Seattle Seahawks: Grading every 2019 NFL Draft pick

Round 3, Pick 88: Cody Barton, LB, Utah

Barton is a smart linebacker who did a great job diagnosing plays in college. He was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention last year and filled the stat sheet with 117 combined tackles, four sacks, an interception and six passes defensed as a senior.

Keep in mind, those 117 tackles were only good enough to finish sixth overall in the Pac-12. While Barton seems like a sturdy, hard working player, he’s only in a backup role right now and that hurts his grade tremendously.

In the third round, some teams are still drafting starters, but Barton looks like he’s in line for a role in the special teams. There were other players available, including some at the linebacker position, who would have provided more of an instant impact than Barton.

Nevertheless, the Seahawks needed linebacker depth, especially after the injuries suffered by Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright last season. Mychal Kendricks is also on the roster and he’s floating in some kind of legal gray area right now, which is all the more reason why drafting a linebacker was the right move by the Seahawks. One opinion you might find floating around the internet, though, is that they took an even better linebacker in the fifth round.

Pick Grade: C-