Broad jump is the key to everything on the OL

Rob just found the decoder ring in his cereal box.

"horizontal power helps you cover the full 5300 square yards of the ironed grid. A pure acceleration step expresses horizontal power.”

Since 2012, the Seahawks have not drafted a single offensive lineman that has jumped less than a nine-foot broad jump:

Mark Glowinski — 9-5
Terry Poole — 9-5
Kristjan Sokoli — 9-11
Justin Britt — 9-3
Garrett Scott — 9-7
Ryan Seymour — 9-2
Jared Smith — 9-7
J.R. Sweezy — 9-5

Alternatively, since 2012 the Seahawks have not selected any of the 15 best O-line performers in the short shuttle or three cone at the combine.

For the Seahawks’ O-line: Explosion >>> Agility

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Ever wonder why Seattle seems to convert so many DTs to OL?

Jason Spriggs had the best broad jump by an offensive lineman at the 2016 combine with a 9-7. Fifteen defensive line prospects beat that mark. Fifteen.

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This is really interesting stuff, and helps shorten down the target list for Seattle.

Jason Spriggs — 9-7
Halapoulivaati Vaitai — 9-5
Brandon Shell — 9-4
Joe Haeg — 9-3
Alex Redmond — 9-3
Joe Thuney — 9-3
Cody Whitehair — 9-2
Germain Ifedi — 9-1
Joe Dahl — 9-1
Connor McGovern — 9-1
Jake Brendel — 9-0

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Additionally, Le'Raven Clark posted a 9-1 broad jump at his pro-day and met with Seattle at the combine.

Considering this information, it feels all the more likely that Seattle is targeting OL in round 2 and pass rusher in round 1. Ifedi won't last until #56, but one of Spriggs, Whitehair, or Clark might. Further, if Seattle insists on drafting a decent pass rusher this year they will probably have to do it with their first pick.

I like how he highlighted the 9' plus jumps of bigger 300 lb plus guys. He is daily pumping out good material.

Agility and broad jump. Those are the two keys to the puzzle.

McGruff":3i5ny48s said:

Agility and broad jump. Those are the two keys to the puzzle.

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The article suggests that agility testing hasn't been much of a factor. I was surprised by that.

This is truly amazing work by Rob.

Anybody who isn't reading his blog everyday is really missing out!

Who is paying Rob off to kill TC and MY Boehm dream...

I'm gonna find u

Looks like Ryan Kelley is off the board.

GREAT detective work Rob!

Fantastic work there by Rob. OK, let's take that list of the broad jump performances and narrow that down even further.

Comparing that list of top broad jump performers to that of the SPARQ list for Offensive Linemen ...

Jason Spriggs — 9-7 ... #4 on SPARQ List
Halapoulivaati Vaitai — 9-5 ... #14 on SPARQ List
Brandon Shell — 9-4 ... #6 on SPARQ List
Joe Haeg — 9-3 ... #7 on SPARQ List
Alex Redmond — 9-3 ... #18 on SPARQ List
Joe Thuney — 9-3 ... #3 on SPARQ List
Cody Whitehair — 9-2 ... #9 on SPARQ List
Germain Ifedi — 9-1 ... #5 on SPARQ List
Joe Dahl — 9-1 ... #11 on SPARQ List
Connor McGovern — 9-1 ... #1 on SPARQ List
Jake Brendel — 9-0 ... #2 on SPARQ List

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Let's shrink that list down even further. Analyzing the prospects Seattle has drafted since 2012, another pattern emerges in terms of arm length. I've highlighted the guys the Hawks have drafted since 2012 and listed the arm lengths of all linemen currently on the Seahawks roster ...

Mark Glowinski -- 33 1/8" arms
Kristjan Sokoli -- 34" arms
Terry Poole -- 33 1/4" arms
Justin Britt -- 33 1/2" arms
Garrett Scott -- 34 3/4" arms
Ryan Seymour -- 33 1/2" arms
Jared Smith -- 33 1/2" arms
J.R. Sweezy -- 34" arms
Patrick Lewis -- 32 3/8" arms
Drew Nowak -- 32 3/8" arms
Will Pericak -- NA
Kona Schwenke -- NA
Bradley Sowell -- Couldn't find, but at 6'7" we can assume long limbed
J'Marcus Webb -- 36" arms

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As you can see, they have not drafted a single lineman since 2012 who has an arm length of less than 33 1/2" ... and don't appear to have a single linemen on the roster with less that 32 3/8" arms (both centers at that). While it's yet to be seen if that trend continues in this upcoming draft, length appears to be a quality that is very important to the Hawks as well. So who among the broad jumpers and top SPARQ linemen fits that profile? Here they are ...

