7 Alabama players the Seahawks could take in the 2020 NFL Draft

With less than a week to go until the 2020 NFL Draft, there is one college team that has been dominating the top of the draft rankings. Six players from the Alabama Crimson Tide are consistently anticipated to go in the first round, with four expected to be taken in the top half of the first round.

This week, Adam Stites of SB Nation compiled a long list of projections into the 2020 NFL mock draft database to show that most draft analysts are projecting QB Tua Tagovailoa, WR Jerry Jeudy, WR Henry Ruggs, and OT Jedrick Wills to come off the board in the first half of the round.

Tune into today’s episode of the Field Gulls Podcast, as Brent Taylor, editor of Roll Bama Roll, joins the show to talk about the rest of the Alabama draft class and the prospects the Seattle Seahawks may be interested in. We started with the defensive line:

EDGE Terrell Lewis (6-5, 262)

As Field Gulls’ own Alistair Corp points out on his Seahawks Draft Board, Lewis is a player who checks a lot of boxes for measurements that Seattle prefers from a player who can rush the quarterback. An edge player with upwards of 33-inch arms, a broad jump over 10 feet, and a 37-inch vertical. He flashed late in the 2017 season, but then missed the entire 2018 season with an ACL injury. Last season he fell short of Alabama fans expectations, but still may go off the board first as the lineman with the most upside. Lewis reportedly met with the Seahawks via video conference.

EDGE Anfernee Jennings (6-2, 256)

Jennings led the team in sacks is 2019, was third on the team in tackles and is seen as the safer pick over Lewis. However, he’s expected to go later than Lewis in the draft in part due to his own injury history. A ligament tear in his knee during the 2018 Sugar Bowl damaged the artery in his left leg, and he was hours away from possibly losing his leg. He comes up just short of the height and arm length Seattle looks for, but his backstory of overcoming that significant injury could be the type of grit the Seahawks love.

DT Raekwon Davis (6-6, 311)

Seattle could also look to improve on the interior of the defense. Davis is another guy that checks a lot of boxes for athletic traits. His 34-inch arms are beyond what they look for on the interior and he hits on the explosive traits (1.78 10-yard split, over 9-foot broad jump, and 28-inch vertical). Davis led Alabama in sacks in 2017 with 8.5, but then combined to average just one sack over the next two years. Shifting to Seattle’s defensive scheme could offer him the opportunity to improve.

S Xavier McKinney (6-0, 201)

Alabama’s leading tackler from 2019 could be off the board by the time the Seahawks pick. He finished the NFL combine with a disappointing 4.63 40 time and cramps kept him from a second attempt. On the field, he doesn’t seem to display the type of athletic traits that would make him just the second defensive back taken in the first round by Pete Carroll. We discuss how unless he happens to fall into the second round, McKenney seems unlikely to end up in Seattle.

CB Trevon Diggs (6-1, 205)

Diggs is another player who has the potential to be off the board by the time the Seahawks pick, but has been a player routinely landing in Seattle in early mock drafts. Diggs was one of the several Alabama players who opted to pass on many of the Combine tests to wait for his pro day. The good news is that Diggs hits on the arm length requirements the Seahawks tend to look for an outside corner. But, with the recent Quinton Dunbar trade, it seems unlikely for Pete Carroll to make Diggs the first cornerback taken by the Seahawks in the first round since Kelly Jennings back in 2006. Diggs was a player Seattle reportedly met with at the NFL Combine.

We close the show by talking about two potential late-round, or undrafted free agents Seattle could consider from Alabama. Safety Jared Mayden (6-0, 205) led the team with four interceptions last season and tackle Matt Womack (6-7, 325) is the type of mauling offensive lineman Mike Solari would like. Womack was the starting right tackle at Alabama in 2017 before a foot injury cost him his starting job and played behind Jedrick Wills the past two seasons. His strength as a run blocker could ultimately land him a spot and could have the athleticism to fill behind the departure of George Fant.

Listen to the full episode to hear more. Brent Taylor will join the show on the next episode to talk about some other players in the SEC he has his eye on as potential Seahawks. Subscribe to the Field Gulls Podcast and get the next episode as soon as it’s released via:

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