Kalon Barnes could be a proof of concept for the Seahawks defense

Speed kills in the NFL. Over the last few years, the Seattle Seahawks have been burned by ultra-quick receivers far more often than in the past — often enough that they have been forced to stray away from the single-high safety looks that made them so imposing in years past.

In a rare moment of frankness this past week, Pete Carroll acknowledged the need for Seattle’s defense to adapt and evolve, starting with the secondary.

Truthfully, it seems to me as though this evolution has already been ongoing over the last couple of years. The addition of Jamal Adams turned over a new leaf for the Seahawks, who started incorporating a morass of different blitz concepts to maximize Adams’ skill-set. Since then, Seattle’s defense has struggled mightily to cover all areas of the field at the same time.

This last year gave Seahawks fans something new to consider, however. The emergence of D.J. Reed and Tre Brown as Seattle’s two best corners highlighted the need for speed on the back end to cover for Adams’ exploits closer to the line of scrimmage.

If the Seahawks choose Kalon Barnes in the 2022 NFL draft it could indicate what direction the defense is heading.

Kalon Barnes could very well be the proof of concept for Seattle’s new-and-improved single-high defense.

Those who pay attention to the NFL combine are well aware who Barnes is already — the second-fastest man in NFL combine history. Of course, those who pay attention to the Washington Huskies also know how hollow a 40-yard dash time can be, after watching John Ross flame out for a Bengals team that won the AFC without him.

In truth, Barnes would require quite a bit of development. He is very raw as a prospect, and he doesn’t hold up well in press coverage.

Maybe most concerning, he seems to prefer to play a few yards back from the receiver. While plenty of corners enjoy success playing off the receiver, it has often yielded terrible results in Seattle’s defense, most notably from larger, less agile corners like Tre Flowers and Quinton Dunbar, and scouts have picked up on Barnes’ slower hips and change-of-direction.

However, a few of these concerns come with caveats. For one, Baylor does not play man coverage very often and prefers to stick mostly to soft zone, something the Seahawks ask their corners to do quite a bit. Secondly, he didn’t get the starting nod until 2020 and played receiver in high school, so it is fair to question how much opportunity for development he has had at cornerback.

Furthermore, Barnes has more tools than just straight-line speed. He has the motor that the Seahawks look for — he never takes a play off. He also has proper closing speed and a nose for the ball-carrier, which are always welcome traits in a defender.

He also shows some potential promise as a special teams player. Between his speed, coordination, and vision, Barnes could be dangerous in the return game, and his tenacity and acceleration could make him a dangerous gunner.

Lastly, Seattle is an ideal fit for Barnes. They run a lot of the same zone concepts that Barnes is accustomed to, they look for a lot of traits that Barnes has, and they have more than enough defensive back gurus to train him up, between Carroll himself and new hires Sean Desai and Karl Scott. Furthermore, Seattle needs another cornerback, especially with D.J. Reed and Quandre Diggs in need of new contracts, and they need a kick returner.

Seattle built their empire by hitting on late-round lottery tickets, especially defensive backs, and when it comes to lottery picks, there may not be a bigger payout in this draft than Kalon Barnes.