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Seattle Seahawks' D.J. James Excited to Play with Auburn Teammate Nehemiah Pritchett

The Seattle Seahawks selected a pair of Auburn defensive backs in the 2024 NFL Draft one year after selecting teammate Derrick Hall in the second round.

Jeremy Brener

Auburn cornerback D.J. James (4) tackles Vanderbilt wide receiver Will Sheppard (14) during the
Auburn cornerback D.J. James (4) tackles Vanderbilt wide receiver Will Sheppard (14) during the / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA
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The Seattle Seahawks scouting department watched a lot of Auburn defensive back tape in preparation for the 2024 NFL Draft.

At the top of the fifth round, the team selected Nehemiah Pritchett. But in the sixth round, the Seahawks decided one Auburn cornerback wasn't enough, so they took his teammate D.J. James, who is excited to continue playing alongside Pritchett.

Oct 28, 2023; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers cornerback D.J. James (4) against the Mississippi
Oct 28, 2023; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers cornerback D.J. James (4) against the Mississippi / John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

“It means a lot just knowing I’m going in there with someone I just played college football with," James said. "It means a lot, especially because he also plays the same position as me.”

James had nothing but kind words to say about his collegiate and professional teammate.

“Great guy. He’s going to be a great locker room player," James said. "He’s going to bring the juice. He loves what he does, he loves playing cornerback. And he has fun doing it as well.”

While it may seem uncommon, 14 of 32 teams picked multiple players from the same school in this year's draft, including all four NFC West teams. The Arizona Cardinals selected Isaiah Adams and Tip Reiman from Illinois, the Los Angeles Rams started their draft with Florida State's Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, the San Francisco 49ers also doubled down on Seminoles with Renardo Green and Tatum Bethune, while the Seahawks have Pritchett and James.

That immediate chemistry between the two will help the overall position group and the team at-large, which is important when building a football team.

James, Pritchett and the rest of the Seahawks rookies will begin their journey at minicamp this weekend.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.