DANNY AND GALLANT

GM John Schneider: What drew Seahawks to each of their 3 draft picks

May 6, 2021, 12:57 PM

Seahawks D'Wayne Eskridge...

John Schneider says D'Wayne Eskridge "exudes" grit. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire - Getty)

(Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire - Getty)

The Seahawks’ 2021 NFL Draft class was set last weekend, comprising of second-round wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge, fourth-round cornerback Tre Brown and sixth-round offensive tackle Stone Forsythe.

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Thursday on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant, we got the inside story of all three picks from the man who made them – Seahawks general manager John Schneider.

Over a 13-minute interview (listen here or at the bottom of this post), Schneider spoke to Danny O’Neil and Paul Gallant about each player Seattle chose, the direction the team is heading with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron now on the staff, and much more.

Let’s take a look at what he had to say specifically about Eskridge, Brown and Forsythe.

Seahawks top pick D’Wayne Eskridge

Schneider spoke about the importance of who players are as people during the interview, and when it came to Eskridge, he brought up the three biggest names from Seattle’s famous Legion of Boom – Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas – as the kinds of personalities the Seahawks were looking for. That’s something he said Eskridge fits.

“We had to get back to finding that level of toughness and grit and confidence, and D’Wayne totally exudes that,” Schneider said. “He’s a 10.5 (seconds) 100-meter guy, Mr. Track in the state of the Indiana. He’s overcome a lot, he’s competitive, he’s super tough. You could see him playing gunner, you could see him returning kickoffs. The way he that went down to the Senior Bowl, too, and competed after only playing six games this year, you could just see the power and the toughness.”

As for what he can do on the field?

“He’s just an exciting, explosive player. All you have to do is put on the YouTube videos and watch him go.”

Fourth-rounder Tre Brown

A lot has been made of Brown’s smaller stature, but even though he checks in under 6-feet tall, he has the attitude the Seahawks like at cornerback.

“You’re talking about an extremely tough, aggressive, very, very confident individual,” Schneider said. “… If he’s 6-foot, 6-1, he’s a top 10 pick. … We haven’t necessarily gotten away from big corners, but this guy, he plays big. So we’re excited about him.”

Sixth-rounder Stone Forsythe

When Schenider was asked if a new offensive style under Waldron and new run-game coordinator Andy Dickerson, who both came to the Seahawks this offseason from the Los Angeles Rams, played a role in Seattle’s draft picks, he immediately started talking about the 6-8 Forsythe.

“Primarily with Stone it kind of stood out, just the way he’s so long and he’s such a big person to basically – we call it running the hump but it’s just running around people. Getting around him on the edge as a pass rusher is a big deal. He’s so big and long, but also his ability to get out in space and run. Running that track is what Shane and their staff would call it, and you could see Stone doing that.”

You can hear the full interview with Schneider in the podcast at this link or in the player below.

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GM John Schneider: What drew Seahawks to each of their 3 draft picks