Seahawks should draft this safety after releasing Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs

The 2024 NFL draft is still almost two months away but teams are getting a good look at the raw athleticism of players at the NFL Combine. Some players might not be meeting expectations in workouts, such as Miami's Kamren Kinchens, but others are rising up draft boards based on how fast they can run and how high they can jump. One of these players should be rising up the Seahawks Seahawks' draft board, too.

The bad part is the player in question could be a young replacement for two veterans. Seattle released safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams in order to create more cap space. Seattle has one safety, Julian Love, who has definitely earned a roster spot in 2024 as Love made the Pro Bowl this past season, but Adams and Diggs had down years (and Adams simply could not stay healthy).

Thankfully, Seattle might find a later-round gem in Auburn safety Jaylin Simpson. There is no doubt that Simpson needs to gain some muscle and weight as he is 6 feet tall but only weighs about 180 pounds. Devon Witherspoon also weighed about 180 pounds when Seattle took him in last year's draft, but there is a difference between a cornerback at that weight and a safety as part of a safety's responsibility will be to crash the line of scrimmage consistently in playing the run. A safety should be bigger than a cornerback ideally.

Jaylin Simpson could be a Day 3 steal for the Seattle Seahawks

Simpson did a few things that were extremely impressive at the Combine, though. He ran a 4.45 40, definitely fast enough for a safety, and a ridiculously good 1.51-second 10-yard split. Both those times were excellent, but something he did after the defensive back drills were complete might have been more impressive.

Simpson ran the length of the field and turned a front handspring into a backflip but he had many of the other DBs running with him and cheering him on. Clearly, the other DBs knew what Simpson was going to try to do but that they followed him implies that the safety could have some very strong leadership skills. Every team in the league is going to love that aspect.

Many pundits have guessed that Simpson may go in the fourth round of April's draft. His weight hurts him some. Simpson also needs to get stronger to not get bulldozed by an NFL ball carrier. He may have shown he could overcome that to some degree at the beginning of his career with his fantastic athleticism. His five years in college should help him adapt quickly in the NFL as well. He might not replace Adams or Diggs in Week 1, but he could be a great long-term option for the Seahawks.

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