The Seahawks addressed needs on the offensive line with their first two picks in the NFL Draft Saturday.
SEAHAWKS SIGN LONG SNAPPER NATE BOYER AS UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT: The NFL Network reported that the Seahawks signed long snapper Nate Boyer as an undrafted free agent.
Boyer is a former Green Beret who walked on at Texas and won the team’s starting long snapping job. (detailed here).
Seattle recently re-signed Clint Gresham, who has been the team’s long snapper since 2010. But Boyer will come in and compete with Gresham for the job.
Boyer was ecstatic in an NFL Network interview in which he said of his signing with Seattle that “I don’t even know what to say. It’s so cool.”
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Asked about coming to Seattle, he said: “I want to earn their respect, first of all. I know I have a different story and background but I’m nobody special.”
SEAHAWKS COMPLETE DRAFT BY TAKING SAFETY RYAN MURPHY OF OREGON STATE IN SEVENTH ROUND: The Seahawks concluded their 2015 NFL Draft by taking safety Ryan Murphy of Oregon State with their pick in the seventh round, No. 248 overall.
Murphy was a three-year starter at free safety for the Beavers, and at 6-foot and a half-inch and 214 pounds,so has the kind of size that the Seahawks like.
Murphy also handled some kickoff returns last season for OSU (career stats here) including a 97-yard touchdown against Stanford.
Seattle needed some depth at safety after losing backup Jeron Johnson in free agency.
Murphy grew up in Oakland and is cousins with Marshawn Lynch. Each attended Oakland Tech High School.
In a conference call with Seattle reporters, Murphy called himself “very close” to Lynch and said he stayed with him for a time while in high school.
Murphy said he actually hoped to play against Lynch because he feels if he can tackle players like Lynch or Adrian Peterson then he can tackle anyone.
“But calling him a teammate, that’s great, too,” Murphy said. “He knows what I’m capable of and I’m just looking to do anything to fit on the team.”
Murphy said he played both safety spots,nickel and even some linebacker at Oregon State. But he said he did not do any cornerback.
“That’s one thing I feel like I am is very versatile,” he said.
SEAHAWKS DRAFTGUARD KRISTJAN SOKOLI IN SIXTH ROUND: The Seahawks again hit the offensive line with pick No. 214 of the sixth round, taking Kristjan Sokoli of Buffalo. While he played on the defensive line at Buffalo the team listed him as a guard on its draft card.
As this story relates, Sokoli was born in Albania and had never spoken a word of English until age 9.
While Sokoli was a little off-the-radar nationally, he put up some impressive numbers at his Pro Day (detailed here) which undoubtedly intrigued the Seahawks.
In a conference call with Seattle reporters, Sokoli said the Seahawks first approached him about switching to the offensive line after seeing him at the Medal of Honor Bowl in Charleston, S.C., in January. Sokoli said that was the first time any team suggested he make such a move and that the Seahawks were the only team to approach him about changing positions.
Sokoli said he was willing to make the move to have a shot at the NFL.
He also told reporters of his move to the United States, saying his saying his father moved here when he was 5, his mom at 7 and then he and his brother moved at 9.
SEAHAWKS DRAFT DEFENSIVE END OBUM GWACHAM IN SIXTH ROUND: Gwacham is viewed as a big-time project. He transitioned to defensive end in 2014 from…wide receiver, an unorthodox position change, to say the least.
He is an explosive athlete, and it’s likely his athletic ability was enough to make up for his inexperience. He is a player who will likely need at least a season or so to develop and continue to learn the position. He is 6 foot 5 and 246 pounds, and it is clear after the Seahawks drafted defensive end Frank Clark in the second round and Gwacham in the sixth round that improving depth along the defensive line, both immediately and in the future, was a priority this year.
While Gwacham played receiver initially at Oregon State, he said his NFL future is clear: “They said they want me to play defense and rush the quarterback,” he said to Seattle reporters in a conference call shortly after being picked.
