FanPost

The first 2021 Seahawks mock draft

Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the first mock draft. I have waited a little longer than normal because everything is so strange this year. We don’t have as much film or real combine numbers, so the scouts are guessing and you can see it in the projections. Big boards are all over the place once you get out of the first round. With all the randomness, I have no idea where guys are going to go and neither do you, so please don’t at me and tell me a guy will go in the 4th, clearly not the 6th cause who cares. The goal of these is to learn a few more names and see who we could possibly take in a month or so.

Disclaimer:

Scouting

I am not a scout, nor do I pretend to be. I will give my thought process on drafting a guy, but will link and copy to other scouts and give you what they think of him, which is probably much higher quality than what you would get from me.

Draft Position

We all know that we will pick more than 3 times and probably will only use one of the picks that we have today. Instead of trying to figure out what trades will happen and have a bunch of you tell me how unrealistic they are, I am bypassing that completely. Instead I am going to look at someone who might be available at round transition times. Starting with the end of the 2nd/start of the 3rd, I will walk my way down the draft.

Here is my draft for today:

This is a back to basics draft, trying to find a guy who can impact the team now.

Picks:

Round 2/3 C Quinn Meinerz - UW-Whitewater

Round 3/4 CB Ifeatu Melifonwu - Syracuse

Round 4/5 LB Dylan Moses - Alabama

Round 5/6 DT Marlon Tuipulotu - USC

Round 6/7 OT Walker Little - Stanford

Pick-by-pick Breakdown

Seahawks at pick Round 2/3 C Quinn Meinerz - UW-Whitewater

Measurements: 6-3 320

A G/C prospect who might need a little development time, but looks to be a nasty interior starter for years.

Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com The darling of this year's Senior Bowl, Meinerz has broken through and onto NFL draft boards despite moving up from Division III and having no 2020 tape. He flashed at times in 2019, but his tape was nothing like what we saw against upgraded competition across from him at the Senior Bowl. His hands have improved greatly and his movement appears to be much more efficient and powerful. The step up to NFL competition will require an adjustment period as a full-time move to center likely awaits him. He has the ability to move and finish drive blocks and his pass protection is clearly improving. He has the strength and demeanor to become an impactful starter in the near future.

Quinn Meinerz — Wisconsin-Whitewater IOL Wisconsin - Draft Player Profile | The Draft Network Quinn Meinerz is a well-developed player from the Division III ranks who’s appeared in 33 games for one of the more historic programs across the country. An exact guard body type, he plays just as strong as his frame indicates. Playing strictly left guard (based on 2019 film), he’s found a comfortable home on that side of the line. He's a below-average athlete, but he makes up for it with his knowledge of concepts and strength levels. Constantly showing Herculean-like strength against his surroundings, he’s been able to create and sustain high levels of production during his time as a starter. Despite his experience, Meinerz is an extremely raw prospect overall. A below-average athlete, there are often times where he will sacrifice his technique in order to use his strength to bully targets. Balance has also been a constant issue for him, as he makes frequent trips to the ground because of his eagerness to overwhelm the opposition at the point of attack. Proving to be much more comfortable in a man/gap/power scheme, he’s a blocker that is best suited in a downhill scheme that allows him to perform quick pulls and kick-out blocks frequently. A system that revolves around quickly getting a body on a body with lots of single blocks in order for him to exhibit his strength to impose on defenders would be ideal. Technical aspects and footwork of the position will need to be instructed to him as he was taught some unconventional techniques during his collegiate career that may not be as effective on the next level. He has a background as a wrestler while at Hartford Union High School (WI).

Seahawks pick at Round 3/4 CB Ifeatu Melifonwu - Syracuse

Measurements: 6-2 212

A big press corner that is built in the Pete Carrol mold. Evaluations have him going anywhere from early second to the end of the 3rd. I wouldn’t be surprised if they took him with their first pick

Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com Melifonwu has the size and toughness of a starting safety but it's wrapped in an elite package of traits that makes him a very intriguing press-corner prospect. Tape can be a tale of two coverages. His length, strength and athleticism help him blanket and smother targets underneath when he's tighter to receivers off the snap. However, he allows excessive cushion from off-man and doesn't play with the instincts or recognition to stop quarterbacks and receivers from playing catch in front of his face. He's a physical, aggressive striker who ends the catch quickly as a tackler and should develop into a plus defender. He needs to become more consistently curious and instinctive in coverage, but has the potential to become a good starting press corner.

Ifeatu Melifonwu CB Syracuse - Draft Player Profile | The Draft Network Syracuse cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu is long, rangy, athletic, and physical, making him a toolsy prospect that is an ascending talent. At the next level, his best fit is as a zone corner where his length, ball skills, ability to read the backfield, and leverage routes shine. He is also an above-average run defender and can be relied upon to make tackles should his 2020 campaign be the norm moving forward. He does have some appeal in press-man coverage where his physicality, quick feet, and length are assets. While his ball production in college was modest, he has the potential to be very disruptive at the catch point in the NFL. The most notable room for Melifonwu to grow is in terms of his route anticipation skills and becoming a touch more consistent with coverage spacing. I would understand the idea that his best fit at the next level could come at safety or even as a big nickel that is somewhat of a positionless sub-package defender. Melifonwu has the potential to develop into a terrific starter as he becomes more consistent and solidifies his technique.

