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Draft Preview CB: Searching for the next Richard Sherman


Since Richard Sherman was cut after the 2017-2018 season, Cornerback has been a revolving door for the team. Several players by the likes of Shaquill Griffin, Tre Flowers, Quinton Dunbar tried to fill the shoes of the future Hall of Famer but only did so with mediocre success at best.

The most promising albeit inconsistent player, Shaquill Griffin left in this year’s free agency to get the bag from Jacksonville, leaving the team with only Tre Flowers and DJ Reed from the previous year.

To fill the void the team acquired CB Ahkello Witherspoon from division-rival San Francisco as well former Jet Pierre Desir. Witherspoon might have potential but its hard to feel comfortable with him starting day one.

Only 2 days ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft the Seahawks Depth Chart at Outside-Cornerback looks like this:

- D. Reed Jr.; Tre Flowers; A. Witherspoon; P. Desir; J. Miller; G. Heslop -

Looking at this group every fan should be worried, after the hawks were well on their way to set new records for Opponent Passing yards halfway through the 2020 season.
As of now the hawks do not have a true Nr. 1 Cornerback on the roster. One could argue if the team even has a capable Nr. 2. This leaves DJ Reed as the clear-cut best player at the position despite contradicting every threshold this team had for the last decade.

It is safe to assume that the team is not done adding to this group through the draft this week, but with glaring needs at other positions and only 3 draft picks (for now) this might present to be a difficult task.

Picking a Cornerback later in the draft is not uncommon for the hawks, not having drafted a CB earlier than round 3. In typical fashion, John Schneider is probably going to recoup some picks by trading down, so it is likely that this trend continues.

Therefore, let’s take a look at 6 prospects who might be on the Seahawks radar.

(Disclaimer: I am no "draft expert" and do not pretend to know when a player will be available. The opinions on the players below are highly subjective!)

1. Kelvin Joseph, Kentucky (6-1, 192, Arms 31 7/8’’)

Testing:

40-yard dash: 4.34

Vertical: 35

Broad Jump: 10-8

Profile:

Joseph has intriguing physical dimensions and athleticism. On tape he shows great burst and the ability to consistently stick with receivers. He plays with a lot of confidence attacking the ball with good hands. He further managed to impress against good competition like Alabama and Florida.

The main weakness is his lack of experience playing only 20 total games at the college level, which sometimes led to him being late in recognizing routes and being sloppy with his technique.

Despite his inexperience I would absolutely expect him to start right away for this team, having a lot of potential for development.

Kelvin Joseph 2020 Highlights

2. Ifeatu Melifonwu, Syracuse (6-3, 213, Arms 32 1/4’’)

Testing:

40-yard dash: 4.48

Vertical: 41.5

Broad Jump: 11-2

Profile:

From a physical standpoint he is the perfect Seahawks long and rangy press-corner prospect. He is a good tackler and flashed the ability to use his physical traits to jam and reroute receivers. He has fluid hips for his size and attacks the ball with good timing.

The biggest negatives are his ball production and his stiff backpedal. Despite good play recognition he sometimes is too high coming out of his break.

He is somewhat of a mixed bag. At times he looks like the ideal press-man-corner but then on some reps he looks passive like Tre Flowers. The senior bowl unfortunately confirmed this impression. Nevertheless, he would provide a physical presence opposite Reed and it would be undoubtedly exciting to see how he would develop under Pete Carroll.

Ifeatu Melifonwu 2020 Highlights

3. Eric Stokes, Georgia (6-1, 194, Arms 32 3/4’’)

Testing:

40-yard dash: 4.25

Vertical: 38.5

Broad Jump: 10-8

Profile:

Just like the beforementioned prospects he has excellent length to play in press-coverage. He does not quite play up to his measured speed, but still shows exceptional burst breaking down on routes. Throughout the 2020 season he flashed playmaking instincts especially when he had the chance to break on routes in zone.

He plays quite physical at the line but can sometimes get overwhelmed by bigger and stronger receivers because of his slender frame, which could lead to him being a liability in the run game. Additionally, he needs to improve on turning around when the ball is in the air instead of playing the receiver.

His physical skills and twitch on the field might make him an enticing option if he lasts to round 3.

Eric Stokes Highlights

4. Paulson Adebo, Stanford (6-1, 192, Arms 31 1/2’’)

Testing:

40-yard-dash: 4.42

Vertical: 36.5

Broad Jump: 10-1

Profile:

Another tall lengthy Corner, who can play physical press coverage in a Cover 3 scheme. The attribute that differentiates him are his ball skills. During his 2018 and 2019 campaign with Cardinals he displayed great hands and the ability to play the ball in the air. While he sometimes is to aggressive and still has to clean up his footwork, he would bring rare playmaking ability for a secondary that desperately needs.

Adebo might not be as explosive or twitchy as other projects on this list but he could excel in the hawks scheme.

The biggest negatives are his sometimes-poor eye discipline caused by his aggressiveness (comparable to Marcus Peters). He might fall in the draft because of him opting out of the 2020 season, which could certainly lead to him being a steal on day 2.

Paulson Adebo Highlights

5. Keith Taylor, Washington (6-2, 187, Arms 31 1/8’’)

Testing:

40-yard-dash: 4.52

Vertical: 33.5

Broad Jump: 10-7

Profile:

Taylor is another prototypical Seahawks corner, who can disrupt releases on the line of scrimmage. He is mainly on the list because he dominated the senior bowl, which the Seahawks seem to value a lot as precedented in the latest drafts. In Mobile he showed much better change of direction skills as well as the ability to attack the ball, than anticipated.

His ball production in college however is minimal and he needs to get out of his breaks better.

It probably is an overstatement to expect him to instantly contribute as a starting corner this season, but he might be worth taking a shot as developmental prospect in rounds 4-5.

Senior Bowl Highlights National Team

6. Shaun Wade, Ohio State (6-1, 196, Arms 33 1/2’’)

Testing:

40-yard-dash: 4.43

Vertical: 37.5

Broad Jump: 10-3

Profile:

Next a polarizing prospect in Shaun Wade. Some of you might remind him as the guy, who got torched in the National Championship game, but before last season he was a sure-fire first round pick, with exceptional athletic traits for many analysts. It is still up in the air if Wade can turn things around as an outside corner after a disappointing 2020 campaign, where he mostly played through injury. He has all the tools he needs to succeed in the Seahawks scheme being a good run defender, who aggressively challenges receivers for the ball.

He might be a reclamation project with a high ceiling for the Seahawks if his draft stock continues to fall.

Shaun Wade 2019 Highlights

7. Benjamin St-Juste (6-3, 202, Arms 32 5/8’’)

Testing:

40-yard-dash: 4.51

Vertical: 34.5

Broad Jump: 9-11

Profile:

The Michigan-transfer is already highly touted as a Seahawks-type corner. He might not have the enough playing experience yet and his footwork needs work, but he shows good physicality staying on top of routes. The Senior bowl raised his draft Stock after a series of good practices, that had breaking up multiple passes.

He is another prospect, that could really develop into something under Pete Carrol.

Senior Bowl Highlights National Team