Five players the Seahawks should target in 2016 draft

CARL NASSIB, DE, Penn State

Projected round: 1st or 2nd

Everyone is looking for the “next J.J. Watt,” and Nassib just may be the closest thing to Watt in this year’s draft. At 6’7″ 273 pounds, Nassib looks the part of stud defensive end. He’s a weight room junky with a tireless work ethic, and his hard work translated to his play on the field for the Nittany Lions in 2015 as he racked up 19.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks, a new school record. When you turned on a Penn State game, this guy jumped off the screen. His high motor style of play and overall production made it obvious this was a guy destined for stardom.

Yet it was hardly that way previous to 2015. In fact Nassib is the ultimate late bloomer. He arrived on campus as a lanky, 215 lb walk on. But through intense determination and hard work he spent the new few years adding 60 pounds of muscle, and only became a full time starter his senior year.

Not sure if a guy who never started a football game until his senior year is worth taking a chance on in the (likely) second round of the draft? Then I would remind you that Clay Matthews walked on at USC as an undersized, unnoticed special teams player. That worked out OK for Matthews, and the Packers.

Next: Big, tall and experienced