Thoughts on the Senior Bowl -- who looks good for Seattle

[firebee]

Rankins - The man is a force at DT and he'd be a perfect fit for us. Reminds me of a young Mebane with better pass rushing skills. He's going to be a terror at DT in a 4-3 defense.

Tretola - Kind of reminds me of a more athletic Carp physically, but he's definitely more disciplined and fundamentally sound. Also would be an improvement on our pass blocking at the guard position. Looks like an instant starter at guard. Good chance he goes before we have a chance to land him, unless we reach for him in the 1st. If that happens,I like his his teammate... Denver Kirkland. Lot of the same traits as Tretola. I think he'd be another great fit at guard. Might even be a better guard than Tretola in the NFL.

Dahl - Just a solid fundamentally sound lineman. Some project him as a tweener that needs to bulk up and get stronger to play guard or develop better footwork to play left tackle. I watch him play and I kind of think he might be best suited to step in at right tackle. It would allow us to slide Gilliam over to compete at LT. It'll also be interesting to see how Dahl develops physically in an NFL program. He might develop into the ultimate utility offensive lineman that can fill in anywhere on the line.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Since Eli Apple is soaring up boards now, losing hope he will be there at 26 (he's one of my draft crushes). If Nick Martin is anything like his brother though, that would be a monster grab at 26 and stabilize so much on the line.

 

[kearly]

My only knock on him, and it's a big knock, is that he cedes way too much ground versus the bullrush. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Justin Britt when Britt was playing LT at Missouri. You can look at that observation as a slam if you choose, but remember that Justin Britt was a player that Tom Cable loved and reached pretty hard for. Since the two have a lot of similarities, I wouldn't be surprised if Cable had Dahl rated a lot higher than other teams do.

I think it's probably a safe assumption that we're seeing Dahl at his absolute worst at OG in this Senior bowl week.

He's a long time LT. Physically he's not really trained to handle the heavier bull rush of the interior. That transition requires more strength and bulk and that takes some time to switch in routine/training and diet. I wouldn't be shocked in the least that he struggles with interior power rush.

Dahl needs about 15 pounds to make that transition. At LT, he's suited well to take on lighter/faster ends. He has some changes to make to effect the interior move. Recall that Sweezy took almost a year to get physically right for the switch.

Dahl looks like he can carry more weight pretty easily. I kind of doubt he'll be a day one ready starter but could factor as a 7th guy on the depth chart in his first year while he converts physically.

Britt was a long time LT too. And wasn't as much of a leaner as Dahl is. There's a reason Dahl is playing G in the senior bowl, he knows that's where his future is. I think he is a good player, I just worry about him ceding too much ground. Maybe he can fix that. Britt did improve in that area. Of course one big difference is that Britt's biggest weakness is edge rush, while Dahl is strangely good at containing it despite his lean and short arms.

If Dahl did somehow stick at tackle in the NFL despite his guard characteristics, I think the best comparison would be Bryan Bulaga. Both move their body in a similar way, have short arms and play smart.

I actually haven't seen the senior bowl, I'm basing my observations on regular season WSU games.

I think Dahl is one of the more likely Seahawks OL pickups, especially on the chance that he goes undrafted, since local teams always have an edge with UDFAs.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Rankins - The man is a force at DT and he'd be a perfect fit for us. Reminds me of a young Mebane with better pass rushing skills. He's going to be a terror at DT in a 4-3 defense.

Tretola - Kind of reminds me of a more athletic Carp physically, but he's definitely more disciplined and fundamentally sound. Also would be an improvement on our pass blocking at the guard position. Looks like an instant starter at guard. Good chance he goes before we have a chance to land him, unless we reach for him in the 1st. If that happens,I like his his teammate... Denver Kirkland. Lot of the same traits as Tretola. I think he'd be another great fit at guard. Might even be a better guard than Tretola in the NFL.

Dahl - Just a solid fundamentally sound lineman. Some project him as a tweener that needs to bulk up and get stronger to play guard or develop better footwork to play left tackle. I watch him play and I kind of think he might be best suited to step in at right tackle. It would allow us to slide Gilliam over to compete at LT. It'll also be interesting to see how Dahl develops physically in an NFL program. He might develop into the ultimate utility offensive lineman that can fill in anywhere on the line.

I like Tretola but I'll be stunned if he gets anywhere near round one. I've seen him projected predominantly in day three, even as low as round six. He's ideal for what the Seahawks seemingly want to do but he won't fit a lot of other schemes. He's a T-rex too.

 

[firebee]

Rankins - The man is a force at DT and he'd be a perfect fit for us. Reminds me of a young Mebane with better pass rushing skills. He's going to be a terror at DT in a 4-3 defense.

Tretola - Kind of reminds me of a more athletic Carp physically, but he's definitely more disciplined and fundamentally sound. Also would be an improvement on our pass blocking at the guard position. Looks like an instant starter at guard. Good chance he goes before we have a chance to land him, unless we reach for him in the 1st. If that happens,I like his his teammate... Denver Kirkland. Lot of the same traits as Tretola. I think he'd be another great fit at guard. Might even be a better guard than Tretola in the NFL.