Gwacham was norn in Nigeria and said his family won a “visa lottery” to come to the United States when he was 7.
He attended Ayala High in Chino Hills, Calif. and also participated in the long jump and triple jump at Oregon State. Went 7 feet, 1.5 inches to finish sixth in the high jump at the Pac-12 championships in 2012.
SEAHAWKS DRAFT CORNERBACK TYE SMITH IN FIFTH ROUND: The Seahawks selected cornerback Tye Smith of Towson University in the fifth round of the NFL Draft Saturday.
Seattle made the pick with the 170th overall selection, a compensatory pick at the end of the fifth round.
Smith was considered by many analysts as a late-round pick or maybe a priority free agent. He started all 12 games last year for Towson.
Smith called himself a “late bloomer” in high school and had only one college offer, from Towson, coming out of high school.He said he likely would have been at home working at McDonald’s had he not received an offer from Towson.
Interestingly, draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki wrote that Smith is “a lean, long-limbed, press corner most ideally suited for a press cover team such as the Eagles or Seahawks.” Smith agreed.
“I honestly feel like this is the best team for me as far as my style of play,” Smith said. “I feel like I’m an aggressive style, and I like the way they play as well. They’re aggressive.”
Smith said growing up his favorite player was Charles Woodson and then his favorite player in high school was Darrelle Revis. He also said he wasn’t afraid of not getting drafted, but he knew some teams would look him over because the level of competition wasn’t as good.
“I’m just thankful the Seahawks looked past that,” he said.
The Seahawks have had a history of mining successful cornerbacks in the later rounds of the draft: Richard Sherman, Byron Maxwell, Jeremy Lane, Walter Thurmond and Tharold Simon were all drafted in the fourth round or later.
Smith is 6 foot 0 and 195 pounds. He played primarily at outside cornerback in college, but he could be another option to get a look at nickel corner for the Seahawks if Lane misses games this season because of his injury.
Here’s a story on Smith from January when he received an invite to the NFL Combine.
In his Towson bio, he said his favorite player is Darrelle Revis and his favorite team as the New York Jets.
NFL.com offered this scouting report of Smith in which it projected he would go undrafted:
“Average athletic traits with decent ball skills but a substantial deficiency in play strength. West Virginia peppered Smith with hitches to wide receiver Kevin White and Smith was unable to respond favorably. He can make it into a camp, but likely lacks enough meat on his bones to become a roster factor.”
SEAHAWKS TAKE OFFENSIVE LINEMEN IN FOURTH ROUND: The Seahawks addressed needs on the offensive line with their first two picks in the NFL Draft Saturday, selecting offensive tackle Terry Poole from San Diego State in the fourth round at No. 130 overall and then quickly coming back with guard Mark Glowinski of West Virginia at pick No. 134.
The two join Seattle’s Friday’s picks of defensive end Frank Clark and receiver/returner Tyler Lockett.
Seattle general manager John Schneider said he “would be lying” to say adding linemen wasn’t a priority for Seattle after trading center Max Unger to New Orleans and losing guard James Carpenter in free agency.
Seattle offensive line coach Tom Cable said that Poole and Glowinski each have the ability to play all three spots up front.
“That’s the reason we took ’em because we’ve got a little mixing and matching to do,” Cable said. “We like who’s here and this is going to give us even more flexibility. Both of them will have some learning to do at this level, but that’s normal. I just think the fact that they can play a number of spots is going to help us.”
Cable said that flexibility includes that each could be tried at center.
“I think either one or both (could play center) right now,” he said.
Asked for a quick scouting report on the two, Cable said: “I think they are both really tough kids, very athletic. The one kid, Glowinski, s a very strong-handed guy. Good length by both of them. I think the impressive thing about Terry is his ability to strike people and his quickness. So a lot of the same characteristics that we are used to and that we like. I think Mark probably the one thing that jumped out is his ability to stay in front of people in pass protetion as a one-one-one pass blocker.”
