3 Seahawks UDFAs who are potential steals

The Seattle Seahawks have had a few big hits from their undrafted classes. Here are three of the most heralded signings from around the circuit.

From ESPN (Todd McShay), Cornerback Lance Boykin from Coastal Carolina. Last year he had two interceptions, eight passes defended and a forced fumble. I’ll admit to not knowing anything about him but I saw fans from quite a few teams hoping their team would draft Boykin in the 7th round.

However, for some more informed analysis here is Dane Brugler’s scouting report:

Lance Boykin grew up playing football with his older brother, Ridge, who was a defensive end at Campbell (2015-2021). He attended High Point Christian Academy, where he combined for 1,560 rushing yards on offense and 14 interceptions on defense. A two-star “athlete” recruit, Boykin played corner at Old Dominion for three years before deciding to transfer to Coastal Carolina because of the coaching turnover. As a senior, he led the team in passes defended and interceptions. Boykin has long limbs and smartly uses his body length to smother receivers in press and get his hands on the football downfield. His confidence and route awareness are strengths of his game, but his lower-body burst doesn’t match his eyes, and his tight transitions leave him in recovery mode. He’s a strong tackler in the run game. Overall, Boykin lacks desired speed and twitch for the position, but he is long, physical and mentally tough — essential ingredients for an NFL press-man corner.

From PFF, Defensive lineman Jonah Tavai of San Diego State.

Late-round and undrafteds are a good place to go heavy on production, and oh boy do we have some of that here.

From College Football News, Wide Receiver Jake Bobo out of UCLA. We heard about Bobo from head coach Chip Kelly. While giving an interview with Seattle Sports about Zach Charbonnet, he was quite excited that the Hawks were able to pick up Bobo, indicating he was similarly one of the best practice players he’s ever had.

“Jake’s awesome,” Kelly said. “Jake was the leading receiver at Duke and then they had a coaching change so he put his name in the (transfer) portal. I have a great relationship with (former Duke head coach) David Cutcliffe and Cut told me that he’s probably second to Peyton Manning in terms of being a practice player. That really got us excited.”

When Bobo showed up, the impact was immediate for the Bruins.

“He automatically became the leader in our wide receiver room and was our leading receiver last year,” Kelly said. “I think he’s position-versatile. He can play both inside receiver and outside receiver. … He’s got tremendous range in terms of being able to catch the ball away from his body. He’s a tremendous route runner. I think he’s kind of a steal.”

Bobo is a huge receiver at 6’5” and was quite productive during his one season at UCLA, with 57 catches for 817 yards and 7 touchdowns. His best year for receptions yards was at Duke in 2021, when he hauled in 74 passes for 794 yards but just 1 touchdown.

There are certainly bench spots available this year, and hopefully Seattle can continue its successful history in this part of the game.