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Looking at late round, high upside players

One thing Seattle has done a lot of in the past is select high upside, highly athletic players, especially in the later rounds.

You may well have heard of SPARQ before, it is a formula developed by Nike which measures a players athleticism by outputting a single score. Funnily enough, Pete Carroll actually had some involvement in the development of the calculations, so it’s no surprise that Seattle shows an interest in high scoring SPARQ guys.

But who are they?

For this article, I am not going to include guys with early round grades. The purpose of this piece is to highlight some names that only the deepest of draft followers will likely recognize, guys that will be picked up in the 3rd day (round 4-7) as well as priority undrafted free agents. I can absolutely guarantee that several of these names will become Seahawks either via a later round pick of via (undrafted) free agency.

Let’s break it down by positon to keep it simple.

Quarterback

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Peter Pujals 123.7 UDFA

Reggie Bell 116.8 UDFA

Andrew Elffers 104.1 UDFA

Quinton Flowers 103.1 UDFA

Danny Etling 100.9 7th

None of these names really jump out at me as 'Seahawky' types to be honest but they score high regardless.

Running Back

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Trenton Cannon 141.9 7th/UDFA

Mike Boone 140.4 UDFA

Kalen Ballage 136.6 4th

Bo Scarbrough 134.5 5th

Ryan Green 132.5 UDFA

Josh Adams 132.0 4th/5th

Justin Jackson 129.9 5th/6th

Ryan Nall 125.6 UDFA

Chase Edmunds 124.8 UDFA

John Kelly 124.3 4th

Seahawks look for the following from running backs - between 5"10 - 6"1, 215 - 230 pounds, 35"+ vertical, 4.65 or quicker 40 time. Out of those players above Kalen Ballage (Seahawks have met and worked him out), Bo Scarbrough and John Kelly especially jump out. Although all the names will be considered given their draft investment, some are taller or shorter than the typical size but Seattle may want to try different things at RB this year.

Wide Receiver

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Dylan Cantrell 141.1 6th

Jordan Smallwood 136.8 UDFA

Justin Watson 132.6 UDFA

Jacob Sannon 129.5 UDFA

Saeed Blacknail 129.2 UDFA

Teo Redding 128.5 7th/UDFA

Jaelon Acklin 128.4 UDFA

Kahlil Dawson 128.0 UDFA

Caleb Scott 127.8 UDFA

J’Mon Moore 127.7 4th

Michael Gallup 124.4 4th

Allen Lazard 123.8 4th

Seattle is quite varied in the types of receiver they have shown interest in historically but the names that jump out to me from that list are Dylan Cantrell, Kahlil Dawson, Michael Gallup and Allen Lazard.

Tight End

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Tyler Conklin 125.2 5th/6th

Jaylen Samuels 123.5 UDFA

Garrett Hudson 119.8 UDFA

Mark Andrews 115.2 UDFA

Tyler Hoppes 114.7 UDFA

Matt Flanagan 113.9 UDFA

Dalton Schultz 113.4 4th

Nathan Marcus 111.9 UDFA

Marcus Baugh 107.4 UDFA

With Seattle needing depth at tight end a lot of these names make sense.

Offensive Tackle

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Korey Cunningham 133.7 7th

Brian O’Neill 117.0 4th (possibly earlier)

Gerhard de Beer 110.2 7th/UDFA

David Steinmetz 108.3 UDFA

Tyler Howell 108.1 UDFA

Connor Hilland 107.8 UDFA

Christian DiLauro 107.0 UDFA

Tackles typically can do 27 reps, a 31" vertical and a 9" broad. However, with Tom Cable now off the team it's hard to gauge if those parameters were set by him or John & Pete. These names, however, stand out to me - Korey Cunningham, David Steinmetz & Tyler Howell.

Offensive Guard

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Dejon Allen 110.8 7th

Ryan Hunter 110.6 UDFA

Wyatt Teller 109.6 4th

Jashon Robertson 107.6 UDFA

Adam Ploudre 107.5 UDFA

I'm not convinced any of these names would make it out of camp, but would be surprised if none of them are picked up via UDFA.

