The Summer of the UDFA

The Seahawks have made an art form out of recruiting and developing Undrafted Free Agents. I don't recall the exact number, but almost half of our 53 man roster is often made up of undrafted players.

But this year's class may prove to be the best yet. By my count 5 are genuinely strong contenders to make a very talented roster . . .

WR Tanner McEvoy
S Tyvis Powell
OT George Fant
DT Brandin Bryant
QB Treyvone Boykin

In addition, there are a handful that are true bubble players fighting for a few final spots . . .

RB Troymaine Pope
LB Steve Longa
LB Kache Palacio
LS Nolan Freese
CB DeAndre Elliott

That's a pretty remarkable group. It will be fun to see them fight for their football lives on Thursday.

Who do you think has the best chances of making it, and having a long term career like Baldwin and Kearse and other undrafted Seahawks from the past?

Boykin probably sticks by virtue of his position. Pope, McEvoy, Fant, and Bryant are the guys I've heard the most about.

My Perspective on a few on the guys that I've been cheering for . . .

Boykin has made this team. It started by default, but I think he took advantage of a prime opportunity and went with it. Is he perfect yet? No, but he's come a long way in a short time and seems to have all the tools, both athletically and mental/emotional makeup, to be the guy for the next 4 years.

Fant was a favorite of mine in the draft lead up process, although I saw him as either a TE or DE project. His transition to football and development at tackle has been one of the underreported stories of training camp. He's been the first left tackle off the bench, and has held his own while growing each week. I think they have to find a roster spot for him.

Tyvis Powell was a guy I saw as a special teamer only, and there is room for that kind of player on most rosters . . . but not on ours. But he has shown enough ability as a backup versatile safety that I think he makes the team and is an impact special teamer.

Brandin Bryant got a lot of talk through camp, but has been an impact player in games. I'm looking forward to seeing him on Thursday, and think his roster spot hinges on his play in this game. He's one of the ones for whom this last preseason game matters.

Steve Longa was a personal favorite of mine from the moment we signed him. I had him penciled in as the backup MLB . . . but Coyle showed last week that he's not going to give that position up without a fight. I think Longa fits the demeanor of the defense better with his relentless, aggressive play, but he's going to have to make a huge impact this week to have a prayer of beating out Coyle.

What I find interesting about Fant is that he has very little football experience, and even less at Tackle, yet he's been getting glowing reports out of TC. That shows he has a lot of potential, and he's realizing a good bit of it right now.

I think they find a spot for him, with Poole going to the PS. Pete plays it close to the vest, but you don't talk up someone that much if you're going to cut him, IF you still want the guy. They talked Browner up, but cut him, and are not worried if someone else picks him up. Fant, I can see them keeping it very quiet about him if they thought they needed to stash him on the PS.

Part of the seahawks secret sauce dealing with Salary Cap football. They dont come any cheaper then rookie UDFAs. And we've been doing it for years. ADB, Kearse, Rawls, Even bennett was initially our udfa.....

For me if I'm looking at quality long term potential:

Fant

I think he kind of stands alone here as the one player most likely to receive a second contract with Seattle. Seattle likes uniqueness, and Fant's footwork is really quite impressive. That's a really strong foundation to build on as an OT. He could be our version of Terron Armstead who was similarly gifted in his footwork but took a year before seeing the field for New Orleans. He is now a strong fringe Pro Bowl caliber LT in year 4.

If Fant has developed as quickly as has been suggested -- then he's not making our practice squad if we cut him. OTs are too valuable in this league. There are probably as many as ten teams that would gladly sacrifice an active 53 slot for a quality OT project.

If I'm thinking of guys that may make this or future rosters and play out a similar career to a Shead/Jeron Johnson kind of 4 year stint with Seattle:

Boykin
Elliott
Powell

For me, I can't say with any certainty about anything with McEvoy. He could fall into either of the above lists. He could also be cut next spring because he didn't advance skills wise not unlike Sokoli. He flashed real quality. But was inconsistent as one should expect. He didn't really test himself against better quality players. He should get an extended look. Hope it's here and not elsewhere.

George Fant isn't ready just yet, but I think his upside is roughly on par with Germain Ifedi or Russell Okung. I love his quickness, apparent arm length, strength and recovery ability. I really hope they keep him and see how he responds to a year with the team. He is easily my favorite UDFA in this class as of today. Sadly, it wouldn't shock me if Seattle cuts him hoping to get him on the PS, as our backup OL is very competitive and Seattle tends to keep relatively few OL.