Seahawks select at Round 4/5 LB Dylan Moses - Alabama

Measurements: 6-3 257

Bobby is aging and they haven’t brought back KJ, we need another hyper athletic thumper.

Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com Like many former Alabama linebackers, Moses combines speed, agility and an above-average understanding of technique and fundamentals. However, his play is also marked by the same mechanical, robotic feel that we've seen from many Alabama linebackers in the past. He has sideline-to-sideline range but also does his job when asked to stick his nose into a block and spill the action wide. His willingness to take chances with a playmaking angle to the football is a little inconsistent, though. While he's an excellent open-field tackler, he tends to play the position like a safety rather than a field alpha looking to hunt. Moses isn't a thumper and has average field recognition and might be better suited as a run-and-chase 4-3 outside linebacker. If he can consistently play confident, attacking football, he has a chance to become a quality starter.

Dylan Moses LB Alabama - Draft Player Profile | The Draft Network Moses is a well-experienced linebacker who has spent time at all three linebacker spots. A hyper-athletic and agile second-level player, he’s a fast-flowing prospect that gobbles up opportunities in space. Moses has an athletic and chiseled upper body that contains extended limbs, but contains plenty of definition on them from top to bottom. He has broad shoulders and there’s still plenty of room for growth on his physique overall. He has plenty of body armor to withstand constant contact and the physical asking price of the position combined with his physical mindset. He's a supremely unique athlete at the position. He has true sideline-to-sideline range and it’s rare to see him outran. When able to diagnose plays cleanly, Moses flies downhill with reckless abandon. When having exposure to anyone with the opposite color jersey on, he’s looking to embarrass them in any way possible. He's terrific at keeping his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage, but when alleyways open, Moses is not hesitant with taking the slight crease and flying through it. He has above-average instincts combined with having what seems like a ball radar with his head. There isn’t a notch level of how often he dishes out contact because it’s always turned to its highest point. He's a heat-seeking missile that usually blows up whatever he comes into contact with. Hitting power is at an insanely high level in that when ball carriers come into contact with him, they know exactly who it was immediately. Moses is a face-up, chest-up tackler that runs his facemask through the opposition. There aren’t many times where he opts to tackle low or shy away from executing proper tackling techniques. There are few examples of where he shows bad technique or failure to wrap up. Ball carriers go down quickly after coming into contact with him.

Seahawks select at Round 5/6 Marlon Tuipulotu - USC

Measurements: 6-2 305, 30.5" arms, 9.4" hands

A developmental DL who has versatility on the inside.

Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com Tuipulotu can play both nose and three-technique. He really raised his profile in 2020 with more consistent tape relative to his total number of games played in the Pac-12. He's a little undersized to be an interior run stuffer but makes up for it with excellent use of hands and twitchy upper-body power to jostle and shed blocks. The sack production looks OK but he is lacking a go-to move and a counter to get quick wins needed along the interior. He will need to add more mass to play nose in the pros but does have the strength and toughness to find reps at the position. Tuipulotu will check all the boxes for personal and football character and could become a solid rotational defender in an even-front scheme.

Marlon Tuipulotu IDL USC - Draft Player Profile | The Draft Network Tuipulotu is an interior defensive line prospect for the Trojans defense. He plays with good reactive athleticism, showing good body control and agility. Against the pass, he displays a good bull rush and his relentless motor allows him to continue to pursue the football. He defends the run exceptionally by displaying good block recognition, then the lateral mobility to get to the ball. He has three-down value as an interior player and is an excellent fit in an even front scheme.

Seahawks select at Round 6/7 OT Walker Little – Stanford

Measurements: 6-7 309

A prospect who could be a starting LT, who fell through the cracks due to covid.

Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com – Left tackle prospect who will be a challenging projection due to his lack of game tape over the last two seasons. Little is an athletic run blocker with good initial quickness and an ability to handle more challenging angles on both the first and second levels. Pass sets are relatively smooth. He has enough quickness to meet speed rushers at the top of the arc, but a lack of functional power and core strength prohibit him from redirecting stronger rushers and keeping them out of the pocket once they are into him. Little could move up the draft board if his knee checks out and if he has a good showing in his workout. However, he will need to prove he can withstand NFL power and play with better finishing demeanor to become more than an average starter.

Walker Little OT Stanford - Draft Player Profile | The Draft Network - Walker Little aligned at left tackle for the Cardinal offense. He is a big, strong prospect with excellent length and prototypical NFL size. He has excellent range, which makes him ideally suited to play on the edge. He plays with good athleticism overall, as evidenced by his fluid pass set and his ability to laterally redirect inside. He also demonstrates excellent latch strength in his hands. He will compete as a run blocker but doesn’t generate much vertical movement. He plays with vision and instincts to easily identify twists and stunts. Little suffered a knee injury in September of 2019 and hasn't played since after also opting out of 2020.