KIRKLAND – On the second day of the NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks continued to add depth to the defensive side of the ball.
Through five rounds, the only offensive player the team had selected was Georgia Tech guard Mansfield Wrotto, who played defensive tackle until his senior season.
After selecting cornerback Josh Wilson and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane on the first day, Seattle used its first fourth-round pick on Miami defensive end Baraka Atkins and added Auburn linebacker Will Herring in Round 5.
In the sixth round, the Seahawks addressed the other side of the ball by selecting wide receivers Courtney Taylor (Auburn) and Jordan Kent (Oregon). In Round 7, Seattle took offensive lineman Steve Vallos, who played offensive tackle during his final two years at Wake Forest but will play guard in the NFL.
One trait most of the picks share is versatility.
Wrotto played on both sides of the ball in college, Atkins played defensive end and defensive tackle, and Herring moved from safety to strongside linebacker as a senior.
“I think it helped out tremendously,” Herring said of the opportunity to play more than one position.
The Seahawks have had a history of drafting versatile players, and it’s paid dividends.
“I think as you look around the league,” Seahawks defensive coordinator John Marshall said, “those teams that have those versatile athletes – either when injuries pop up or scheme demands the versatility of some other athletes – that is a real advantage to us as coaches.”
A long journey: The pick the Seahawks received in the Darrell Jackson trade, No. 124 overall, was used on an offensive lineman with quite a story to tell.
Georgia Tech’s Wrotto was born in the African country of Liberia but moved to the United States in 1991, after his parents had come here to get away from the civil unrest in their native country.
Wrotto, who was 6 at the time, remembers little of the escape, other than being taken from Liberia to Sierra Leone by car, then eventually going to London after a short stay there. He eventually reconnected with his parents, Mansfield Sr. and Jemmie, in New Jersey, where they were staying with relatives.
The Wrotto family then moved to Atlanta in search of business opportunities. Mansfield Sr. is now a real-estate agent, while Jemmie Wrotto works as a nurse.
Mansfield Jr. said the move has proved to be a blessing.
“Thank God we did,” Wrotto said of leaving his native country. “It actually got worse and worse throughout the years.
“But it’s getting better. Now they have a president out there, and the United Nations and the United States are helping out. I have heard nothing but good things so far.”
If Mansfield Wrotto Jr. has any regrets, it’s that his grandmother still lives in his native country, where she works at a church.
“Her motto is that she was born in Liberia, and so she is going to die in Liberia,” Wrotto said. “The good Lord has protected her all these years, even throughout the civil conflicts that have been occurring the last decade.
“Hopefully, maybe in the future I can have the opportunity to go back and see it.”
Mixing politics? With the first name Baraka – pronounced buh-ROCK-uh – fourth-round pick Atkins sounds more like a presidential candidate than a football player. But the defensive end from Miami said he has no designs on a political career.
“I will leave that up to my dad,” Atkins said.
That would be Fredd “Glossie” Atkins, who is not only Baraka’s father but also the mayor of Sarasota, Fla.
As for his own first name, Baraka Atkins said it comes from the Sufi saying “Baraka Bashad,” which translates to: “may the blessings be.”
Roster turnover: The Jackson trade means that only four players remain from the four Seahawks drafts that occurred while head coach Mike Holmgren was also serving as general manager.
Running back Shaun Alexander is the last man standing from the 2000 draft, offensive lineman Floyd Womack is the only 2001 draftee remaining, and 2002 picks Maurice Morris and Rocky Bernard are all that’s left from that class.
Changing arenas: When it comes to versatility, Seattle’s rookie receivers have gone beyond the gridiron.
Taylor was a basketball star at Carrollton (Ala.) High School, earning offers from the basketball programs at UAB and Middle Tennessee State. Kent, whose father Ernie coaches the Oregon basketball team, played both sports for the Ducks as a junior. He was also on the Oregon track team.
Kent didn’t even play football in high school.
“I figured this was my last chance to try it,” he said. “I figured I had nothing to lose. The more I played it, the more I fell in love with the game.
“… After 20 months of playing football, then getting drafted by Seattle, that’s like a dream come true.”
Two Huskies added: Two University of Washington players were among the 11 undrafted free agents who are expected to sign with the Seahawks today.
UW safety C.J. Wallace and running back Kenny James could be joined by tight end Joe Newton (Oregon State), wide receiver Joe Fernandez (Fresno State), safety Patrick Ghee (Wake Forest), linebacker Cameron Jensen (BYU), center Nick Jones (Georgia), defensive back Tim Mixon (Cal), wide receiver Logan Payne (Minnesota), punter Kyle Stringer (Boise State) and defensive end Nu’u Tafisi (California).
Quick slants: Offensive coordinator Gil Haskell said that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is “ahead of schedule” following surgery on his non-throwing shoulder but added that he won’t participate in this weekend’s minicamp. … The Seahawks entered the draft looking for a tight end, but Haskell said the only one that could have challenged for a starting spot was Arizona State’s Zach Miller, who was taken by Oakland in the early stages of Round 2.
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