Justin Britt Seahawks Rookie Profile: Pete Carroll’s ‘Reach’ Paying Off
By Josh Davis
JUSTIN BRITT
Position: Right Tackle
School: Missouri Tigers
Measurables: 6’6″, 325 lbs
How Acquired: Selected in 2th round of NFL Draft
How can the Seahawks use him?
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If you don’t know by now, Justin Britt is competing to be the Seahawks’ starting right tackle with second year lineman Michael Bowie. Through rookie camp and OTA’s, it’s not necessarily all that close of a competition, Britt is showing out and the coaches haven’t really talked about Bowie that much, which is a big deal. In fact Tom Cable put in a very telling quote on Britt’s current standing:
"He gets it. Nothing is too big for him. He really has a good background and he’s ready for something like this. … He’s been in the right kind of environments and he’s doing really well.”"
That’s pretty straight forward and by further complimenting Britt on his work against the No. 1’s (defense) the past couple days, Cable and Pete Carroll are giving pretty strong signs pointing in his direction. He was indeed Cable’s number one guy going into day two of the NFL Draft and the Hawks pulled the trigger for their offensive line coach. From my chair, it’s pretty clear that if one of the best OL coaches in the NFL was zeroed in on this kid before the rest of the field was, there’s a pretty good reason. 12’s can probably pencil the former SEC tackle into the starting lineup this upcoming season.
There are those (like Terry Blount of ESPN.com) that believe in Justin Britt’s starting potential in Seattle, but for the most part there was more of a prevailing thought that the Hawks seriously reached for him. Mike Mayock said “I had more of a fifth-round grade on him, Britt’s a technician” and several others claimed that they pulled down the draft grade by at least a letter simply because of that particular pick.
"DRAFT PROJECTIONRounds 6-7BOTTOM LINECollege left tackle with enough length and foot quickness to handle the blind side in a pinch, but is more ideally suited for the right side and could be best suited for a swing backup role. Has played nearly every position on the line and could add depth as a positional, wall-off blocker.-NFL.com"
Basically, as happens every year, Carroll and John Schneider got the overall ‘smh’ (shake my head) vote by critics on their second overall pick. But it seems while the tapes showed a 5th, 6th or even 7th round grade for whatever reason (probably because he’s a more natural right tackle and played left out of necessity in his senior year at Mizzou), the intangibles and maturity of Britt are going to make the Seahawks’ brass look like geniuses again.
Best Attribute
I went into last season wanting the guys I went against to remember me. It was my last year, so I wanted to leave a mark in their mind and have them remember me. If nasty is the word you want to use, then I’m nasty. – Justin Britt
Once an undefeated Missouri state champion in wrestling, Britt’s best attribute is his combination of footwork and physicality. There are a few things that this kid has that can’t be coached, but being able to combine those two into a smooth and powerful package are what will matter most when push comes to shove in the battle for starter.