The names are drip-feeding in as reporters share information on Twitter and players such as Matt Goncalves, Theo Johnson and Kam Kinchens share pictures on Instagram — but here are the confirmed names that have taken or are due to take official visits to Seattle so far:
Tyrice Knight (LB, UTEP)
Malachi Corley (WR, Western Kentucky)
John Rhys Plumlee (QB, UCF)
Grayson Murphy (EDGE, UCLA)
Nathaniel Watson (LB, Mississippi State)
Khristian Boyd (DT, Northern Iowa)
Theo Johnson (TE, Penn State)
Byron Murphy (DT, Texas)
Chop Robinson (EDGE, Penn State)
Travis Glover (T, Georgia State)
Bo Nix (QB, Oregon)
T’Vondre Sweat (DT, Texas)
Jared Verse (DE, Florida State)
Spencer Rattler (QB, South Carolina)
Matt Goncalves (T, Pittsburgh)
Kam Kinchens (S, Miami)
Qwan’Tez Stiggers (CB, Toronto)
Jowon Briggs (DT, Cincinnati)
I’m waiting on confirmation of a couple of players too, an offensive and defensive lineman, one of which visited Seattle last week and one who received an invitation just ahead of the weekend. (EDIT — one of them was Jowon Briggs, now confirmed).
If you look through Seattle’s draft history, they’ve taken players who visited. They’ve also been extremely careful to show minimal interest in other players they are targeting.
There were a couple of interesting anecdotes shared last week. ESPN’s Brady Henderson told Brian Nemhauser on HawkBlogger Mornings that a player really soured the Seahawks during one visit, as he complained about a busy pre-draft schedule and spent a ton of time on his phone. Albert Breer said the Patriots were put off A.J. Brown and Deebo Samuel because they shared the same agent, had done a series of visits together and had become quite chummy. Thus, when they visited New England, they seemed a little too ‘relaxed’ together. It put off Bill Belichick, who instead drafted N’Keal Harry, who Breer said was known for turning on the fake charm during meetings.
Clearly, these things can produce a mixed-bag of results.
Malik McDowell visited Seattle in 2017. He had serious character flags but clearly was able to convince the Seahawks to roll the dice on his remarkable talent (it’s a shame we never got to see what he could do). A year ago, Devon Witherspoon visited the Seahawks (as did Anthony Bradford and Jerick Reed).
Of the list of 16 names above, the visits will have different meanings.
For example, Matt Goncalves has had serious injury issues at Pittsburgh. It’s possible his visit is about medical checks and completing his profile in terms of health/longevity.
Grayson Murphy, Qwan’Tez Stiggers and Khristian Boyd were not invited to the combine. Inviting them could be about medical checks too, plus having meetings that were not possible in Indianapolis.
If you follow the tea-leaves, increasingly it looks like five quarterbacks will be off the board before Seattle’s pick at #16 — Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye and Michael Penix Jr.
As noted on the blog and on the HawkBlogger Draft roundtable on Sunday, Bo Nix’s stock is ice-cold. He’s doing the rounds in the media, which is never a good sign this close to the draft. Todd McShay this week suggested he hasn’t spoken to a single team that has a first round grade on Nix. After a seriously underwhelming Senior Bowl and combine, all of Nix’s limitations were exposed. In my latest mock draft, I had Nix dropping into round three.
Spencer Rattler, meanwhile, is going to be a second round pick.
The Seahawks meeting with the two quarterbacks who are realistically going to be available to them isn’t a surprise. They need to start drafting quarterbacks. If either is available to Seattle, in a range they are comfortable, they need to be ready and prepared.
It’s also possible they would’ve had Penix Jr in for a visit, if they hadn’t already hired his former offensive coordinator. They could also invite him to the local pro-day. But they likely have all the intel they need on a player who should still be considered an option if he lasts to #16 (that seems increasingly unlikely).
The meeting with T’Vondre Sweat was likely arranged before his recent arrest and DWI charge. It’ll be convenient timing for Seattle to be able to grill him on that incident. They’ll also likely want to see what shape he’s in. It’s OK being 366lbs at the combine but if you’re 380-400lbs now it’ll reaffirm concerns teams have about his commitment to staying in shape. Drinking beyond the legal limited weeks before the draft then getting in a vehicle doesn’t seem like a good sign in that regard.
