Seahawks rookie class: PFF notes and notables

Our main contact over at Pro Football Focus, Jim Seki recently sent me some quick-hitting stats that he collected on the Seahawks' 2015 draft picks and rookie free agents. The info below includes some of these new Seahawks' best games from 2015 (if you want to go back and watch), some key stats, and a few notables.

Check it...

Germain Ifedi:

• Best games v. South Carolina, v. Western Carolina, v. Louisville (all in final third of the season)
• Four games this season with zero QB hurries (three with one)
• 7th-best rated run blocking RT in the draft

That run-blocking stat sure does say a lot, doesn't it? Ifedi's pass blocking grade for 2015 (-1.9) isn't much to write home about, but his run blocking grade (+7.8) is, and probably tells you why the Seahawks really liked him. For what it's worth, Ifedi's pass blocking grade in 2014 was solid (+8.2), so there's some potential there obviously as well.

Jarran Reed:

• Best games v. UL-Monroe, v. MTSU, at Georgia, v. Tennessee
• Has had three or more defensive stops in 12 of 30 games since 2014
• Best run stop rate (13.4%) in FBS among DTs (min. 50% snaps played)
• Second-best graded DT against the run in FBS last season
• Zero missed tackles when defending the run (246 run snaps)
• Second-most batted passes among DTs

The highlights are clear -- he had the best run stop rate among all defensive tackles. Check. He had the second best run-defense grade among all defensive tackles. Check. Zero (0) missed tackles against the run (!!). Good gravy. This makes a lot of sense as to why they saw Reed as a first round talent. Pete Carroll loves stopping the run. Reed is going to be very good at it.

Reed had two sacks, a quarterback hit, 20 quarterback hurries, and six passes batted down in 584 snaps in 2015. He batted down five passes in 2014 as well. I'd expect to see a few of those this year.

CJ Prosise:

• Best games v. Navy, v. Georgia Tech, v. USC
• 2.83 yards after contact per attempt
• 43 missed tackles forced on runs, 5 on receptions
• 49.7 Breakaway rate, 16th among halfbacks in FBS. Had 19 runs of 15+ yds.
• Allowed only three QB hurries on 61 pass blocking snaps

The explosive runs stat is very intriguing, as is the missed tackles note. Dude is slippery and has the breakaway speed to run away from defenders if he gets into the secondary.

Nick Vannett:

• Best games v. Notre Dame, v. Hawaii, @ Indiana. Started and ended year strong.
• Fourth-lowest yards/pass route run (0.74) among all TEs

That lowest yards per pass route run stat is not surprising -- with Ohio State's absolutely stacked lineup (Zeke Elliot, Mike Thomas, Braxton Miller, etc., Vannett was an afterthought in the passing game. Seattle obviously sees some tools that they can work with though.

For what it's worth, Vannett's run blocking grade was +5.5 and he only accrued two offensive penalties.

Quinton Jefferson:

• Best games v. Richmond, v. Wisconsin, v. Penn State
• 6.6 Run Stop rate on 333 snaps of run defense
• Three or more defensive stops in seven of 12 games
• At least one QB hurry in 10 of 12 games

Jefferson got six sacks, five quarterback hits, and 15 quarterback hurries in 735 snaps. For a guy who is mostly going to play on passing downs, I think, his run defense grade (+17.8) was very good. His pass rush grade in 2015 was +8.1 and it was +6.1 in 2014.

Alex Collins

• Best games @ Tennessee, v. Kansas State, v. Texas Tech
• 3.01 yards after contact/attempt
• 58 missed tackles forced on runs, two on receptions
• 21 runs of 15+ yards

Great yards after contact, lots of explosive runs. Statistically there's not a ton to not like about Alex Collins. He didn't have any penalties, and the only thing that PFF graded him negatively for was his involvement in the passing game in 2015.

Joey Hunt

• Best games v. Kansas, @ Minnesota, @ Texas Tech
• Top Pass Block Efficiency (99.5) among all centers
• Third-highest graded pass blocking center

Pass blocking, pass blocking, pass blocking. Love to see that. He's probably never going to be a power player because of his size, but I'm guessing he got by with excellent technique and sound footwork in college. That should help him in Seattle.

Should be noted here that Hunt also graded really well in run blocking (+16.9 in 2015) so he's not a one-trick pony. Also was very reliable, playing in about 93-percent of TCU's snaps over the past two years. Will be fun to see if he can make the roster.

