Grading the Seahawks pick of Marquise Blair
The Seattle Seahawks entered Friday with 2 selections after some wheeling and dealing on Day 1. In round two, Seattle chose safety Marquise Blair.
No, instead of selecting a player at 37 they unsurprisingly traded down. This time, Seahawks GM John Schneider sprinkled some fairy dust on his pick and extracted a mid-third round pick from the Carolina Panthers (77th overall) to move down from 37 to 47.
The Seahawks watched the run on offensive lineman and defensive backs commence, and sat back ready to make a pick. Or, because it’s John Schneider, possibly another trade. Then, as the Seahawks sat on the clock at 47, they decided to shock the NFL and select Marquise Blair, a safety from Utah.
The 6’1, 195 lbs safety was a second-team All Pac-12 safety who produced 59 tackles, 2 interceptions and 2 passes defended. He is a versatile player, who can handle single high safety duties, but is a thumper in the run game, allowing him to play in the box.
In fact, Blair is so physical, he was ejected 3 times in his career for targeting. Blair will need to add strength in his lower body if he wants a long career with his playing style. Blair loves to seek contact and will need to become more disciplined as well.
But Pete Carroll can teach these traits. What he can’t teach is his 4.48 speed and a 10’5″ broad jump. Blair is fast, explosive, and an absolute wrecking ball. After selecting L.J. Collier, a Pro Football Focus darling, they did it again with Blair. Take a look at this hit and tell me who this reminds you of:
Blair is like a heat-seeking missile. Sprints at the right angle and detonates what he hits at the end of it: pic.twitter.com/VXWItvYgMC
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) March 29, 2019
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Blair needs to get stronger and improve his coverage skills. But he has upside in both areas and perfectly fits the nasty attitude the Seahawks love to target. So far, the Seahawks have drafted two guys with one mission: to kick your butt.