After the franchise-altering trade of Russell Wilson last month, the Seahawks hold a top 10 draft pick for the first time since 2010. Who might the Seahawks target with that No. 9 pick? In the countdown to the April 28 draft, we’ll profile the prospects who seem to make the most sense for the Seahawks in the first round.
Today’s pick: Jordan Davis
Height: 6-6
Weight: 340
Position: Nose tackle
College: Georgia
40 time: 4.78 seconds (seriously)
Career highlights: On Georgia’s national championship team, Davis was as valuable as anyone, plugging gaps, taking on multiple blockers, chewing up running backs and generally wrecking offensive game plans. Davis won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football and the Outland Trophy as the best interior defensive lineman. His 40 time at the NFL combine was the fastest of any player weighing more than 310 pounds since 2003, per Next Gen Stats. He’s the freakiest of freaks.
Background: As a kid growing up in Charlotte, Davis was interested in books on ancient Greece and Egyptian mythology. His nickname has a more modern mythological twist: Godzilla.
Why he might be a good fit for Seahawks: Anyone this big, this strong and this fast is a good fit for any NFL team. Lance Zierlein, the NFL.com draft analyst, compares Davis to former Baltimore nose tackle Haloti Ngata, a likely future Hall of Famer and the anchor to that great era of Ravens defense. Ngata ate up blocks and Ray Lewis made all the plays. Perhaps the Seahawks envision Jordyn Brooks benefiting in a similar fashion from Davis’ presence up front.
Why he might not be a good fit for Seahawks: Taking a pure nose tackle in the top 10 would be a reach. Of course, there’s always a possibility with the Seahawks that they opt to trade down, acquire more draft capital and still have a pick in the middle of the first round. In that scenario, Davis is your guy. Davis would immediately help on first and second downs, and he could emerge as one of the dominant run-stoppers in the league.
Question is, is he anything more than that? He is athletic enough to move around in the interior of the line, but the knock on him is he had just seven sacks in four seasons at Georgia, and his potential as an NFL pass rusher appears limited.
Prospect quote: “Everybody knows I’m a run stopper and pass rush kind of goes by the wayside with me. But definitely in the offseason that’s something I’ve been working on. I’ve called on a few people. I’ve been working out with Chuck Smith, who’s known as ‘Dr. Pass Rush.’ I feel when I have a disadvantage I want to make sure I try to even the odds and bring it up to the same level. It’s just all working and about improving. This is what it’s all about. In the offseason you want to get better. I definitely think I’m doing that.” — Davis at NFL combine
Scout’s quote: “You won’t find many human beings with a frame like Davis’, and there may not be any others that size who can range down the line of scrimmage the way he can. He’s a unique specimen in the course of human history. … Plop Davis down in the A-gap on first and second down and watch your run defense improve. He’s a pure nose tackle who hold the point and also make plays.” — Pro Football Focus
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