Seahawks 7-round mock draft: Traits Only

10 players who hit all the ATHLETIC notes: Seaside Joe 1507

The Seattle Seahawks had the best draft class of any team in 2022, at least based on one season’s worth of data. There are some characteristics of those draft decisions by Pete Carroll and John Schneider that stand out and that could possibly be utilized again in the hopes of similar results. Between now and the draft, I’ll run through several mock draft scenarios that directly address each of those characteristics and today’s: Elite athletic traits.

All 10 of these picks are players who have stood out at the combine or pro days for “traits” reasons. I’ll include some honorable mentions as well, so you have more than one or 10 names to think about…you’ll have over 30.

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1.5 - QB Anthony Richardson, Florida

HM: CB Christian Gonzalez, DE Tyree Wilson

I don’t mind throwing gasoline on the fire that rages in between Seahawks fans who want Jalen Carter and those who want a quarterback. Carter is the pick that makes the most sense and Peter King added this week that Seattle taking the Georgia defensive tackle is considered the worst-kept secret of the draft:

An increasing number of people around the league think Jalen Carter has done enough in his visits to not sink like a stone on draft night. (More on Carter in my next section.) It’s become almost a cliché, how many team officials think the Seahawks will take Carter with the fifth overall pick.

Notice that I said it is “considered” the worst-kept secret. That’s what people around the league believe, it doesn’t mean that it is inevitable. I still think that the biggest barrier between Carter and Seattle is not his character, but his availability at pick five. However, this is a traits-based mock draft and we didn’t get testing on Jalen Carter. We did get numbers on the best-testing quarterback in combine history.

“I don’t think he’ll be asked to do that a lot in his NFL career, but that is impressive.” — Booth after his unofficial 4.44 40-yard dash

There was only one other person at the combine who weighed at least 240 and ran below a 4.48, and that’s Tennessee edge rusher Byron Young. Go back to 2000, and it’s a short list of combine testers who weighed over 240 and were as fast as Richardson, including Von Miller, Kyle Pitts, Vernon Davis, and Micah Parsons.

Richardson: 6’4, 244, 4.43, 40.5” vertical, 129” broad

Von Miller: 6’3, 246, 4.42, 37” vertical, 126” broad

Kyle Pitts: 6’5, 245, 4.44, 33.5” vertical, 129” broad

Parsons: 6’3, 246, 4.39, 34” vertical, 126” broad

Josh Allen: 6’5, 237, 4.75, 33.5” vertical, 119” broad

I added Allen at the end because yeah, Anthony Richardson is better at combine drills than Josh Allen. It doesn’t mean he will be as good at quarterback. It’s certainly not inconsequential though, playing sports is directly related to how athletic you are. But what’s taking Richardson so long to make use of those skills? That’s what teams have to decide before drafting him and we’ll find out which franchise has the most confidence in their coaching staff and ability to get it out of him.

We didn’t get testing out of Tyree Wilson, but we know he has the ridiculous wingspan and there is a shared believe that’s what is seen on film would have translated to a great combine. There is absolutely no question that if the Seahawks were picking for traits, they would choose Richardson over C.J Stroud, Wilson over Will Anderson, and Gonzalez over Devon Witherspoon.

Nobody in the first round is a bad athlete. These are just better athletes.

READ NEXT: Texans are open to trading out of #2 pick, do the Seahawks have eyes on moving up? Here’s what it would cost them!

1.20 - EDGE Nolan Smith, Georgia

HM: WR Zay Flowers, RB Bijan Robinson, DT Calijah Kancey, CB Deonte Banks

I heard former Vikings GM Rick Spielman talk about how Danielle Hunter was available in the third round because he had 1.5 sacks during his final year in college. Hunter totaled 4.5 sacks in three years at LSU, but ran a 4.57 at 6’5, 252 lbs.

There are similar concerns with Nolan Smith’s lack of production at Georgia, as he’s attempting to become a premier NFL pass rusher despite 12.5 sacks in four years. But Smith is much faster than Hunter and most NFL players. He’s also lighter.

Smith measured 6’2, 238 lbs and he ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash with a 41.5” vertical and a 128” broad jump. Three years ago, Isaiah Simmons also weighed 238 and he also ran a 4.39. Simmons was a top-10 pick. But he’s not much of an NFL player yet.

And like Simmons, teams may not be sure how to even use Smith. Based on the rare number of good prospects to share his size and speed combination, Nolan Smith should be a first round lock with estimates ranging from top-10 to end of day one.

Another interesting comparison to put Smith into context: Saquon Barkley ran a 4.40 at 6’, 233, Andre Johnson ran a 4.41 at 6’2, 230, and Chase Claypool ran a 4.42 at 6’4, 238.