Nathaniel Watson has had some character issues in the past, including an arrest for an alleged DUI. The Seahawks will likely want to get to know what he’s all about too.
Kam Kinchens did not have a good 2023 season, in my opinion. There are things to like about his game — particularly his turnover production. However, his ability in space is majorly suspect. This play below sums up the problem:
There’s a feeling, after a bad combine, that Kinchens could drop into the fourth or even the fifth round range. He’s been seriously overrated in the media, including several mocks putting him in the first round during the college season. If he tumbles down the board, provided you’re willing to play him in a role that limits his weakness in space, he can be a useful addition. Getting intel on him is a good idea. He’s a serious individual and a man of few words — but he’s been praised for his attitude and the way he leads by example. Importantly for the Seahawks and Mike Macdonald’s system, he’s played all over the field — he’s a very versatile safety.
Then there are the ‘big’ names that are being widely tipped to be taken in range of the #16 pick — Jared Verse, Chop Robinson and Byron Murphy.
I do think all three are very viable options for the Seahawks. My opinion for a long time now has been that Troy Fautanu and Taliese Fuaga will be 1a and 1b in terms of preference for Seattle — with both being sufficiently good enough to snub trading down.
If both are gone — and if no reasonable trade-down offer is received — the Seahawks will have to pick. Verse, Robinson and Murphy make a lot of sense in a ‘best player available’ sense.
Verse has the kind of speed-to-power intensity that succeeds in the NFL. He’s a violent pass rusher, who does a ton of work both versus the pass and run and he’s adept at creating opportunities for others. Florida State loved to stunt him inside and have Braden Fiske peel around the edge. Macdonald loves to stunt too.
Robinson’s get-off and burst is elite-level. It’s something the Seahawks simply don’t have among their current group of edge rushers. His upside potential is to be a Micah Parsons-type pass rusher.
There aren’t many human’s like Murphy. You don’t often see players with his thick lower body yet minimal body fat on the top-half. He’s factory-made to play defensive tackle. His lower half reminds me of Jarran Reed when he was at Alabama — and he can similarly anchor and hold position because he’s so sturdy and explosive in his arse and thighs. Texas actually played Murphy, not Sweat, at nose tackle for a number of snaps in 2023. Yet he has the kind of twitch and athleticism of a pure pass rushing three-technique. The only issue is whether he’s capable of turning a high percentage of pressures in college to more finishing production. Is he ‘just’ a major disruptor or can he wreck games?
Gathering info on this trio makes a lot of sense. It’s also perhaps interesting that they’ve brought them in but none of the other first round offensive tackles have visited. We’ll see if the likes of J.C. Latham, Amarius Mims and Tyler Guyton make a trip. You could look at the lack of names here in two ways. Either they’re trying to mask their intentions — or if they can’t get to Fautanu and Fuaga, perhaps they are prepared to pivot to a highly graded defender.
Personally, I think that would be a savvy move. There is some risk with the tackles. Latham is massive, talented and light on his feet — but we’ve seen several huge offensive tackles come into the NFL in recent years and struggle because they’re ‘too’ big. Mims has talent for days but he had eight college starts. Guyton is very quick and athletic — but it’s hard to forget watching Darius Robinson beat him off the edge at the Senior Bowl.
Verse, Robinson and Murphy just seem like surer things. You can well imagine all three becoming key starters in the league.
It’s just a shame the Seahawks have a huge black-hole between picks #16 and #81. Not feeling comfortable sticking and picking, to try and fill that void, is difficult to stomach. If they get a great trade offer, though, it’ll be extremely tempting to get more shots at this talented class.
I’d love to know how Schneider went from a year ago openly talking about how they wanted to get more picks for the 2024 draft (after acquiring an extra third rounder from Denver) because they thought it was a deeper class, to ending up in a situation where they have only picks #16 and #81 in the top-100.
If you missed it earlier, check out Curtis Allen’s awesome new article on Seattle’s quarterback situation in relation to the draft.
