5 Seahawk-y Senior Bowl Standouts

Analyst Matty F. Brown highlights a quintet of Senior Bowl prospects that have traits that could lead Seahawks general manager John Schneider to pick them in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Prior to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, I had not watched a single 2020 NFL Draft Prospect. The showcase event down in Mobile was my first exposure. Having reviewed the tape, I’m now well-versed in some of the best eligible talent in the nation.

I’ve identified five standouts from Mobile that fit the Seahawks needs heading into the off-season and shouldn’t rise to a pick before the No. 27 overall selection. Moreover, they are players who feel “Seahawk-y" based on traits and skill set. It was easy to envision John Schneider’s front office falling in love with them. It was similarly simple to imagine Pete Carroll’s coaching staff slotting them into next year’s scheme.

A disclaimer: based on the showing of these five against this level of competition, these players look like they will be taken in day two of the draft at the very latest. Some could even creep into the first round. No, Seattle will not be able to take every single player. Yes, the Seahawks are likely to trade down and take a running back. It’s purely coincidence that every player listed appeared for the North Team.

Troy Pride Jr., Notre Dame, CB (Nickel Conversion)

After the measurements, there were only three cornerbacks who met the 32-inch arm threshold that the Seahawks look for. In the John Schneider-Pete Carroll era, Seattle has never selected an outside cornerback with arms under this measurement.

Lamar Jackson (6-foot-2, 32 1/8-inch arms) was one of the worst corners in Mobile and looked like an undrafted free agent project at best. Michael Ogedjundibe (6-foot, 32 1/8-inch arms) played like a Cover 2 cornerback way outside of his comfort zone in one-on-ones. Reggie Robinson II (6-foot-1, 32 3/8-inch arms) was the best of the lot. In spite of this, Robinson appeared better suited to motor-mirror technique, preferring to keep his feet moving at the snap as opposed to staying patient at the snap as is required in step-kick technique.

Pride Jr. was one of the few corners able to compete with the opposition. Pride does not have 32-inch arms. (He measured in at 5-foot-11 with 31 3/8 inch arms) Nevertheless, though Pride played outside in college, the traits he showed at the Senior Bowl directly translate to the nickel cornerback position. The Seahawks are more forgiving of a lack of length at this spot. Take it from current Senior Bowl director and former Seattle area scout Jim Nagy:

It was talked about less than you think in meetings. But, as a scout, you were always cognizant of the prototype in the fall when you graded players so there usually weren’t too many on the board that didn’t have good length. If they were on the board it was as a nickel.

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 28, 2019

With Seattle aligning in base defense for an obscene amount of 2019 snaps, the Seahawks are desperate for a man who can play in that fifth defensive back role. This gives them less of an obvious zone or man tell, and would enable them to play more of a mix in an 11 personnel-heavy league (1 running back, 1 tight end, 3 wide receivers). Ugo Amadi, albeit a star special teams player, was drafted as a free safety and his long speed restricts his one-on-one cover ability. To be blunt, he looks like a man without a fit on this defense.

Pride’s dynamism is so explosive that he might run himself out of Seattle’s reach at the NFL Combine. He ran track as a sprinter. Unsurprisingly, Pride was able to keep up with the quickest of Senior Bowl receivers. He played with competitiveness, rarely allowing clear separation and contesting at the catch point. After giving up receptions, he’d show that much-desired, cliché trait: short-term memory, bouncing back to make more plays.

The Seahawks are more liberal with their nickel corners, allowing a wider variety of press techniques in exchange for the added change of direction talent. Pride Jr. showed patience at the line of scrimmage and a step-kick technique that saw him maintain a strong post foot. However, against the bigger targets, he was out-muscled in this approach. In these scenarios, Pride Jr coped better trying to soft-shoe mirror, where his quickness and agility won.

Scouts love watching how the different All-Star players conduct themselves in the hyper-competitive setting. Pride was noticeably engaged, cheering on fellow defensive backs and celebrating the play of others. Having survived a bad car wreck prior to his last season with the Fighting Irish, Pride has been through a lot too.

All the Notre Dame defensive backs made some money in the week. Safety Jalen Elliott earned North Team defensive back of the week, shutting down tight ends. He could be an outside cornerback conversion project given he has 32-inch arms. Then again, he struggled in limited reps against wide receivers.

Josh Uche, EDGE, Michigan (SAM/LEO)

Indiana Jones wishes he was Josh Uche. That’s because Uche has the ability to dip underneath offensive tackles. In the case of the fedora-wearing, snake-fearing, artifact hunter, this skill would have been useful when dipping under various obstacles in the Temple of Doom.

