Why Nkemdiche could be the Seahawk's First Round Pick

I've mostly dimissed Nkemdiche offhand, but he sounds like the sort of player Pete would love and would fit into the Seahawks culture. This of course is just one side, but an interesting look nonetheless. Selected quotes and thoughts below, I suggest reading both these articles.

The Invasiveness of the NFL Draft Process and Robert Nkemdiche’s Talent
The Robert Nkemdiche Prophecy

Each team will have a different character grade on Nkemdiche. Some will view him as the next Tyrann Mathieu or Bruce Irvin, while others will be wary of trusting him to the point that they won’t draft him. If one of those teams does take a chance on the defender, they will be adding a supremely talented piece to their defensive line.

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Turns out he discovered life beyond football. In high school, his best friends were teammates. In college, he ran with a different crew. One of his good friends is a nurse; another wants to help abused children after graduating. Nkemdiche read The Celestine Prophecy, a novel about Eastern traditions. It felt like an awakening. He began referring to himself as spiritual rather than religious. He thinks often now about interconnectivity, about "centering myself" to put his "soul at ease." He's writing a science fiction book about a meeting of the "thoughts of the human mind and the conscious." He wants to start a fashion line. He uses the word majestic to describe everything. "I evolved."

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Sounds the sort Pete would enjoy working with and a totally different sounding personality than I would have expected for a red-flagged player. Michael Bennett seems like the perfect influence for him not only as a interior rusher but as a an outside the box sorta guy.

Nkemdiche wishes scouts would ask him actual football questions. When one team did ask, he rose to the whiteboard and drew defensive assignments for every position, even the secondary. "Very smart, football-wise," says a scout who witnessed it.

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...the quality of line play and the athleticism on the inside appears to be declining every season. If Nkemdiche is doing this to college players he should be able to easily manipulate and knock back NFL guards and centers.

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As is a frequent discussion around Seahawks draft chatter, the Seahawks gather athletic interior offensive lineman while much of the league stays traditional. The Seahawks need to continue finding extremely athletic interior rushers to take advantage of that. Interior rusher is still a huge need for us and as Frank Clark is (seemingly) shifted outside, could Nkemdiche be the target take his interior role?

Robert Nkemdiche is 21 years old, jacked, polite and hardworking. But he's a creative spirit entering a world where creative spirits are looked upon with suspicion and disdain. He was once considered a top-five pick. Now nobody knows.

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Not in Seattle.

As much as the NFL researches and investigates, they have no clue whether he or anyone else in this class will stay out of trouble. Teams that understand that should be willing to spend a late first or early second-round pick on him.

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Nkemdiche has a lot going against him. Players with issues taking them off the field have been in the headlines all offseason, and as one writer points out, this includes players that aren't particularly terrible people (read: Josh Gordon). Von Miller, Mathieu, Irvin all made it with different personal issues. It'd be a risk, but the sort that Pete and John seem willing and excited to take, at a position of paramount importance.

I think even without the character issues he still would have fallen into the late 1st round if not later. His production and tape do not justify his hype... even his athleticism is over-stated. He's still riding the coattails of his hype as a former #1 high school prospect.

NFL teams are emphasizing character more than ever these days so it seems fairly likely that he's going to fall like a rock in the draft. Dominique Easley was a similar, over-rated athletic DT with character concerns and he's not even on an NFL roster right now. The Pats paid money to make him go away. The timing of that cut probably hurts Nkemdiche because it is a reminder to teams that character matters.

Further, there are reasons to think that Nkemdiche is a malignant risk. He bombed interviews at the combine refusing to take responsibility for his actions. Rather than seek help or show remorse, he makes excuses saying it was "one mistake." Rather than trying to repair his image, he's spends his time telling people how he wants to get a pet panther. His brother is an extremely bad influence with substances, too. You don't want a guy doing things the wrong way and being unapologetic in your locker room. That's what Easley was. That's what Nkemdiche is right now.

