Seahawks should target one of these defensive tackles in the NFL draft
Seahawks see big talents late in the first
Dexter Lawrence, Clemson. 6’4″, 342. Lawrence is what many would call a load. Many scouts and draft pundits expect him to continue his destruction of opposing offensive lines when he hits the NFL. Near constant double-teams kept him from matching his eye-popping stats from his freshman season, but Lawrence is monster run-stopper. The fact he’s probably a better fit in a 3-4 defense makes him less interesting to the Seahawks. However, the fact he missed the college playoffs after testing positive for PEDs (which he stated he never took knowingly) may cause him to drop a bit. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Seattle snap up this legitimate run-stuffer on day two if he falls that far.
SI:22. DT: 46. TDN: 45. CBS: 21. TSN: 20. Average: 30.8.
Jeffrey Simmons, Mississippi State. 6’4″, 301 pounds. Simmons is an odd case, as his recent injury and off-field issues have thrown his rankings all over the map. The Sporting News doesn’t even have him in their top 100 prospects. Frankly, that’s nuts, but I’m not going to use 101 as one of his rankings. Clearly, no other site has him ranked that low. So the average for Simmons is based on four ratings, not five. That puts him at 29.75. Personally, I can’t see spending a first round pick on a guy who will be lucky to play at all in the 2019 season. I’m hardly the only person who sees him as a reach. Forget about 2019. There isn’t a guarantee he’ll come back at all, let alone at 100 percent. He’s ranked highly, but I’d prefer someone else take the risk.
SI: 30. DT: 54. TDN: 11. CBS: 24. TSN: NR. Average: 29.75
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With the trade of Clark, the Seahawks pass rush is more of a priority than ever. While they’ll certainly draft an edge player, they still need to shore up the interior line. Eh, what are we worried for? Poona Ford will probably blow everyone away and win the job in camp anyway. We can hope.