NFL Draft 2014 Results: Seahawks select OLB Kevin Pierre-Louis in fourth round

The Seahawks used their third fourth round pick to select Boston College OLB Kevin Pierre-Louis. Louis is a SPARQ freak of nature, so he should fit the Seattle linebacker corps like a glove. Seattle now has probably the fastest linebacker group in the NFL (if they didn't already). At 6'1, 232 pounds, it's also possible that the Seahawks see Pierre-Louis as a box-safety type of hybrid.

Our own Zach Whitman had to this say about KPL in the pre-Draft process: "Pierre-Louis is basically an ideal Seattle linebacker. He's the same size as Malcolm Smith and is elite in every athletic category. He's thought to be a day 3 pick, which is the Seattle sweet spot for SPARQ-freaks. There are just so many athletic linebackers that it's difficult to isolate any single linebacker as being particularly likely. The Seahawks were present at KPL's pro day."

Jared Stanger also listed KPL as one of his "Seahawk Dopplegangers" because of his similar measureables to Malcolm Smith, noting that he's "liked KPL before the combine based on his film. I hate him now that he put up the numbers that he did. Especially considering how much his times stand out in a pretty crappy LB'er field. I have to think someone will notice how similar KPL's numbers are to those of the Super Bowl MVP from his draft season."

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Nolan Nawrocki of NFL.com:

STRENGTHS Tight-skinned, muscular build. Athletic knee-bender. Flows well laterally. Protects his legs and slips blocks. Motivated and hardworking. Productive four-year starter. Combine all-star put on a show in Indianapolis -- ran in the low 4.5s, pumped 28 bench-press reps, posted a 39-inch vertical, recorded a 10-foot, 8-inch broad jump, finished the short shuttle in 4.02 seconds and ran a 6.92-second 3-cone drill.

WEAKNESSES Needs to improve functional strength. Average eyes and diagnostic skills. Loses sight of the ball, gets sucked in by playaction and takes false steps. Gets knocked out of the hole at the point of attack. Stays wired to blocks. Has man-cover limitations. Has tweener traits -- lacks ideal bulk for linebacker and speed for safety.

DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 5-6

BOTTOM LINE Small-framed, experienced, productive, finesse weakside linebacker who has bulked up 15-20 pounds in the last year. Helped himself with an outstanding combine performance, and is best-suited in a fast-flow scheme in which he can utilize his athleticism to run and hit. Has traits to be used on special teams and develop as a nickel linebacker.

Dane Brugler of CBSSports.com:

STRENGTHS: Athletic movement skills and stays light on his feet. Fluid in his drops with smooth body control. Smart and instinctive with excellent read/react quickness with an explosive first step.
Very active and always around the ball with terrific anticipation. Nose for the ball. Good eye use to avoid blocks in space while tacking the ballcarrier.

Reliable tackler and stays controlled through the process to finish. Strikes through his target. Aggressively takes on blocks and plays the game as if he were bigger and stronger than he is. Sound ball skills.

Versatile experience, even making impact plays on special teams. Very high football and off-field character with a productive resume as a four-year starter.

WEAKNESSES: Looks more like a safety with his marginal size and slight body type. Limited strength and growth potential to add much more bulk.

Too easily eliminated by blockers, lacking the power to quickly shed. Flows with the action and loses back-side contain or gets lost in the traffic, struggling to keep himself clean in a crowd. Plays too high and needs to show better bend and pad level to improve his base and technique as a tackler.Would like to see more of a sense of urgency on every snap. Strong durability concerns with his lack of size and needs to stay healthy for a full season. Missed a handful of games the past few seasons due to injury.