‘I’m speechless’: WSU offensive tackle, Everett native Abraham Lucas drafted in third round by hometown Seattle Seahawks
PULLMAN – In Western Washington, Abraham Lucas became a college football prospect.
In Eastern Washington, he became a pro-caliber talent.
So, it felt appropriate when Lucas learned he’d be staying in-state and heading home to begin his NFL career.
The Everett product and four-year starter for Washington State at right tackle was selected by the Seattle Seahawks on Friday night in the third round of the NFL draft.
“It’s surreal,” Lucas told reporters on a conference call. “I’ve got a lot of emotions right now. I’m not really sure where to place all of them.
“I’m speechless, to be honest. I’m just excited to continue to learn and get better with everything.”
Seattle used the 72nd overall pick to snatch up Lucas, who sported No. 72 at WSU and might be the favorite to start as a rookie for a Seahawks offensive line that was in desperate need of help.
“You lock him in at right tackle,” ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said.
Lucas has the résumé to back it up. He didn’t miss a game in his Cougars career, starting 42 in a row, and landed on the All-Pac-12 team all four years. He didn’t allow a sack this season and graded out as the conference’s best pass-blocking tackle, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I’m just a guy who likes to show up and do his job as best he can – simple as that,” Lucas said. “Don’t try to do anything spectacular, just do what you’re coached to do and everything else will follow.”
The 6-foot-6, 318-pound graduate of Archbishop Murphy High boosted his draft stock at the Senior Bowl in February before turning heads at last month’s NFL combine, logging a time of 4.92 seconds in the 40-yard dash and recording elite-level marks in the three-cone (7.25) and shuttle (4.40) drills.
Many experts predicted he’d be taken in the second round. Others considered him to be a third- or fourth-round talent. A couple of prognosticators suggested he might go in the first.
Kiper ranked Lucas the No. 45 overall prospect of the draft and the No. 6 offensive tackle. Lucas, who watched the draft from Pullman, was Kiper’s fifth-best player still on the board by the time his name was called.
“He allows defenders to get to his pads at times, but overall, he has the ability as a pass-blocker, the lateral agility to secure the edge,” Kiper said. “Sound technician. He recognizes stunts. … There’s a lot to like about his game.”
Lucas starred at 2A powerhouse Archbishop Murphy, where he played defensive end and tight end before settling in as a tackle in his senior year. He earned an All-Washington nod as a senior and helped the Wildcats to an unbeaten season and a state title. Lucas came out of high school as a top-20 offensive tackle recruit in his class and a top-five prep player in Washington, per 247Sports.com, but WSU was reportedly the only Power Five school to extend an offer. Lucas checked in at a lean 260 pounds when he arrived in Pullman, but bulked up by about 60 pounds in two years.
He captured starting duties as a redshirt freshman under former coach Mike Leach in 2018 and took home freshman All-America honors.
As a sophomore playing in the Air Raid offense for the final season, Lucas was rated the No. 4 overall offensive tackle in the country by PFF and saw his NFL interest skyrocket.
He was again the Cougars’ most effective lineman under a new coach and in a new offensive system during their coronavirus-disrupted 2020 season and could have easily elected to turn pro a year ago. But Lucas decided to stick around at WSU for one more season.
“I just felt like I wasn’t ready,” he told reporters last off-season. “I felt like there was more I could learn. Physically, I’m a big guy and all that, but it’s about what you do between your ears that’ll take you far and I don’t have all the pieces I want to have yet.”
In Lucas, the Seahawks are adding a prototypical right tackle with a long frame and reach, and the ability to get upfield in the run game. He always held his ground against the Pac-12’s most disruptive edge rushers – such as Kayvon Thibodeaux, a first-round pick out of Oregon, and second-rounder Drake Jackson, from USC.
“Abe Lucas needs to clean up his hand use, make sure he’s firing and punching on time, and clean up his pass sets,” ESPN’s Louis Riddick said. “He has the athleticism to run-block.
“He went up against some very, very good pass-rushers out there in the Pac-12. He goes up against Drake Jackson when they played USC (on Sept. 18 in Pullman). Drake Jackson’s getting nothing on his side, so he switched sides.”
The Seahawks scooped up two offensive tackles in three rounds. In the first, Seattle selected Charles Cross, a left tackle who played under Leach at Mississippi State.
Lucas is the fourth WSU offensive lineman to be drafted since 2016, joining tackle Andre Dillard and guards Cole Madison and Joe Dahl. Other Cougars hoping to hear their names called this weekend include cornerback Jaylen Watson and running back Max Borghi.