John Schneider breaks down Seattle Seahawks’ Day 2 and 3 picks

A lot of focus with the Seattle Seahawks’ 2023 NFL Draft class has been on the first round as the team had two picks, including the fifth overall selection. But the Hawks wound up with 10 total picks in their 2023 class.

Fann: 4 takeaways from Seattle Seahawks’ 2023 draft class

During a post-draft episode Tuesday of The John Schneider Show on Seattle Sports, the longtime Seahawks general manager discussed the players Seattle picked up in rounds 2-7 with Wyman and Bob.

‘Greek god’ Derick Hall and ‘baller’ Zach Charbonnet

The Seahawks’ second round selections in 2023 mirrored their picks in 2022.

Last year, Seattle took outside linebacker/edge rusher Boye Mafe before taking running back Kenneth Walker III with the team’s second second-round selection.

This year, the Hawks went with another edge rusher with the first of two second-round picks, this time Auburn’s Derick Hall. And later in the round, Seattle went back to the running back position with UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet.

“He’s definitely similar to Boye,” Schneider said of Hall. “He’s a guy that really carried his team (in college). The program was struggling a little bit, he was he was the alpha dog there. His story is probably one of the more impressive individuals in this draft.”

Got ourselves a playmaker. 😤

We can't wait, @derick_hall9! pic.twitter.com/3CrcQnVcPk

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 29, 2023

With the draft wrapped up, Schneider can now talk more openly with executives around the league, and he heard a lot of glowing things about Hall.

“Everybody’s like, ‘Man, God dang Derick Hall, he was one of my favorite guys in this draft, the person and the competitor,'” he said.

So what stands out about Hall’s skillset?

“He’s heavy. Heavy hands, natural pass-rusher, power,” Schneider said. “I heard somebody say he’s not twitchy, but I would not tell him that. He looks pretty dang twitchy to me, and he looks at a Greek god, so I wouldn’t say that to him.”

As for Charbonnet, Schneider said the Seahawks were surprised he fell to 52 overall.

“We took a baller regardless of position,” he said. “I’ve heard very often that you’re not supposed to take running backs at certain spots. Last year, Breece Hall and Ken Walker, in my personal opinion, were top-15 players in that draft, so where those two players went last year was surprising to me, personally.”

Depth added to the Running Back room! 🏃‍♂️@zachcharbon x #GoHawks pic.twitter.com/396VJLyFvT

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 29, 2023

Charbonnet was in consideration for the 37th pick, which Seattle used on Hall.

“I really thought we were making a decision there between Derick and Zach, so went defense and pass-rusher and then came back and Zach still made it to No. 52,” Schneider said. “… It’s a guy that comes in and he complements Ken real well. He’s a little upright, but really good contact balance, really good feet, really good hands.”

‘Grown man’ Cameron Young

The Seahawks didn’t take interior defensive lineman Jalen Carter fifth overall like most expected, but they did add to that position later in the draft with Mississippi State’s Cameron Young in the fourth round.

When asked who the tough guy of this draft class is, Schneider immediately pointed to Young.

“Cam could play in any decade. Like we said the other night, he’s a grown man,” he said. “While he’s not the heaviest guy, he’s got really heavy hands. I think he’s like 304 pounds for a nose tackle, but real long real heavy hands, good instincts. And when you speak to him, you feel like you’re speaking to a 40 year old. He’s a grown man that you would never mess with.”

A pair of Michigan standouts in Round 5

The Seahawks had picks 151 and 154 in the fifth round, and they used both selections on Michigan players.

At 151 was defensive end Mike Morris and 154 was center Olusegun Oluwatimi.

“To be able to select those two guys from Michigan right there, that was one of the more fun parts of the weekend for us,” Schneider said.

Morris is a “big, long guy,” Schneider said.

“Long arms and everything. Really active, really good hands,” Schneider said.

Schneider said Morris was a standup linebacker at Michigan at around 280 pounds and slimmed down for pre-draft testing, which didn’t go too great. Schneider has known Morris’ agent a long time, and was told Morris was adding weight and actually sent him a video during the draft of Morris stepping on the scale weighing 295.

“He’s going to be a defensive end,” Schneider said.

Oluwatimi was the top center in the country in 2022, so why did he fall to the fifth round?

“Yeah, reflection of the position, I would say. That position, there’s particulars and characteristics within that position that people value different than others,” Schneider said.

But the Seahawks are thrilled to have landed Oluwatimi where they did.

“Just ‘steady Eddy.’ Goes into a big-time program coming from Virginia going into Michigan with a lot of expectations for their season and is named a captain right away when he gets there,” Schneider said. “Incredibly smart, tough, reliable guy. You can’t move him. And he’s a great competitor. Just a really exciting part of the draft for us.”

‘Conviction guy’ Jerrick Reed II

Seattle added another defensive back late with New Mexico’s Jerrick Reed II, who Schneider called a “late-riser” in the draft process.

Schneider said area scout Ryan Florence, who got to make the draft call, loved Reed in the process.

“We have guys that the scouts have, we call them ‘conviction guys,’ and this was was one of his top conviction guys in his area,” Schneider said.

Reed plays angry, Schneider added, and called that a big part of his personality. That was on display during Reed’s pre-draft visit to Seattle.

“I was like, ‘Hey man, are you OK? … Are you alright?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, why?’ I’m like, ‘You play like you’re an angry elf out there. You’re aggressive out there, man. You’re mad at somebody.’ And he was like, ‘Hey, that’s the way I play the game, boss,'” Schneider recalled. ” … He’s got a ton of range, position versatility, really intense dude … Yeah, we’re really excited with him.”

Seattle Seahawks wrap up class with RB Kenny McIntosh

The Seahawks selected two running backs in this year’s draft with Charbonnet going in the second round and Georgia’s Kenny McIntosh being the team’s last selection in the seventh round.

“Honestly, if you would have told me he would have got been gone in the third round, I wouldn’t have blinked,” Schneider said. “… Kenny McIntosh did not have a great spring in terms of testing, but he’s just a football player … And to have him still sitting there that late at 237 is really mind-blowing … To put him and his skill set with Ken and DeeJay (Dallas) and Zach, it’s gonna be a really, really fun group to watch.”

Listen to the full Wyman and Bob conversation with Schneider in the podcast below.

GM John Schneider: Seattle Seahawks had ‘easy’ decisions with top 2 picks

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