2022 NFL Combine: 3 Seahawks Things to Watch For

Most of the NFL media are still scrambling to watch certain names from the combine. The glitzy numbers the event produces will undoubtedly highlight a small-school athlete or two that few civilians have watched. The hype machine will then click into high gear.

Teams, even with their scouting departments and mass grinding of the film, do inevitably get caught up in number excitement. And some front offices do value certain measurements more than rivals. For instance: the Seahawks established their lengthy cornerback mold and, for a long while, only drafted guys with arms measuring 32 inches or longer. With general manager John Schneider leading its draft strategy since 2010, Seattle has established some trends that hint at other positional prototypes too. Meanwhile, like the SPARQ-obsessed period of the organization, certain franchises will weigh athletic testing more heavily than others.

The overall point is that: generally speaking, teams will only make slight tweaks to their draft boards based off the testing numbers. Certain results will prompt front offices to go back to the film and check up on a prospect. However, the tape—plus production and analytics—will still be the major influencing factors.

The real value for teams at the combine is the chance to interview prospects and gain medical evaluations from their team doctors. This addresses two major elements to the drafting process.

Figuring out whether a prospect has the right intangibles to succeed is the hardest part of drafting—hence the inexact science of the whole thing. Seattle has tried its best to make this more certain, utilizing Angela Duckworth’s GRIT system among other things. Meeting players whose tape appealed to them—like the Seahawks would have with Senior Bowl invitees—is essentially the job interview. Teams also have the opportunity to invite players for a visit to their respective facilities.

The physicals look to further reduce the risk and add certainty. "Is 'Player A' fully healthy after his serious knee injury? Did you know 'Player B' has an enlarged heart?" And so on and so forth. 

This, of course, is still not 100 percent. The Seahawks' 2020 second-round selection of Darrell Taylor gave them an obviously talented pass rusher. However, their medical evaluation likely told them that Taylor would be okay to play in 2020 after fracturing his leg in his last year of college football. Instead, Taylor had to undergo further surgeries and missed all of his rookie year.

The above, combined with player interactions with the environment, produces murmurings about certain prospects. Teams in particular will understand the buckets players fall in—the ledges of each position that Schneider has repeatedly mentioned. A league-wide consensus is formed.

With a lot of media and all of the NFL teams descending on Indianapolis, other league rumors will start to emerge as well. This is where general managers can informally hit each other up. Teams talk. Trades can be made in Indy. Kyler Murray’s eyesore of a statement released via his agent is only the first spark. Will we manage to avoid the emotionally exhausting, dreadfully dull Russell Wilson gossip? Unlikely.

For a start, when Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll appear in front of reporters on Wednesday, they are very likely to be asked—for good reason—about the future of their quarterback—the man who has a no-trade clause in his contract, which expires after 2023.

Quarterback aside, hearing Schneider’s overall perspective on the team's disappointing 7-10 season will be fascinating, even if the general manager obviously won’t share the exact moves the Seahawks have planned. Hearing about the progress of the D.J. Reed and Quandre Diggs negotiations is a big element too; Seattle needs the two defensive backs to return.

Meanwhile, this will be the first time Carroll has met with the media since the team's defensive coaching staff overhaul. Why did he make the decision to fire Ken Norton Jr. and Andre Curtis? Is this still Carroll’s defensive system? Is the 70-year old transitioning into a more overseeing head coach role? Learning more about Mike Solari’s departure and the impact of Andy Dickerson’s promotion to offensive line coach will prove insightful as well.