Seahawks add another offensive lineman, LSU guard Damien Lewis
Apr 24, 2020, 7:20 PM | Updated: 7:40 pm
LSU guard Damien Lewis was drafted by the Seahawks with the 69th overall pick. (Getty)
(Getty)
After the Seahawks traded down five spots from the 64th pick, acquiring the second overall fifth-round pick in the process from the Carolina Panthers, the Seahawks looked to the offensive line. Damien Lewis, a guard from the National Champion LSU Tigers, was Seattle’s pick with the 69th selection in the 2020 draft.
Seahawks draft tracker: Keep up with every pick and move
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Lewis measured at 6 foot 2 and 324 pounds with 33-inch arms. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.24-seconds, did 27 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press and had a 30-inch vertical.
The pick is in! With pick #69, we've selected OL @Damienlewis72!
Watch #SeahawksDraft live on ESPN, NFLN, and ABC! 📺 pic.twitter.com/82UCtgGY1k
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 25, 2020
Lewis was a two-year starting right guard at LSU after playing two years of community college football. He was a second-team All-SEC member in 2019, blocking for Heisman winner and No. 1 pick Joe Burrow.
D-LEW!!! pic.twitter.com/PgXraggBrK
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) April 25, 2020
With the draft pick, Lewis is the 19th offensive lineman currently on the Seahawks’ roster, and the team is loaded on the inside of the line.
B.J. Finney and Chance Warmack were offseason additions to Seattle’s interior offensive line line, joining players like Phil Haynes, Joey Hunt, Justin Britt, D.J. Fluker and the recently-re-signed Mike Iupati among others.
Iupati and Fluker were both starters for the Seahawks at the two guard positions. Fluker, the team’s right guard, is in the final year of a two-year deal and is entering his third year with the Seahawks. Cutting Fluker now seems to be a possibility, as 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jake Heaps tweeted along with cap information from Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times.
The competition is definitely on the interior of the Seahawks Offensive Line. This does not appear to be good news for Fluker's chances of remaining on the roster.
Fluker is a fan favorite and a player who has helped bring attitude and physicality back to OLine. https://t.co/slg6GuQ67Z
— Jake Heaps (@jtheaps9) April 25, 2020
Iupati started at left guard and signed another one-year deal to stay with Seattle for a second year.
Even though Lewis was a starter on the best team in the nation, Danny O’Neil said he was surprised by the move on the 710 ESPN Seattle draft show due to the amount of offensive linemen the Seahawks have.
“You’re adding another guy to the middle of the line and I think it seems like you have a lot of players there already,” he said. “I wonder what the trickle-down effect is … you feel that if you added a guy in the third round – and early in the third round – there’s not a question about him making this team. He’s coming in here because they think he has a role.”
The #Seahawks stand pat on their first-round pick …
They trade up in the second round …
They draft an honest-to-goodness, actual guard. Not a defensive tackle being converted. Not a tackle to move inside. A strong, physical guard.
Most un-#Seahawks draft ever.— Danny O'Neil (@dannyoneil) April 25, 2020
O’Neil thought the team would be more inclined to draft a tackle if they were going to address the offensive line.
“Of the personnel they have and the questions going forward, tackle was the bigger uncertainty to me as opposed to guard,” he said.
Even though the team has a lot of interior linemen, Dave Wyman thinks Seattle has high expectations for the pick after trading down five spots to draft Lewis.
“That’s got to be a really good player that they really were targeting and interested in,” Wyman said.
Wyman watched Lewis’ highlights after the selection and was impressed by the few plays he saw.
“He is a bully. That’s what you want to see,” Wyman said. “… You see him getting (upfield) and he’s cutting people, he can take people on upstairs … it seems like he’s really athletic. He’s a big, strong dude.”
Six. Hundred. Pounds.
The @Seahawks third-round draft pick @Damienlewis72 is the definition of ⚡️ POWERHOUSE ⚡️#NFLDraft | @LSUfootball pic.twitter.com/mvTQgaCXNm
— Sunday Night Football (@SNFonNBC) April 25, 2020
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