Seattle Seahawks mock draft 3.0: Seattle gets a receiver first

The Seahawks’ draft board is beginning to crystallize. With just five weeks until the NFL Draft, now is a good time to start ourselves another mock draft.

As I did in my first mock draft, it is important to set up a few reminders. Remember, we are working with incomplete information. Nobody pegged Bruce Irvin as a first-round pick when the Seahawks selected him 15th overall in 2012. As it turns out, at least two teams wanted to take him in round 1.

No matter how much we think we know, it only takes one team to completely embarrass your evaluation. There is a good chance that somebody we see as a 5th round pick will go in the second. It just happens.

Now, as of right now, the Seahawks own just four draft picks. We have to assume that Seattle is going to trade down unless there are a few surprising trades of veteran players. With that in mind, Seattle will start with picks 21, 84, 124, 159.

The hope for Seattle has to be that a quarterback falls to pick 21 and a team falls in love with him. One potential candidate is Drew Lock of Missouri. There is real hesitation to take Lock in the top 10, but reports indicate that Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is enchanted by Lock.

The Raiders own 3 first round picks: 4, 24, and 27. If Lock does fall, you can bet GM John Schneider will be calling Mike Mayock to come to get his coaches guy. The trade is as follows:

Seahawks trade picks 21 to Oakland for picks 27 and 140.

So now, the Seahawks add a 5th round pick, but they can’t be done here.  As annoying as it can be on draft day, Seattle will probably need to trade yet again to recoup some picks. At this stage, they need to find another deal.

The Indianapolis Colts could be a fit having a ton of draft picks and money to spend. In this case, Seattle trades picks 27, 159 to Indianapolis for picks 35 and 89. Now the Seahawks have picks 35, 84, 89, 124, and 140. But having the 84th and 89th pick doesn’t have much value when adding yet another pick makes more sense.

So we make one more trade, sending pick 89 to the Rams for picks 99, and 133. Our final tally now stands at the Seahawks owning picks 35, 84, 99, 124, 133, and 140. Now, Schneider has the opportunity to trade one of his three fourth-round picks for even more lottery tickets, but for our purposes, let’s start the draft.

Round 2, pick 34: Deebo Samuel, WR South Carolina

The Seattle Seahawks are going to add a wide receiver this off-season and based on their known visits of free agents and draft prospects, it could be of the highest priority. With Mike Garafolo’s report that Doug Baldwin is set to have 4 surgeries this off-season and is considering retirement, the Seahawks could go from thin at the position to a one-man band (Tyler Lockett).

The Seahawks were reportedly present at the South Carolina pro day and Deebo Samuel is really the only prospect that makes sense for Seattle. When you pop on a highlight tape of Samuel, it is easy to see why the Seahawks would be intrigued. To keep it simple, Samuel is a play-maker. He can make a game-changing play every time he touches the ball.

His game-breaking ability is reminiscent of Lockett out of college, but with a body type similar to that of Golden Tate. Samuel had a solid combine, posting a 4.48 forty at 214 pounds. He showed his explosion with his 39-inch vertical jump, ranking in the 89th percentile of all receivers tested at the combine.

Samuel also posted above-average numbers at the broad jump and 20-yard shuttle. When you watch the tape, you see strong hands. He is a good route-runner already and can win at the goal line.

Samuel has the size, speed, hands, and route-running skills to produce right away. He brings value on special teams as well. The Seahawks need to add playmakers to this offense. Samuel’s 14.5 yards per catch and 11 TD’s as a senior is awesome production.

Samuels could be the pick for Seattle at 21 with nobody raising an eyebrow, so selecting him at 34 could be a steal.

Round 3, pick 84: Isaiah Johnson, CB Houston

Try and picture the ideal cornerback for Seattle. Did you get it? Congratulations, you just thought of Isaiah Johnson. Let’s just run down the checklist, shall we? Height, 6’2″. Length, 33-inch arms. Wingspan? 79 inches. Speed? He ran a 4.4 forty yard dash.

In addition, he also ranked in the 96th percentile in the broad jump (133 inches), the 74th percentile in the 20-yard shuttle, and 68th percentile in the 3-cone. Add that all up, and you get a similar athletic profile to Lonnie Johnson of Kentucky, another known Seahawks target. He also profiles similarly to Tharold Simon the former Seahawks corner.

Another name to watch at this spot is USC DB Marvell Tell, but his freaky athleticism probably makes him an unrealistic option. You would like to think that the Seahawks are okay at outside corner, but Shaquille Griffin took a step back in year two, and Tre Flowers is still a work in progress.

While Johnson is the dream physique of an outside CB in Seattle, he has warts as well. His tackling skills leave a lot to be desired. Look for yourself:

He has only been a corner for two years but does have tremendous raw skills. Pete Carroll is an extremely gifted DB coach and there are very few, if any, coaches more equipped to turn Johnson from raw to good. The situation seems eerily similar to Richard Sherman.

Johnson is the perfect fit for Seattle and should get better with more work on his technique. By mid-season, he could challenge on the outside and provides upside and depth at corner.

Round 3, pick 99: Anthony Nelson, DE Iowa

The Seahawks still need to add a pass rusher to this defense. Thankfully, this draft class is loaded on the defensive line. No one may be quite as interesting as Anthony Nelson for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

At 6’7″, he was a bit underweight at 271 pounds. He has mammoth arms, with 35-inch arms and an 83-inch wingspan, both ranking in the 92nd percentile or better in both areas. Aside from his long arms, he posted a 4.82 forty yard dash in the 74th percentile. His 35″ vertical, 118″ broad jump, 6.95 3-cone drills, and 4.23 20-yard shuttle all rank as exceptional for his position.