Contrast this with Honey Badger or Bruce Irvin who both had their come to Jesus moment before the NFL draft. Both had problems worse than Nkemdiche, but both had good attitudes about fixing themselves. So they did. Nkemdiche's attitude is terrible, so he won't.

Being a success in the NFL is HARD. Even for the biggest college hot shots. It's extremely rare to find a successful NFL player with a bad attitude, because there is so much that even the best players must learn and develop at. Growing is impossible without being a responsible person with a good attitude. And this fact is more plain than ever, with Manziel, Gordon, Easley and Harvin all being in the news over the past week.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Nkemdiche falls into the 3rd or 4th round. His unrepentent character flaws and flippant attitude remind me of Maurice Clarett. The team that drafts him is almost certainly lighting a pick on fire.

Keep in mind all the pre-draft BS about Marcus Peters -- take it all w a grain of salt.

Still PO'd about not using a 7th on Lael Collins.

chet380":1qcp67yk said:

Keep in mind all the pre-draft BS about Marcus Peters -- take it all w a grain of salt.

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Peters never had any off the field issues as far as I know. He was just a headcase on the field. He still is.

Also, Peters was an awesome player in college. Nkemdiche, not so much.

chet380":1qcp67yk said:

Still PO'd about not using a 7th on Lael Collins.

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Collins tried to defer out of the 2015 draft and was denied. Had he been drafted in the late rounds, he simply would have refused to sign the contract which would have automatically enrolled him in the 2016 draft, which was what he wanted. He even warned teams that if they drafted him in the later rounds he would not sign with them. In other words, if Seattle had drafted him in the 7th round they would have got nothing to show for it.

Once the draft came and went and Collins was undrafted, he lost any ability to enroll in the 2016 draft, so he signed as a UDFA with Dallas. If you want to be mad, be mad at Seattle for not competing harder in UDFA for him.

I kinda doubt Collins was all that high on Seattle's board anyway. His TEF score was only 2.65. Seattle tends to draft guys who score 3.00 or higher.

kearly":1g626jjs said:

I kinda doubt Collins was all that high on Seattle's board anyway. His TEF score was only 2.65. Seattle tends to draft guys who score 3.00 or higher.

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If memory serves it was between us and Dallas to sign him in UDFA and Dallas gave him the max amount allowed, not sure what our offer was.

kearly":1mdjxiy7 said:

I think even without the character issues he still would have fallen into the late 1st round if not later. His production and tape do not justify his hype... even his athleticism is over-stated. He's still riding the coattails of his hype as a former #1 high school prospect.

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His pSparq is still 130+, making him pretty darn athletic relative to other defensive lineman. I put some stock in Fahey and a few other's work, but I've hardly watched his play to speak intelligently in regards to that.

kearly":1mdjxiy7 said:

Further, there are reasons to think that Nkemdiche is a malignant risk. He bombed interviews at the combine refusing to take responsibility for his actions. Rather than seek help or show remorse, he makes excuses saying it was "one mistake." Rather than trying to repair his image, he's spends his time telling people how he wants to get a pet panther. His brother is an extremely bad influence with substances, too. You don't want a guy doing things the wrong way and being unapologetic in your locker room. That's what Easley was. That's what Nkemdiche is right now.

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Frank Clark faced the exact same combine interview and more or less said the same thing. Made a poor decision, not who I am. If anything Frank Clark's interview was worse. I guess my point is what I see the Seahawk's doing, not necessarily what I think is the best move. If I were in charge Frank Clark probably wouldn't have been drafted as a Seahawk.

He seemed to own up to it, of course he could be lying about the weed, but hard to say.

“It was a rash decision by me,” he [Nkemdiche] said. “Uncharacteristic and that’s not who I am. That’s not what I stand for. That’s not what my family stands for. It was embarrassing for me and my whole family and the whole Ole Miss family and I told them that’s not the kind of player they’re getting. They’re getting a straight-forward player. I’m never going to return to that. Just moving forward and embracing this moment.”

kearly":1mdjxiy7 said:

Contrast this with Honey Badger or Bruce Irvin who both had their come to Jesus moment before the NFL draft. Both had problems worse than Nkemdiche, but both had good attitudes about fixing themselves. So they did. Nkemdiche's attitude is terrible, so he won't.