Dahl - Just a solid fundamentally sound lineman. Some project him as a tweener that needs to bulk up and get stronger to play guard or develop better footwork to play left tackle. I watch him play and I kind of think he might be best suited to step in at right tackle. It would allow us to slide Gilliam over to compete at LT. It'll also be interesting to see how Dahl develops physically in an NFL program. He might develop into the ultimate utility offensive lineman that can fill in anywhere on the line.

I like Tretola but I'll be stunned if he gets anywhere near round one. I've seen him projected predominantly in day three, even as low as round six. He's ideal for what the Seahawks seemingly want to do but he won't fit a lot of other schemes. He's a T-rex too.

I totally agree with you that him going in the 1st or close to the 1st would be a huge shocking reach, but he's moving up boards after the Senior Bowl and a good combine or pro day could push him into contention as a viable 2nd round pick, especially if their's a huge run on O-Line in the first. Unless he has a bad combine or pro day, I don't see him being there by the time we pick in the 3rd round and I wouldn't be completely surprised to see someone take him in the middle of the 2nd. Early in the 2nd or late in the 1st would be shocking, but think of it this way... We took James Carpenter at #24 in the 1st and you could definitely argue that Tretola will fare better than Carp did.

 

[Overseasfan]

Nick Martin has excellent tape. Outstanding in protection and always seems to know what to do even when the guys around him don't. He'll be a good center in the NFL, but I don't think he'll be a Seahawk. He's a plodder when running to the second level and wins in the run game with technique not athleticism. Really really like him, but he doesn't appear to match Tom Cable's recent criteria.

Dahl does some cool things. There was one play on Draft Breakdown where he blocked two guys in pass pro at the same time. He played LT for WSU but is such a leaner that I think he would have to move to guard in the NFL, which is probably a point in his favor since Seattle likes converting players to new positions on the OL. He seems decently athletic, and plays fairly smart. My only knock on him, and it's a big knock, is that he cedes way too much ground versus the bullrush. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Justin Britt when Britt was playing LT at Missouri. You can look at that observation as a slam if you choose, but remember that Justin Britt was a player that Tom Cable loved and reached pretty hard for. Since the two have a lot of similarities, I wouldn't be surprised if Cable had Dahl rated a lot higher than other teams do.

This sounds depressing. Cable can't be that stupid right? I know he hasn't been all that great at evaluating talent but you'd expect he has learned from his mistakes.

The way you describe it is we won't pick Martin because he's a stud who would be a huge upgrade in pass pro but has a chance to be slightly worse at run blocking than Lewis. Reaching for Dahl because he'll be Britt 2.0 would be even worse. The reason there are even talks about picking a guard early is to replace Britt, not to duplicate him.

 

[WorcesterHawks]

Nick Martin has excellent tape. Outstanding in protection and always seems to know what to do even when the guys around him don't. He'll be a good center in the NFL, but I don't think he'll be a Seahawk. He's a plodder when running to the second level and wins in the run game with technique not athleticism. Really really like him, but he doesn't appear to match Tom Cable's recent criteria.

Dahl does some cool things. There was one play on Draft Breakdown where he blocked two guys in pass pro at the same time. He played LT for WSU but is such a leaner that I think he would have to move to guard in the NFL, which is probably a point in his favor since Seattle likes converting players to new positions on the OL. He seems decently athletic, and plays fairly smart. My only knock on him, and it's a big knock, is that he cedes way too much ground versus the bullrush. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Justin Britt when Britt was playing LT at Missouri. You can look at that observation as a slam if you choose, but remember that Justin Britt was a player that Tom Cable loved and reached pretty hard for. Since the two have a lot of similarities, I wouldn't be surprised if Cable had Dahl rated a lot higher than other teams do.

This sounds depressing. Cable can't be that stupid right? I know he hasn't been all that great at evaluating talent but you'd expect he has learned from his mistakes.

The way you describe it is we won't pick Martin because he's a stud who would be a huge upgrade in pass pro but has a chance to be slightly worse at run blocking than Lewis. Reaching for Dahl because he'll be Britt 2.0 would be even worse. The reason there are even talks about picking a guard early is to replace Britt, not to duplicate him.

I do wish someone would tell Cable that if his forte is coaching up run blocking then why not get the best pass protectors in the draft and back yourself to improve the run blocking in house. It's not like we have the best young qb in the league or anything.

 

[xgeoff]

Thought all the G/C players mentioned above looked good. The Tackles were disappointing to say the least. Spence,Butler and Reed to name a few in the DL were a handful. I think this draft sets up perfect for us with all the interior line depth on both sides of the ball. I would love Vannett-TE to fall in our lap as well.

I agree with this, except I thought C Evan Boehm looked like crap. Was especially impressed with Graham Glasgow at C/G. I would so like to have him as a Seahawk.

The other guy I really want to see as a Seahawk is OLB Deion Jones from LSU. He was flying all over the place at the Sr Bowl. I think he could replace Bruce Irvin at OLB and maybe even play some SS. He seems to be one of those tweeners like Deone Bucannon and Kam that are a little light as a LB (220-230 lbs vs 250 lbs) but a little oversized as a Safety.

I also thought Kenyon Drake, RB out of Alabama looked good. I don't think he's projected to go high in the draft either. If we trade down and accumulate some picks, I think he would be a nice backup to Rawls.