Seahawks 2022 NFL draft target: Edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie

I wrote yesterday on what I felt the Seahawks’ need at edge rusher looks like right now with the recent signing of Uchenna Nwosu.

While the position looks deep enough for the 2022 season, I don’t think Nwosu is in the long-term plan and there’s no such thing as a pass rush with too deep a rotation.

I pitched the idea of the Seahawks using a second-round pick on Minnesota edge rusher Boye Mafe yesterday, and today we will look at another freaky-talented prospect:  Penn State pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie.

Seahawks should target Arnold Ebiketie with second-round pick

The need for help at edge rusher is explained in my previous article on Boye Mafe.  Let’s examine Arnold Ebiketie as a prospect.

His upside is immense.  Ebiketie is 6’2″, 250 pounds and ran a 4.65 40-yard dash.  When watching his film, at times Ebiketie looks like a rocket aimed straight at the quarterback, and his body is almost parallel to the ground.

He’s good with his hands, and I didn’t often see him being taken off his angle to the quarterback by offensive linemen.  At the college level, he seemed to have the ability to beat tackles either by speeding around them or using a strong inside arm to push them outward.

He’s not as fast as Mafe was in terms of straight-line speed, but he looks fast enough to get to the quarterback quickly in the NFL.  Another advantage he has over Mafe is his massive arms (Ebiketie’s are over 34″ long).

His negatives are that if he gets caught by an offensive lineman, his frame is stood up and he’s often removed from the play.  Because of this, his play against the run needs a bit of work.  This isn’t the biggest concern if I’m Seattle, though.  I want Ebiketie simply staring down the quarterback and charging him like a bull on every down.

Arnold Ebiketie’s college production is similar to Mafe’s:  Ebiketie averaged about 0.6 sacks per game over the past 3 seasons (2019-2020 at Temple, 2021 at Penn State) highlighted by 9.5 sacks this past season.  He also averaged 1.1 tackles for loss per game over the same span, slightly outperforming Mafe.

What I like about Ebiketie is that he’s consistently gained playing time and picked up more stats over that three-year span.  He’s getting better and has a high ceiling.

Either one of Arnold Ebiketie or Boye Mafe would be a solid fit in Clint Hurtt’s hybrid 4-3, 3-4 defensive scheme.  If either of them falls to pick 40, the Seahawks need to be all over them.  If somehow both fall, I actually like Ebiketie just a slight bit more than I do Mafe.  Either one, though, would be a steal in the second round.