Jason Spriggs -- 34.1" arms ... 9'7" Broad Jump ... #4 on SPARQ List
Brandon Shell -- 34.8" arms ... 9'4" Broad Jump ... ... #6 on SPARQ List
Joe Haeg -- 33.8" arms ... 9'3" Broad Jump ... ... #7 on SPARQ List
Germain Ifedi -- 36" arms ... 9'1" Broad Jump ... ... #5 on SPARQ List
Joe Dahl -- 33.1" arms ... 9'1" Broad Jump ... ... #11 on SPARQ List
Connor McGovern -- 32.9" arms ... 9'1" Broad Jump ... ... #1 on SPARQ List
Cody Whitehair -- 32.4" arms ... 9'2" Broad Jump ... ... #9 on SPARQ List
(I'm thinking based on the above the Hawks would view Whitehair as a Center if they draft him)

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I'm thinking that final list above there in blue is very likely the pool of established college Offensive Linemen that the Seahawks look to draft from.

If you have ever listened to Pat Kirwan or read his book you would already know the broad is part of how Pete arrives at a number to compare explosive athleticism among prospects. Bench reps + vert + broad = explosion number.

I would hope that after identifying the rare athletes with explosion number & other physical indicators that actual football production and traits on tape are the end all be all for our selections?

If BJ is a determinant, then look for the name George Fant to be called on day 3.

BJ 9' 11" (best since 2006 at OL -- 9' 10")

For other stat monkeys:

Vert 37" (best since 2006 -- 35.5)
40 - 4.83

Athletic project type. Keep in mind

Breno, McQ, and Gallery all had short arms (all had good broad jumps too). Generally speaking though Seattle has shown a strong preference for arm length.

Most of the offensive lineman Seattle have drafted have had average or worse bench press repetitions. This makes sense given that in order to be explosive you generally need to weight less, and you would expect lighter players to bench less. Longer arms impede bench press too.

Vertical jump has been a strong indicator but there are exceptions, like Justin Britt's 27.5" vert.

Seattle seems to have an absolute rule that corners cannot have arms shorter than 32". Broad Jump comes the closest to being that kind of rule for the OL. Every guy they've brought in since this current OL experiment began has killed it in the broad jump with the minor exception of Gallery who was 8'9" (which is hardly terrible).

I don't think Seattle would draft only for broad jump but I do think they would scratch a guy off their board if he didn't have enough of it, whereas if a guy had a bad forty, bad vert, bad bench, it could be compensated for.

Attyla the Hawk":2ikwll2x said:

If BJ is a determinant, then look for the name George Fant to be called on day 3.

BJ 9' 11" (best since 2006 at OL -- 9' 10")

For other stat monkeys:

Vert 37" (best since 2006 -- 35.5)
40 - 4.83

Athletic project type. Keep in mind

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BJ is never a determinant. In fact I also require, and heavily weigh the BJ, when selecting life partners.

Great work Scanner. I wish you'd stop all that foolish teaching and contribute here 100%. I heard Mark pays well.

titan3131":1uopuyqj said:

Who is paying Rob off to kill TC and MY Boehm dream...

I'm gonna find u

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Lol
Boehm isn't in my dreams. I'm just all about them getting the right guy. If they select Boehm despite all this information that suggests otherwise, THEN maybe I'll go into a Ricky Ricardo routine. :lol:

I'm more surprised by where Westerman is on this list. His comp here is Alex Mack? And he still apparently wouldn't fit the Hawks profile? Wow. http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/ ... id=2555131

He's a good player. As is Boehm.

I'm not so sure Ryan Kelly is off the list just because of a sub-9'0" broad jump. Remember, he has to be compared to players on the roster, and the only centers we have are Lewis and Sokoli. Sokoli is still raw and Lewis only had an 8'0" broad jump, so Kelly's 8'7" is an improvement.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=89665&draftyear=2013&genpos=C

Edit: I forgot about Nowak, but his 7'11" broad jump is another indicator that the BJ isn't that important for the Center position when you consider who they had last year.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=83872&draftyear=2012&genpos=DT

Building off the article Kip kindly linked to here, I've also written this today: http://seahawksdraftblog.com/explosion- ... the-o-line

This takes it a step further, looking at explosion scores (vertical, broad, bench) to see how Seattle's drafted O-liners since 2012 tested and what it tells us about the 2016 class.

