinson, lost a bunch of weight, and is appealing, but is he nasty enough? Does he play with a mean streak?
Big fan of Oklahoma’s OL Darryl Williams, Miami’s OL Ereck Flowers, Utah’s Jeremiah Poutasi, Colorado St OL Ty Sambrailo, and SD St OL Terry Poole,
NC St OL Rob Crisp is a true sleeper. Really like this guy too.
Iowa St TE EJ Gibbs is smaller than I thought and might be better as a FB or H-Back.
What was Texas A&M TE Cam Clear’s measurements?
I doubt Nick O’Leary is the third TE drafted with 29 3/4 inch arms and 9 3/8 inch hands. This is too small. His arms are almost 2 inches shorter than the next closest measurement.
Jesse James small hands might be a concern. Scouts will be watching whether he body catches the ball.
Cam Clear — 6-6, 270lbs, 33 5/8 inch arms, 9 5/8 inch hands.
Thanks Rob.
Biggest TE in regards to height/weight ratio, 2nd longest arms behind Clive Walford’s out of the TEs you listed above, and smallish hands, damn.
But, he’s a blocking TE in the mold of TE Zach Miller. Still can’t wait to see his on-field testing numbers. Again, with his size and length, depending on his numbers, he could be a very effective and exciting/developmental no. 3 TE on a team.
I love the idea of Clive Walford, long arms, big hands, blocks well and catches well in traffic. If we target someone later, I like Nick Boyle a lot. Rob mentioned him and I looked up one of his games. He’s sure handed and he hurdled a defender la la Maxx Williams in the Senior Bowl. Boyle has a great kick step and with his size would make an awesome blocking TE. Britt, meet you new best friend.
Does this mean that Nick O’Leary and Jesse James fall to 6th round or later? It’s kinda sad when dreams collide with reality.
I doubt Jesse james falls much. I expect to see him drafted in the 3rd. O’Leary…who knows. He’s already a shorter TE, with small hands and VERY short arms, I don’t think he gets drafted on the first 2 days.
I think both will be day three picks at best.
I think Walford probably helped himself (by standing there and getting his arms/hands measured) and Williams confirmed his status as a round 1 prospect, unless 1 lb makes a difference to people (technically he’s under 250).
Absolutely not. Most of these guys are either going to lose or gain weight once they get on an NFL roster anyways.
Once Denver loses TE Julius Thomas, more than likely, I wonder if they’ll target TE Max Williams. Pittsburgh and Arizona are also good landing spots for him too.
If Seattle does draft a TE before the mid-rounds, I’m hoping its Clive Wolford. Not that Williams isn’t a bad choice, and I do think he’ll be a fantastic pro, but my personal preference is Clive and then Cam Clear later on as a day 3 guy.
I read it’s possible Manning might take a pay cut so the Broncos can keep JT. If I were Manning I would. Not like the guy he measures himself to the most, Brady, hasn’t made a number of financial sacrifices to field a better team. And it’s not like Papa John franchise isn’t already rolling in enough dough to be set for life many times over.
Behind Maxx I like Jeff Heuerman out of Ohio State.
Rob, even though every team is permitted to talk/interview 60 prospects at the combine, pro day, or bring them into their facilities, would love it if you could keep us updated on the guys that Seattle shows interest in following these guidelines.
I know it’s tedious, but here’s to hoping your able to.
I will track every player who reveals they’re meeting with the Hawks.
My man!
Any thoughts on TE Jeff Heurrman from Ohio State? Looks like he has ideal size and length. In all of the interviews he did before the championship game he seemed very confident and outgoing so he should be able to fit into the lockeroom. Not much production because Ohio State used their tight ends as blockers most of the time. He is a good blocker though. I have no idea what kind of times he is going to put up but he seems pretty athletic. Supposedly had a 36.5″vert and benched 33 reps at a Ohio State work out. If true those are both good numbers for someone his size. Any idea what round he should be drafted in?
Also, great job on the podcast Rob.
I think he’s a solid player. Has shown he can get down the seam and make a catch. Did well against overmatched opponents. I think he’s generally hit and miss in every area. Seen him drop a couple of easy passes, seen him whiff on a couple of basic blocks. Also seen him do a great job sprinting into the second level to work the coverage and create a mismatch. I think he’ll go on day three and could develop a role for someone.
Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams will be meeting with the Seahawks at the combine
Interesting. Does anybody know how much JS/PC formal meetings matter? Meaning how often do we draft players we have open meetings with players at the combine or have visit VMAC.
It’s tough to read too much into this kind of thing. Christine Michael live tweeted his visit to Seattle and was taken by the Seahawks. Last year Cody Latimer took a picture from the VMAC in a Seahawks hat and they didn’t take him. But then they went well out of their way to avoid contact with Russell Wilson to not show their hand. I think they use these meetings and the private visits usually for players they don’t have as much background on. This would make sense for Williams — he’s a RS sophomore who wasn’t expected to declare.