However, he ranked in the 7th percentile with his 18 bench reps and has small hands. But when you put on the film, the positives flash and the negatives aren’t really present on film. He uses his long arms to create leverage and keep offensive lineman off his body.

He plays with a high motor and uses his athleticism to get to the quarterback. He has an explosive get off and can blow by bigger tackles. He will need to get stronger and develop better counter moves to become an every-down end. This is where his small hands and low bench press numbers come into play.

Nelson will need to spend a year getting stronger, but should still be a solid compliment to Jacob Martin, Frank Clark, and Rasheem Green. While the Seahawks should still add another edge rusher to pair with Clark on an “every down” basis, Nelson will be in contention for high rep usage early in the season.

Clint Hurtt took Jacob Martin from toolsy project to NFL contributor in the course of one season. Giving him another prospect with better tools than Martin could give Seattle a nice mix at the other edge, opposite of Clark.

Round 4, pick 124. Max Scharping: OT/OG Northern Illinois

The Seahawks have their starting guard tandem. D.J. Fluker and Mike Iupati will be the starting guards if they can stay healthy. That’s a mighty big if. The Seahawks have Joey Hunt and Jordan Simmons as potential backups, as well as Ethan Pocic. So while the O-Line could use some upgrades, it’s not a position they need to reach for.

Instead, they can let the draft board fall to them, and Max Scharping could be an interesting option. He played both left and right tackle at NIU but lacks the length and athleticism to count on at the NFL level. He is well built and has the strength to handle the bull rush.

Scharping has good fundamentals in the run game but needs to refine his pass rush mechanics. He doesn’t have a ton of raw skills but has always gotten the job done for 4-years. It’s not impossible for Scharping to end up as a right tackle, but is probably better suited for guard long-term.

He’s not a sexy pick but is a better football player than the sum of his parts. He gets the job done more often than not. Scharping is a tough, reliable lineman and one that could make offensive line coach Mike Solari quite happy.

Round 4, pick 133: Jalen Jelks, LEO Oregon

Jalen Jelks is a bit of a “tweener”. He has good arm length and wingspan but did very little at the combine to improve his stock. At 6’5″, 256 lbs, he’s a bit lean to be a traditional edge. But he ran a 4.92 forty yard dash with below-average agility numbers, making him seem a bit too unathletic to be an outside linebacker.

Despite these poor numbers at the combine, Jelks was a first team All-Conference player in 2018. He has good hand technique he learned as an interior lineman in 2017. He more twitchy than fast and uses good bend to get small and blow past slower tackles.

His film is inconsistent, but he does flash ability that a good coach may be able to extract a good player from. Take a look at this rep from the Senior Bowl against the aforementioned Max Schapling:

Jelks needs to get stronger, particularly in the lower half. Jelks is more than likely a “redshirt” candidate and would likely be inactive on many game days. There is enough on film to be intrigued and take a chance on Jelks. But you cannot depend on him in 2019, so the team who drafts him should see this as a lottery ticket selection.

He needs more reps and would benefit from another year in college. Unfortunately, that isn’t an option for Jelks. He was much better in his junior season and the Seahawks have a habit of taking players coming off a “down” season.

Round 5, pick 140: Bryce Love, RB Stanford

Speaking of good players coming off bad years, the Seahawks sure do love themselves game-breaking running backs. While it isn’t a huge need, the team did lose Mike Davis and Chris Carson isn’t exactly the most durable player. Then again, neither is Bryce Love.

After a breakout 2017 that saw him rush for 2,118 yards, Love returned to Stanford and proceeded to miss time and post a career-low 4.5 yards per carry. Love earns high praise for his football IQ and his character.

He is a shifty runner who has the speed and quickness to run past defenders who have the angle on him. He runs with surprising power, despite his lean 5’9″, 200 lbs frame. In this clip, we see the vision, acceleration, and ability to run through arm tackles.

His frame almost certainly limits him as 20+ touches a game player, but he should still contribute as a change of pace back. Love wasn’t asked to be that involved in the passing game at Stanford but showed soft hands and an ability to add the skill to his game if called upon.

Love has a lot of similarities to Gio Bernard. The Cincinnati Bengals RB lacks the size to stand up to a full-time workload but is a useful option to spot start without hurting their offense. Love is a good fit for Seattle and could be a better alternative to C.J. Prosise and J.D. McKissick. He also provides some special team value and is an excellent opportunity for Seattle to add talent to the RB room without a significant investment.

Final thoughts

In this mock draft, the Seahawks are able to land a game-breaking WR, a Seahawks-dream CB with lots of upside, an edge rusher with upside who should contribute soon, a solid guard prospect, another project at the edge, and a former Heisman Trophy candidate to help round out their RB room.

While this version only has them making six picks, the grouping of picks in the 3rd and 4th round give them plenty of opportunities to move back for more late round picks. Seattle would still need to address their backup QB situation and add a safety. Both may be possible in free agency, but if not expect Seattle to look to the draft to fill those needs.

We are just four weeks away from the NFL draft. Unless Seattle is going to trade Frank Clark, fans will almost certainly have to wait until day two to see who will be joining the Seahawks. Only time will tell, but we are getting to the endgame of draft prep.