I fink u freeky and Iloka a lot: Seahawks workout former S George Iloka as a linebacker
Seaside Joe 1170: 3 things to know about Iloka's audition with Seattle
I’ve been working on a couple of other articles for Seaside Joe today but have been sidetracked just long enough to postpone them for Friday, so instead I will be sending you a few thoughts on Thursday’s news that the Seahawks held a workout with former Bengals safety George Iloka.
The postponed content means that there will be bonus Joe post this week for all of the Regular Joes premium subscribers. Seaside Joe is a free daily Seahawks newsletter, meaning a post every single day for all of you, but for only $5/month you will also get bonus posts and the opportunity to support a small (and rapidly growing) Seattle business that could greatly use your help with a share or a paid subscription.
That means that were will be at least two posts on Friday, one of which for Regular Joes.
Who is George Iloka and what does this workout tell us about how Pete Carroll feels about the Seahawks linebackers?
Biography
George Iloka is a 6’3.5”, 225 lb safety who started all four seasons at Boise State from 2008 to 2011, recording seven interceptions. The Bengals chose him in the fifth round in the 2012 draft, but with hindsight he’s the second-best safety in that class behind Harrison Smith. That same year, the Seahawks chose safety Winston Guy in the sixth, but they reportedly met with Iloka as part of their pre-draft visits.
At the combine, Iloka measured with 34.5” arms and ran a 4.66, with a 10’4 broad and a 34.5” vertical leap.
As a rookie, Iloka served as a backup strong safety and was a healthy scratch for nine games. In year two, Iloka beat out a number of other competitors, including for Seattle-area high school star Taylor Mays, to become the Bengals starting strong safety alongside Reggie Nelson in 2013. Iloka held onto a starting safety role in Cincinnati’s defense for five seasons, only missing four games in 2015 with a groin injury.
In 2017, Iloka was suspended for one game for this hit on Antonio Brown:
But Iloka appealed the suspension and won, a fact that upset one of his future teams.
Iloka was released by the Bengals in 2018 training camp and immediately added to the Vikings roster (in a way, reuniting him with Harrison Smith) by Mike Zimmer, his longtime defensive coordinator in Cincinnati, but he only appeared in 116 snaps and was almost exclusively a special teamer. After a brief attempt to make the Cowboys roster, Iloka was released by Dallas and sat out all of 2019, only returning to the NFL because of a second chance from Zimmer in Minnesota in 2020. Iloka worked his way from the practice squad back to the active roster, but then tore his ACL after four appearances and sat out all of 2021.
At this point, George Iloka has now sat out two of the last four seasons, and he played in a combined 161 defensive snaps in the other two. What in the world could Seattle want with Iloka now?
To play linebacker.
George Iloka’s coverage skills
Pete Carroll is interested in Iloka as a “cover linebacker” rather than as a safety, which makes sense for two reasons: Seattle loves their two starting safeties and they don’t love what they’ve seen from their linebackers in coverage.
Can Iloka be a cover, off-ball linebacker who gets considerable snaps in 2022?
When signed by the Cowboys in 2019, DallasCowboys.com posted the following analysis:
Correct reactions when playing near the line. Adjusted to the screen well to make the stop.
I believe he sees things well. There is football intelligence to his game. Doesn't get fooled.
Nice job of disguising the blitz. Didn't tip off that he was coming.
Consistent wrap up tackler. He's not going to let you down in this area. He will deliver a blow on the goal line.
Those were the positives, whereas the negatives included a lack of speed (we can presume his 4.66 40-yard dash is past its expiration date now), not quick-footed, doesn’t cover a lot of ground, can’t carry a receiver down the field. Even three years ago, the Cowboys knew they were getting a player who fits best in the box near the line of scrimmage and not a deep safety.
Here’s a clip from Twitter showing how Iloka uses his high football IQ to make up for his lack of athleticism, intercepting a pass off of future teammate Kirk Cousins in 2016:
Iloka, a former cornerback who converted to safety, has always been praised for intelligence and cover skills. Here’s what National Football Post wrote before the 2012 NFL Draft:
Has experience playing corner and being a physical press coverage man. However, he isn't a guy who can quickly re-direct and close on the football in the deep half. He needs to play with his hands on defenders, but is a more coordinated bigger safety than say Seahawks starter Kam Chancellor and he could start at the next level.
