Defensive End: Seahawks draft prospects, post combine

Hybrid Defensive End / Tackle

These are the Michael Bennett hybrid guys.

Chad Thomas –  6’5″ – 281 lbs. – 1.70 10 yard split – DNP 3 cone – Miami

Thomas has more questions off the field than on it.  He is fluid for as big as he is.  Displays decent movement, but looked a little high at times struggling with the back pedal.  Violent hands, really violent.  Rip and lean weren’t impressive compared to the club.  Looked really good in the stack and shed.  Feels like he definitely has the ability to be an inside pass rusher and a base defensive end.  Struggled changing direction, and got really high in his cuts.  At his size, they tried him in the linebacker drills and he dropped effortlessly, transitioned to the slide and then broke on the ball well.  There is something to like with this guy, that is for sure.

Andrew Brown – 6’4″ – 296 lbs. – 1.73 10 yard split – 7.51 sec. 3 cone – Virginia

He didn’t produce much in college, but I think he was in the wrong system.  This guy looks like a base defensive end who moves inside on passing situations.  He is stout against the run, and then a nice 1 technique straight up the field guy from the inside.  He has long thin legs, usually not seen in defensive linemen.  Makes you wonder about his base on the inside. Brown showed powerful, really violent hands for the club, and a good lean.  Like most of the players, he needs to work on the rip.  Brown looked really good in the stack and shed.  Bent the knees, and showed powerful hands in the stack.  Then gathered well and bent the knees again to hit the next shed.  That’s just how you are taught.  Struggled a little on the cut in the pursuit drill.  This is a 5 star guy, who never lived up to it.  I think there is a lot to like here.

John Franklin – 6’4″ – 278 lbs. – 1.71 10 yard split – 7.36 sec. 3 cone – Stephen F. Austin

Great movement skills for a guy his size.  However, he needs to get lower and work on bending his legs more.  He looked good through the bags, but needed to keep his head up.  Slapped and then jumped outside, so he could get around the bag quicker during the club and rip drill.  Not good technique at defensive end. You want to stay tight and lean around the corner so your shoulder touches the bag.  Looked really good in the stack.  Had to regather his feet to prepare for the shed.  Tried to keep his head up, but didn’t maintain it.  Nice change of direction for a man his size.

Da’Shawn Hand – 6’4″ – 297 lbs. – 1.71 10 yard split – 7.98 sec. 3 cone – Alabama

Hand is a run stuffer; I don’t see him as a defensive end at all.  He showed tighter hips than teammate Da’Ron Payne, but they put Payne in the tackle drill and Hand in the end drill.  It also felt like there was a wind up to his speed.  He did show nice violent hands, didn’t lean well, but the club and rip was nice.  Really cheated the stack and shed drill.  Barely tapped the bag and bent at the waist to shuffle to the next bag.  In all the drills, his hips were really tight and he looks like a waist bender.  That can be a problem for a guy who will need to make a living inside in the traffic.  He really plays high.

Jalyn Holmes – 6’5″ – 283 lbs. – 1.72 10 yard split – DNP 3 Cone – Ohio State

I am not sure Holmes has the skill set to be on the outside.  The problem is, he doesn’t have the size to be on the inside every down either.  He does show good movement coming forward, but has really stiff hips.  Holmes also struggled to move backward.  He slapped in the club and rip, then looked a little too tight; couldn’t lean.  Displayed a swim rather than a rip.  Holmes looked good in the stack, but his lateral movement getting to the shed looked a little rushed.  His feet came together.  On the football field, he would have ended up on the ground.  Stiff athlete.  Try hard guy who was buried behind other more talented guys at Ohio State.  He is a guy you want on your team for the locker room.  I am just not sure he will do much on the field.

James Looney – 6’3″ – 287 lbs. – 1.67 10 yard split – 7.32 sec. 3 cone – Cal

He is a defensive tackle, more than a defensive end.  He didn’t move real well.  Looney looked off-balance in all the movement drills. He  stood too high and popped almost upright out of his stance.  That made his club and rip too high, almost pointless.  He did better the second time, but still too high.  This guy is definitely a waste bender.  He does show some quickness for his size, but everything just looks uncomfortable.  Feels like a guy who wins on desire.

Kentavius Street – 6’2″ – 280 lbs. – 1.67 10 yard split – DNP 3 cone – NC State

Street looked like a beast in his 40 yard dash displaying tremendous 10 yard split times.  Then didn’t perform the rest of the day.

Breeland Speaks – 6’3″ – 285 lbs. – 1.65 10 yard split – 7.63 sec. 3 cone – Ole Miss

Tight in all drills, but there was something to like about his game.  He looked comfortable in the bag drill, and showed very nice movement.  Nice solid club, but the rip was tight as well.  Bent around the corner, needed to lean in more to make the turn more efficient.  Swam the bag rather than ripping through.  A lot of the guys did this.  Swim is a good move, but not the right move for this drill.  Opens up your chest for the lineman to hit.  A good lineman will take the rusher right out of the play when he sees their rib cage.   Stood up completely straight to stack in later drills, then bent at the waist down to shed.  Brought his eyes down each time too.  Stack and shed was not a good drill for this guy.