Alex Magee at 68

Alex Magee

Birthdate: April 28, 1987

Height/Weight: 6'2 5/8"/298

Position: DT/DE

College: Purdue, 50 games played

Notable Stats: 92.5 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 3 blocked kicks, 1 interception

NFL Combine: 5.09/40, 30/225, 29.5"/vert, 7.53/3 cone

My Take: There's two ways to get value in the draft. Find a player devalued for the wrong reasons. That's the tactic Tim Ruskell has been praised for. The other is to find the players that's future is better than his past. That's the tactic Tim Ruskell has largely avoided. Ruskell has drafted a handful of project picks, and, to date, not one has really panned out. Chris Spencer has yet to be worth a first round pick. Baraka Atkins has only shown glimpses and could still fizzle and fade away. Seattle is still awaiting any returns from Jordan Kent. That doesn't mean it's a bad tactic, or even, for that matter, that Ruskell's eye for potential is not as keen as his eye for polish, just that, so far, one tactic has served Seattle well, and one hasn't.

Alex Magee is a raw pick, that's not so much raw in technique as production, if you'll suffer me an abused adjective. Magee has a good build, good athleticism and good technique. His potential is that of an above average defensive tackle, but if build, athleticism and technique is all that determined how teams drafted, Fili Moala and Dorell Scott would be rated well above Ziggy Hood and Peria Jerry. And maybe they are. Magee didn't produce, and his game tape isn't impressive. He's made his way into the mid-rounds through drills, practice and the Senior Bowl.

After 22 starts at defensive tackle, Magee played his senior season at defensive end. If you're like me and you see a pattern in Seattle's recent personnel moves and actually give credence to the "West Coast Defense", then you probably see that selfless move that probably hurt his draft stock as a selfless move that put Magee on the Seahawks' radar. Magee is a big fella, and though he played at 285 his senior season, he's the kind of 300 pound 21 year old that's comfortably 315 at 25. His age is a point in his favor, and not to harp on this point too very much, but were he 24 in 2008 like Jerry, Magee would have recorded more than 3.5 sacks. But that's all he did get, and as a defensive end. That and his tape make Magee a third round pick with pretty good upside, but also little promise of professional success.