Seahawks NFL Draft Review: Rounds 1-3
By Justin Floor
The Seahawks have just concluded a whirlwind of activity that saw them make three picks at the end of round 3 and five picks overall in the first two days of the 2016 NFL Draft. Who did they select and were the picks used wisely? We’ve got answers!
Day 1- Round 1- Pick# 31- Germain Ifedi, OT, Texas A&M
Everyone on this planet and some life forms on others knew the Seahawks were going to address their glaring needs on the offensive line and they wasted no time doing it by making Ifedi their first selection in the 2016 NFL Draft. While the player is certainly a work in progress, as Tom Cable admitted in an interview after the pick, it is reassuring to know that the team has a brand new piece of clay to mold into what is hopefully the right tackle of the near future.
This pick’s success or failure rests almost entirely on Cable’s ability to clean up Ifedi’s understandable shortcomings in technique due to coming out of a spread offense, which we all know is an awful translator of offensive linemen to the NFL. He possess ideal size and athleticism, however, with knuckle-dragging 36” arms and an aggressive mindset sure to help his development. It’s all about the technique here. Ifedi will battle J’Marcus Webb for starting duties at RT and will be fun to watch this summer.
What helps the grade here is John Schneider deftly moved from 26 to 31 and in the process added pick# 94 before selecting Ifedi. More on that selection later.
Early Grade: C+
The value is there, it fills a big need, but the actual player is a question mark at this point.
Next: Round Two in the Trenches