Over the past two seasons, the Seattle Seahawks have dipped into the local talent pool by selecting players from the University of Washington in back-to-back drafts.
However, even though the program improved tremendously with coach Mike Leach at the helm, Seattle rarely tapped into the pool of players from UW’s rival, Washington State University.
Part of that is simply a schematic issue, as Leach ran an air raid offense with tons of passing and very little defense, which didn’t leave a lot of NFL-caliber players at positions Pete Carroll and his staff like to target in the draft.
The group of WSU Cougars who are hoping to hear their name called in 2020 are more of the same, though one name could be of interest to Seattle: Receiver Dezmon Patmon.
Patmon had over 750 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons, leading WSU with 816 and five touchdowns as a junior and hauling in eight scores last year.
Patmon will appeal to the Seahawks much in the way DK Metcalf did, as a big-bodied receiver with surprising speed. Patmon is six-foot-four and 225 pounds, which makes his 4.48 40-yard dash time extremely impressive. It was first among all PAC-12 receivers and 19th overall at the combine.
Patmon doesn’t have the ball skills and physicality that Metcalf has, and he had drop issues in college, but it’s not hard to imagine the Seahawks taking him on as a project if he is available as an undrafted free agent.
With Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Phillip Dorsett, David Moore, Malik Turner and John Ursua in the mix, Seattle does not need an immediate impact receiver. Patmon would be a nice player to stash on the practice squad and develop into a more physical, tougher receiver.
If it works, he could be another diamond in the rough and might even open up the door for more Cougars to make their way west to Seattle.
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