Vetted by Seahawks Legend, Stone Forsythe Eager to Learn Under Duane Brown's Wing
RENTON, WA - Standing 6-foot-8 and weighing 307 pounds, Seahawks sixth-round pick Stone Forsythe couldn't be more aptly named. A mountain of a man who towers over the majority of his peers, he's the ideal archetype for an NFL blindside protector.
But while Forsythe looks and plays the part of an intimidating goliath in the trenches and excels at keeping pass rushers away from his quarterback, the former Florida standout carries himself with an atypical soft-spoken, reserved demeanor for his position. Though he made sure to clarify he wasn't comparing him to the all-time great as a player, general manager John Schneider indicated his personality reminded him of Walter Jones.
"He’s not a real outspoken individual, he’s just a real quiet, like, confident, calm guy," Schneider said following the conclusion of the 2021 NFL Draft. "He doesn’t come off like a, you know; he’s kind of professional. He just kind of shows up every day, he’s there, trying to get better."
With both of their starting tackles - Duane Brown and Brandon Shell - entering the final year of their respective contracts, the Seahawks spent extensive time during the pre-draft process evaluating potential long-term successors.
In the case of Forsythe, former Seahawks star Steve Hutchinson, who starred alongside Jones in the mid-2000s, traveled down to Florida along with executive Alonzo Highsmith to put him through a workout and get to know the player off the field. They were clearly impressed by his skill set as well as his character, as Schneider indicated they had their sights set on trading up for him throughout the latter stages of day three of the draft.
Interestingly, Schneider mentioned that as day three unfolded, Hutchinson may have been more uneasy about the prospect of losing Forsythe than he or coach Pete Carroll was. The NFL Hall of Famer, who now serves as a football consultant, clearly loved what he saw and heard during his time meeting with the player and played a decisive role in him being a top target on Seattle's draft board.
"I don’t know who was more nervous there for awhile, Pete or Hutch. I was like you guys need to stop walking around in front of the table. They were making me dizzy," Schneider smiled.
Initially, with landing Forsythe in mind as a key part of their draft strategy, Seattle considered trading down a second time in the fourth round to acquire another additional late-round pick. But Schneider didn't want to risk missing out on Oklahoma cornerback Tre Brown and decided to stay put and select him with the 137th overall pick to bolster the secondary.
With only two picks remaining - 217 and 250 - Schneider waited impatiently until midway through the sixth round when he felt the Seahawks had "enough ammunition" to be able to trade up in the 190-range. From there, he started calling around to different teams seeking a trade partner and eventually dealt those two remaining picks to the Bears to slide up to pick No. 208 to finally take their guy.
Once his name had been called, Forsythe admitted he was a bit surprised he wasn't selected earlier. But after having multiple Zoom meetings with the team in recent months as well as his workout with Hutchinson, he's grateful for the opportunity to begin his career in Seattle.
"I just kind of stayed out of it, that’s just the kind of guy that I am. I’m not going to read into any of that stuff," Forsythe said. "When I first declared, they kind of said mid to late rounds so I was expecting anywhere from three to six. That’s what I was feeling. After my pro day, I got a little more hype after that so some of the family was expecting day two, but I didn’t get my hopes up too high. Just glad to hear that I finally got a team and finally got a home."
Lauded for his pass blocking prowess, Forsythe surrendered only two sacks on over 500 pass blocking reps in 2020, per Pro Football Focus. Such success against SEC competition stood out to Carroll and Schneider, who have always been drawn to "unique" players who possess top-tier athletic traits. The massive tackle certainly fits the bill.
"We’re always looking for traits and he really brings a great level of potential," Carroll assessed. "He’s played a lot of football. He’s had over 1,000 pass rushes against him in the SEC, his numbers are really good. He can come off the football, he runs pretty well for a big guy. We just have to get him where he’s coming off the football the way we want to."
If there's one area of concern, Forsythe didn't have a lot of opportunities to prove himself and develop as a run blocker in Florida's pass-heavy offense. As Carroll noted, his height naturally makes it easier for defenders to get "underneath him" and win the leverage battle at the point of attack. He will have to make improvements from a technical standpoint to try to mitigate that issue at the next level.
But having watched Forsythe hold his own against many of the best college defenders in the country in the rugged SEC, Carroll is confident he will be able to make those necessary adjustments. Acknowledging he is more advanced in pass protection at this point, the player has already been hard at work addressing this deficiency in his game.
"I’ve done a great job this past year or two in the pass game, so I know I need to work on the run game," Forsythe said. "It’s been a big emphasis this past offseason for me to do. I just need to press those angles, hold those guys and get more movement at the point of attack. That’s kind of my big focus."
Though Brown and Shell are cemented as starters for 2021, Carroll expects Forsythe to compete at both tackle spots as a rookie. With ample room to grow, he believes he's landing in an ideal situation where he can learn from one of the game's best in Brown and in time, the apprentice could eventually succeed the master at left tackle.
"The benefit that Stone has is he can learn from one of the best players in the league in Duane Brown. He’s going to be able to study with him and work with him. Duane will take him under his wing, I know it," Carroll said. "He’ll teach him all the ins and outs of this position, as well as demonstrate what it is to be an effective perimeter run blocker. Duane’s been famous for that stuff for us."
"This will be a really competitive opportunity for Stone, but the big part of the competition is he has this great example right there in front of him to show him how to play the game. This should work out really well."
Forsythe agrees, viewing Brown's veteran presence as one of the biggest perks of landing with the Seahawks. From routine to nutrition to gameday preparation, he's looking forward to absorbing everything he can from one of the best all-around tackles in the NFL and can't wait to get to work. It could be all the difference as he tries to carve out a long, rock-solid career of his own.
"You’re coming in and starting at the bottom again and that’s a great person to look up to and learn the things he takes to his game each week, try to pick up on the small routine things that he does. It’s going to be a great learning experience to learn from a guy like that."