Offensive Center

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Scott Quessenberry 117.0 4th

Austin Golson 100.9 UDFA

Casey Dunn 100.5 UDFA

I don't think Joey Hunt makes it to the 53 man roster, one of these 3 could potentially replace him.

Defensive Tackle

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Jullian Taylor 132.9 UDFA

Sebastian Joseph 131.9 UDFA

James Looney 131.8 6th

Lord Hyeamang 129.7 UDFA

Bilal Nichols 119.2 5th

Foley Fatukasi 118.4 4th/5th

Andrew Brown 118.0 5th/6th

Breeland Speaks 117.4 UDFA

Every single one of these guys intrigues me somewhat, especially Julian Taylor and Sebastian Joseph, both are very athletic and may well be bought into camp.

Defensive End

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Tyquan Lewis 140.8 4th

Ade Aruna 133.8 4th/5th

Kylie Fitts 131.9 4th

Leon Jacobs 130.1 4th/5th

Joe Ostman 129.0 7th

Antonio Simmons 128.9 7th/UDFA

Peter Kalambayi 127.6 6th/7th

Jacob Martin 125.8 UDFA

Marcell Frazier 123.4 7th/UDFA

With the depth at EDGE looking pretty thin, again, a lot of these names intrigue me. I wouldn't be shocked with an early pick, a late pick and one or two UDFA's being bought in to compete this summer.

Linebacker

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Matthew Thomas 149.8 7th/UDFA

Oren Burks 143.1 6th/7th

Zaire Franklin 138.9 UDFA

Genard Avery 134.2 4th/5th

Fred Warner 132.3 4th

Marcus Newby 127.7 UDFA

Emmanuel Smith 127.4 UDFA

Micah Kiser 126.2 4th

Another area the Seahawks are thin with depth, I'd be surprised if one or two of these guys aren't in Seahawks camp uniform this summer.

Cornerback

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Christian Campbell 139.8 7th/UDFA

Keion Crossen 137.5 UDFA

Emmanuel Moseley 134.6 UDFA

Avonte Maddox 132.9 4th

Jordan Thomas 132.5 6th/7th

Tafon Mainsah 132.2 UDFA

Cameron Roane 132.2 UDFA

Andre Chachere 129.5 7th

Dane Cruikshank 129.2 UDFA

Trevon Mathis 126.6 UDFA

Grant Haley 123.4 5th

Tony Brown 123.4 4th

Tre Herndon 123.3 UDFA

Darious Williams 123.2 7th

Tarvarus McFadden 121.8 4th/5th

Seahawks typically look for 32"+ arms, however they've proven a couple of times it's not an absolute necessity, especially for nickel corners. Dontae Johnson who was signed last week only has 31 1/2 inch arms for example.

Names that really jump out at me, though, are Christian Campbell (33 1/2), Jordan Thomas (32), Andre Chachere (31 3/8) and Tarvarus McFadden (32 1/2) all really jump out at me. I'm confident at least one of those 4 will be picked up.

Strong Safety

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Troy Apke 147.0 5th

Terrell Edmunds 138.9 4th

Warren Long 135.1 UDFA

Trayvon Henderson 132.0 6th

Foyesade Oluokun 128.6 7th

Asantay Brown 126.9 UDFA

Trey Marshall 125.1 UDFA

Steven Parker 124.9 UDFA

Siran Neal 122.5 6th

Tray Matthews 121.5 7th/UDFA

Any of these guys could be bought in to compete in training camp, Troy Apke is a name to watch with one of the many 5th round picks the team currently holds.

Free Safety

Name SPARQ Likely Round

Joshua Kalu 134.2 7th

Godwin Igwebuike 133.4 4th/5th

Jordan Martin 133.0 UDFA

Jamar Summers 126.6 UDFA

Natrell Jamerson 123.3 7th

Ryan Neal 122.4 UDFA

Robert Taylor 121.5 UDFA

Anthony Sherrils 119.6 UDFA

Tray Mitchell 119.4 UDFA

Tyree Robinson 119.0 UDFA

If Earl is moved, expect to see one or two of these names on the 90 man roster. Natrell Jamerson is picking up a lot of attention at the moment across the league and I suspect he goes earlier than he is currently projected here.

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