Troymaine Pope absolutely deserves to be on an NFL roster. Sure, he hasn't had to create a ton with the holes he's been running through, but his acceleration and speed coupled with good instincts in the open field make him a player worth having.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with Trevone Boykin. He's a bit like Tebow at this point, undeveloped as a passer to a remarkable degree, but he's also elite in the areas you can't coach. If Seattle can coach Boykin up, he could be special. He's not ready to be a #2 QB, but Tebow wasn't ready to be a #1 QB when he played and he still Tebowed his way to a mind-boggling number of wins.

McEvoy is as much of a receiver as George Farmer is a RB, but at this point he might be our 5th best. It's not a good thing.

I put Tyvis Powell in the same category as Chris Maragos, he's sub-replacement level as an actual defender, but his effort and athleticism on special teams will earn him a spot for as long as he's cheap. I don't really consider these kinds of players to be of any real worth as they are a dime a dozen... but... good for him.

The rest of the list... meh. If Freese makes the team, then John Schneider will have made a very foolish mistake. Ironically, one of Tim Ruskell's most famous mistakes also involved getting too cute at LS.

Good comp on Powell, Kearly. Obviously, most of these guys are going to be more like Maragos or Jeron Johnson or Alvin Bailey. Guys who hang on the fringes of the roster because they provide some versatility, but not much quality.

There are really four categories of UDFA's IMO . . .

Camp fodder . . . guys that fill a 90 man roster and might make the PS on a rotating basis. John keeps a steady stream of these guys coming and going in case one pops.

Fringe depth . . . guys that can be marginal backups at multiple positions and make an impact on special teams. Johnson, Maragos, Bailey, Coyle, etc. are good examples.

Quality starters . . . guys that actually break into the line up, but never reach elite status. They are guys who you might re-sign for mid level contracts, but are also guys you are always looking to upgrade. Kearse is a good example here, as is Garry Gilliam.

Elite potential . . . The surprise that cuts through the clutter to make his name known. Sometimes its the small school guy. Sometimes it's the athlete with no position. Sometimes its just a hard working guy who takes a year or two to reach his potential. Doug Baldwin and Thomas Rawls are good examples.

Personally, based just on a few games and gut instinct, I'd put Fant somewhere in the top two tiers. He's not there yet, but if his development continues along present lines, I could see him being in the mix. Boykin, Powell and Pope are probably somewhere in the middle two, but probably more like fringe depth. Still, they are cheap fringe depth, and good guys to have at the bottom of the roster.

UDFA signings over draft signings also does mean that you didn't have the right draft grade on them.

mikeak":xtqzkn9s said:

UDFA signings over draft signings also does mean that you didn't have the right draft grade on them.

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I don't think any smart NFL front office cares about draft grades as long as the team is getting better.

Its a silly sentence. It's like saying "you should have paid more for Microsoft stock in 1987 if you knew it was going to be so valuable in 1995."

Boykin is a lot like Thomas Rawls in that he would have been drafted except for legal issues. This team will go after guys with perceived character issues if they think they fit the profile as competitors, and except for Harvin, they have been pretty good about psychologically profiling these guys. All the better that they don't have to spend draft capital on these guys and can use their mid-to-late rounders to grab someone who otherwise wouldn't be there in UDFA.

mikeak":9ff6x4ly said:

UDFA signings over draft signings also does mean that you didn't have the right draft grade on them.

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That's just flat not true.

The 3rd day of the draft is mostly about ensuring you get support in areas you need to improve. Teams only have a handful of picks. Team needs definitely still apply in this case. Seattle is well known as a team that actively seeks to reload at a lot of positions with minimal duplication (OL/DB usual exceptions). This draft (multiple RBs) was not typical. But even in that -- it was entirely need driven. We needed to avoid the street UFA run we were forced to take at the end of 2015.

Case in point: Joey Hunt. Seattle needed to improve their OC position. By draft time, we only had Lewis and no idea if Britt could play. Hunt probably wasn't getting drafted, but we weren't in a position to let him escape the draft and risk not adding to the wide open competition.

Every team has that kind of scenario working for them. And in truth when you're getting to the 5th through 8th rounds -- the difference in player quality is often very minimal. Environment (both coaching acumen and willingness to roster and play UDFAs) as well as scheme/style fit is just as crucial. Not every successful UDFA would be able to replicate his success for every team. And of course the ability to continue to develop at a rapid pace in the months following the draft is essential. That ability is not always discernable or linear. It's an unknown variable through the draft process and doesn't become apparent until after a player goes through training camp (or sometimes two of them).

Also, sometimes a team will have a pretty good idea heading into the 3rd day which players are interested in them as UDFA's . . . through coach and scouting interviews, etc. And so they will actually overdraft players with UDFA grades if they want them, but don't know if they can get them via UDFA.

mikeak":2gfn954s said:

UDFA signings over draft signings also does mean that you didn't have the right draft grade on them.

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This is absurd.

