2017 NFL Draft: Seahawks Take Delano Hill, safety from Michigan
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks have four picks in round three of the NFL draft; these picks need to be starters long-term
The Seahawks took an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman with their first two picks in the 2017 draft. With their first pick in the third round Seattle chose cornerback Shaquill Griffin. With the Seahawks next pick in the third round they chose another secondary player, safety Delano Hill for the University of Michigan.
Hill can be an aggressive tackler. He did play at Michigan after all. NFL.com says this about Hill, “Lacks athleticism to match up on space down the field. Below average play speed and range from high safety. Instincts are average.”
Still, Hill feels a role as a physical player. The Seahawks’ mentality for the last several year has been to impose their will on the other team. Hill will not be the most physically gifted player on the field. What he will do is help the Seahawks regain their alpha-team self. Hill plays downhill. He also plays well in the slot. The expectation in 2017 should be that Hill plays the slot while learning how to earn his role as a safety.
Seattle, of course, still has excellent safeties in Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas. For Hill this is a good thing. He will not be expected to start immediately but will also have a chance to learn the Seahawks Way. He will mostly emulate Chancellor as he does not have Thomas’s speed. It is not hard to imagine Hill taking Chancellor’s role once Chancellor is no longer with Seattle.