Seahawks Draft: A mid-round edge rusher with elite length

The Seattle Seahawks have done well with their picks in the middle rounds of recent drafts.

An under-the-radar Seattle Seahawks need Brock Huard sees

Over the past four years, the Seahawks have landed several starters in the middle rounds, including third-round tackle Abraham Lucas, fourth-round guard Anthony Bradford, fourth-round safety Coby Bryant, fourth-round tight end A.J. Barner and fourth-round linebacker Tyrice Knight.

Can the Seahawks find another starting-caliber player in the middle rounds of this year’s draft? Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus highlighted Tennessee edge rusher Joshua Josephs as a prospect who could be Seattle’s next impactful mid-round pick Tuesday during his Four Down Territory segment on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

Josephs, who measures in at 6 foot 3 and 242 pounds, is projected as a fourth-round pick by NFL.com. Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the No. 63 overall prospect and No. 11 edge defender in the 2026 class. ESPN has Josephs as the 94th overall prospect and the 14th-ranked edge.

This past season, the Kennesaw, Ga., native had six tackles for loss, a career-high 4.0 sacks, three passes defended, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a defensive TD in 11 games. He ranked 20th in FBS in PFF pass rush grading among edge players.

Josephs also forced three fumbles over 13 games as junior while posting a career-high nine tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

Josephs with the sack
Telander with the recovery

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It isn’t the production that stands out to Bumpus, though. It’s Josephs’ NBA-caliber wingspan, as the Tennessee product had the second-longest arm length measurement among edge defenders at the combine at 34 1/4 inches.

“If you watch him, it looks like his hands are dragging on the ground. That’s how long his wingspan is. It’s stupid. Honestly, it’s crazy,” Bumpus said.

In watching film on Josephs, Bumpus saw how the 22-year-old uses that length to his advantage.

“When he grabs you, you are going down. I didn’t see one time he got this paws on a quarterback (or) a running back and they did not go down,” Bumpus said. “And he’s comfortable with contact, he creates space with contact. He wants to get you close, pop you and then move you. A lot of these guys want to avoid contact. I get it, it makes sense. You don’t want to get the O-tackle’s hands on you, but I think he invites it because he’s confident in his length.

“He knows he can hold you about 2 feet away from him before he makes his move… He’s best on the backside of these runs chasing guys down because of that length and that stride. I really like Josephs out of Tennessee.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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