Sam’s Film Room: Amara Darboh is the new Jermaine Kearse

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In the third round, the Seattle Seahawks took Amara Darboh out of Michigan. Standing at 6’2 and 214 pounds, he was the Wolverine’s leading receiver in 2016. At Michigan, he improved each season getting better at route running and proved to be a very willing run blocker. His lack of quickness and his consistent use of body catching are his biggest issues as a prospect.

As a receiver, he struggles against press coverage due to a good jab. He has above-average hand fighting abilities, but improving his release will be important for him to win in the NFL. While he ran a 4.45 second 40 yard dash at the combine, his play speed does not match this metric. He does not have the start-and-stop quickness you want as a top tier prospect, but has decent long speed on the sidelines.

Overall, I gave Darboh a fourth round grade, so where the Seahawks took him at the tail end of the third round is pretty much in line with my projection.

In the Seattle Seahawks’ offense, his skill-set and projected role really fit in the flanker position. Currently, Jermaine Kearse is featured in this role and if you compare the two receivers they are actually both pretty similar. Both receivers are good route runners and know how to find the hole in zone coverage. They are about the same size with the main difference being the different type of offense they played in at college.

Back in 2016, Kearse signed a 3 year - $13.5 million deal. At the time, this was seen as an expensive signing. Looking closely at the details, though, the Seahawks are only paying him about $3 million per year for the first two years. In his final year of the deal, he is making $6.8 million. Of that only $1.8 million is guaranteed in 2018. Simply put, Seattle is free to cut him and replace him with Darboh after this season and that’s exactly what I expect them to do.

What I find interesting about this pick is that GM John Schneider actually did this twice in the draft. The other time was with their second round pick Ethan Pocic, who I already analyzed here. Since Justin Britt is a free agent in 2018, they have an insurance plan in case he leaves. While I think they should re-sign Britt, I think it’s reasonable to assume the front office drafted these players with future contract situations in mind.