Seahawks Day Three was about drafting immediate impact players

The Seahawks completed in the account one of their most efficient drafts. Give it to the Seahawks for breathing life back to a fan base that was still recovering from a 7-10 season that also saw two of it’s favorite players traded and released. Such in the way of the NFL draft. If you hit spring hopes eternal. Here is a breakdown of the Seahawk’s draft picks on Day Three

The Seahawks drafted cornerback Coby Bryant from  the University of Cincinnati.  A Jim  Thorpe Award winner Bryant is a plug and play type of player with their  first pick on Day 2

Pre-Draft Analysis

Bryant is an instinctive corner who quickly diagnoses routes in man coverage and route combinations in zone looks. He lacks elite top-end speed but flips his hips smoothly and knows how to protect himself against versus speedsters. Bryant is a hands catcher who picked off seven passes over the past two seasons. He steps up and wraps tacklers in run support. 

POST-DRAFT ANALYSIS

Bryant has good instinct with an ability to undercut passes that are underthrown with  the patience and discipline not to gamble. Look for Bryant to play on the left side and nickel. His versatility will get him on the field and his skills will keep him on it.  Rookie Tre Brown played well at left cornerback until a season-ending injury. The Seahawks picked up Artie Burns in the offseason and the seven-year cornerback will be in the mix as well.

TRADE, TRADE ,TRADE

And yes, the long-awaited trade by the Seattle Seahawks happened three days into the draft. Some habits are just tough to break. The Hawks moved back 13 slots in the 5^th round in  a trade with Kansas City. The Hawks moved from 145 to 158

SECOND PICK OF THE DAY

After moving down the Seahawks stayed put when it came to the  10th pick in the fifth round. The Hawks used that pick which was 153rd overall on Tariq Woolen cornerback from USTA of Conference USA.

WHY THIS PICK WORKS

The  6-4 210 cornerback is a press/ zone corner that has length, size, and speed.  Another physically impressive attribute for Woolen is his long arm strength.  Arm strength is critical for cornerbacks because of the jostling that goes on right before the ball arrives. A former wide receiver Woolen is being compared with former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman who also switched positions in college. Woolen turned a lot of heads at the combine when he clocked a  4.26  40 time at the combine.

WHY THIS PICK DOES NOT WORK

The knock-on Woolen is inconsistency in his play and an inability to wrap up when tackling. For the Seahawks, these are minor errors that can be corrected with proper and consistent coaching.

“ Tariq Woolen is as tall and as fast and as long and as quick as you can hope for. I always kind of had a little lean to the tall guys, so when he runs this fast and he’s this hungry, and he knows about our backgrounds and he knows our history and has watched our guys over the years, so I kind of like that. We are going to give him a shot  and see what he  can do, “

Pete Carroll said during his interview on the NFL Network .

MOVED DOWN STILL GO THEIR MAN

While we need to hear from Pete and  John confirmation you have to believe one of the reasons the Seahawks moved down was that they felt confident that  Edge Rusher Tyreke Smith from Ohio State would be available.  That is exactly who they selected with the  158^th pick.

WHY THIS PICK WORKS

The  6-3 255 Smith is considered an above-average edge rusher who can pressure on the quarterback and fill up passing lanes making it difficult for a quarterback to pass downfield. Smith’s ability to set the edge on run plays is something that could get him on the field sooner than later.  If  Smith is able to grasp the pro concepts with quickness, he could be an adequate backup to  L.J. Collier on the right side. The Seahawks could employ Smith in a hybrid linebacker edge rusher position which would play to his strength of quickness, versatility, and ability to play the run.

WHY THIS PICK DOES NOT WORK

The knock-on on Smith is he lacks a counterpunch move when rushing the quarterback. Because of his size, which is average, Smith will need to add numerous  passes rushing movers to his game so offensive linemen don’t just push him to the outside.

TYLER LOCKETT CLONE

The Seahawks used the first of their two seventh-round picks on a 5’11  189 pounds Bo Melton a wide receiver out of Rutgers. To get straight to the point, Melton is  Tyler Lockett’s clone. An undersized wideout with speed, good hands, and an exceptional router runner. At Rutgers Melton played on all of the receiving special teams.

WHY THIS PICK WORKS

Melton is the special team player the Hawks have been waiting for. Look for him to take over the kickoff returning duties from DeeJay Dallas. He could also see some time at punt return as well. Punt returners last season were Ryan Neal, Freddie Swain, and Tyler Lockett. Pretty sure the Seahawks would like to remove Lockett from the mix.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

The Seahawks used the final pick on  Dereke Young  a 6’3 220 wide receiver from Lenoir-Rhyne. A small school private University in Hickory North Carolina. Despite playing in just two games in his senior year due to a knee injury Young showed enough for the Seahawks to bet on him. Young has an excellent combination of size, speed and willingness to run routes inside. At the worst Young will be a candidate for the practice squad.