When the Seahawks picked Bruce Irvin 15th overall in 2012, it was fresh off of his winning combine performance: 6’3, 245 lbs, 4.41 in the 40-yard dash. People bullish on Smith’s NFL career draw comparisons to Haason Reddick and believe that he could add 10 lbs without losing significant speed.

Kancey is faster than Aaron Donald, but he’s not the same pass rushing genius and martial artist as the greatest interior threat of all-time. Robinson deserves athletic comparisons to Marshawn Lynch.

2.37 - CB D.J. Turner, Michigan

HM: TE Darnell Washington, DL Adetomiwa Adebawore, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, OL Cody Mauch, C Luke Wypler, TE Sam LaPorta, CB Kelee Ringo

I’d be remiss to do this drill and not highlight the “winner of the 40” at this year’s combine. Though Turner ran the same 4.26 that Tariq Woolen hit in 2022, let’s not leave out the important details: Woolen is 6’4, 205 and Turner is 5’11, 178. He didn’t have as high of a vertical either, but his 38.5” is still elite, as is his 131” broad jump.

Turner had the second-highest Athleticism Score among CBs at the combine, behind only Deonte Banks, per Next Gen Stats. He also had a 1.47 in the 10-yard split.

It’s surprising that Turner was raised in Georgia and not snapped up by the Bulldogs. He played two years at Michigan and wasn’t a ballhawk (three interceptions) but it seems a team will throw caution to the wind and believe in their coaching ability to not miss out on his speed like they did with Woolen in 2022. Here’s what Lance Zierlein wrote:

Explosive athlete combining fluidity, speed and superior technique to excel at his craft. Turner is scheme-diverse with the ability to line up inside or outside in coverage. He’s graceful with his mirror and match movements from press or off-man coverage, but he is plenty feisty when challenging throws or hitting receivers after the catch. Despite his competitiveness, big receivers can bounce him around and beat him on 50/50 balls. Turner has the tools and talent to become an early starter as a nickel corner capable of matching up with both shifty and speedy opponents.

I’ll take Devon Witherspoon with 4.43 speed over Turner’s 4.26, but it would be interesting to see Seattle put the two fastest corners in the same secondary.

Washington is interesting (6’7, 265 lbs, 4.64 40-yard dash, 34.5” arms) because even if he has a 20% chance of being a good receiver, he’s got an 80% chance of being a sixth offensive lineman laying out run blocks for you. In the right hands, he could become the best tight end in the NFL. Seattle has met with Ringo, so they could be interested in him on day two.

2.52 - WR Josh Downs, UNC

HM: CB Emmanuel Forbes, EDGE Byron Young, LB Jack Campbell, DE Derick Hall, WR Jonathan Mingo, WR Tyler Scott, LB Trenton Simpson

You could probably argue that Downs belongs at 37 and Turner belongs at 53, if anything. Oh well, here they are.

This receiver class is hard to figure out, a lot of the prospects are “undersized”, including Jordan Addison and Zay Flowers projected in the first round, Downs and the wiry Jalin Hyatt in the second round, and then there’s Tyler Scott, who tested even better than Downs. It could be Scott here instead.

Scott: 5’10, 177, 4.44, 39.5” vertical, 133” broad, 1.51 10-yard split

Downs: 5’9, 161, 4.48, 38.5” vertical, 131” broad, 1.49 10-yard split

I don’t know how you break that tie, you just pick one and go for it.

I could see Trenton Simpson going much later than his previous first round grades. Campbell had the highest athleticism score for any LB at the combine (6’5, 249 lbs, 4.65, 37.5” vertical, 6.74 3-cone), I just have not been in the mood to fill the inside linebacker role this year. Signing Bobby Wagner feels like all the bridge you need until Jordyn Brooks returns.

3.83 - DE Byron Young, Tennessee

HM: RB Chase Brown, OT Blake Freeland, OT Matthew Bergeron, CB Darius Rush, EDGE YaYa Diaby

Mel Kiper had Seattle taking Young at 20th overall in his first mock draft, but the Seahawks can probably wait a while. They did meet with Young in the pre-draft process and he ranked third among EDGE players in athleticism score at the combine: 6’2, 250 lbs, 32.5” arms, 4.43 40-yard dash, 1.62 10-yard split, 132” broad, 38” vertical. If he were 21 instead of 25, Young would make sense in the first round. But alas, Young isn’t his namesake.

“He really appreciates every second he’s on the field and our coaches would love that. He probably ends up standing, but I think he’ll be better with a hand in the ground.” -- Regional scout for AFC team

I have no rightly clue how early Young will be drafted, or if maybe Auburn’s Derick Hall could still be on the board here too, but the edge class may yet give Seattle some good athletic options in the third round.

