Pandion Haliaetus
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One of the most interesting things that stood out to me was the length of the D-Linemen the Seahawks drafted in Mal McDowell and Naz Jones.
McDowell: 6'6 Height, 34 7/8 Arm Length, 10 1/2 in Hands
Jones: 6'5 Height, 34 5/8 Arm Length, 10 7/8 in Hands
To put that in perspective:
6'7 Tony McDaniel had 33 in Arms
6'6 Alan Branch had 34 1/4 in Arms
6'4 Red Bryant had 33 3/8 in Arms
6'3 Jordan Hill had 33 1/2 in Arms
6'1 Brandon Mebane 33 in Arms
6'4 Michael Bennett has 33 5/8 Arms
6'3 Frank Clark has 34 3/8 in Arms
6'4 Q Jefferson has 33 3/8 in Arms
6'3 Jarran Reed has 33 3/8 in Arms
6'2 Athyba Rubin has 32 1/4 in Arms
6'2 Clinton McDonald N/A
6'5 Jason Jones N/A
I tried to list every notable inside player (even though Bryant wasnt) under Carroll.
Only Alan Branch came close to the overall length of both of the new draftees.
One of my first assumptions after looking into both McDowell and Jones was even if these guys can't realize their potential their natural length and thier strengths as run defenders that both these players floors were Tony McDaniel.
But I also thought McDaniel would have had 35 in Arms at least.
We know McDowell's ultimate upside is a Calais Campbell calibur player. I'm not going to look up how Campbell put his dominant career together in the NFL, I will say though McDowell's athletic measures at just 20 years old puts Campbell's combine to shame.
We know though McDowell is going to have to match his game with his athleticism to reach his potential, who some say is All-Pro level.
Nazair Jones is harder to predict but in watching him I got some young Kevin Williams vibes not as a pass-rusher but as a guy who was an active run defender especially in pursuit and a superior passing lane disrupter.
Kevin Williams came into the league at 6'5, 304 and 34 1/2 in Arms. So basically the same size and length comp as Nazair Jones.
Kevin Williams also led the league in tipped passes with 28 from 2008-2012. Best numbers I could find on a quick search.
Jones, imo, does have pass rush potential, more so than a McDaniel and Rubin 3-Tech of the past. More so than a Jarran Reed. However, he's going to have to put in a lot of hard work, physically and mentally, in that aspect. Regardless, kind of opposite of McDowell's path to his ceiling , Jones has to put in the work to redefine his body and athleticism to match his game. If he can raise his physical and athletic potential he can be more of a complete player, one that perhaps can be dominant in a rotational role.
However, when it comes down to it, while appreciate both DTs in thier run defense, I love the elite length both will bring to the table.
Seahawks had many DTs come through here in Carroll's time but none were consistently dominant passing lane disruptors known for tipping passes. Not that I can remember, although I know Bryant did have a knack for it but he mostly was a 2-down player at DE. And I don't remember guys like Jason Jones and Alan Branch in that aspect. And Kevin Williams was like a 13 year vet playing mostly Nose for us.
And now if you look at the Defensive Picks in the draft in whole, The Two Towers, the Seahawks now have in McDowell and Jones, and what they can bring to the team as passing lane disrupters, tipped passes enforcers.
And you add it to the fact that every DB the Seahawks had pedigree of being a BALL HAWK.
And if you put 2 and 2 together, it kind of adds up into the Defensive Theme of the Draft: Interceptions.
With McDowell and Jones, it's going to make it harder for QBs to step-up in the pocket as they don't need to penetrate, they don't need to amount sacks to disrupt passing lanes with thier length. And with a new crop of ball hawking DBs coming into compete and revilitize the Secondary, make no mistake, the Seahawks invested to create turnovers.
Futhermore, the length McDowell and Jones have doesn't only influence the defense, it's going to be used on Special Teams and it might challenge Russell Wilson in practice.
McDowell: 6'6 Height, 34 7/8 Arm Length, 10 1/2 in Hands
Jones: 6'5 Height, 34 5/8 Arm Length, 10 7/8 in Hands
To put that in perspective:
6'7 Tony McDaniel had 33 in Arms
6'6 Alan Branch had 34 1/4 in Arms
6'4 Red Bryant had 33 3/8 in Arms
6'3 Jordan Hill had 33 1/2 in Arms
6'1 Brandon Mebane 33 in Arms
6'4 Michael Bennett has 33 5/8 Arms
6'3 Frank Clark has 34 3/8 in Arms
6'4 Q Jefferson has 33 3/8 in Arms
6'3 Jarran Reed has 33 3/8 in Arms
6'2 Athyba Rubin has 32 1/4 in Arms
6'2 Clinton McDonald N/A
6'5 Jason Jones N/A
I tried to list every notable inside player (even though Bryant wasnt) under Carroll.
Only Alan Branch came close to the overall length of both of the new draftees.
One of my first assumptions after looking into both McDowell and Jones was even if these guys can't realize their potential their natural length and thier strengths as run defenders that both these players floors were Tony McDaniel.
But I also thought McDaniel would have had 35 in Arms at least.
We know McDowell's ultimate upside is a Calais Campbell calibur player. I'm not going to look up how Campbell put his dominant career together in the NFL, I will say though McDowell's athletic measures at just 20 years old puts Campbell's combine to shame.
We know though McDowell is going to have to match his game with his athleticism to reach his potential, who some say is All-Pro level.
Nazair Jones is harder to predict but in watching him I got some young Kevin Williams vibes not as a pass-rusher but as a guy who was an active run defender especially in pursuit and a superior passing lane disrupter.
Kevin Williams came into the league at 6'5, 304 and 34 1/2 in Arms. So basically the same size and length comp as Nazair Jones.
Kevin Williams also led the league in tipped passes with 28 from 2008-2012. Best numbers I could find on a quick search.
Jones, imo, does have pass rush potential, more so than a McDaniel and Rubin 3-Tech of the past. More so than a Jarran Reed. However, he's going to have to put in a lot of hard work, physically and mentally, in that aspect. Regardless, kind of opposite of McDowell's path to his ceiling , Jones has to put in the work to redefine his body and athleticism to match his game. If he can raise his physical and athletic potential he can be more of a complete player, one that perhaps can be dominant in a rotational role.
However, when it comes down to it, while appreciate both DTs in thier run defense, I love the elite length both will bring to the table.
Seahawks had many DTs come through here in Carroll's time but none were consistently dominant passing lane disruptors known for tipping passes. Not that I can remember, although I know Bryant did have a knack for it but he mostly was a 2-down player at DE. And I don't remember guys like Jason Jones and Alan Branch in that aspect. And Kevin Williams was like a 13 year vet playing mostly Nose for us.
And now if you look at the Defensive Picks in the draft in whole, The Two Towers, the Seahawks now have in McDowell and Jones, and what they can bring to the team as passing lane disrupters, tipped passes enforcers.
And you add it to the fact that every DB the Seahawks had pedigree of being a BALL HAWK.
And if you put 2 and 2 together, it kind of adds up into the Defensive Theme of the Draft: Interceptions.
With McDowell and Jones, it's going to make it harder for QBs to step-up in the pocket as they don't need to penetrate, they don't need to amount sacks to disrupt passing lanes with thier length. And with a new crop of ball hawking DBs coming into compete and revilitize the Secondary, make no mistake, the Seahawks invested to create turnovers.
Futhermore, the length McDowell and Jones have doesn't only influence the defense, it's going to be used on Special Teams and it might challenge Russell Wilson in practice.
