ESPN’s Mel Kiper became the latest on Wednesday to project the Seahawks as potentially taking Florida State safety Derwin James in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The NFL draft is still more than two months away — it’ll be held April 26-28 — and the perceived needs of teams could change greatly when the free agent singing period begins next month.
But for now, there is something of a consensus growing among mock drafters as to which player the Seahawks should take at No. 18 — Florida State safety Derwin James.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., the man who pretty much made mock drafts famous, again slotted James to the Seahawks when he released his second version of his 2018 mock rWednesday. Kiper also picked James to the Seahawks in his first mock last month with nothing having occurred since to make him change his mind.
Wrote Kiper about the 6-3, 213-pound James: “There are questions all over the Seattle defense — will Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril, Sheldon Richardson and Richard Sherman be back? — and the future of the aging Legion of Boom is up in the air. James could be a new member. He looked like a top-five pick as a freshman at Florida State in 2015, missed the entire 2016 season with a knee injury, then didn’t return as the same player in 2017. But he’s still extremely talented. Medical reports and testing at the Combine (which begins next week in Indianapolis) will be important for James. Scouts are keeping an eye on how he runs and what he shows in the agility drills.’’
In a conference call with media later Wednesday, Kiper expanded on why he projected James to the Seahawks saying he would be the “perfect’’ player to replace Chancellor, who may never play again due to a nerve/neck issue.
“That’s the comp (comparison) for James is Kam Chancellor,’’ Kiper said. “…. (he) would be a perfect fit as a Kam Chancellor-type player.’’
Kiper said he also thought about giving Seattle defensive end Marcus Davenport of Texas-San Antonio but said he doesn’t think Davenport will be available at 18.
“I think Seattle at 18, you talk about the Legion of Boom, kind of the Legion of Boom 2, you’re trying to develop that and I think (James) would be a good fit for Seattle for that reason,’’ Kiper said. “That’s what he is. He certainly fits them perfectly; he’s not a guy that’s going to fit everybody. To see him at 18, a guy that was projected as a top-five to top-10 pick back in August, that would be a pretty good selection.”
James declared early for the draft and won’t turn 22 until August — he could have spent two more years at FSU after playing just two games in 2016 after tearing the meniscus in his left knee.
As Kiper noted, there are some questions about his production in 2017 (two interceptions in 12 games) following the lost 2016 season.
But his size and physical traits figure to mean he goes in the first round unless the health issues really raise red flags.
And Seattle’s potential needs at safety are obvious with Chancellor’s situation and also the uncertainty surrounding Earl Thomas.
Seattle is thought likely to make it a priority to re-sign Bradley McDougald, who started games in place of both Thomas and Chancellor this year. And if McDougland re-signs and things smooth out with Thomas, then Seattle could feel it is relatively set at safety (how aggressively Seattle goes after McDougald could tip off what the team thinks about the future of Chancellor and Thomas.)
Seattle also drafted strong safety Delano Hill in the third round last year and free safety Tedric Thompson in the early fourth last year.
Each, though, played sparingly as rookies – Hill 32 snaps and Thompson eight — and it’s unclear how ready the team thinks each is to contributing. The general thought is that Hill was perceived as being further ahead, due in part that he was active for the last 15 games and a key member of special teams (280 snaps) while Thompson essentially didn’t play until after Chancellor was lost for the year and was needed to add depth.
But it’s also worth remembering the importance of the secondary in Pete Carroll’s defense and how it was the emergence of the back end in 2011-12 that along with the arrival of Russell Wilson as quarterback was as pivotal as anything to the team’s rise.
If the Seahawks really think James could be Kam Chancellor version two, then it’s a pick that makes all the sense in the world.
Kiper also passed along a few observations about some local players:
— Kiper slotted UW defensive tackle Vita Vea to Washington at 13 and said he expects Vea to be a player who could help his stock at the Combine next week. “I think Vea is going to test out great,’’ Kiper said. “I didn’t think he had quite the dominant year I thought he’d have the games I watched. But he’s a talented kid.’’ Kiper said he didn’t think Vea would last past the middle of the first round. “I’d be shocked if he were there in the last first round,’’ he said.
— Kiper also called WSU defensive tackle Mata’afa “a versatile pass rusher you saw line up everywhere. And that’s the thing — he’s like a Rob Ninkovich-type, who had a great career with the Patriots coming out of Purdue. That’s what I see him being.’’
— Kiper also said WSU quarterback Luke Falk helped his stock greatly at the Senior Bowl. “Luke Falk has kind of patterned himself — his hero has lways been Tom Brady,’’ Kiper said. “You see a little Brady in that delivery. Very smart, professional is what Luke Falk is. I think he definitely helped himself at the Senior Bowl. I think he went from a guy people were projecting as a career backup, fourth-to-sixth-round pick. Now they are thinking second or third round.’’
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