UDFAs are generally players with larger question marks than their drafted counterparts. Could be recovering from injury, off-field issues, or maybe didn't play for a big enough school to be matched against quality opposition so it's impossible to assess their true value.

It also assumes a static Madden-like player ranking. Players respond differently to circumstances, they grow physically, and they acquire knowledge. They are anything but static.

There are intangibles. Players who don't have numbers that stand out may yet be successful in the NFL due to their attitude, work ethic, intelligence, or desire to succeed. No scouting department has time to personally evaluate every college player. It's only when they get to camp and work on a daily basis with coaches that they show their true potential.

The Seahawks provide an environment of competition that allows players to challenge themselves as well as each other, designed to bring out the best in each player. They have an open-minded staff willing to swap positions for players if they think a player would be better-suited in a different role.

None of that can be accurately assessed and graded prior to the draft.

IMHO: I believe a lot of our UDFA success is due to the great work of our scouting staff but more important is the confidence our coaching staff has in coaching-up a player. We are obviously blessed with great teachers, and it starts with PC. :irishdrinkers:

Practice squad. Players like Pope, Elliott, Bryant and Longa are likely headed to PS. This is a talented class of rookies but let's face it, it's tough to make this roster. Other guys like Kasen, Goodley, Lawler and Pool will also have a chance on the PS.

mikeak":ym4447ct said:

UDFA signings over draft signings also does mean that you didn't have the right draft grade on them.

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Heartily disagree, there are very many reasons why players with higher draft grades held by the team aren't drafted by the team. Need, positional strength, other player availability, reputation, perceived character issues, potential unresiolved injury, as just a few are reasons why the player may not get drafted where fairly valued; and they have little to do with the team having the right grade on the player. JMO but your remark is simply wrong.

With respect to the players being discussed here there is not unsurprisingly some real negativity about several of them. Opinions naturally vary.

Personally, each of these guys is a free addition to the pile and a few of them have genuine NFL level potential notwithstanding the negativity of perceived upsides.

OT- Fant, this guy is a genuine find, he has a genuinely high potential to be a starting level OT. He has a high SPARQ score and plays to that observed athletic ability unlike some recent drafted players. He has not played OT before and is changing positions from TE, and even sports from Bball to football, and has come from a tier 3 school so even his coaching there may have been suspect. He seems to improve game to game as we watch him play. To me he's worth keeping and developing even at the cost of a roster position. Of course he's raw and not ready yet, but I suspect he will soon show he will be ready. I believe he'd get poached if waived. I think he could become a dependable quality starter if he continues to develop.

QB- Boykin, is raw, physically talented, and learning, flashes real potential. He needs to be coached up for few seasons and see the field better, is worth keeping as a backup QB, we'd be screwed w/o RWamd Boykin would at least make it fun to watch. I think the team got a steal with this player. I think he could develop in a quality backup QB with potential to be more. From what he has shown some team would snatch him up immediately to develop.

RB- Pope, sure has played well against back ups and has flashed some ability. I'd like to see more against starters before thinking he's a keeper but he 's worth trying to get to the PS and he may become a quality backup level NFL RB, but really is fringe depth. Not bad for a guy about to embark on a career as labourer before being invited to camp here. He's worth trying to keep around.

WR/TE/S- (athlete) McEvoy, is a player without a position as yet. He played passably at each and has exceptional athleticism. Perhaps he's just a try hard guy but when he plays he seems to make plays and improves game to game despite practicing at 3 positions during camp. He could in fact be the 5th best WR on the team b/c the others are a collection of walking wounded.

The nine UDFA rookies with the best chance to make the roster this year:

1. Treyvone Boykin, backup QB -- slam dunk to make the roster if he is healthy.
2. Nolan Freese, starting long snapper -- 80/20 while overcoming minor shoulder injury in preseason.
3. Tyvis Powell, reserve free safety -- 60/40 to make the roster for special teams and as the 4th safety.
4. Tanner McEvoy, reserve WR/TE -- 60/40 as 5th or 6th WR over Lawler and/or Williams.
5. George Fant, reserve LT -- 30/70 to make the roster as a backup or reserve LT, but probably p-squad.
6. Brandin Bryant, reserve 3DT -- 20/80 as a pass rush specialist in nickel defense; hope he makes p-squad.
7. Troymaine Pope, reserve RB -- 20/80 as a running back with little versatility or special teams acumen.
8. Steve Longa, reserve MLB -- 20/80 longshot to make it as a backup MLB and special teamer.
9. Kache Palacio, reserve WLB -- 10/90 longshot as a backup LB with Coyle and KPL healthy.

That's close to how I see it except for Fant who I'd say was more likely to be 60/40 to be the last OLineman kept.

I left out CB DeAndre Elliott, who has practically no chance to make the roster with the depth in front of him, but he very well could be added to the practice squad.