Seahawks’ draft class leaves good impression on first day of minicamp

By Bob Condotta / The Seattle Times

RENTON — Before the new crop of Seahawks rookies had even done anything Friday, they’d made the kind of first impression coach Pete Carroll likes.

“The whole group, they’re out here 20 minutes early waiting for practice to start,” Carroll said after the first day of the team’s annual rookie minicamp. “They’re really eager.”

The first impressions didn’t stop there.

And as you might expect given Carroll’s usual sunny disposition — and that the sun itself was as gloriously felt as any time in months to only further brighten the mood — they were almost all of the positive variety.

“It’s a solid group of guys, like we’ve said from the beginning,” Carroll said of Seattle’s 10-man draft class, which also drew almost unanimous raves from pundits.

What the Seahawks didn’t get a real extended view of during the 90-minute practice was on-field work from the top two picks — cornerback Devon Witherspoon (5th overall) and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (20th).

Each has been battling hamstring issues — Smith-Njigba’s limited him to just three games last season at Ohio State — which means that for now the team is easing each into action.

Both were on the field and took part in conditioning and some individual work. But neither took part in any team drills.

“Both guys had hamstring issues in the offseason,” Carroll said. “And so we just want to make sure we know where they are, so we don’t want to go too far, too fast. There’s no reason to at this point because they can still get all the learning done. There’s a lot of walk-through plays that we go through in this process so they can get the learning and see what’s going on.”

Smith-Njigba insisted he’s just fine, saying, “I feel great. 100% ready to go.”

But Friday, Smith-Njigba mostly stood behind the offense, often next to receivers coach Sanjay Lal, and then leaning into the huddle to hear each play call.

“He got every rep in terms of the mental side of it,” Carroll said.

When Smith-Njigba did line up for a few plays early on, he mostly did in the slot.

That’s no surprise since that’s where he mostly lined up in college, but that and Carroll’s comments further confirmed that’s where he’ll mostly play to start his NFL career.

“We really see him as a slotback guy that we can really do a lot of things with,” Carroll said. “… Counting on that he can be in the slot when we want to and we’ll move DK (Metcalf) and Tyler (Lockett) and other guys and we think this could really allow us to max those guys out.”

Witherspoon, who mostly worked to the side during position drills, likewise insisted he’s fine, saying, “They’re just taking it easy on me.”

Each of the other eight draft picks, though, appeared to work with no limitations Friday.

Here’s a view of the first impression each of them made Friday.

OLB Derick Hall: Carroll said Hall, the 37th overall pick out of Auburn, weighed in at 255 pounds (he’s listed at 6-3, 254) and “really looks the part. … He’s in good shape, has a really good feel for the position. He’s got the drops (in pass coverage) and he’s got the rushes and things like that. He has no problem with any of that stuff as far as the learning.” Learning quickly will be vital for Hall to get into the OLB/edge rush rotation, for now likely competing with second-year player Boye Mafe for time behind the veteran duo of Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor.

DE Mike Morris: Morris, the 151st overall pick out of Michigan, played mostly on the edge in college. But at the advice of the Seahawks, he put on 20 pounds before the draft with Seattle hoping he can play as a down lineman. Morris said on draft day he weighed 295 pounds. Not that the Seahawks doubted it, but they were pleased to see he was still at that number when he weighed in this week. “He’s 6-6, 290-something,” Carroll said. “He looks great out there. He’s played some defensive line but not as much as he’s going to play now.”

Guard Anthony Bradford: Bradford, the 108th overall pick out of Louisiana State, played guard on both sides and some left tackle in college, and he said Friday he’s comfortable wherever. But indicating what his initial role figures to be, Bradford mostly lined up at right guard Friday, foreshadowing a training camp competition with Phil Haynes. Haynes, who shared that spot last year with Gabe Jackson, signed a one-year deal worth up to $4 million, enough to indicate the team hopes he has a significant role this year but not so much that it would preclude Bradford from winning the job.

C Olu Oluwatimi: Oluwatimi, taken 154th out of Michigan, figures to compete with free-agent signee Evan Brown for the starting center spot to replace Austin Blythe, who retired. Carroll said Oluwatimi, listed at 6-2, 309, “weighed in at 319. … He’s a really bright kid, got all the physicals. He looked terrific.”

NT Cameron Young: Young, the 123rd overall pick out of Mississippi State, might have made the most positive impression of any of the rookies, weighing in at “320 something.” That’s a bit more than his listed 304 and closer to what the Seahawks have usually looked for in a nose tackle. Each of last year’s primary players at that spot, Al Woods and Bryan Mone, each weigh more than 330 pounds. “He looked exactly like what we were hoping to see,” Carroll said. “We wanted to see a big guy that can come in and play nose tackle for us. And there’s no question we’ve seen him on film and all that but you’ve still got to get around him. He’s a big man.” Young could be ticketed for a major role immediately with Mone still in recovery mode from an ACL injury suffered in December and no other veteran nose tackles on the roster.

S Jerick Reed II: The sixth-round pick out of New Mexico, who could play safety and nickel, seemed to elicit as much excitement from general manager John Schneider as any pick the team made. Carroll seemed just as enthusiastic after watching him Friday. “You know, I needed to see him in person to see how physical he is, see how he can play as physical of a style as he has,” Carroll said. “He’s a stud. He’s really built and he’s fast as hell. So he made a first impression that was good today.”

RBs Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh: Seattle’s two running back draftees — Charbonnet in the second and McIntosh in the seventh — also took part fully in drills Friday, though as Charbonnet noted, this is a time when it’s the mental as much as the physical that’s important, especially with no contact allowed. “Just learning the playbook,” he said of his goal this weekend. “Putting different things to different names.”