Seahawks potential picks: QB Jake Waters
Apr 17, 2015, 2:48 PM | Updated: Apr 8, 2016, 10:50 am
(AP)
One of the questions during Tuesday’s edition of “Blue 42” was whether the Seahawks might draft a quarterback this year. Brock Huard thinks they could in one of the later rounds, and the name he mentioned was Jake Waters from Kansas State.
You can listen to that segment here.
Seahawks 2015 NFL Draft section
After examining USC receiver Nelson Agholor and Oregon center Hroniss Grasu as potential early-round selections for Seattle, let’s take a closer look at Waters.
Overview. He went 17-9 in his two seasons as the starter at Kansas State, breaking the school record for career completion percentage (64.1 percent) and the single-season record for all-purpose yards (3,985) as a senior. The right shoulder injury he played through makes his senior season even more impressive. It’s also a bit of a red flag, though, as it required surgery in January from which he’s still recovering. Waters didn’t attend the scouting combine and wasn’t able to participate at K-State’s pro day, and when this story from the Kansas City Star was written earlier this month, he hadn’t thrown a pass since January.
Huard’s take. He listed toughness, athleticism and mobility as some of Waters’ positive attributes while saying he has a bit of an unorthodox throwing style and that he lacks the prototypical measurables for the position. Waters is listed between 6 feet and 6-1 and around 210 pounds.
Level of need: moderate. Don’t assume that Seattle’s potential interest in drafting a quarterback depends entirely on whether or not Tarvaris Jackson is re-signed. For one thing, that question may not be answered by the draft, which is two weeks away. And if the Seahawks were to take a quarterback in the later rounds – which is where Waters is projected to be drafted, if at all – their plan would likely be to keep him as the No. 3 and develop him over time as opposed to thrusting him into the backup role right away. That means it’s possible Seattle drafts a late-round quarterback to compete with B.J. Daniels to be the No. 3 regardless of what happens with Jackson.
Waters’ fit. As this scouting report from NFLDraftScout.com notes, Waters ran the zone-read at Kansas State. That should appeal at least to some degree to a team like the Seahawks given how the zone-read is also a part of their offense. There’s no doubt that Seattle values toughness, and playing through a painful injury suggests that Waters has plenty of it. His size may not be ideal for a quarterback, but that hasn’t stopped the Seahawks in the past.