NFL DRAFT

Seahawks take versatile OL Ethan Pocic from LSU in second round

Apr 28, 2017, 6:26 PM | Updated: 11:47 pm

Ethan Pocic primarily played center at LSU, but the Seahawks view him as a guard or a tackle. (AP)...

Ethan Pocic primarily played center at LSU, but the Seahawks view him as a guard or a tackle. (AP)

(AP)

RENTON – General manager John Schneider said the Seahawks coveted versatile LSU offensive lineman Ethan Pocic strongly enough to consider trading up in the second round to get him. They instead decided to stay put at pick No. 58 and hope like mad that he wouldn’t get nabbed before then.

“He was the one guy that, quite frankly, we were really sweating out because we felt like you’re drafting maybe two-and-a half positions, two-and-a-half players with one guy,” Schneider said. “So we debated whether to go up and get him or just sit and wait and sweat it out.”

“We sweated it out,” coach Pete Carroll said.

“I changed my shirt,” added Schneider.

He wasn’t kidding. Schneider actually got so sweaty that he changed his shirt.

He also got his man.

The Seahawks chose Pocic with their second pick in the second round Friday night, and in so doing they continued to address an offensive line that was still badly in need of some blue-chip talent after adding Luke Joeckel and Oday Aboushi in free agency.

Brock Huard’s take on Pocic | Seahawks draft tracker | 710Sports.com draft page

Exactly what position Pocic will end up addressing remains to be seen. It’ll either be at tackle or guard even though he primarily played center at LSU, making 27 of his 37 career starts there. The Seahawks are set at center with Justin Britt, something they made clear after drafting Pocic, who started at right guard as a sophomore in 2014 and made one start at right tackle while at LSU.

Mark Glowinski and Germain Ifedi were Seattle’s starting guards last season. While the Seahawks may move Ifedi to right tackle, they said they’ll look at Aboushi at right guard to start out, so there’s no clear opening there.

Pocic is listed at 6 feet 6 and 310 pounds. That’s prototypical height and weight for a tackle, though his arms are listed at 33 1/8 inches, less than ideal for the position. The Seahawks lost right tackle Garry Gilliam in free agency and added Joeckel, who could take the starting job at left tackle that George Fant held as a rookie last season.

Joeckel is also another option at left guard.

The Seahawks already had plenty of possible starting combinations along their offensive line before the draft. They have even more with Pocic.

“We think he’s the most flexible guy in the draft,” Carroll said. “He started a lot at center. He’s played at guard and he’s played tackle. He’s been a primary player for them in a great conference and just been steady as a rock. Really smart, intelligent, tough guy. Long, tall. He’s got all the right elements and the background was so versatile that we just thought that was a great opportunity. We really were hoping. There weren’t very many offensive linemen in the draft … and we just thought that he could fit into a number of spots and really help us out.”

Said Pocic on a conference call with Seattle-area reporters: “I think I can play all five in my mind. I kind of consider myself just an O-lineman.”

Tom Cable will no doubt like that versatility and attitude given his penchant for mixing and matching along his offensive line. Cable has said multiple times that his preference is to identify the five best offensive linemen and then figure out their positions from there.

Pocic said he talked to some of Seattle’s scouts during the pre-draft process but never interviewed with Cable, which is notable given how involved Cable tends to be in Seattle’s offensive-line decisions. Schneider said it was a matter of the Seahawks wanting to keep their interest in Pocic under wraps.

“I knew that they value versatility so I knew it was a possibility,” Pocic said. “I’m so happy.”

What also appealed to the Seahawks: Pocic played in a zone-blocking scheme at LSU, so he should already have some familiarity with what Seattle runs.

“We know he can do it,” Carroll said. “We know he can fit in.”

Pocic is from the Chicago suburb of Lemont, Ill. His brother played football for Illinois. Pocic ended up at LSU because, in his words, he wanted to do his own thing and play in the SEC.

Pocic is the 15th offensive lineman the Seahawks have drafted since Schneider and Carroll arrived in Seattle in 2010. According to ESPN’s Sheil Kapadia, that’s the most in the NFL over that span.

That includes seven offensive-line selections over the last three drafts. The Seahawks took Glowinski, Terry Poole and Kristjan Sokoli in 2015. In 2016, it was Ifedi, Rees Odhiambo and Joey Hunt.

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