Chase Brown is another high-character, high-energy football playin’ football player (a Canadian footballer at that) who ran a 4.43 with a 1.53 10-yard split and a 40” vertical at 209 lbs. He may be more DeeJay Dallas than Rashaad Penny, but the Seahawks will eventually need to replace Dallas.

4.123 - DB Jartavius Martin, Illinois

HM: LB Owen Pappoe, CB Jakorian Bennett, OT Tyler Steen

It’s almost harder to make these “traits-based” picks in the middle rounds than it is in the last three rounds because usually it’s at the end of the draft where teams seem to take more of those “f* it” decisions once you know you’re probably not going to get starters anyway. That was when the Seahawks picked Tariq Woolen, Bo Melton, and Dareke Young last year, landing a premier starter and a good special teamer with some upside on offense. Melton was one of the fastest players in last year’s draft.

Martin is not the prospect that teammate Devon Witherspoon is, he could also go after Illinois safety Sydney Brown, but he had the third-best athleticism score for any cornerback at the combine this year. Seattle has met with Martin, a 5’11, 194 lbs versatile safety/corner who ran a 4.46 with a 1.47 split and a wild 44” vertical with 11’1 broad jump. Martin barely hits 31” arms.

5.151 - OT Jake Witt, Northern Michigan

HM: C Olu Oluwatimi, G Sidy Sow

Here’s your classic “f* it” pick. Witt’s a strange one, sort of built in the same mold as George Fant. He played tight end in college but late in the 2021 season, the team asked him to move to tackle for the last two games. He played well and kept bulking up, recently adding 20 lbs of muscle and now sporting a lean 302 lbs on a 6’7 frame.

At the Central Michigan pro day, he ran a 4.89. That’s almost one-tenth of a second faster than any OT at the combine, which would be Georgia’s Broderick Jones. That’s 6’5, 311, 4.97 for Jones compared to 6’7, 302, 4.89 for Witt. He’s been taking top-30 visits with NFL teams and he will be drafted, it’s just a matter of who is ready to take that chance.

5.154 - DT Jalen Redmond, Oklahoma

Those of you demanding 340 lbs of beef on the defensive line won’t get it here, but Redmond should no less hit close to home at the VMAC. He’s 6’2, 291 lbs and was one of the top testers at the combine, running a 4.81 with a 1.71 split and ranking third among DTs in athleticism score.

Zierlein:

Redmond's NFL Scouting Combine testing was outstanding, as he displayed quickness and explosiveness that doesn't always show up on his college tape. He possesses plenty of toughness but moves on heavy feet. His lack of bend makes him a linear mover with limited playmaking potential. While he might not fill up an NFL stat sheet, he does have the base strength for consideration as a rotational 4-3 nose tackle with some block-eating elements to his game.

6.198 - WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton, West Virginia

It would be too unfair for the Seattle Seahawks to land the offensive version of Tariq Woolen one year later, but testing-wise that’s what Ford-Wheaton is hoping to prove. He’s 6’4, 221 lbs, 33.5” arms and he ran a 4.38 in the 40, posted a 41” vertical, a 6.97 three-cone time, and a 1.54 in the 10-yard split.

Despite the rare size and speed and experience (no switching sides of the ball here), Ford-Wheaton didn’t turn it into much in college and he only averagd 10.9 yards per catch in 2022. He has three career 100-yard games. Prior to 2022, he caught only eight touchdowns in 26 games. Maybe putting him next to DK Metcalf and Woolen and saying, “That! We want that!” will do the trick.

7.237 - G Jon Gaines II, UCLA

Ranked first among all guards at the combine for athleticism score. Gaines is 6’4, 303 lbs, 33.5” arms, but ran a 5.01 and posted a 1.73 10-yard split with a 9’6” broad jump. But Zierlein cites a lack of “core strength” and poor protection technique with a ceiling as a backup guard/center.

Seahawks 2023 All-Traits Draft, 7-rounds

1.5 - QB Anthony Richardson

1.20 - EDGE Nolan Smith

2.37 - CB D.J. Turner

2.52 - WR Josh Downs

3.83 - DE Byron Young, Tennessee

4.123 - DB Jartavius Martin

5.151 - OT Jake Witt

5.154 - DT Jalen Redmond

6.198 - WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton

7.237 - G Jon Gaines II

The goal wasn’t necessarily to build a complete and well-rounded class, more to focus on traits, but overall I do think this would service a lot of needs on the Seahawks current roster and though I know fans would ask for more beef in the trenches with this group, perhaps that’s something that I overlooked because those guys “lumber” a little bit more than their peers.

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