Seahawks’ Kenny Lawler invokes images of Sidney Rice
By Keith Myers
Looking at the tape of Seattle Seahawks draft pick Kenny Lawler, it is impossible not to see a bit of Sidney Rice in his game.
It wouldn’t be a John Schneider draft if there were some surprises along the way. That certainly held true this year, as the Seahawks repeatedly selected players that the draft media had failed to tie to them during the draft process.
One of those players was WR Kenny Lawler from Cal. The tall but unheralded receiver was an afterthought on draft boards despite solid production in his college career. He’s also been a bit of an afterthought when discussing Seattle’s draft class.
Lawler is 6 ft 2 inches tall. He’s got long arms (33 3/8 inches), a decent vertical (34 1/2 inches), and massive hands (10 1/2 inches). All of that should equate to a large catch radius if he is good at the catch point, and that is exactly what jumps out on his tape.
He doesn’t have the quickness or refined route-runner that Sidney Rice had, but Lawler invokes memories of Rice when watching his tape. Jared Goff, his college QB and the draft’s first overall pick, just had to get the ball near Lawler and he’d simply go up and get it.
While I’m sure there are better player comparisons overall, the image of Rice was difficult to ignore when watching Lawler’s tape. He’s tall, lanky, skinny, and has tremendous hands. He also just has a knack for making the most out of limited separation.
None of this is a guarantee that Lawler will have an impact on Seattle’s offense, or even that he’ll make the team as a rookie. But it is never a bad sign to invoke comparisons to one the the most talented receivers to ever put on a Seahawks uniform.
Lawyer has his work cut out for him to carve out a role in Seattle’s offense, but it is tough not to get a little excited when watching his college tape.