DANNY ONEIL

O’Neil: Seahawks’ picks in second round are a project and a puzzle

Apr 28, 2017, 7:33 PM | Updated: 10:32 pm

Mark Dantonio...

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio expects Malik McDowell to be a "great pro" and motivated to play. (AP)

(AP)

Passion and position.

Those were the two questions attached to the first two players Seattle selected in the 2017 draft.

In other words, a typical Seahawks draft.

Typically puzzling.

First, Seattle picked Malik McDowell with the third pick of the second round, getting a defensive lineman whose effort was inconsistent last season at Michigan State. Later in that same round, Seattle chose Ethan Pocic out of LSU. The Seahawks regarded him as the most versatile offensive lineman in the draft, but couldn’t specify just where he’ll play as a Seahawk.

Huard on McDowell | Huard on Pocic | Seahawks draft tracker | 710 draft page

“The place he has played the most is center,” coach Pete Carroll said.

That’s true. Of the 39 games Pocic started at LSU, 29 of those were at center. Of course, that’s also the position that is most settled on Seattle’s offensive line with Justin Britt finding a home there last year.

There are other options on the line for Pocic, presumably guard because while he is 6 feet 7, his arms are shorter than a prototypical tackle.

“He’s played everything so we’re going to see where it fits,” Carroll said, “see where he fits in best for us. We’ve got some spots we’re trying to work out as we move guys around here a little bit.”

Flexibility is an asset for McDowell, too. It’s consistency that is the question for the 6-6, 295-pound defensive tackle out of Michigan State. Seattle chose him with the third pick of the second round, No. 35 overall, which is a steal when you consider that before last season, analyst Todd McShay of ESPN thought he was a potential top-10 pick.

Seattle general manager John Schneider cited an impressive player as being comparable to McDowell.

“Similar to what Calais Campbell looked like coming out of the University of Miami,” Schneider said, referencing the former Arizona defensive lineman who signed with Jacksonville earlier this offseason. “Just long. Gets off the ball. Gets skinny. Uses his hands. Covers a lot of ground.”

But then the Spartans went 3-9 and there were questions about McDowell’s effort level and his heart. On Thursday, McDowell was in attendance at the draft in Philadelphia waiting for a first-round selection that never came.

McDowell isn’t a project so much as a belief. The Seahawks believe that with Pete Carroll’s coaching and teammates like Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, McDowell will acquire the kind of grit and tenacity that Seattle considers its signature, especially on defense.

“We really think he’s so young, we can develop the things that aren’t quite right yet,” Carroll said. “We think we can mold him into a really good player for us and fit him into a number of different spots.”

That’s a matter of faith at this point. Because after waiting a full day to start picking in the 2017 draft, Seattle’s first two choices created more questions than they answered.

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