Seahawks Take Special Teams With Late Picks

In Red Bryant and Owen Schmitt, the Seahawks have acquired two power players. The second Schmitt, long snapper Tyler, will solve a longstanding positional problem. Justin Forsett of Cal is an underrated running back, and Brandon Coutu is a very steady kicker.

Round	Pick	Name	Position	School
4	121	Red Bryant	DT	Texas A & M
Oklahoma State running back Dantrell Savage (22) is stopped for a loss by Texas A&M's Red Bryant (85) during the third quarter of a football game Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007, in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M beat Oklahoma State 24-23. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Height: 6041 Weight: 318 40 Yrd Dash: 5.00 20 Yrd Dash: 2.88 10 Yrd Dash: 1.66 225 Lb. Bench Reps: 20 Vertical Jump: 28 Broad Jump: 09'03" 20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.64 3-Cone Drill: 7.75 (Data courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com) Analysis Scott Eklund: You've got to love getting a guy like Red Bryant in the fourth round. Bryant has a big frame and he's a player that can be a run stuffer and anchor against the run. He's also a great leader and his teammates voted him a team captain in both 2006 and 2007. With Marcus Tubbs' career likely over, getting a guy like Bryant who can stuff the run and give you a little pass rush here and there was imperative and the Seahawks got great value with him at this point in the draft. Doug Farrar: An outstanding value pick for a team suffering from frontline runstopping and overall depth issues at defensive tackle ever since Marcus Tubbs became acquainted with the concept of microfracture surgery. Remember the disastrous rushing totals the Seahawks allowed in 2006 when Tubbs was out of the picture? Here's all you need to know about Red Bryant: In the eight games that he appeared in for the Aggies in 2006, they allowed just 75.35 yards per game on the ground. In the five contests Bryant sat out due to a knee injury, A & M was tagged for 229.2 yards per game rushing. Bryant is a team leader whose work ethic has been used as an example for younger players. This move allows Brandon Mebane to shift to a three-tech role more often and gives the Seahawks the brick-wall run defender so desperately needed with their group of athletic and undersized linebackers. The Aggies gave up 1,491 yards on the ground in 2007, but on the 42 rushing plays directed at Bryant in the season's first ten games, 43 yards were allowed. Total. In his four-year career, he has allowed two rushing first downs and no touchdowns. Yikes. Oh, and if you want athleticism, Bryant was a star forward on his high school basketball team. We're far from done, but this could turn out to be the 2008 Seahawks pick that everyone remembers.
Round	Pick	Name	Position	School
5	163	Owen Schmitt	FB	West Virginia
West Virginia's Owen Schmitt carries the ball against East Carolina during the second half of a college football game Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007 in Morgantown, W.Va. West Virginia won 48-7. (AP Photo/Jeff Gentner)
Height: 6020 Weight: 247 40 Yrd Dash: 4.73 20 Yrd Dash: 2.70 10 Yrd Dash: 1.52 225 Lb. Bench Reps: 26 Vertical Jump: Broad Jump: 20 Yrd Shuttle: 3-Cone Drill: No shuttles/knee Analysis Scott Eklund: Even though Seattle has Leonard Weaver already in the fold, Schmitt gives them a player who is a good lead-blocker as well as a a threat when he gets the ball in his hands. Schmitt's value will come in his football smarts and his ability to pave the way for Seattle's running game. Doug Farrar: Here's something I want to see in Seattle's practices: irresistible force vs. immovable object. I want to see Red Bryant and Owen Schmitt go at it. In 353 collegiate rushing attempts, Schmitt was tackled for a loss exactly four times. This is a very intriguing player. The traditional fullback is thought to be on the way out, but Schmitt set the tome for his team. His extremely physical style as a nasty runner and blocker has led to comparisons to Larry Csonka. Schmitt has perhaps the most interesting stat of any player in the 2008 draft -- he's caused 10 broken opponent facemasks in his career. Whether he's taking the ball out of the backfield, opening lanes for other backs, catching passes or pulling off the occasional pooch punt, Owen Schmitt is the best fullback in this draft and a very interesting option for the Seahawks. If you had any questions about the Seahawks' desire to have a more physical rushing attack, they should stop right here.
Round	Pick	Name	Position	School
6	189	Tyler Schmitt	LS	San Diego State
Height: 6022 Weight: 231 40 Yrd Dash: 4.93 20 Yrd Dash: 2.85 10 Yrd Dash: 1.71 225 Lb. Bench Reps: 21 Vertical Jump: 29 Broad Jump: 09'10" 20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.33 3-Cone Drill: 7.03 Analysis Scott Eklund: Seattle obviously needed to address their long-snapper situation after the troubles they had in 2007 and Schmitt was one of the best in the country the past couple years. He can both long-snap and short-snap (field goals) with some of the best in the league already and he's a player that will prove his importance to Seattle's special teams units early and often in 2008. Doug Farrar: He's slightly undersized for the position, but Tyler Schmitt's accuracy will nonetheless be a balm for a Seahawks team still trying to forget the horror that was Boone Stutz. Schmitt didn't miss a snap on a punt or kick in his four years at San Diego State, and this pick demonstrates the importance the team is placing on the long snapper position. He'll take a roster spot for this job alone. When he offered to play linebacker for the Aztecs, he was turned down because he was too valuable where he was. Side Issue; We now have to go back and research whether a team has ever drafted two players with the same last name (no, they're not related) in consecutive rounds.
Round	Pick	Name	Position	School
7	233	Justin Forsett	RB	Cal
5'8" 194 pounds Analysis Scott Eklund: After watching Justin for the past four years in the Pac 10, this pick is very intriguing to me. He runs low to the ground and he's got great leg drive, but his marginal size makes him only average in short-yardage situations. He's not a feature back, but if used correctly -- as a change-of-pace, third-down, scatback -- Forsett can be very effective. He's got the skills and quickness to be a good return man and that's where he'll probably earn his stripes early on with the Seahawks. Doug Farrar: Good value with a sixth-round grade. The 5'8", 190-pound Forsett is less Maurice Jones-Drew and more Brian Westbrook from a size perspective (not really a bowliong ball). Decent strength and very good short-area quickness match with his cuts in space to make him capable of production in certain situations. Decent but not spectacular speed is a limitation. Forsett can compete for reps among the smaller backs in Seattle's new two-back system, but his biggest opponent might be the waiver wire, as the Seahawks' roster is full of smaller backs at this time.
Round	Pick	Name	Position	School
7	235	Brandon Coutu	K	Georgia
5'11" 187 pounds Analysis Scott Eklund: Not a big surprise since Wisconsin's Taylor Mehlhaff went in the fifth. Coutu was the best kicker in most draft experts' minds. He's performed at a high level for three years, struggling this past season with hamstring injuries. When healthy, Coutu has a strong maxing out at close to 60 yards, but he needs to work on his kickoffs. Seattle needed a young kicker to take the place of the departed Josh Brown and they took what many consider the best in the country this year.