Seahawks CAN'T draft these 5 players (or can they?)

The Seahawks are often blamed for "reaching" on draft picks, would they be willing to do that for any of these 5 NFL Draft prospects? Seaside Joe 1847

“Mind boggling.”

Those were the words that Mel Kiper used to describe the Seahawks selection of pass rusher Bruce Irvin 15th overall in the 2012 draft. And as much as fans get to celebrate experts getting Seattle’s 2012 class wrong for giving the Seahawks poor grades because of Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson, I can’t argue with Kiper on the “mind boggling” comment for two resaons.

a) Irvin’s career has been fine, he’s neither a bust nor a steal, he was picked just ahead of Melvin Ingram and Chandler Jones, and b) even if we heard much later that teams like the Jets really wanted to pick Irvin earlier than expected, few thought he would go in the first round.

It’s known as “the classic Seahawks reach” and even if Pete Carroll is out, we don’t know if Seattle’s “we don’t care what anybody thinks” attitude is gone. It probably isn’t.

So I looked for 5 potential Seattle Seahawks “reach picks” in the first round of the draft—not “oh this guy might go 22nd and he could go 16th!”—but legitimately five prospects without first round buzz at all. Bruce “Mind Boggling” Irvin prospects who the Seahawks simply CAN’T pick in the first round.

Or can they?

LB Junior Colson, Michigan

The Seahawks coach at Michigan’s pro day who isn’t Ryan Grubb is linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti. That’s interesting.

Playing for Mike Macdonald as a true freshman in 2021, Junior Colson had 60 tackles, two pass breakups, and a fumble recovery in 14 games. He had 196 tackles over the next two seasons, not a bunch of flashy stats, but is considered one of the top linebacker prospects in this class.

The issue is that there are no surefire first round picks at linebacker this year—the position has gone the way of running back but with far less publicity for the first round busts—and right now Colson’s being projected as a mid-to-late second rounder. If he goes in the third round, I don’t think that would be nearly as surprising as him going in the first.

Especially because Colson could not workout at the combine or pro day due to a broken hand. (Although Colson did play the Big Ten Championship, Rose Bowl, and National Championship game with that broken hand, recording 24 tackles and two pass breakups.)

Colson was asked about Macdonald at the combine, saying “I love that dude” and crediting the coach with molding him into the linebacker he is today, so there is no shortage of familiarity or respect between player and head coach. The Seahawks met with Colson at the combine in addition to sending Olivadotti to his pro day.

It obviously wasn’t to watch Colson workout. The only other Michigan linebacker sent to the combine was Mike Barrett, who is not currently projected as a draft pick for anyone. It would not seem like Seattle needs Olivadotti to meet with every prospective undrafted free agent linebacker.

The most obvious issue here with connecting the Seahawks to Colson is draft position: Seattle picks 16th and 81st with nothing in between. There also aren’t many feasible scenarios that could lead to the Seahawks having the mid-second round pick for Colson that wouldn’t be considered a “reach”. Are the Seahawks going to trade 16 to the Commanders for 36 and 40?

Let’s say the Eagles want to move up from 22 to 16. They aren’t going to give up pick 50 to get there. If you have examples of teams trading to the middle of the first round and giving up a first and a second round pick to get there, let me know in the comments:

For Seattle to be in Colson’s expected range, let’s call it 40-60, they would either need to trade up from 81 (which I don’t think they want to do because Schneider’s already lacking picks and shouldn’t sacrifice next year’s already), trade a player for a second rounder, or trade down multiple times.

We saw something like that in the Paul Richardson draft in 2014, going from 32 to 40 to 45. Do the Seahawks want to go from 16 to 32 to 45?

(For what it’s worth, going from 32 to 45 with two trades netted Seattle an extra fourth (Cassius Marsh), a fifth-for-fourth pick swap, and a seventh (Kiero Small).)

Perhaps the more realistic option is that the Seahawks do trade down in the first round, get into that gray area where people aren’t paying as much attention to the picks, and select Colson without worrying what people will say about it. If that’s what happens, they might not say the nicest things.

Lance Zierlein’s comp for Colson is Willie Gay, which would not be ideal (Gay is a run defender, but doesn’t excel in coverage and wasn’t a hot commodity in free agency this month), but maybe he’s the “best case scenario” for that type of linebacker:

Inside linebacker with an excellent combination of size and strength to take on blocks and patrol the action from the second level. Colson’s upper-body strength and body control stand out when battling blocks or finishing tackles. He has adequate sideline-to-sideline range but needs to play with faster recognition to keep from getting trapped by climbing blocks. He doesn’t play with a trigger-happy, downhill mindset, so he misses out on playmaking opportunities. Colson is a tough guy with good stopping power and can handle himself in coverage. He projects as a good three-down linebacker, but improving block recognition and taking a few more chances could elevate him into the next tier at the position.

In terms of character and effort, Colson would fit in with Schneider’s recent picks. As noted, he played through injuries and last season he won the Lott IMPACT Trophy, a national award for players who represent a perfect balance of “on-field performance and on-field character”. The last two winners were Aidan Hutchinson and Will Anderson.

It’s not as though “Oh he won this award in college, so he’s going to be good.” Past winners include J.J. Watt and Luke Kuechly, as well as Manti Te’o (interesting) and Paddy Fisher. It’s not a guarantee of anything other than maybe confirming to outsiders what Macdonald already knows about Colson. Schneider probably wouldn’t meet with Colson at the combine and then send Olivadotti to Michigan if not for significant interest.

How do they get there to pick him? Probably not without a trade. Potentially trade and a lot of people saying “reach!”.

I’ll list four more, including a defensive tackle, a guard, a receiver, and an edge rusher who nobody is talking about in the second round, let alone the first. Join Here and Regular Joes get access to ALL the bonus content, the archives, the comments, and just the chance to support an independent Seahawks writer.

The Seahawks CAN’T draft these next four prospects…Or can they? Keep reading and decide for yourself…