While the Jadeveon Clowney trade obviously needed to be made by Schneider, the move left the Seahawks without a pure LEO edge rusher after Jacob Martin and Barkevious Mingo were sent the other way to Houston. The 2019 pass rush makeup was a mess, with a plethora of linear quarterback hunters and no player who won with pure width. The spacing became congested. There was no rusher attacking the back arc of the pocket, not even the emergency measure of Shaquem Griffin.

Uche would be similar to Martin in the sense that he would probably get listed as a SAM linebacker. At 6-foot-1 and weighing 241 pounds, he will struggle to hold up at defensive end full time. Like Martin, though, Uche would best shine as a rushing end. To use another Seahawk of the past, picture the role Bruce Irvin executed during his time in Seattle.

Uche is raw and would require significant work with defensive line coach Clint Hurtt. His hand usage is inconsistent. This gets him in trouble against both the run and pass. His ability to consistently set the edge as a force defender or hammer in the fit can be questioned, as he struggles to disengage. He also lacked a genuine counter move, asides from hard-stepping outside before darting inside. Sometimes, he just falls to the turf because he did not work his hands.

But that bend. That length (33 1/2-inch arms). That explosion. Tantalizing stuff that the Seahawks are desperate for up front. They need a dude who can win from 9-technique and Uche has the tools to do so.

Bend and dip like Uche’s is rare in draft classes. He was the only player at the Senior Bowl who showcased these aspects. There were fearsome interior defensive linemen like the bull-rushing of Ohio State’s DaVon Hamilton and the handsy, boiling motor of Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore, but Uche feels like the greater need.

Bradlee Anae, EDGE, Utah (LEO/5-Tech)

Anae is more of a LEO/5-Tech hybrid, with a skill set that would allow him to play either spot in Seattle’s defense. He lacks the hip flexibility that Uche has, but he possesses the ankle flexion to shorten the corners of pockets, the footwork to keep himself pointing at the quarterback, and the dip that helps finish too.

Anae’s Senior Bowl size translates to a LEO role. He's 6-foot-3, 257 pounds. What may see him not listed on the Seahawks’ draft board is his arm length, which at 31 7/8-inches would be a unique pick from the team. I don’t recall Schneider selecting an EDGE with arms below 33 inches and Anae's lack-of-length did occasionally cost him against the longer armed tackles.

Yet, it’s the practice tape from Anae that warrants his inclusion, arms be damned. He was the most refined pass rusher in Mobile. The Utah product demonstrated a comprehensive pass rush plan on each rep, layering in counters and impressive, active hand work that compensated for his short arms. Anae has moves: club, push-pull, rip. Combine this goodness with a tangible desire to win each rep, and Anae becomes a fun prospect.

Indy, as is the case for every prospect, will be big for Anae and whether he fits Seattle. He isn’t the most twitched-up on film. Instead, Anae is a relatively bendy technician. He will beat NFL linemen and the Seahawks require such reliable pressure. The timeline was full of Anae love and his Senior Bowl performance propelled his name into the draft discussion. Job done.

The EDGE rusher talent disappointed overall. On the other hand, a sneaky 5-tech name to watch would be Tulsa’s Trevis Gipson. His 6-foot-3, 259-pound frame has room to put more weight on, plus Gipson had 34 1/8-inch arms. That length saw him excel in the run blocking drills as an edge setter. Furthermore, Gipson’s ability to power through dudes and slant into B-Gaps made him look suited to a similar role to Jadeveon Clowney in 2019. 

Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor (X Receiver)

Recent wide receiver attendees of the Senior Bowl have gone on to experience fantastic NFL success. In 2018, Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin enjoyed total takeover of each practice. Now consider what they did in their rookie seasons.

The practices have a large section of one-on-ones, a drill which is catered towards the offensive talent. The defensive backs are tasked with shutting down on an island. With advantages catered to the receiver, looking at how each player wins is the key.

Three names looked a class above the rest of the group. Two were smaller, Tyler Lockett-role types. It is big-bodied receivers who are most useful for Russell Wilson though. Wilson is more cautious when throwing over the middle as opposed to outside the imaginary college hashes. The quarterback prefers hitting a larger target if taking over-the-middle shots, especially when throwing against zone defense or not hitting his primary read.

