Seahawks Roundtable: Exciting draft picks
By Keith Myers
Roundtable discussion on which Seattle Seahawks draft pick the 12th Man Rising staff members are most excited to see in training camp and the preseason.
The Seattle Seahawks are in the middle of their non-mandatory organized team activities for the offseason. With those practices have come reports on how the different veterans and rookies have looked.
Those reports have helped build a general excitement for the 2016 season. This is especially true for this particular class of rookies. That seems like a prefect question for this edition of our Seahawks Roundtable.
What 2015 draft pick are you most excited about seeing in training camp and the preseason?
Dayna O’Gorman
While many of the Seahawks draft picks are poised to make some kind of impact, I am excited to see what 6th round pick Joey Hunt can do. Hunt, a center from TCU, was a three year starter and a two time captain. ESPN’s Sheil Kapadia called him a “pure center prospect” and I think that is something the Seahawks desperately need. Patrick Lewis is the presumed starter yet it will be interesting to watch how well Hunt takes to the job in the preseason.
After the Seahawks traded Max Unger to New Orleans for Jimmy Graham, the center position hasn’t been even close to settled. Both Drew Nowak and Patrick Lewis have tried to fill Unger’s Pro Bowl shoes, but there is still something missing there. Lewis’s game greatly improved over last season but I think adding Hunt to the mix will increase competition and hopefully elevate what we see at center.
David Stobbe
I’m most excited to see C.J. Prosise during training camp and preseason. Prosise is a dynamic player and his ability to generate big plays will make the Seahawks’ offense even harder to stop. He will be starting out as the 3rd down back, but there is a possibility that Prosise could be used as a wide receiver in different formations as well. Prosise has experience playing wide receiver at Notre Dame and could create matchup problems for opposing defenses.
With Prosise playing running back on 3rd down there might be some growing pains at the beginning of the season, because of the inevitable rookie mistakes. But, as the season goes on, he will prove to be an upgrade over Fred Jackson. Prosise is such a talented player and once Russell Wilson gets him the ball, he will make a big time play.
Prosise will be someone to watch closely during training camp and especially during preseason, as he still has a lot of untapped potential. His talent could take this offense to another level, adding an explosive ball carrier that Wilson can give the ball to. My prediction is that CJ Prosise will have a rookie season like Tyler Lockett did last year. Just like Lockett, Prosise was drafted in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft and will be filling a position of need on the team right away.
Jacob Sosler
The rookie I am most excited to see in training camp is Arkansas running back and Seahawks 5th round pick Alex Collins. One of my favorite prospects in the draft, Collins fell due to his poor combine.
On film, he exhibits fantastic vision and some of the best footwork I’ve seen at the running back position. Collins rushed for 1500 yards and 20 (!!) touchdowns last season, his first as a lead running back. His downhill running style perfectly fits Seattle’s offense.
However, Seattle drafted two other running backs (CJ Prosise and Zac Brooks) in addition to Collins. This, combined with Thomas Rawls firmly entrenched atop the depth chart, makes Collins’ role murky.
The consensus is that Prosise or Zac Brooks will play the Fred Jackson, Robert Turbin role. This leaves Collins to scavenge for snaps behind a healthy Rawls next season. At Arkansas, Collins capitalized last season after Jonathan Williams suffered a season ending injury.
In Seattle, he has a similar opportunity with Rawls’ early season healthy in question. With Rawls out for now, Collins is in an ideal situation to impress and earn a fair share of carries next season. But will he seize it?
Next: More RB love on page 2