I have read that teams change their strategy from year to year to avoid patterns regarding who they talk to at the combine and who they bring to the team headquarters. They don’t want to give any clues to other teams.
I’ve added a Melvin Gordon tape vs Auburn to this piece. Well worth checking out.
I just would rather have Gurley. I think Gordon is a great back, but if it came down to the two, I’d be inclined to go with Gurley. He just looks so fast, strong and great. Where as Gordon breaks off the nice big runs, but doesn’t look as special on most plays. Gurley, i just see as generational talent. Such a beast.
Yeah, I didn’t see much in that Gordon tape that made me excited. Some say he’s willing to put his shoulder down and I think that’s th e perfect description – he doesn’t want to, but he’ll do it. If he has to. I guess. Most of the time he just goes on down.
Contrast that with Lynch, or Gurley. They aren’t ‘willing’ to fight for yards. They’re practically cackling with malevolent glee at getting the opportunity to do so. They want to deliver the blow and turn it into another yard, or two, or at least end the run with a middle finger extended to the defense.
Gordon’s a good back. But he’ll never be the mean, threatening bully I just want to see in our backfield now. I’ve gotten used to it. I kind of can’t imagine our offense without it. It’s the basic core of the offensive identity.
Lynch and Gurley are unique runners. It’s pretty harsh to compare their running style to college RB’s and feel disappointed they don’t have that same ability.
I’m not sure how anyone can watch that tape and say they don’t get excited.
Melvin Gordon is an absolute stud! It’s looking like Dallas might let DeMarco Murray walk, if they do Gordon would be the perfect replacement for him.
Indianapolis needs a RB I wouldn’t be surprised if the drafted one of Gurley, Gordon or Coleman.
I don’t know why, but I have a hard time seeing him be all that great at the next level. I don’t think he’ll be bad, but he just doesn’t look all that special. And as I write that, a part of me feels like a complete idiot. 250 yards and 3 td’s and he didn’t impress? The guy has been crazy productive.
Kinda the same feeling I had about Knowshon Moreno.
Gordon and Moreno are completely different players. Gordon is. Much more gifted athlete. I really never was a fan of knowshon but if the Hawks were forced to draft a back, and they took Gordon, I wouldn’t be upset at all. Now gurley would be my top choice, assuming to his knee heals up, but still. I see a ton of Jamal Charles in Melvin.
Does anyone have any footage of Jesse James blocking? He’s huge, but all of his limited take showed him catching the ball. I want a big target and I would love it if that guy could block. He also won’t be a high pick, at least not at this juncture. Maxx Williams is a good player, but I would rather go wr, OL, or rb first.
Jean Sifrin, despite the age, appeals to me. Likely will do really well in the combine, but has the offputting combo of being raw and old.
Margus Hunt is a good comparision, draft wise, as a raw 26 year old DE who was drafted at the back of the second round. If Sifrin is there at 2/62 this is a opportunity to get Gronk type athleticism.
I’ve been thinking about this, and why not take UMass TE Jean Sifrin if you can get 4-5 good years out of him? The key word being ‘if.’
If your confident that he can step in immediately and contribute, it’s really not much different than signing an under the radar TE from the FA pool.
I just hope he’s more Bruce Irvin and not Brandon Weeden. 2nd round is very rich though, I’d be surprised if he goes before the 4th.
That’s the problem. If he needs a year or two to settle is he really going to suddenly be this effective 29-year-old TE?
I love Jean Sifrin in 5rd. Despite the age, I don’t care, athlete
One guy I’m interested to see, but am not 100% certain he’s at the combine is Western DT Daryl Waud. He’s from a Canadian university, but scouts have some really good things to say about this guy.
He’s got a good build, low body fat percentage, and 34 inch arms (or very close). Has a real Jared Allen type personality about him, and I don’t mean that his wife keeps his balls in her purse.
Another late round DT to keep an eye on is W. Michigan’s LeTerrius ‘LT’ Walton- 6’5, 315 lbs.
Good Schneider quote from this week:
“My belief is that if you want to be a consistent, championship-caliber team, you have to make those tough decisions,” Schneider said, “where guys are moving on every year and you just have to keep playing young people.”
My interpretation of this is that the team is going to say goodbye to some vets on the team this offseason. Mebane and Miller come to mind for sure.
I touched on this in the podcast — I think they will be ruthless this year. Big time. And moving forward.
For the Seahawks TE of the future, whoever that is – I want one simple characteristic, because I honestly believe Luke Willson does everything except one thing very well.
I want him to use his body to shield out defenders and make catches in traffic. Antonio Gates does this better than almost anyone ever has in the NFL. I have seen Maxx Williams do this a ton in college, his tape is littered with tough catches in tight spaces. Luke can make big plays and present a ton of mismatches, he destroyed Carolina. Having a healthy Miller who does make tough catches and a healthy Luke is a recipe for success at the position. But, if Miller’s salary or concussion history is too scary to keep I think his role as a receiver is what we need, not another SPARQ freak like Luke.