As it is for many physical safeties with abnormal size and physicality at the position, Iloka has often drawn comparisons to Kam, but they are not the same players and wouldn’t play the same role with the Seahawks.
What Iloka’s audition says about the Seahawks’ linebacker situation
In Seattle, Iloka would instead be tasked playing near the line of scrimmage and using his 6’3, 225 lb frame to get a grip on tight ends like Tyler Higbee, George Kittle, and Zach Ertz. The Seahawks 2022 schedule also includes Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts, T.J. Hockenson, and potentially Rob Gronkowski, if he returns to Tampa Bay.
The Seahawks allowed nine touchdowns to tight ends last season, fourth-most in the NFL. Coverage has not been a strength for Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton’s grip on a starting position isn’t very tight; the fourth-year linebacker was blamed for 13 receptions on 17 targets in his direction, allowing 143 yards.
This is not to say that Barton won’t be a starting linebacker in 2022, and Carroll has said on multiple occasions this year that it is essentially his job to lose. Well, not much has held Barton back over the past three seasons other than Barton himself, as the Seahawks have gone through several instances of needing help at linebacker and they didn’t turn to him for more than a passing glance.
If Iloka could come in and challenge for a starting role over Barton, Ben Burr-Kirven, Tanner Muse, and Jon Rhattigan, it doesn’t say much about Seattle’s current depth at linebacker. Additionally, the team is looking at International prospect Aaron Donkor, free agent Joel Iyiegbuniwe, and former UDFA Lakiem Williams.
What Iloka’s audition says about 2022 draft linebackers
I think we’re making too much of Seattle’s “switch” to a 3-4 in 2022, but the case remains that the closest thing that Carroll has shown to a “vote of confidence” in his linebackers is releasing Bobby Wagner and passing on the position in the draft. However, Wagner was released for financial reasons.
The draft simply highlights that if you’re actually following football, off-ball cover linebackers are less valuable in the first two rounds than running backs. After Quay Walker and Devin Lloyd went in back end on day one, Troy Andersen (a part-time college QB at Montana State who is still learning the position and could be a pass rusher) was the only linebacker to go in round two, and Nakobe Dean (highly hyped cover linebacker out of Georgia) didn’t get selected until the middle of round three.
What I expect to happen
If George Iloka is 100%, then I don’t see why the Seahawks would hesitate to sign him. If Seattle doesn’t sign Iloka, it implies that he’s not 100%. Every piece of evidence we have would suggest that Iloka is capable of playing box linebacker (or at least, doing so in a practice setting) and that he would come at the vet minimum salary without any guarantees.
The Seahawks CLEARLY needed help at linebacker but if an analytics person wanted to make themselves valuable in 2022, they’d stop obsessing over running backs and quarterbacks and instead make some charts that show that there are actually other positions in football that have been devalued over the last 10 years too, including off-ball linebacker.
In another era, Nakobe Dean is a first round pick. In this era, he was 83rd. In another era, the Seahawks may have felt that they had to have Dean or Channing Tindall or Andersen, but in this one they felt comfortable bringing in competition like Iloka, Iyiegbuniwe, Muse, and Donker.
Seattle’s season will not hinge on the successes and failures of a cover linebacker but given the advancement of spread offenses in the NFL and the speed that teams are able to streak across the middle of the field these days for target after target, adding in a veteran with a high IQ who can read quarterbacks, diagnose plays, and mitigate his lack of speed by moving positions makes a lot of sense.
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I don’t dislike it, I don’t dislike it at all. But if you’re bringing a 10 year veteran, why not sign Kenneth Bernard Wright Jr?
I don't know Iloka very well, but I do question if savy is enough to stay with the tightends you listed. I am holding out hope that Donkar can make the team, because it would be great to have a German born and raised player, suiting up against the Bucs in Germany. In this case I am cheering for a great story. A player Seattle picked up for free, who has had the odds stacked against him. Victoria Chris