BROCK AND SALK
Huard: 7 prospects that fit Seattle Seahawks on NFL Draft Day 2
Apr 28, 2023, 11:21 AM | Updated: 11:45 am
Those looking for the typical pop culture-style version of Ranked during Friday’s Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports had to have been disappointed. Instead, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard did, well, a sports ranking on a sports radio station, sharing players he thinks are the best available fits for the Seattle Seahawks on Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Rost: Seattle Seahawks still have draft needs, but now they’re elite at 2 spots
Huard listed five players plus two honorable mentions he thinks would fit the Seahawks as picks in the second and third round on Friday. Seattle has two picks in the second round (37 and 52) and one third-round pick (83).
Seattle Seahawks honorable mentions
Huard listed two Big Ten standouts as honorable mentions.
The first is someone he’s discussed a few times throughout the draft process: Ohio State right tackle Dawand Jones.
The Seahawks don’t need a right tackle as Abraham Lucas shined as a rookie last year, but Huard has said in the past that sliding Lucas inside for Jones to play tackle would be intriguing.
“You’re not taking Dawand at 37 and I don’t even think you can take him at 52,” he said. “Maybe third round? I think it’s a little bit of a pipe dream. I think there’s some medical stuff there that makes it a little bit tough, but he was a guy that I previewed and I will be very excited to see wherever he ends up probably in Baltimore.”
The other honorable mention? Defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, a Senior Bowl standout from Wisconsin.
“He’s a big boy who played a lot of 5-technique in Wisconsin’s odd front,” Huard said. “He’s got to play the 5-technique and he’s got to do the dirty work, and you’re going to free everybody else up to do their thing. He knows that and he’s lived it. And if they take him at 37 … you got a guy that’s going to be just a man’s man in the trenches. He’s going to take on double-teams, he’s going to be unapologetic about the grind and the work, he’ll be committed to his craft and he’ll be a good pro.”
.@keeanu_benton is gonna be a PROBLEM.
You’ll see Tuesday night.
‘The Camp’ premieres Aug. 9 at 6pm CT pic.twitter.com/k1ODV1U4WE
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) August 7, 2022
No. 5: Baylor DT Siaki Ika
The Seahawks ran a 3-4 defense last year and are expected to do the same in 2023, but they don’t have a healthy nose tackle on the roster.
That could change with Baylor standout Siaki Ika, one of Huard’s favorite players from his work covering college football for FOX Sports this year.
Huard’s profile of Ika: The massive ‘man eater’ Baylor nose tackle
With his work for FOX, Huard talks to players and coaches ahead of games. When talking to those at Baylor, Ika was known as the guy who is the life of the party, changes the temperature of the room and dominates practices. Additionally, Ika initially began his college career at LSU under then-head coach Ed Orgeron, a former assistant under current Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll at USC.
Back to back ❌❌ @Jackfish801#SicEm | #PersonOverPlayer pic.twitter.com/kYtz4OPWYb
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) September 22, 2022
“Pete’s got some intel because you know he’s talking to Ed Orgeron,” Huard said. ” … He’s gonna play the nose … He is a space eater and he’s athletic.”
Huard thinks Ika could be in play with either the Seahawks’ last of two second-round picks or with their one third-rounder, but not at 37th overall.
No. 4: Wisconsin C Joe Tippmann
Back to the Big Ten we go.
Center is still a bit of a question mark for the Seahawks as 2022 starter Austin Blythe retired and expected starter Evan Brown has limited starting experience at the position.
Huard thinks Seattle could address that position with Joe Tippmann, a very athletic center from Wisconsin. Huard profiled Tippmann during the draft process as well.
“They need a center. Evan Brown is a short-term fix,” Huard said. ” … I previewed Joe Tippmann, another Wisconsin guy, and he’s athletic. He’s in that Abe Lucas mold.”
What Huard meant by referring to Lucas, a Seahawks offensive tackle entering his second NFL season, is that Tippmann is extremely athletic and strong but doesn’t necessarily look like he’s a huge offensive lineman because he’s well put together and a good athlete.
“He’s just an athlete that just happens to be a big dude,” Huard said. “And he’s kind of feisty. Like, when I watched Wisconsin’s practice, he was the one barking at dudes. He was the one giving the freshmen the business about being on the details. He carries some of that Wisconsin lineage and pride that comes with being a Badger offensive lineman. I wouldn’t mind seeing him go in the second round.”
No. 3: UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet
The Seahawks used a Day 2 pick on a running back last year in Kenneth Walker III. Will they go that route again on Friday?
Huard thinks it should be an option.
“You’ve got to draft a running back,” he said.
His pick? UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet, a first-team All-American in 2022.
Huard: UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet has the traits Seahawks like at RB
“I want the guy that their teammates called ‘The Terminator’ … He is a relentless, detailed, disciplined worker,” Huard said. ” … He’ll go in the second or third round. If two running backs went in the top 12 (Thursday), there’s going to be a run on running backs.”
And. He's. Gone.
That's 3 TDs for @zachcharbon today!
📺: Pac-12 Network
📱: https://t.co/BnkI3ubCQb#GoBruins | @UCLAFootball pic.twitter.com/VUw0X0hSIl— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 24, 2022
No. 2: Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer
Only one tight end went in the first round this year, with Utah’s Dalton Kincaid landing in Buffalo.
That means as Day 2 begins that Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, a consensus All-American, is still available to the surprise of many.
From January: Huard: 2 draft prospects Seahawks shouldn’t pass on if available
“You know I like Michael Mayer,” Huard said to co-host Mike Salk. “And if he’s sitting there at 37, I think there’s gonna be a part of (Seahawks general manager John Schneider) that’s like, ‘No, someone draft him. Come on, somebody take him.'”
.@NDFootball TE Michael Mayer is unstoppable 💪
The 2023 Draft is calling his name 👀 @MMayer1001
📺: 2023 #NFLDraft – April 27-29 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/9xJYVofwKa
— NFL (@NFL) March 27, 2023
If he’s there at 37, Huard thinks it will make for a very tough decision for the Seahawks as Mayer is a great player.
No. 1 fit for Seattle Seahawks: Georgia Tech DL Keion White
While the Seahawks’ most pressing need entering the NFL Draft was on the defensive line and at linebacker, they opted for cornerback Devon Witherspoon at fifth overall and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba at pick 20.
At 37, though, Huard thinks an intriguing D-lineman could be the choice. That would be Georgia Tech’s Keion White, who had 7.5 sacks for the Yellow Jackets in 2022.
GT edge Keion White could be perfect fit
“You want to talk about Frank Clark? You said, ‘What kind of impact can you get (in the second round)?’ You can get Frank Clark in the second round. You can get a lot of studs. You can get Bobby Wagner in the second round,” Huard said to Salk. “Keion White has that athleticism. He’s 6-5, 280 and ran 21.5 mph.”
“When Pete Carroll says to you, ‘There’s not many Aaron Donalds at 280 (pounds) that run 4.5 (seconds in the 40-yard dash),’ well, there’s not 6-5, 280 that run almost 22 mph at the Senior Bowl. Not in tights, but when it matters playing the game of football,” Huard added. “He’s pretty freakishly, physically gifted.”
More Seattle Seahawks draft reaction from Seattle Sports
• Salk: Why Seahawks did smartest thing possible with 2 1st-rounders
• Huard: What Seahawks will likely do on Day 2 of NFL Draft
• Reaction: Why Seahawks drafted WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba at 20
• Seattle Seahawks Draft Reaction: Huard, Wyman on CB Devon Witherspoon
