Seahawks draft: Nicholas Petit-Frere could replace Duane Brown
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks need a good draft in 2022 and need to replace aging veterans. One of those veterans is left tackle Duane Brown. Brown has been good in Seattle since the Seahawks traded for him in 2017. But he will also be 37 years old when the 2022 season begins. It’s time to find his replacement and that could be Ohio State’s Nicholas Petit-Frere.
Seattle doesn’t have a first round pick, of course, but at this point, Petit-Frere is expected to fall into the second round. That’s a win for the Seahawks, though, and not a reflection Petit-Frere isn’t a great player. What his weaknesses are can likely be coached out of him in the NFL.
Petit-Frere is 6’5″ and 315 pounds. His frame is such that he could gain 20 pounds of muscle once he gets in an NFL weight lifting program but not lose any of his agility. And Petit-Frere’s agility is part of what makes him special at the next level. Does he get beat sometimes on the inside by edge rushers? Yes, but it isn’t because he isn’t athletic enough to get hands on the rusher but simply because Ohio State’s technique isn’t perfect.
Why Nicholas Petit-Frere would be a good fit for Seahawks
Unlike some other Seahawks offensive line prospects over the last decade (and Seattle has liked, unfortunately for the most part, players that they see more as teachable than immediately ready to play – take Stone Forsythe in the 2021 NFL draft and Phil Haynes in 2019), Petit-Frere can play important snaps in 2022. He has the length, agility and strength to play in the NFL right away.
What he will gain from an NFL weight-lifting program should only make him better as adding weight, while certainly not a must, will only help him stay healthy at the next level. He gained 35 pounds after getting to Ohio State in 2019, after all. And his versatility is something that the Seahawks have always craved in offensive linemen.
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The good thing for Seattle is that Petit-Frere is projected currently to be a mid-second round pick (Dane Brugler of The Athletic has him projected at pick number 45 right in the range for Seattle’s first pick in 2022). Seattle has several needs for next year but longer-term one of them is finding a left tackle. Or a right tackle. Petit-Frere can play both so the Seahawks need to pick him early.