The NFL season is officially over following the Kansas City Chiefs 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.
With that, players, coaches, front office folks, fans and media members will turn their attention toward the next big date on the NFL calendar: the draft.
Mock drafts have already been flying around the blogosphere, and the latest from Pro Football Focus has the Seattle Seahawks doing what they have been reticent to do under Pete Carroll and John Schneider: draft a cornerback in the first round.
While that is a practice Seattle has not participated in recently, it could make sense to buck that trend in 2020 after a poor campaign from Tre Flowers has left the team with a pretty heavy need on the outside opposite Shaquill Griffin.
Plus, Alabama corner Trevon Diggs is about as Seahawk-ey of a prospect as one will find in this draft, and if the team feels they won’t be able to get him in Round 2 it wouldn’t be too shocking to see them pony up a first rounder for him.
“The Seahawks love long corners as much as any team in the league, and Diggs is one of the longest to come out in recent memory,” Michael Renner of PFF wrote in his mock draft summary. “Length is one thing, but knowing how to use it is another. And Diggs proved he could do that this past season, as he allowed a 44.5 passer rating against.”
Diggs is listed at six-foot-two and has a ton of length, with most scouts praising his ability as a zone corner and in press coverage – areas the Seahawks could use some help.
He’s also noted for his physicality and aggressiveness, and while he struggles in off-coverage he possesses the requisite size and skill to be an impact player in Pete Carroll’s cover-3 defense right away.
Seattle doesn’t draft cornerbacks in the first round is a common sentiment around the fanbase, but perhaps it’s time for Carroll and Schneider to break tradition and get a big time player for this depleted secondary.
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