DANNY ONEIL

O’Neil: Takeaways from Seahawks’ rookie minicamp

May 7, 2018, 5:00 AM

seahawks, tre flowers...

Former Oklahoma State S Tre Flowers was drafted as a CB by the Seahawks. (AP)

(AP)

RENTON – The Seahawks have a type at cornerback.

Tall.

So while safety Tre Flowers didn’t have many teams talk to him about moving outside on defense, he certainly wasn’t shocked when one team did.

“I felt the Seahawks would,” he said. “And I’m here now.”

It was impossible to miss him over the weekend given the way he stands out. That’s going to happen when you’re 6 feet 3 like Flowers is with legs skinny enough that you worry about him sliding down the shower drain if he’s not careful.

So while the Seahawks are restocking their defense, they’re not starting over. They’ve got the specs they like and Flowers certainly fits the mold. Then again, so did Eric Pinkins. He was the safety Seattle drafted out of San Diego State in 2014 and switched to cornerback. He ended up a linebacker in the Seahawks though his only regular-season game action came on special teams.

While a three-day rookie minicamp is too soon to pass judgment on how Flowers will fit into Seattle’s future, it was obvious that he’s going to stand out. It’s tough not to when you’re as tall as Flowers is. Here are some other things we learned over the weekend:

1. Will Dissly is wearing No. 88, which is odd.
Because the number is about the only thing he’s going to have in common with the guy that wore it last year: Jimmy Graham. They’re two players who are cut from totally different pieces of cloth. Graham is a converted basketball player who flew airplanes and wanted to be classified as a wide receiver. Dissly is a converted defensive linemen nicknamed “Uncle Will” because of a hairline that’s already in retreat and who stuck with No. 98 in college even after moving from defensive line to tight end. “I tried to save my parents a few bucks,” Dissly said, “so they didn’t have to buy any new T-shirts. So 98 is what I stuck with.” He’s 88 now, and his hands might be better than advertised. He very nearly made a diving catch of a punt from rookie punter Michael Dickson at the end of Saturday’s practice.

2. The punter IS worth watching.
Now, contrary to some overly flowery descriptions you may have already heard, the kicks from the new rookie punter did not sound like artillery fire. Ear protection was not required to mute the thunderous nature of his kicks. Binoculars were not necessary to track the distance. It looked like most punts do. Only perhaps a little bit farther. And with some more spin. OK, fine. After mocking the “craft” of punting for more or less the past 20 years I sat staring from behind Dickson as he kicked to end Saturday’s workout and was amazed. He can get the ball to slice. He can get it to spin. He can also boom it with absolutely no spin, and he also was making drop-kicks from about 50 yards out while working out on his own while the rest of the team practiced.

3. Rasheem Green’s physique is impressive.
That’s not the ultimate measurement for a defensive linemen, especially guys who play defensive tackle. And the early signs were that Seattle sees Green as more of an interior pass rusher as opposed to a guy coming off the edge. But Green has a more athletic build than you see from a defensive tackle. He’s also pretty darn young given that he won’t turn 21 until later this month. Seattle has spent the past eight years searching for interior pass rushers whether it was signing a guy like Jason Jones in 2012 or Michael Bennett in 2013 or drafting Malik McDowell and then trading for Sheldon Richardson when McDowell was injured. Bennett is the only one of those who really blossomed. While the temptation is to say that Green is just one more investment the Seahawks are sinking into the blackhole that was left behind after McDowell’s injury, it might be more accurate to think that Seattle was more willing to overlook questions about McDowell because they thought he could fill a role that has been very tough for Seattle to fill. The first impression of Green is that he’s got the athleticism to do exactly what Seattle is hoping for at that spot.

Photos: Seahawks wrap up rookie minicamp at team HQ

Danny and Gallant Show

Danny ONeil

Seahawks Quandre Diggs...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: Seahawks have uncertainty with a player ‘holding in,’ but it’s not Quandre Diggs

While Quandre Diggs appears to be the third Seahawks player to "hold-in" during training camp, Danny O'Neil writes that it's Duane Brown whose future is up in the air.

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

AZ Good AZ it Gets

SPONSORED – Phoenix was the place where the rest of the country found out that Seattle fans took their enthusiasm on the road with them. That was 2013. It’s also the place where I discovered how restorative a desert vacation can be. That was 2015. Let’s start with the screaming. That’s what caught everyone’s attention […]

3 years ago

Mariners Jarred Kelenic...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: Mariners aren’t handing the spotlight over to Seahawks just yet

This is the time of year that Seattle tends to shift its focus to the gridiron, but the Mariners are still commanding attention.

3 years ago

Seahawks Duane Brown...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: When Seahawks decide not to extend players, they’re rarely wrong

If you think the Seahawks must sign Duane Brown to an extension, when's the last time they opted against re-signing someone and it came back to bite them?

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

Oh, LA, LA!

Week 15, Dec. 19: Seattle at Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium, 1:25 p.m. Pacific SPONSORED – Maybe it was fitting that the opening act for the first pro-football game I covered in Los Angeles was a rock band I loved as a teenager. There’s no place that makes me think of growing up more than […]

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

Star in a Lone Star Adventure

Week 14, Dec. 12: Seattle at Houston Texans, NRG Stadium, 10 a.m. Pacific SPONSORED – Enchiladas and greatness. That’s what I think of in Texas. The enchiladas are pretty straightforward. They’re so delicious at El Tiempo Cantina that it’s hard to take a bite without closing my eyes. There are three locations though the one […]

3 years ago

O’Neil: Takeaways from Seahawks’ rookie minicamp