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2019 NFL Draft: Grading the Seattle Seahawks Day 2 picks

By Samuel Teets

OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 8: D.K. Metcalf #14 of the Mississippi Rebels catches a pass for a touchdown during a game against the Southern Illinois Salukis at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi. The Rebels defeated the Salukis 76-41. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 8: D.K. Metcalf #14 of the Mississippi Rebels catches a pass for a touchdown during a game against the Southern Illinois Salukis at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi. The Rebels defeated the Salukis 76-41. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 30: Marquise Blair #13 of the Utah Utes warms up before the Pac 12 Championship game against the Washington Huskies at Levi’s Stadium on November 30, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 30: Marquise Blair #13 of the Utah Utes warms up before the Pac 12 Championship game against the Washington Huskies at Levi’s Stadium on November 30, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

The Seattle Seahawks made two selections in the second round and one in the third to round out Day 2 of the 2019 NFL Draft.

With the 15th pick in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks took safety Marquise Blair from Utah. This move was a little confusing, especially because Blair is primarily known as a downhill tackler. Don’t get me wrong, he has some coverage skills, but he’s much more well known for handling runners.

The Seahawks need to plan for improvements at the safety position in the future, but Blair was not the kind of player I had in mind. What’s more surprising is that Blair wasn’t even the best safety on the board when Seattle picked.

Delaware’s Nasir Adderley, Washington’s Taylor Rapp and Virginia’s Juan Thornhill were all still available and were all selected later in the second round. If the Seahawks picked Blair because of a better scheme fit, everything is fine, but if the team drafted him because they believe he’s better than those three other safeties, then this was a botched selection.

There’s also the chance that Blair could get the Tre Flowers treatment and end up taking snaps at corner since he was announced as a defensive back at the podium, not a safety. However, with Blair’s playing style and scheme experience at Utah, it’s very unlikely that will happen.

While Blair seems to have a linebacker mindset when coming down on a runner, he’s no Kam Chancellor. Blair is thirty pounds lighter than Chancellor. In case you forgot, Chancellor is 6-3, 225 pounds and Blair is only 6-1, 195 pounds. So all the people comparing him to the former Legion of Boom enforcer should pump the breaks. I understand the physicality the Seahawks were after here, but I don’t know if that was what the team needed to prioritize at this point.

Pick Grade: C+

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