Analysis: Three takeaways from Seahawks rookie minicamp

RENTON – A 10-man draft class – and a huge, 25-man undrafted free-agent group – made its debut for the Seahawks this weekend during the team’s rookie minicamp at the VMAC.

Rookie minicamps can sometimes reveal a lot.

In 2012, it became apparent during camp that the Seahawks might have something in that third-round quarterback in watching the way Russell Wilson was already able to operate the offense at an advanced level.

In 2019, the mere sight of DK Metcalf up close and in person – even without pads and with no contact – was enough to convince everyone that they had gotten a second-round steal.

There didn’t appear to be any such “wow” revelations this year, in part because the top two picks – cornerback Devon Witherspoon (fifth overall) and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (20th) – were limited because of lingering hamstring issues.

Both insisted there’s nothing to worry about, that they are just fine and the team is simply being careful.

“Just taking it slow, taking it one step at a time, and getting ready for the next step,’’ Smith-Njigba said. “They are just trying to control and make sure everything goes smoothly. They are doing a great job of doing that.”

So, it appears fans will have to wait a little longer to fully open the biggest presents they received on draft weekend.

But that doesn’t mean there was nothing to glean from the first two days of viewing the rookies in person.

Here are three other observations:

Seahawks feeling better about nose tackle

Maybe the most noteworthy development was fourth-round pick Cameron Young of Mississippi State weighing in at 320 compared with his listing of 304. That puts him more in the range the Seahawks have traditionally preferred for their nose tackles.

“He looked exactly like what we were hoping to see,’’ said coach Pete Carroll.

They also signed two other nose tackles as undrafted free agents who Carroll also said made good first impressions – Robert Cooper of Florida State and Jonah Tavai of San Diego State. Cooper more fits the traditional nose tackle mold than Tavai at a listed 6-1, 309. Tavai is listed at 5-10, 283.

Carroll said the trio of Young, Cooper and Tavai has him feeling more comfortable with what the Seahawks have at nose tackle, which has been a lingering concern after the release of Al Woods for salary-cap reasons, Poona Ford moving on to Buffalo as a free agent and Bryan Mone still in rehab mode from an ACL injury last December.

“We’re putting together kind of a real competition there,’’ Carroll said. “Tavai’s got a big background of playmaking. He’s done so much (he has the third-most sacks in SDSU history with 34 and played 48 college games). He made so many plays in the backfield and been so hard to deal with and all. We have come to appreciate his style. He’s not a big guy. He’s just a real instinctive football player, great leverage and all that because of his size.

“Coop’s (Robert Cooper) a big kid, too, now, and you see how he does. So, the position already looks way better than it did a week ago. We’re concerned, too. We wanted to make sure we had guys in here to battle and to push Cam (Young), too, so that he’s got that fire burning under him, too.”

Carroll hinted there could be more moves to come up front.

“We’re not done yet,’’ Carroll said. “We’ve still got work to do there.’’

But for now, they appear to feel better about the base that they have.

Reed fitting in already

One of Seahawks general manager John Schneider’s favorite picks in the draft was also maybe the most off-the-radar player they selected – New Mexico safety Jerrick Reed II.

Reed did not go to the NFL combine and was regarded by most as a likely undrafted free-agent signee.

But the Seahawks wanted to make sure they got him, so they drafted him at 198th overall in the sixth round. They did so having been impressed not only by Reed’s play in college and his versatility but also by what Schneider said was “a great” pre-draft visit to the VMAC.

“Ton of energy,” Schneider said.

And as Reed revealed when he talked to reporters Saturday, he also already has something of a relationship with some of the team’s other defensive backs, which should help him integrate into the defense that much more quickly.

“Quandre Diggs hit me up the night of the draft,’’ Reed said. “He texted me. He (and) Tariq Woolen. And me and Jamal Adams have the same DB coach back home in Texas, Clay Mack (cornerback Michael Jackson has also worked with Mack). All of us are very well connected.

“Tariq Woolen was a fifth-round draft pick and Diggs was a sixth-round guy. It just goes to show that here in Seattle they pick out the best guys that not too many people know about, and they create them into dogs and being the All-Pro guys that all three of those guys (Diggs, Adams, Woolen) are.”

Maybe Carroll and Jim Harbaugh aren’t so different after all

During the four years they battled for the NFC West from 2011-14 – each winning the title twice in that time – Carroll and Jim Harbaugh were perceived to be bitter rivals.

It was a perception that actually dated to their Pac-10 days at USC and Stanford after Carroll’s famous “what’s your deal?’’ comment to Harbaugh after a Stanford rout of the Trojans in 2009, apparently precipitated when the Cardinal went for a two-point conversion despite having a big lead late in the game.

Carroll always insisted any personal rivalry was overblown, even if few doubt that the two could hardly seem more contrasting in personality.

The Seahawks haven’t been shy about drafting Harbaugh-coached Michigan players – defensive end Mike Morris and center Olu Oluwatimi, each taken in the fifth round, became the third and fourth Wolverines drafted since Harbaugh took over in 2015.

Saturday, Morris and Oluwatimi said while there are obvious differences in coaching style between the two, there may be more similarities than thought.

“I don’t think it’s that different,’’ Morris said. “I’ve only been with (Carroll) for a little minute. Haven’t been around him for a lot. I would say the only difference is coach Harbaugh is a lot more old school.’’

Oluwatimi, who transferred to Michigan for his final season in 2022 after playing three years at Virginia, echoed that, while noting that because Harbaugh runs things much like an NFL program it may allow Michigan players to adjust to the pros more quickly.

“Being at Michigan, we ran a prostyle scheme,’’ he said. “So I was definitely prepared coming here because you had to make all the calls and all the points and things up front and it kind of started with me at Michigan. Same thing here, I definitely think that my background going to Michigan and playing there definitely helped me to not have as steep of a learning curve. But it’s pretty similar. Coach Harbaugh, he’s from the NFL so he ran practices a certain way, coach Carroll runs practice a certain way. It’s pretty similar.”