Sam’s Film Room: Vita Vea is the next Haloti Ngata

Vita Vea is a terrifying man. Standing at 6’4” and 347 pounds, he’s the prototypical nose tackle in the NFL. With his size and strength, he has the ability to be an elite run defender at the next level. While he can definitely defend the run, can he also rush the passer? In my opinion, yes, he can but he needs to improve in his pass rush techniques and get better at stringing together his moves. Based on his skill-set, I gave him a mid first round pick in the draft.

For his pro comparison, I see him as the next Haloti Ngata. They both have the same size, same 40-yard dash time (5.1 sec), and are both powerful men. Vea will command double teams in the NFL; however, what separates Ngata from most defensive lineman is his ability to rush the passer. Sure, the most sacks he’s ever gotten is 5.5 in a single season, he still puts a lot of pressure on an offensive lien and opens the possibility of one-on-one blocks for his other teammates with his strength. In my opinion, Vea hast he talent to do the same thing.

How this might affect the Seattle Seahawks

With the Seahawks taking Jarran Reed during the 2016 NFL Draft and signing Tom Johnson and Shamar Stephen this offseason, they don’t really have a need for a big nose tackle like Vea. It’s possible that at pick #18, John Schneider could consider him as a potential Best Player Available (BPA). Even if that’s the case, I see them more likely taking an offensive lineman or trading back to recoup the costs from their trades last summer. With that being said, Vea is most likely going to get picked around 10-13 in my opinion, which should push other non-QB positions down the draft board for Seattle.

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