The two figure to be thrown into the competition at the two spots of uncertainty for the Seahawks up front — center and left guard. Patrick Lewis projects as the starting center for now and Alvin Bailey at left guard. Cable, asked if those two would be atop the depth chart at the moment, said “we haven’t even gone that far yet. We have a lot of work to do yet.”
Both Poole and Glowinski said in conference calls with the Seattle media that they are versatile and can play several spots up front. But Poole played tackle at San Diego State and Glowinski was a guard at WVU.
Here’s the NFL.com profile of Poole, whom some regarded as potentially falling out of the draft. And here is his SDSU bio.
Draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki wrote of Poole that he is “a developmental project at least a few years away.”
ESPN’s scouting report says of Poole: “Poole was a two-year starter at San Diego State and has an above-average blend of height, weight and top-end speed. He has starting experience at left and right tackle, but his arms are on the shorter side and he struggles with athletic edge rushers, so he may be a better fit on the inside at the next level. While he needs to improve his footwork and initial hand placement, he’s aggressive and he blocks to the echo of the whistle on almost every snap.”
He was primarily a basketball player in high school who played two years in junior college before landing at SDSU. He said it was while he was at Monterey Peninsula College that he turned to football as his primary story.
His NFL.com profile noted that he may be a better fit inside, stating: “A JUCO transfer lacking athleticism to play on the left side, Poole might get a shot at right tackle but is better suited for a move inside. With more strength and experience, Poole has a shot to make a practice squad and potentially work his way up the ladder.”
Glowinski was a player many connected to the Seahawks due to the need to reinforce the middle of the offensive line.
His NFL.com profile projected him as a fourth-round pick, stating: “Tackle-turned-guard who is still learning to play the position. Lack of bend will cause leverage issues, but he has enough pure upper-body strength to overcome and he has potential to be good in pass protection. The physical traits combined with the toughness and intelligence should give him a shot to become a starter at some point.”
ESPN wrote of Glowinski: “Glowinski checks all the boxes in terms of height, weight and length, plus he tested well at the combine both on the bench and during agility drills. The upper-body strength shows up at times on tape, as he flashes a violent punch and the ability to latch on to defenders’ frames. However, there’s room for improvement when it comes to pressing defenders off his frame in the run game, and he doesn’t move quite as well in pass protection or space as you’d expect based on his test results.”
Glowinski’s stock rose a bit with some of his performances at the NFL Combine, tying for the best broad jump at 9-5, for instance.
Like Poole, Glowinski played at the junior college level before ending up at West Virginia, where he started all 25 games the last two years.
Glowinski said that while he saw game action only at guard while with WVU that he often took snaps at center in practice.
Glowinski turns 23 on Sunday and said that being selected by the Seahawks was “the best birthday present of my life.”
Glowinski said he had an idea the Seahawks might take him after a pre-draft visit to Seattle.
“They were really impressed with me and I just had a gut feeling towards the end of that round, the way it was going, that they were going to pick me up,” he said. “I’m just excited right now and words can’t explain it.”
Glowinski’s hometwown is listed as Wilkes-Barre, Pa., but he said he was in Moscow, Pa., with his girlfriend when he got the news of his selection by the Seahawks.
Poole, meanwhile, described himself as a “very athletic and hard-nosed football player. When people are on the ground, still going to hit them. I take pride in being the most physical football player on the field.”
Poole grew up in Seaside, Calif., which is also the home of former University of Washington linebacker Mason Foster. Poole said he knows Foster and has talked to him through the draft process. He also was a college teammate of current Seattle defensive back Eric Pinkins, who was taken by the Seahawks out of SDSU with a sixth-round pick last year.
“I’m big-time excited,” he said. “It’s a great organization right there.”
Poole and Glowinski each said they played in schemes in college that featured a lot of zone blocking, which is similar to Seattle’s style.
Seattle has four more picks remaining in the draft — No.s 1270, 209, 214 and 248. The first three are compensatory picks the team cannot trade.