Enter Baylor’s Denzel Mims. Get ready for some cutting edge draft analysis: at 6-foot-3, 206 pounds with 33 1/4-inch arms, he is rather big. Coming out of Baylor’s offense, there would have been some concerns over whether Mims could run polished routes and separate efficiently.

Mims had everything in Mobile. For a bigger player, he has accomplished body control and is fluid in his movements. That helped him gain clean releases from the line of scrimmage and see a nice walk-it-out release, but also aided his ability to adjust to footballs in the air – including some gorgeous high-points. His tracking was awesome too, as late, strong hands flashed.

Mims was a physical separator and overall, it was subtle bullying. He worked an active off-hand to stay clean. He leaned into receivers at the stem of in-breaking, shallow routes. On slants, he had a two-hand push release to beat aggressive press. Given go balls after stacking receivers, Mims was able to arm bar corners to create further separation to the outside. Running comebacks, Mims would place one arm on the back of defenders as he cut back to the quarterback, using momentum against the defensive backs to fling them further forwards.

Mims’ physical prowess extended to stalk-blocking drills, where he battered his man with a deadly blend of hunger, leverage, and power. This is a receiver that I would want to run behind, the man I’d want to block a bubble screen.

Mims is the player whose tape I had to watch after the Senior Bowl. He even sounded like a Seahawk when interviewed post-Day 2 by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero:

A chat with one of the stars on Day 2 at the @seniorbowl: Baylor WR Denzel Mims. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/6PMnZOVZlf

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 23, 2020

Mims’ direct path to playing time would be blocked by D.K. Metcalf. Yet Mims showed enough agility and ability to bully smaller dudes that he could play in the slot too. If Josh Gordon was able to get reps in this offense, Mims can - especially over David Moore or Malik Turner.

Ohio State’s K.J. Hill was voted as the best receiver in the North Group after being open on pretty much every play. Small in size, Hill put on a display of shear filth, roasting dudes all week. He’d be an excellent Z-Receiver in Seattle. Another flanker option for the Seahawks is Florida’s Van Jefferson, who particularly impressed on comeback routes – selling it as a go with beautiful tempo, leaning on a skip takeoff, before throwing his weight over his toes and cutting back to catch away from his frame.

Jonah Jackson, OG, Ohio State (Right Guard/Left Guard)

Yes, Pete Carroll did recently reiterate his preference for maintaining continuity on Seattle’s offensive line.

“It is important. I hope we can keep our guys connected,” Carroll said of the unit. “I don’t want to see a big change there.”

Regardless, there are two elements we must confront. First, right tackle Germain Ifedi is a free agent and the Seahawks declined his fifth-year option. George Fant could slide to right tackle if re-signed, which would see tight end become a need - Dayton’s Adam Trautman stood out in the Senior Bowl.

Second, the interior of the offensive line was an issue. It wasn’t just the center spot, where a hurt Joey Hunt was out-muscled and struggled massively to anchor as the season progressed. D.J. Fluker disappointed at right guard. Mike Iupati, who has a checkered injury history, inevitably missed time and Seattle was unable to run the ball or protect well enough for Wilson.

Jonah Jackson was 6-foot-3, 310 pounds at weigh ins. That should be big enough. Whatever. The Seahawks must look at the man who was the best interior pass protector of the week. Jackson had the feet, quickness, and separate-hand technique to kick the butts of various types of pass rushers. He regularly stared square, balanced, and did not get turned. Furthermore, Jackson finished plays with nastiness. In the run game, he was quick to the second level and played similarly hard.

Jackson received most of his practice reps at right guard, but looked equally comfortable at left guard. The Lions coaching staff also asked Jackson to play some center as he played five games for Rutgers at that spot in 2017. (Jackson only had one year at Ohio State, after grad-transferring from Rutgers). Based on his Mobile showing, Jackson is ready for NFL action.

Josh Jones looked like a fantastic left tackle, with silent feet and loud hands shining on his kick slides. Even after getting time at right tackle and guard, Jones did well following a brief adaptation period. But, I’m not sure Jones has the mauler-style Seattle seeks and Duane Brown has that left tackle spot locked down. Similarly, while Lloyd Cushenberry III dominated at center with crazy length for the position (34 5/8-inch arms), Justin Britt should be back from his ACL injury. If we are looking big, Kentucky’s Logan Stenberg looked like a Seahawks guard at 6-foot-6, 317 pounds. Meanwhile, the heaviest lineman of the event, Mississippi State’s Tyre Phillips, was 6-foot-5, 342 pounds. Given Phillips struggled at tackle yet moved people at guard, he could well be a guard project.