Kenny Lawler

• Best games v. Grambling, @ Texas, v. Washington State (all in first half of the season)
• 1.64 yards per route run (202nd of 331)

Not too much to write home about with Lawler, statistically speaking when it comes to PFF's tracking. Here's his reception scatter chart.

Very few dropped passes.

Zac Brooks

• Best games v. Alabama, @ N.C. State, v. Notre Dame
• 3.05 yards after contact/attempt
• Five missed tackles forced on runs, one on receptions
• Five runs of 15+ yards

Brooks only played in 18.6-percent of the Tigers' offensive snaps, so he's really a projection at this point. He graded well enough across the board but he really didn't have a big role in college.

Trevone Boykin

• Best games @ Iowa State, v. West Virginia, @ Texas Tech
• 63.4% yards in air (% of QB passing yardage that comes before the catch), fourth-highest in FBS (min 50% snaps played)
• Fourth-highest YPA (9.02) in FBS
• Two passes batted at the LOS, tied for fourth-fewest (3 QBs with one)
• Fourth-highest 53.7% accuracy rate on deep passes (passes thrown 20+ yards in the air)
• Sixth-best 67.3% accuracy rate on passing under pressure
• 73.2% completion rate when using play action (6th-best)

The cool stats that make Boykin sound Seahawky are the deep accuracy and the yards per attempt. He's pushing the ball downfield. He's also very good on play-action.

Here's a cool chart on Boykin:

And, here's his play-direction charting.

Brandin Bryant

• Best games @ Florida, v. Marshall, @ Charlotte, @ Old Dominion
• Two or more defensive stops in eight of 12 games
• At least one QB hurry in seven of 12 games
• 8.4 Pass Rush Producitivty (22nd) and 8.6 Run Stop Rate (30th) of 344 FBS DTs

The upside here is that he appears to be a pretty solid defensive tackle, but the Seahawks are also obviously giving him a try at fullback as well.

Deandre Elliott

• Best games v. Savannah St., @ UTSA, v. Nevada, @ Wyoming
• 0.96 yards/coverage snap allowed
• QB rating when targeted dropped from 78.3 to 50.8 from 2014-15

I like that last stat. Moving in the right direction. Only one missed tackle in 2015.

Christian French

• Best games @ Washington, @ Michigan State, v. Georgia State
• At least one QB hurry in six of eight games

Nothing terribly noteworthy for French, who graded out positively in both run defense and pass coverage. Just three missed tackles in 394 snaps.

Tanner McEvoy

• Best games v. Purdue, v. Troy, v. Rutgers
• One of three 2016 rookie safeties to have more than 20 targets and allow less than 40 total yards after the catch
• 24.8 NFL QB rating allowed (5th among safeties in FBS)

This guy is going to be really interesting -- at 6'6, he's not going to be playing every down as a safety, almost surely, but as a situational defender, maybe a guy that can run with opposing tight ends or big slot receivers, he's one to watch. Looks like he's got some natural coverage ability.

Montese Overton

• Best games v. Tulsa, @ BYU, v. Temple
• Multiple defensive stops in eight of 12 games
• Had his nine combined sacks in three games
• 15.4 Pass Rush Productivity, 12th among 3-4 OLBs despite only rushing the QB 38.1% of the time

Looks like Overton could have a little bit of upside as a blitzer or pass rusher.

Tyvis Powell

• Best games v. Northern Illinois, v. Western Michigan, v. Maryland
• At least one defensive stop in half his games (14 games played)
• 5.8 yards after catch/reception allowed

Powell's stats definitely don't stand out. I wonder if Seattle sees him more as a cornerback than as a safety, or if he'll do both like DeShawn Shead has done in his career.

Pete Robertson

• Best games @ Kansas, @ Texas, v. UTEP
• At least one defensive stop and one QB hurry in all but one game (12 games played, v. Kansas State)
• 5th-most QB hurries and hits among 3-4 ILBs

This dude has potential as a pass rusher too.

Taniela Tupou

• Best games v. Oregon, v. Utah State, @ Arizona State
• Defensive stop in all but two games (14 games played)
• QB hurry in half of the games played
• Has not committed a penalty in last two seasons

Like Bryant, it will be cool to see that he could actually function as a base-down run defense guy in addition to a fullback.