Seahawks have pipedream chance of drafting this prospect after impressive NFL Combine
After this player's workout, Seattle might as well move on from thinking they can draft him.
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks might have greater needs than edge rusher in the 2024 NFL draft. This is not because Seattle is set at the position but because the team has dire needs at linebacker and along the interior of the offensive line. Plus, Boye Mafe hopefully will be even better in 2024 and Seattle will get Uchenna Nwosu back after he was lost for the rest of the season after tearing a pec muscle in Week 7 of this past year.
None of the above means Seattle will not take an edge rusher first in the draft, though. General manager John Schneider, for the first time in his career with the team, has the final say over all roster moves and there is no real way of knowing what he will want to do in the first round. He might simply take the best player available on the board and that would not be a bad thing.
But after his fantastic workout at the 2024 NFL Combine, Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner is extremely unlikely to be available at pick 16 overall. Many mock drafts had Turner being taken by Seattle. The 6'4" and 247-pound prospect will probably become another in a long line of productive Alabama pass rushers with whichever team he ends up with. That might now mean he is chosen in the top ten.
Seattle Seahawks likely cannot take Dallas Turner in the 2024 NFL draft
Turner was expected to be a combine drill superstar with his excellent athleticism, but he still surpassed many expectations. He had a 40.5-inch vertical jump, a 10'7" broad jump, and an unreal 4.46 40. That is fast for nearly any position group, but a team that has Turner knows that he is probably going to chase down any quarterback once he has them in his sights.
Turner produced well at Alabama, too. He had 10 sacks this past season and 14.5 tackles for loss. Even in his freshman season of 2021, Turner had 8.5 sacks. He is not a one-year wonder but his consistency in college plus his Combine scores should make him and his agent quite happy because Turner is going to rise up draft boards and into a slot that pays him more than pick 16.
The Seahawks might need to focus on taking a defensive tackle such as Jer'Zhan Newton or Byron Murphy II. Potentially, Seattle could take offensive lineman Troy Fautanu. All three of those players are realistic choices. Dallas Turner, however, is no longer a real option for Seattle.
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