BROCK AND SALK

Huard: Who Seahawks could draft from national champion Ohio State

Jan 21, 2025, 11:59 AM

The Ohio State Buckeyes claimed the national title with their 34-23 College Football Playoff final victory over Notre Dame on Monday night, but for Seattle Seahawks fans, there was an underlying reason to watch the game closely.

The NFL Draft is just over three months away, and with the top two teams in the nation in the spotlight, it presented an opportunity to identify prospects for the Hawks.

Early Mock Draft Roundup: Who could Seahawks pick at No. 18?

On Tuesday morning, Seattle Sports’ Brock Huard was asked which players from Monday’s title tilt would best fit the Seahawks’ draft needs. While the FOX football analyst and former NFL quarterback had answers from both Ohio State and Notre Dame, it was a Buckeyes player who especially stood out to Huard: offensive lineman Donovan Jackson.

According to Huard, Jackson is a “poster boy” for the kind of versatility needed on the O-line in today’s NFL.

“What used to be a guard was he can be short-armed, he can be pudgier, he can be heavier-footed as long as he can anchor, as long as he can double-team somebody,” Huard said. “Those days are gone. Your guards have to be as athletic as your tackles, because… especially (with) nickel packages and ‘NASCAR’ packages, all the stunts and all the movement that they see, they’ve got to be great athletes, too. Donovan Jackson’s that kind of guy.”

Jackson checks in at 6 foot 4 and 320 pounds, and due to injuries on the Ohio State roster, he moved from his usual left guard spot to left tackle during the 2024 season. That’s good experience to have going into the NFL Draft season, especially when it comes to a Seahawks team that has a lot of question marks on their embattled O-line.

A senior who played 51 games in four seasons, Jackson entered the Ohio State program as a big recruit and lived up to the billing in his time with the Buckeyes, earning first team All-Big 10 in 2024 after taking second team honors the previous two seasons.

“He was a five-star recruit, he was a top guard in the country coming out of high school,” Huard said. “He’s kind of a second/third-round grade kind of guy right now. The Senior Bowl and obviously the whole (draft) process will play into that, but he was one I was thinking about, showing his versatility last night.”

As for Notre Dame players that could be Seahawks fits, Huard mentioned tight end Mitchell Evans and cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Evans is a late-round draft projection, while Huard admitted that Morrison, who did not play Monday, is a less realistic target as he could already be gone when Seattle picks at No. 18 overall.

Brock Huard answers three football questions daily at 7:45 a.m. during Blue 88 on Brock and Salk. Hear Tuesday’s full segment at this link or in the player near the top of this post, and catch the show from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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