2022 Senior Bowl Preview, Part 2: Big Offensive Tackles to Watch For Seahawks
The 2022 Senior Bowl takes place next week, and it’s certainly worth paying attention to in regards to the Seahawks. The college all-star event has seriously influenced the Seahawks’ drafting in past years. General manager John Schneider has picked 30 attendees in his 12 drafts in Seattle; the team's interest has become a meme-level trend.
Even before we receive the measurements out of the Mobile Convention Center—and even prior to the invaluable practice film arrives from Hancock Whitney Stadium—there are already three position groups with a clear Seattle feel.
In the first part of this miniseries, we dove into the 5-techs/big ends that will be present in Mobile, Alabama. Now, let's look at the big offensive tackles the event will have to offer.
Offensive tackle may not immediately appear to be a major need for the Seahawks heading into the 2022 offseason. Yet the projected starters on the edges of the team's 2021 offensive line—left tackle Duane Brown and right tackle Brandon Shell—have questionable futures in the Pacific Northwest, as both get set to hit unrestricted free agency in March.
Brown is listed by the team at 6-foot-4, 315 pounds. Yet offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and run game coordinator Andy Dickerson have history with an even bigger, taller tackle: the 6-foot-7, 330-pound Andrew Whitworth.
This was reflected in the Seahawks’ 2021 sixth-round draft selection of 6-foot-8 left tackle Stone Forsythe. But as Forsythe went on to play just 14 offensive snaps in his rookie campaign, it would be undrafted free agent Jake Curhan who ultimately earned the favor of Seattle's coaching staff. The 6-foot-6, 315-pounder started the last five games of the year, filling in well on the right side for the injured Shell.
Given the uncertain futures of Brown—who turns 37 in August—and Shell, plus the relative inexperience of Forsythe and Curhan, it would make sense for Seattle to take another tackle of the large physique it now appears to prefer. This is an especially obvious move given there is zero signed depth behind these two second-year players.
This year’s Senior Bowl features a few huge offensive tackles.
The standout is Minnesota’s Australian man-mountain Daniel Faalele. The huge right tackle measured in at 6-foot-9, 370 pounds at the start of the 2021 season, per Bruce Feldman. Despite that size, Feldman also had Faalele with a 29-inch vertical jump and 8-foot-7 broad.
“He’s got rare size. If anyone has a rare trait, you know, you’ve got to take them seriously,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy described to the Bears' official podcast on January 21.
“He’s very nimble for a big man. What really sticks out for a guy that’s 6-9 is his pad level. This guy can really bend. I mean it’s not out of the question, he could play guard. I’m being, if you go to some goal-line package stuff, this guy’s coming off the ball lower than the other guys on that Minnesota offensive line who are 6-3. So, you know, there is some question: is he more of a guard, is he more of a tackle? I think he can play guard; he’s a big, powerful human being. I can’t remember a player that’s that big coming out. I mean it predates my scouting time, but I do remember Aaron Gibson from Wisconsin, the former Detroit Lions No. 1 overall pick. I mean, he was hovering around 400. I think Daniel right now might be in that range. Just a huge human being and a very talented one. You know he’s from Australia. I think he’s just kinda scratching the surface. You know he’s got a chance to be a high-end right tackle in the league, but I wouldn’t rule out guard just because he bends so well.”
Bernhard Raimann from Central Michigan is another fun foreign story. The Austrian started his football experience with the Vienna Vikings before making it over to Central Michigan, where he started as a pass-catcher before his move to right tackle. Feldman’s 2021 athletically-gifted college players list included Raimann following the lineman's 1.56-second 10-yard split, 4.60-second short-shuttle, 33-inch vertical jump, 9-foot-7½ broad jump and 450-pound bench press—all with the tackle weighing 304 pounds and measuring close to 6-foot-7 tall.
Once 36-year NFL coach (including a 1994 to 2017 stint as the Bengals' offensive line coach), now O-line consultant and forever genius Paul Alexander has spent some time refining Raimann’s technique in time for the pre-draft process.
“I think he’s a guy that could climb into the late first round with a good week,” Nagy told Rob Staton of SeahawksDraftBlog.
Another small school—still big—tackle looking to establish their dominance against Senior Bowl opposition is Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning—someone who Nagy repeatedly raved about pre-event.
“A guy that could really benefit,” the executive director told The Athletic’s Washington Football Team Standing Room Only podcast.
“He’s an abusive player on tape; he bullies guys at that level. Really makes it look easy. And so now he just needs to come down and show he can do it against NFL-caliber people. If he does that, right now, you know, Trevor’s probably a late-one for most teams. And I think the sky’s the limit. You know, I told him when we went up and invited him, he was our first player invite this year. I told him, I brought him back to the Eric Fisher draft—I think that was [2011] or [2012]—you know, it was Luke Joeckel, Eric Fisher, Lane Johnson draft. And Eric Fisher came down from Central Michigan, very similar to the situation Trevor’s in, dominates during the week and went No. 1 overall. I don’t know if Trevor’s gonna get that high but I think he can make a huge jump.”
Feldman had Penning at 6-foot-7, 340 pounds with a 625-pound squat, 385 clean and size 17 shoe. Nagy went as far to describe Penning as an immediate starter—along with Boston College guard Zion Johnson—to the official Jets podcast.
“Trevor is a nasty, nasty—he’s like an innately physical person,” Nagy continued, painting a player who suits Seattle’s desired physicality perfectly. “You can just tell when you put on the tape, like he enjoys that part of the game. He enjoys bullying people.
“If he can come down here and block other NFL people—which he’s gonna have to do—I think the sky’s the limit where Trevor could end up by the time we get to April.”
Nagy reiterated his high view of Penning to Rob Staton of SeahawksDraftBlog on January 19, while also touching on the importance of competition in the tackle’s process and outlining the true value of the prospect.
“Trevor’s a big mean guy on the field. He can get after you physically—big, powerful man,” Nagy said. “Has played left tackle there at Northern Iowa, and really is unchallenged. You know, we had a guy—a former teammate of his in the game last year, Ellerson Smith. Ellerson’s probably the best guy he’s ever went up against, so this is going to be a big week for him. I think that the NFL knows that Trevor has all the tools to be an elite tackle at that level, they just haven’t seen him really do it. So I think that’s the last piece of the puzzle. That’s why I think most teams have Trevor in the late first round area right now, and once he comes down here and blocks people like [Myjai] Sanders and [Arnold] Ebiketie and these guys in practice all week and in the game, I really think he could get up there in the top-10 range.”
Another name to keep an eye on is Michigan’s Andrew Stueber, listed at 6-foot-7 and almost 340 pounds.
Disclaimer
Obviously, the earliness of a Senior Bowl preview is likely to end in tears. Some of these guys might become clear first-rounders—a period of the draft the Seahawks don’t have a pick in. As the tape is watched, the numbers arrive, the interviews happen and the boards settle: misery will inevitably occur. Please, though, get caught up in the excitement rather than the pessimism! I have a virtual Senior Bowl credential (going to miss overindulging on peanut butter and chocolate) and will cover the event as it happens for Seahawk Maven.
