Scouting Aaron Curry at Seattle Seahawks Training Camp

The player steps, plants and curls, creating separation.

The player is Aaron Curry and he's only a dummy tight end. But the movement is so fluid and effortless Zerick Rollins blurts "good route". This is a low impact drill: Linebackers running routes; linebackers in coverage. Rollins is directing flat, curl and hook. This is one of two drills the team used as a breather. Guys are running, but it's not scrimmage intensity.

Curry first flashed during nickel scrimmages. If today is any indication, Seattle understands the talent it has in Josh Wilson, has a deep nickel playbook and plans on using it. Curry is edged up on the strong side. Seattle fakes play action and hands off to Devin Moore on a cutback left. Curry drops, reads, recovers and closes to the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage. The play is whistled dead.

He's exploding a blocker as he bursts across the line opposite Darryl Tapp. Tapp is coming from the offensive right. The power and acceleration is clear, but Curry can't turn the corner and is wide when the play was whistled. Later, Seattle overloads the offensive right, disguising Curry between the left defensive tackle and the wide-set left defensive end. Seattle's ends were active dropping into zones, and this is payoff play. Instead of dropping, the defense overloads offensive right and drops its right into confusing middle zones. The play ended in a Leroy Hill sack.

Curry worked extensively out of a curl zone. He's not a man defender. Or at least, Curry is not a great man defender against new breed tight ends, but he's a disciplined and dangerous zone defender. Most Seahawks linebackers measured their zone by their man, shadowing them, stumbling on misdirection and reacting from unstable in-between steps. Curry positions himself. He gives himself a straight line to the ball carrier and through the passing route. It's advanced technique for a linebacker and a skill that will immediately pay dividends breaking up and intercepting passes. As a tackler, he will initially limit yards after catch. Should he tap into his power, he's going to produce nightmare hits over the middle. He's probably not there yet.

If you didn't know you wouldn't think Curry was fresh in camp -- unless you knew Aaron Curry. Curry is green for Aaron Curry, but he's still making plays like a veteran. He's not a veteran. Maybe it's the beard or the Greg Oden skin, but it's easy to think Curry is a man at his peak. Watching him from the sidelines you can see his still lanky build but massive frame. The rawness hidden in a player so polished. There's so much ability already it's easy to ignore the universe of potential.