Michael Bennett shares what he sees from Seahawks rookies Hall and Morris
Aug 11, 2023, 12:55 PM
Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Mike Morris at the team's rookie minicamp. (Photo: Taylor Jacobs/Seattle Sports)
(Photo: Taylor Jacobs/Seattle Sports)
The Seattle Seahawks added a number of intriguing young players during this year’s NFL Draft, including some reinforcements to the front-end of the defense.
Two of those rookies caught the eye of legendary Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett, who has been out at Hawks practices and was on the call for their preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday.
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Before the game, Bennett joined Seattle’s Brock and Salk to talk about outside linebacker/edge rusher Derick Hall and defensive end Mike Morris.
Derick Hall reminds Bennett of ex-Hawks rusher
The Seahawks selected Hall in the second round out of Auburn, and it’s easy to see why.
Hall is listed at 6 foot 3 and just over 250 pounds, and he has long 34.5-inch arms and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds.
Simply put, Bennett, a three-time Pro Bowler for the Seahawks who compiled 39 sacks in five years in Seattle, likes what he’s seen out of Hall.
“Hall is a very special player,” Bennett said.
In fact, Hall reminds Bennett of another former second-round pick of the Seahawks.
“He kind of reminds me of Frank Clark a lot. He’s wild and strong and fast,” Bennett said.
The Seahawks took Clark in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft and he had 35 sacks in his first four seasons before being traded to Kansas City.
So what does Bennett want to see out of Hall as he develops?
“Now I think for him it’s about being able to have some composure. Going from music that has no notes to being symphonic and having that sense of (legendary jazz musician) Miles Davis composure,” Bennett said. “There are these sounds that are loud and obnoxious, but they make music. I think for him is about having that composure as a player and figuring out how to use all his talents to be very calculated when he’s making moves on field.”
Mike Morris showing a lot for Seattle Seahawks
Bennett was a very intriguing player when he was with the Seahawks as he was a 4-3 defensive end who was great off the edge, but he also moved inside and was very productive, too.
Morris, a fifth-round pick, is another big defensive lineman who, after being an edge rusher at Michigan, will be moving inside as a 3-4 defensive end.
“I think it’s just as a young player figuring out how to use your body,” Bennett said. “I told him the other day, I was like, ‘Look you’re inside. When you’re outside, you have a lot of time.’ You think about as a boxer, when it’s outside, you’re jabbing, but inside it’s all body shots, so everything’s happening a lot faster. So everything is kind of like you’re getting off and then you’re reacting. So I think he has the ability.”
Bennett came away impressed by what Morris showed him at practice.
“What I saw from him is that he has speed, I see that he has power, and I think that he has the mental capacity to grow into a leader on his defense,” Bennett said. “And I think as a rookie, sometimes you don’t want to come in and overstep, but I said, ‘It’s OK to overstep the line, just don’t overstep (linebacker Bobby Wagner), you know?'”
Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation with Michael Bennett in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.
