The Ideal EDGE: Expanding on Draft Fits For Seahawks With Newfound Data

Armed with data and more testing numbers, Matty F. Brown returns to highlight the 2022 class of rookie edge rushers who fit the Seahawks. With the defense moving to an even greater emphasis on 3-4 personnel, this class is stocked well with prospects who fit.

As the draft gets closer and closer, we can further hone in on the edge rusher candidates the Seahawks will be considering. The pro day testing results and advanced analytics figures that have been published since the combine have raised a few more names to think about in Seattle.

April has armed us with two excellent tools. Dane Brugler of the Athletic's “The Beast” draft guide provides more of the valuable testing figures and a wide baseline. Meanwhile, Sports Info Solutions’ NFL Draft site features data on the 2022 class. This new information means it’s time for an update to my look at the upcoming pool of edge prospects, which I initially published on April 1.

The desired traits and testing for a 2022 edge in Seattle have not changed from the first installment. Here’s a reminder of these, based off draft history and sources:

• Pass rush production; sacks/pressures/hits
• Get off
• Strength at point of attack/edge setting
• Ankle flexion and bend/balance through contact
• Speed rush
• Power rush
• Motor/intensity
• Play in space
• Change of direction skills
• Reactive athleticism
• Ability to zone drop
• Grit

Testing:

• 240 to 260 pounds
• 6-foot-2 or taller
• 33-inch arms or longer
• 4.6-second 40-yard dash speed or faster
• 1.6-second 10-yard split or faster

Brugler’s guide featured the pro day testing numbers of DeAngelo Malone, a man who missed out on the “ticks-all-the-testing-boxes" section in my first “Seahawk-y” edge installment because his pro day numbers were not available. It turns out that the Western Kentucky product belongs, athletically. Interestingly, Malone said at the 2022 NFL Combine that his meeting with the Seahawks “stood out,” with Pete Carroll showing a particular interest. 

Another addition to the ideal testers is Michigan’s David Ojabo, highlighted in green due to the Achilles injury he suffered at his pro day. 

In terms of the data, we know that Seattle’s front office pays particularly close attention to pressure rates. A key instance of this came when the late, great John Clayton asked Pete Carroll in March 2019 why the team drafted Jacob Martin. 

“We’re just looking for activity and problem-makers,” the Seahawks head coach responded. “Usually you can look to that pressure percentage; how many times when they rush do they affect the quarterback? What percentage of a player’s pass rushes resulted in a pressure?”

Here is how those who fit the ideal edge testing ranked in pressure percentage among the 2022 edge rusher class:

• Kayvon Thibodeaux: 19 percent pressure percentage (2nd)
• Arnold Ebiketie: 14 percent pressure percentage (tied-13th)
• David Ojabo: 14 percent pressure percentage (tied-13th)
• Sam Williams: 14 percent pressure percentage (tied-13th)
• Jermaine Johnson II: 12 percent pressure percentage (tied-22nd)
• Amaré Barno: 12 percent pressure percentage (tied-22nd)
• DeAngelo Malone: 12 percent pressure percentage (tied-22nd)

Thibodeaux is the clear No. 1 guy in terms of his production and testing. On top of his pressure percentage, his 2.1 pass rush total points per game tied for second and his 2.5 total points per pass rush tied for fourth. The amount of negative rumblings around various parts of Thibodeaux’s character is something we can’t answer from the outside, although Seattle will of course have a better chance given its interview with Thibodeaux at the combine and attendance at his pro day. Moreover, it feels highly unlikely Thibodeaux will be available when the Seahawks pick.

Johnson's low pressure percentage is concerning for a man being regarded by some as worthy of a top 10 selection, even if he did draw a leading nine holds in 2021 and impressed at the Senior Bowl. Ebiketie, who could go as high as the first round teens, scored above Johnson in pressure percentage, and tied with the Florida State man in pass rush total points per game, with 2.3 placing seventh.

SIS' numbers also reintroduced certain edge rushing prospects. The Seahawks may not be as extreme in following the theorized ideal athletic thresholds for edge. Leeway can—and does—exist. After all, it’s better to draft a player who can play football at a high level rather than a person who can run fast. Here are three pressure percentage figures:

• Nik Bonitto: 22 percent 1st)
• Kingsley Enagbare: 17 percent (tied 4th)
• Dominique Robinson 14% (tied 13th)

Bonitto’s arms came in just under 33 inches at the combine. Enagbare’s 40-yard dash time was slow, although his 10-yard-split was still in the 1.6-second range. Robinson' 40 time was just outside the 4.6-second area, yet the rest of his testing was excellent, particularly the former wide receiver’s 41-inch vertical jump. In terms of an order of preference for Seattle, it would probably rank 10-yard-split, then arm length, then 40-yard-dash.

Bonitto’s bend saw him finish the year with 1.8 pass rush total points per game, tied 15th. One cautionary note is Bonitto’s quick pressure rate of 12 percent, which also ranks first in the class and, in turn, brings us to concern over not being able to run around NFL tackles so readily—well measured footwork notwithstanding.

Enagbare’s pass rush total points per game tied for 18th. Robinson’s 0.9 pass rush total points per game only came in tied for 30th.

Evidence of the Seahawks not being beholden to the raw athletic testing arrived with their pre-draft top-30 visit with Texas A&M's Micheal Clemons, which was first reported by ESPN's Brady Henderson. Clemons’ pro day saw him run a 4.83-second 40-yard dash, putting him outside of the 4.6 mark. 

Clemons, however, met the other athletic thresholds and popped in the SIS figures. His 15 percent pressure rate tied for 10th and was a better number than that of Ebiketie, Johnson, Williams, Ojabo, Barno, Malone and Robinson. Even more impressive was Clemons’ 4.7 pressures per game, which tied for third, and his 2.8 pass rush total points per game, which tied for first.

(Presumably, Seattle will have asked Clemons about his August 2021 arrest on multiple charges, including unlawful carrying of a weapon and marijuana possession.)

Micheal* Clemons

Finally, the extensiveness of Brugler’s guide helps highlight two undrafted free agent candidates with the right athletic profiles. Temple’s Manny Walker did not play enough football to make the SIS metrics and finished with just 3.0 career sacks. For DeShaan Dixon, his 14.5 career sacks at Norfolk State—9.0 in 2021 and 4.5 in 2019 bookending a COVID-cancelled 2020—arrived in a conference that SIS does not include on its draft site.

Here is the full list of Seahawk-y testing 2022 NFL Draft EDGE defenders, with the data factored in:

Micheal* Clemons