EDIT — After writing this article, I was made aware of comments by Todd McShay questioning Josh Simmons’ maturity. McShay doesn’t toss this information out casually. He is well connected. I am absolutely taking this on face value and given how seriously Seattle takes football character, I am going to suggest he is unlikely to be drafted by this team in round one. I’m leaving the article up for the discussion purposes in the comments. However, if I had heard McShay’s comments earlier, I wouldn’t have written this piece.
The Seahawks are likely to make some additions to their offensive line before the draft. They’re visiting with Teven Jenkins today. His willingness to take a low-commitment shot on a prove-it deal will likely determine whether he signs in Seattle. Lucas Patrick also met with the team — a player who always felt like a possible draft hedge given his experience in Klint Kubiak’s offense.
When Garrett Bradbury is released, he could also be signed depending on how hot his market is. None of these players are clear long-term solutions though. They’ll look to the draft for that. Their inactivity in free agency suggests they really like the draft options.
Ohio State left tackle Josh Simmons jumped off the tape from 2023 and continued to build on that in 2024. Then he suffered a knee injury, required surgery and his stock was in flux. He declared for the draft but was less likely to be a possible top-10 selection as a consequence of the injury.
I always thought he was a pure tackle, deserved to be considered as such and likely would still be drafted to play tackle. Then I saw his measurements. It’s not ideal for a left tackle to have 33-inch arms. You really want +34-inches. It might not be Will Campbell-level alarm bells but it does make you think — is he better suited inside?
Then you develop that thought. This is a draft without a lot of blue-chip players. None are likely to last to #18. If Simmons was a legit top-10 potential talent pre-injury, could this be an opportunity to ‘chase edges’ again for Mike Macdonald and John Schneider?
It would be a risk to take a player still in recovery (although Simmons has stated his intention to do a pro-day in April). However, if you can feel comfortable with the medicals — it’s a chance to get a player of high quality in a value range.
His game translates very well to the zone scheme. He’s so good on the move and shows explosive, sudden movements to progress. He’s very quick to get on the run and seek out blocks. Simmons uses what almost looks like a swim move to get out on a screen and he’s quickly up to second-level defenders.
There’s a level of aggression to his play and he carries an edge. His combo-blocking isn’t as good as Grey Zabel’s but you can work on that. Everything else is perfect for the system. There will be no worries about his pulling ability, his willingness to get on the move or his athleticism. I don’t think it’s out of the question he could develop into a premier guard — perhaps developing into a plus version of Tyler Smith.
Obviously you’d have to be comfortable with the medicals, not having any testing numbers and you’d need to feel confident he can start this year. You’re not taking a guard in round one to redshirt him for 12 months. Yet it’s not out of the question he has the highest upside for zone blocking in this draft.
There’s also the benefit of positional flexibility. He can cover at tackle if needed, or even revert back to tackle in the future.
There are a lot of options for the Seahawks. They might prefer the plug-and-play ability of Tyler Booker — plus his tone-setting leadership — but he’s not a perfect scheme fit. Zabel, Kelvin Banks Jr and others too — they have options.
The guard options also last into day two, providing some flexibility to go in a different direction at #18 if they want to. We talked about Malaki Starks yesterday as someone who might see some course-correction on his stock as we near the draft. Jihaad Campbell’s a ‘run to the podium’ type of talent. If they want to draft a quarterback early, there’s nothing about Sam Darnold’s contract preventing them from doing so.
If the aim however is to build an offensive line ideally suited for wide zone — I think Simmons is almost the perfect prospect to slot into left guard. If you then draft someone like Jared Wilson to play center — and with Christian Haynes being such a productive zone blocker in college — you have the makings of a line that can execute this scheme.
Keep Simmons on your radar. He’s one of the best players in the draft, a good scheme fit and he could be available for the Seahawks at #18.
