Seahawks Hopeful Jonah Tavai's 'Background of Playmaking' Translates to NFL

Undersized and lacking ideal athletic traits, Jonah Tavai went undrafted despite being one of the nation's most disruptive defensive linemen over the past two years. Signed as a free agent, the Seattle Seahawks have sights set on finding a role to unleash him.

RENTON, Wash. - Kicking their offseason program into overdrive, the Seattle Seahawks welcomed their 2023 draft class to town for their annual rookie minicamp last weekend, providing the first opportunity for coaches to evaluate their new group of players.

While all eyes were fixated on first-round picks Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who were held out for most of the camp for precautionary reasons coming back from hamstring injuries, the Seahawks also had three new defensive linemen debuting on the practice field. Headlining the group, second-round pick Derick Hall could be seen sporting No. 58 with the edge rushing group, while fourth-round pick Cameron Young and fifth-round pick Mike Morris mixed it up with defensive tackles.

However, for those paying close attention, Hall, Young, and Morris weren't the only rookies in that group who flashed. Despite being only 5-10 and looking up at every one of his line mates who towered over him, former San Diego State star Jonah Tavai made it impossible for coach Pete Carroll and his staff to ignore him.

"Tavai's got a big background of playmaking," Carroll said after Friday's first minicamp session. "He's done so much and he's made so many plays in the backfield and been so hard to deal with and all. We have come to appreciate his style. He's not a big guy. He's just a real instinctive football player, great leverage and all that because of his size."

One of the most intriguing undrafted rookies who signed with the Seahawks last week, Tavai comes to the Pacific Northwest boasting a remarkable resume without the notable measurables expected of a player of his talent and skill.

Originally committing to San Diego State as an unheralded two-star recruit, Tavai developed from a situational reserve as a freshman into a destructive force of nature in the trenches. As a junior in 2021, he broke out with 8.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss, finishing seventh in the nation with 61 quarterback pressures and posting a respectable 14.7 percent pass rush win rate according to Pro Football Focus.

Taking another step forward for the Aztecs as a senior, Tavai garnered First-Team All-Mountain West recognition with 10.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. Emerging as one of the top pass rushers in the country from a statistical standpoint, he tied for second among defensive tackles and edge defenders with 69 quarterback pressures along with finishing ninth overall with a 22.6 percent pass rush win rate.

Such numbers would typically warrant an early-round selection in the NFL draft, but Tavai wasn't viewed as a slam dunk prospect. In fact, he wasn't even invited to any postseason all-star showcases or the NFL combine due to the aforementioned lack of size and athleticism.

Built with a short, compact 5-10, 283-pound frame, Tavai lacks preferred length for an interior defensive lineman with sub-30 inch arms, which creates an immediate red flag for some teams. After not receiving a combine invite, he also didn't do himself any favors at San Diego State's pro day, running an underwhelming 5.06 40-yard dash and posting a poor 26.5-inch vertical jump, failing to display the explosiveness teams covet from pass rushers.

But looking closer at Tavai's workout, some of the traits that helped him become a game wrecker for the Aztecs did show up. While his 40 time wasn't great, he did post a 1.75 10-yard split, a quality time for a player of his size that indicates quality burst and acceleration. He also had decent agility scores in the 3-cone and short shuttle that match his movement and change of direction skills on film and posted 29 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds.

It's just a two-man sled, but you can see Jonah Tavai's quickness and pop behind his pads here.

#66 is on the right. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/d1yMAxG8QJ

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) May 16, 2023

During pass rushing drills at Seattle's minicamp, Tavai's quickness stood out amongst his peers, particularly with his footwork and hand usage. Along with exhibiting a quick first step off the snap, he fired his hands into bags and sleds as if he was being recorded on a camera at 1.5 times speed, deploying secondary moves in blur mode, spinning around like a Tasmanian devil, and providing plenty of pop once his hands settled on the target.

Of course, effectively using counters on bags is one thing and accomplishing the feat against NFL guards at the point of attack is another thing entirely. Until the pads come out in August, it remains to be seen whether or not the undersized Tavai will be able to overcome his length deficiency and average overall athleticism to shed blocks and utilize his quickness and motor to his advantage as he did tallying sacks and pressures in bunches at San Diego State.

But while his measurables led to him falling out of the draft and created legitimate questions about how his game would translate to the next level, a player doesn't amass the fantastic numbers Tavai did with the Aztecs on luck alone. As he was with the bags, he's relentless fighting with his rapid fire hands and a quick first step coupled with God-given leverage could make him a thorn in the side of blockers in the NFL just as he was in college.

Set to compete against Young and fellow undrafted rookie Robert Cooper for snaps at the nose tackle position over the next few months, Tavai doesn't fit the mold of a typical player at the position. But Poona Ford didn't either coming out of Texas in 2018 and he turned out to be a multi-year starter for Seattle after somehow not being drafted.

If the Seahawks can find a way to mesh Tavai's skill set with their defensive scheme and maximize his strengths as they did with Ford, even if he has to settle into a unique situational role to make the final roster, he could be the next key contributor unearthed by the franchise in the undrafted ranks.

---

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Seahawks? Click Here to subscribe to AllSeahawks.com's Newsletter.

Follow All Seahawks.com on Twitter and Facebook

Make sure to subscribe to our daily podcast @lockedonseahawks today! Click here To Listen.

Want even more Seattle Seahawks news? Check out the SI.com team page here.