If you enjoyed the piece yesterday -- I'd highly recommend reading today's 'sequel'.

Erebus":2xefjcv2 said:

I'm not so sure Ryan Kelly is off the list just because of a sub-9'0" broad jump. Remember, he has to be compared to players on the roster, and the only centers we have are Lewis and Sokoli. Sokoli is still raw and Lewis only had an 8'0" broad jump, so Kelly's 8'7" is an improvement.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=89665&draftyear=2013&genpos=C

Edit: I forgot about Nowak, but his 7'11" broad jump is another indicator that the BJ isn't that important for the Center position when you consider who they had last year.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=83872&draftyear=2012&genpos=DT

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It's worth noting -- the Seahawks just drafted the best and most explosive athlete to enter the NFL in years (Sokoli) and are training him to be a center only. They are refusing to try him at guard or tackle (or defense, which he played in college).

So although Lewis and Nowak (neither drafted) didn't have great broad jumps -- Sokoli definitely did. And that IMO is a greater indicator that they are at least seeking a terrific athlete to play center.

After all, Sheldon Rankins' broad jump is a 9-10. Good luck beating him in an explosive 1v1 if you're jumping an 8-7 let alone a 7-11.

Rob, Zach has updated lists with non-combine players, and there are a few more that meet and exceed the marks noted . . . Numbers are Bench, Vertical, Broad and Combined

Vi Teofilo OG Arizona State 43 29.5 9.67 82.17
Jason Spriggs OT Indiana 31 31.5 9.58 72.08
Jarell Broxton OG Baylor 18 30 9.5 57.5
Sebastian Johansson OG Marshall 26 32.5 9.42 67.92
Halapoulivaati Vaitai OT TCU 23 29 9.42 61.42
Jordan Swindle OT Kentucky 22 29 9.42 60.42
Spencer Pulley C Vanderbilt 28 28.5 9.33 65.83
Brandon Shell OT South Carolina 22 30.5 9.33 61.83
Joe Haeg OT North Dakota State 27.5 9.25 36.75
Alex Redmond OG UCLA 30 28 9.25 67.25
Joe Thuney OG North Carolina State 28 28.5 9.17 65.67
Brian Bobek C Minnesota 36 31 9.17 76.17
Cody Whitehair OG Kansas State 16 25.5 9.17 50.67
Givens Price OG Nebraska 24 32 9.17 65.17
Connor McGovern OG Missouri 33 33 9.08 75.08
Germain Ifedi OG Texas A&M 24 32.5 9.08 65.58
Joe Dahl OG Washington State 28 31 9.08 68.08
Joe Gore OT Clemson 28 27.5 9.08 64.58
Anthony Fabiano OT Harvard 25 32.5 9 66.5
Jake Brendel OC UCLA 25 28 9 62

I bolded some that stood out to me.

Joe Thuney, who is a favorite of mine, is on the list.

How are these numbers supposed to meaningfully add up to something above 70? Obviously you can't convert the broad jump to inches because then everyone would be well over 70. But if you keep it as feet, then it's insignificant compared to bench and vertical.

Erebus":3pzfrtap said:

How are these numbers supposed to meaningfully add up to something above 70? Obviously you can't convert the broad jump to inches because then everyone would be well over 70. But if you keep it as feet, then it's insignificant compared to bench and vertical.

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Kirwan's test is flawed because it diminishes the broad jump. You don't get the kudos of a 9-7 vs a 8-5. It's basically a 1.2 point advantage despite a significantly better attempt. He'd be better off awarding points per bracket (9-0 to 9-2 = 20 points, 9-3 to 9-5 = 25, 9-6 to 9-8 = 30 etc).

That said, I still think it's interesting to use it to compare Seattle's recent draftees to this years group. And it emphasised some important date -- such as Cody Whitehair's explosive score being substantially lower than anyone they've drafted since 2012.

All these numbers are great, but nobody is putting up anything that deals with the mental aspect, I agree with what Holmgren used to say, there are a lot of good to great athletes in the NFL, a lot less smart ones and he liked his lineman to be smart.