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This is a great point. I'm not sure his attitude is terrible, but he doesn't appear to have had a rock bottom moment like Matheiu or Irvin. However he was still kicked off his team, and missed a bowl game, to him that may be the jump start he needs. The admission of lazy play is more worrisome to me though. Good he was honest, bad it exists as an issue.

He could easily fall further, I do see him as a Seahawks type pick.

I hope he slips to us and we pick him. Then again....I really wanted Randy Moss and was pissed when we passed on him. Thankfully this regime takes risks.

JKent82":wm7mubd8 said:

Frank Clark faced the exact same combine interview and more or less said the same thing. Made a poor decision, not who I am. If anything Frank Clark's interview was worse.

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I don't think they're comparable situations. For one thing, Frank Clark really did have just one incident. The Hawks looked into it and decided they were comfortable with whatever they found, and that a similar incident was unlikely to recur. Nkemdiche has a history of incidences, and during the pre-draft process he's shown no signs that his poor judgement has improved. Quite the opposite.

Hasselbeck":3aiunjbu said:

kearly":3aiunjbu said:

I kinda doubt Collins was all that high on Seattle's board anyway. His TEF score was only 2.65. Seattle tends to draft guys who score 3.00 or higher.

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If memory serves it was between us and Dallas to sign him in UDFA and Dallas gave him the max amount allowed, not sure what our offer was.

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Google machine was a bit rusty because Collins had a good game against us last year.

I remember that talking heads discussed us as a possibility, but i don't believe the Hawks ever made an offer.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seah ... l-collins/

Kearly basically is spot on why we didn't use a draft pick on him.

Alexander":1n288wel said:

JKent82":1n288wel said:

Frank Clark faced the exact same combine interview and more or less said the same thing. Made a poor decision, not who I am. If anything Frank Clark's interview was worse.

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I don't think they're comparable situations. For one thing, Frank Clark really did have just one incident. The Hawks looked into it and decided they were comfortable with whatever they found, and that a similar incident was unlikely to recur. Nkemdiche has a history of incidences, and during the pre-draft process he's shown no signs that his poor judgement has improved. Quite the opposite.

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In the following offseason leading up to the season opener for the 2012 team against Alabama, Clark was suspended from the team for felony second-degree home invasion, for alleged theft of a MacBook Air.[10] He was allowed to return to practice a few weeks later.[11] He eventually pled guilty to the felony charge after missing one week.

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Nkemdiche's other incident involved being apart of a fight while he was with his brother as a high schooler visiting Ole Miss. Well and a photo smoking weed, but we know many NFL players do anyways.

So they're both more or less at two. It's easier looking at it now since Clark is now a Seahawk, and I know personally that changes my view, partially because hypocrisy and partially that I do trust Pete and John.

Now we don't know what the Seahawks have found yet, but at this point last year most regarded Clark like most view Nkemdiche now. And the Seahawks took Clark.

Definitely seems like a different kind of dude. Not necessarily in a bad way, it is hard to tell.....just different. My opinion on the player hasn't changed, he is a legitimate top 5 kind of talent IMO. Was constantly double teamed and still found ways to make plays. Explosive get off, shoots gaps, and strong anchoring as well. Now, he does run hot and cold I will say that. But for the most part, I observed that when he was not making plays it was because he was being doubled. When he was in one on one's he dominated the game. Guys with his talent don't usually fall to 26 unless there are some red flags, but it is a risk that is worth it IMO because the upside is immense. But, if they feel he just will not fit in the locker room and won't be reliable it would be hard to blame them for passing. They will have much more info on the situation.

