Yes, Luke Wypler makes a lot of sense for the Seahawks

On Wednesday, Field Gulls reviewed of the athletic measurables the Seattle Seahawks have looked for in their offensive linemen over the past couple of offseasons since the arrival of offensive line coach Andy Dickerson, and what that could mean for who the team considers at center.

The post brought out a pair of commenters who asked the same question in different ways:

Um, Wypler
-Worsted Yarn

JPG do you think Wypler’s a guy they might be targeting at pick 52 or 83?
-Skavage

A review of Wypler’s athleticism certainly appears to put him into the conversation, as his 5.14 time in the 40 is under the 5.15 time recorded by Jake Andrews, who they hosted on a visit.

However, Wypler brings the discussion to another interesting Seahawks trend, in particular as to how the team deploys its draft capital on the first two days of the draft. So, to that point, here are all the Day 1 and Day 2 picks Pete Carroll and John Schneider have made since lighting a second round pick on fire by selecting Malik McDowell 2018:

• Rashaad Penny (Senior Bowl)
• Rasheem Green (early entrant)
• L.J. Collier (Senior Bowl)
• Marquise Blair (Senior Bowl)
• DK Metcalf (early entrant who broke his neck on final play of college career)
• Cody Barton (Shrine Bowl)
• Jordyn Brooks (Accepted Senior Bowl invite, but did not play due to injury)
• Darrell Taylor (Senior Bowl)
• Damien Lewis (Senior Bowl)
• Dee Eskridge (Senior Bowl)
• Charles Cross (early entrant)
• Boye Mafe (Senior Bowl)
• Ken Walker (early entrant)
• Abe Lucas (Senior Bowl)

It’s immediately notable that 10 of the 14 (71.4%) players they have selected with these picks were either at the Senior Bowl or the Shrine Bowl, including an amazing seven of ten who were at the Senior Bowl between 2018 and 2021. For those curious, that is a far heavier reliance on the Senior Bowl during the first two days of the draft compared to the league as a whole, with 200 of the 518 (38.6%) players selected in the first three rounds since 2018 having participated in the Senior Bowl.

The Senior Bowl is relevant here in that, as an early entrant to the 2023 NFL Draft after his redshirt sophomore season, Wypler was not eligible to participate in the Senior Bowl. Thus, the question becomes will the Seahawks be drafting using their 2022 strategy where they took as many non-Senior Bowl players during the first three rounds as they did in 2018 through 2021 combined? Or will they revert back to pre-2021, Jody Allen isn’t watching over our shoulder in the War Room habits and lean heavily towards those players who were at the Senior Bowl or the Shrine Bowl?

Given the success of the 2022 draft class relative to the nine prior classes, it would certainly seem prudent and logical to follow the strategy that created a draft class considered by many as one of the best in the NFL. However, there’s certainly no guarantee the team will do that. (Author’s Note: Technically, I believe there is a guarantee, and I believe that guarantee is comprised of Jody Allen running things combined with Pete and John wanting to keep their jobs, but that didn’t flow as well so you’re gonna have to deal with the use of some artistic license here.)

All that in mind, getting back to the question posed: Yes, it would appear that Wypler makes a lot of sense.

And for those who haven’t stopped complaining about the fact that the Seahawks drafted Dee Eskridge when Creed Humphrey was on the board? Well, Mike Solari is gone so someone whose arms don’t meet Solari’s standards for length or whose weight is a stone lighter than Solari prefers could easily be in play. Add to that that Eskridge is in the best shape of his life, and there may well be reason for hope when it comes to Eskridge’s on field performance. Meanwhile, as for having missed out on Humphrey: it is what it is, so there’s no point getting upset about it.

Unless a similar player were to become available to a team with five picks in the first three rounds.