The Blue Bird Herd

5th Round

Richard Sherman – CB – Stanford – 6’3, 194lbs -
Long-armed, tall corner, converted from WR in ’09 after leading Stanford in receiving in ’07-’08.  Loves to get physical at the line with strong punch to knock receivers off routes.  Good zone awareness and surprising speed for his size.  Still learning to play corner after coming in as a receiver.  Good body control and instincts when adjusting to ball in the air.  Gets his head around quickly and tracks the ball nicely over the shoulder.  Great hands for a corner. Susceptible to getting beat deep, due more to poor backpedal and transition than to speed deficiency.  Not a burner.  Room to grow, both physically and in skill/technique.

With Seattle: Sherman represents the physical-natured, aggressive style of cornerback that Pete Carroll and Gus Bradley need in camp to foster a more press-focused pass defense.  Drafting Walter Thurmond last year was a first step toward this, and the addition of Sherman to the mix should mean smaller, more finesse corners like Kelly Jennings will be looking for a job here shortly.   This draft represents a complete overhaul of the secondary and there’s no reason to think Sherman won’t come in and compete for the No. 2 CB spot immediately.  Considering his inexperience, winning a starting role won’t be easy but in his transition from WR alone, he has shown a natural ability to learn and adapt quickly, and he certainly possesses the athleticism to continue growing and contribute soon.   He’ll get burned pretty bad a few times in the process, so be prepared.

Grade: B – Sherman was drafted more for upside than track record, so it’s a bit of a gamble. There were certainly more refined and more fundamentally sound DBs available here.  That said, the ‘Hawks score well here for sticking with their philosophy of getting bigger, faster and more aggressive.   The upside is potentially big with Sherman.

Mark LeGree – FS – Appalachian St. – 6’0, 210 -
A ball-hawk in the truest sense of the term, with 22 career interceptions at App. St.   Athletic, well-built safety with quick first step and above-average straight-line speed.  Loves to hit and displays good timing to break up plays over the middle. Catches the ball like a receiver and displays good body control to adjust to balls in the air.  Poor tackling technique at times, leading with the head and bending at the waste.  Hard-working, team-focused leader in college.

With Seattle: Jordan Babineaux and Lawyer Milloy could both be on their way out, leaving Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas as the only remaining two safeties. Seattle will most certainly grab a free agent or two for depth here, but LeGree was targeted for his ball-hawking skills and versatility to play either of the two safety positions.

Grade: B+ – Safety depth was a need going in, and Seattle gets an “A” here for doing their research on LeGree.  They could have settled and taken an average, big-school prospect but they see potential greatness in LeGree and took a chance.  DT was still a bigger need here.