JKent82":ymfmj729 said:

Alexander":ymfmj729 said:

JKent82":ymfmj729 said:

Frank Clark faced the exact same combine interview and more or less said the same thing. Made a poor decision, not who I am. If anything Frank Clark's interview was worse.

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I don't think they're comparable situations. For one thing, Frank Clark really did have just one incident. The Hawks looked into it and decided they were comfortable with whatever they found, and that a similar incident was unlikely to recur. Nkemdiche has a history of incidences, and during the pre-draft process he's shown no signs that his poor judgement has improved. Quite the opposite.

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In the following offseason leading up to the season opener for the 2012 team against Alabama, Clark was suspended from the team for felony second-degree home invasion, for alleged theft of a MacBook Air.[10] He was allowed to return to practice a few weeks later.[11] He eventually pled guilty to the felony charge after missing one week.

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Fair enough. But my impression is still that Clark had much less of a history than Nkemdiche. Maybe that's wrong. Either way, I think the key factor is that the team has to feel comfortable that the player's issue are firmly in the past. Obviously we just don't know what the team thinks about these guys, but it's hard to imagine anyone feeling good about Nkemdiche considering the way he's conducted himself in the pre-draft process.

It's also worth pointing out that Rob Staton called the Clark pick a year ago, and this year he's firmly of the opinion that the Hawks won't draft Nkemdiche (at least not in the first round, and maybe not at all). So clearly he sees a distinction between the two. Read more here.

Alexander":10yl2a7t said:

JKent82":10yl2a7t said:

Alexander":10yl2a7t said:

JKent82":10yl2a7t said:

Frank Clark faced the exact same combine interview and more or less said the same thing. Made a poor decision, not who I am. If anything Frank Clark's interview was worse.

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I don't think they're comparable situations. For one thing, Frank Clark really did have just one incident. The Hawks looked into it and decided they were comfortable with whatever they found, and that a similar incident was unlikely to recur. Nkemdiche has a history of incidences, and during the pre-draft process he's shown no signs that his poor judgement has improved. Quite the opposite.

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In the following offseason leading up to the season opener for the 2012 team against Alabama, Clark was suspended from the team for felony second-degree home invasion, for alleged theft of a MacBook Air.[10] He was allowed to return to practice a few weeks later.[11] He eventually pled guilty to the felony charge after missing one week.

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Fair enough. But my impression is still that Clark had much less of a history than Nkemdiche. Maybe that's wrong. Either way, I think the key factor is that the team has to feel comfortable that the player's issue are firmly in the past. Obviously we just don't know what the team thinks about these guys, but it's hard to imagine anyone feeling good about Nkemdiche considering the way he's conducted himself in the pre-draft process.

It's also worth pointing out that Rob Staton called the Clark pick a year ago, and this year he's firmly of the opinion that the Hawks won't draft Nkemdiche (at least not in the first round, and maybe not at all). So clearly he sees a distinction between the two. Read more here.

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mehh....I called Russell Wilson.

ImTheScientist":17lks0pj said:

mehh....I called Russell Wilson.

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I'm not exactly sure what point you're trying to make, but I'm responding to the claim above that "at this point last year most regarded Clark like most view Nkemdiche now." I'm pointing out that there are smart people who don't view their situations as being the same. Maybe the Hawks DO think they're the same, and they end up taking Nkemdiche where they took Clark last year. But my impression is that there are important distinctions between Clark and Nkemdiche. Whereas the talk about Clark last year revolved largely around one particular incident (even if the rest of his record wasn't exactly spotless), this year the talk about Nkemdiche seems to revolve around a number of incidences, only a handful of which are publicly known.

JKent82":w9i5fn0u said:

Frank Clark faced the exact same combine interview and more or less said the same thing.

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As mentioned by others previously, Clark and Nkemdiche are significantly different cases. Clark was in a one-time he-said-she-said scuffle that saw charges dropped by the prosecutor, whereas Nkemdiche had a lengthy list of character concerns even before he fell out of a hotel window.

