I’m going to throw a name into this ring that at first glance is not a name you’d expect to hold a lot of weight nor have the biggest impact.
That rookie is a 5’10, 290 NT in UDFA Jonah Tavai.
Don’t get me wrong though while I feel Tavai will make the roster, I don’t think he’s going to be superstar with his length metrics and in this particular scheme, I see him more like a spot starter at best. However, I do see him having high value in being a scout level Aaron Donald capable of preparing our interior linemen against those type of shorter, physical type DTs. I also can envision him being a capable rotational/change of pace interior pass-rusher specifically in 3rd and Long or Late Game sets in the mold of a Clinton McDonald type. I can envision him being able to dominate unsuspecting and/or tired O-linemen especially if they sleep or skip on his rep.
That is not the true impact though as to why I’m putting his name in this thread while many of you might see him as just a mere PS player.
I don’t know how many of you had the privy to dive into Tavai’s game and how he’s not only been successful enough but how he’s been highly elite in productivity measures against the run or pass despite being prototypically short on everything else.
If you know what I’m talking about then you know in order to dominate like he has the past two seasons in college with all that mass productivity Tavai had to master all aspects of his position, hone his craft around his limitations whilst learning to also use it to his advantage.
Tavai in my opinion is honestly a walking visually representation on how you want your D-Linemen to play. He can come in to work every day, every rep and put on a technical clinic like a 10 year vet. He can co-host Ted Talks with Pete on “Winning Forever with Competitive Leverage”. He pops off explosively with purpose and intent using his strength and leverage to win the advantage with anticipation and awareness fully understanding the mental chess match within the chess match being able to quickly diagnose and effectively combo or counter with a plethora of moves with button mashing intensity.
A gritty, tough as nails, mentally prepared, undersized overachiever like the Lofa Tatupu of DTs. You ain’t think he got size or athletic metrics to get the job done but he’s gonna find a way to warrior through the rep and win and come back and do it over and over again.
But the impact I’m talking about is we got another couple rookie DTs with quality tape highlighting some quality strengths I feel can translate well over time and skill sets the Seahawks can develop and play with. But they also aren’t complete all-around players just yet that really have to put in the work, the extra work, to really take their games to the next level to be in the least viable, dependable players capable of manning a starting level role.
Who better than Tavai to help show these guys how to compete every rep, he’s not the biggest, nor strongest, nor most athletic, nor lengthiest, nor quickest dude on the block. Yet he is able to get the most out of his physicality and skill set and do it smartly in the right way over-coming his limitations.
For Morris, it’s helping to get his pad level on his 6’5 frame down more consistently and popping off more explosively with better leverage opportunities while he develops his own core and base power to be able to hold up against the run better. Morris already uses his hands, length. and strength very well with savvy feet work to win as a pass-rusher that you can line up anywhere and is a rather heads up player in terms of being to shed his block off when the ball carrier is within reach. But you can never have enough mental approach in how to combo everything together more effectively in your physical approach. If you can get Morris’s game on Tavai’s level, and if he can eventually handle 2 gapping responsibilities with poise and skill, the potential is there for Morris to be the most dominant DT in this class. I’m talking about a built-up, muscled-up, base developed 6’5, 310-320 monster that plays with both power and finesse on the edge.
For Young, his rush defense is already pretty sturdy and well developed, one of the best in his class. However, what made him available in the 4th round was a lack of pass rush upside and development. However with 34 inch arms with a stout body with quality control on maintaining leverage the potential is there to improve in this area. If Young is coachable as well as determined to improve, Tavai can help shorten Young’s learning curve as a pass-rusher. Young doesn’t have to be stellar but if he can develop a repertoire of moves with the mental understanding of when and how to use them effectively, he can be more complete than just a 2 down player that your forced to sub-out. It’s fine if Young can develop somewhere between a Mebane and Woods type NT but the key to unlocking more value is getting him to step-up and being able to function as a disrupter type pass-rusher, that might not have the finishing touch and kill skills, but can at least collapse the pocket and make the QB uncomfortable while using those long-arms to close some passing windows.
Impact multiplier: The better and more rounded both Young and Morris can become, the easier it will be for the vets on the DLine to play-up and impact the game. The more capable the DLine is at doing their jobs, the easier it will become for the LBers to play-up and impact the game. The more capable the front 7 is in doing their jobs, the easier it will become for a stacked Secondary to play-up and impact the game. Hopefully, creating a better defense all-around.
So while some might consider Tavai an outlier or just a guy. I highly respect his ability and how he had to really hone his craft mentality to be so successful despite his physical limitations and despite that size and length how he goes about his business and warriors each and every rep similarly to what an Aaron Donald brings to the table, a barrage of skill and strength and leverage paired with an unforgiving motor and determination to win that never seems to ever revv down.
Hopefully, all these guys but more specifically the young guys are taking notes on Tavai, watching him work, and they also put in the work to implement, the way he has to battle and master his game with little margin for error, into their own games. If that can happen I can really see this defense kicking ass and taking names like the LOB did.