Also, there were no reports of Clark bombing interviews at the combine. The same can't be said for Nkemdiche:

Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reports that Nkemdiche was “unimpressive” during interviews with NFL teams during the week.“He had a very unimpressive time during interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine,” Cole said Sunday. “One assistant coach I talked to said, ‘Look, Ndkemdiche is a different dude. He’s a very different kind of guy — the kind of guy that you want to be careful with and really just doesn’t get what it takes to be a pro.'”

JKent82":w9i5fn0u said:

His pSparq is still 130+, making him pretty darn athletic relative to other defensive lineman. I put some stock in Fahey and a few other's work, but I've hardly watched his play to speak intelligently in regards to that.

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That is an excellent number, 91st percentile. Surprisingly good. College OL tended to handle him very easily, and his most vital combine numbers seemed just okay. I'm surprised.

Deep down, I am a little scared the OP is right. But at the same time, Nkemdiche feels way more like a Dallas Cowboys type pick than a Seattle Seahawks type.

If Nkemdiche is taken at #26, it will probably be because Jerry Jones helped John Schneider move back in the draft. Nkemdiche will probably play with a star on his helmet in 2016. It's more a question of when than if.

ImTheScientist":w9i5fn0u said:

I called Russell Wilson.

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Same here. Was also a big fan of the Moss trade for the Patriots.

kearly":1o6ibymw said:

JKent82":1o6ibymw said:

Frank Clark faced the exact same combine interview and more or less said the same thing.

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As mentioned by others previously, Clark and Nkemdiche are significantly different cases. Clark was in a one-time he-said-she-said scuffle that saw charges dropped by the prosecutor, whereas Nkemdiche had a lengthy list of character concerns even before he fell out of a hotel window.

Also, there were no reports of Clark bombing interviews at the combine. The same can't be said for Nkemdiche:

Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reports that Nkemdiche was “unimpressive” during interviews with NFL teams during the week.“He had a very unimpressive time during interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine,” Cole said Sunday. “One assistant coach I talked to said, ‘Look, Ndkemdiche is a different dude. He’s a very different kind of guy — the kind of guy that you want to be careful with and really just doesn’t get what it takes to be a pro.'”

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Gotchya, Clark caught some flack for his media interview, "victim blaming" sorta stuff, but you're right his actual interviews got good reviews. Which if Nkemdiche is bombing them there may be more to it.

I agree with Alexander above we have no idea how the Seahawks will view him in the end. I just have a feeling the Seahawks will dig into him more than we might expect and to me Nkemdiche seems like less of risk than I previously thought.

I'd pass on this guy in any round. He sounds like a space cadet much like Moffit did before he fell out of football.

Natethegreat":3f21g920 said:

I'd pass on this guy in any round. He sounds like a space cadet much like Moffit did before he fell out of football.

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Bennett often has a similar vibe to him, though. So there is good and bad examples.

Just read an article that this kids first priority once he signs his rookie deal is to.......and I kid you not.... to Buy a Panther.

You read that right, he wants to buy a jungle cat.

Kid sounds like a moron. With weed being legal in wa state, he has josh gordon written all over him. No judgement, no control, no maturity. Also no real motor. which might be the biggest X on him, pete and js love guys who love football, for all this kids god given ability, he sure underwhelmed in college.

edited to add link
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-foo ... e-contract

I read taht article, Danny Oneil on Brock and Salk said it was a great article. But they are both sympathetic fools.

The first thing he's going to buy is a Panther, a live cat. He is absolutely clueless. And dangerous.

They asked him to do the short shuttle at his Pro Day, and he refused.

He was smoking synthetic weed, dangerous shit.

He's been in deep shit several times, and that's just the one's where he was caught.

Whatever team foolishly picks him, will have to live with the consequences when something really bad happens. Like when his Panther kills the neighbors kids.

If a team enables this guy with a lot of money, then they need to be held responsible when shit goes down.