‘Bunch of Talent’: Draft Analyst Lauds Seahawks For Latest UDFA Haul
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Following a productive two seasons at LSU, cornerback Zy Alexander signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. Credit: Zy Alexander/Instagram [/caption]
Throughout his tenure as general manager of the Seattle Seahawks, from a future Pro Bowler in receiver Doug Baldwin back in 2011 to center Jalen Sundell last season, John Schneider has cut his teeth as one of the best in the business at unearthing undrafted rookie gems.
While it remains to be seen whether or not Schneider and Seattle’s personnel department will have another undrafted standout or two emerge from the team’s latest post-draft free agent haul to snag a roster spot, count Fantasy Life analyst Thor Nystrom as a big fan of the group of players signed to compete for a roster spot this spring into training camp and the preseason, particularly on the defensive side of the football.
In Nystrom’s annual “Dessert Draft” rankings, even after the surprising release of UNLV linebacker Jackson Woodard following rookie minicamp earlier this month, the Seahawks ranked third among NFL teams for their undrafted free agent class, coming in behind only the Vikings and Falcons. During an interview with the Locked On Seahawks podcast, he indicated those three teams stood head and shoulders above the rest of the league with Schneider once again excelling at finding quality talent after the seventh round concluded.
“You bring in a whole bunch of talent here that in my opinion should have been drafted,” Nystrom said. “In my metrics, those three teams were way above everybody else. It's like those three teams in tier one, a big break, and then we had a whole bunch of like a quagmire, a sort of middle tier and then the teams that don't do anything in undrafted free agency. But another impressive showing for Seattle here.”
Headlining Seattle’s undrafted rookie crop, Nystrom ranked Ole Miss defensive lineman Jared Ivey at No. 119 on his big board, which equates to a fourth round grade. The versatile defender saw snaps as a defensive end as well as a 3-tech defensive tackle for the Rebels, racking up 42 tackles, seven sacks, 40 quarterback pressures, and 11 tackles for loss as a senior to earn Third-Team All-SEC recognition.
Despite that impressive production against the best competition in college football, however, a poor pro day workout ultimately caused Ivey’s draft stock to plummet. Measuring in at 6-5, 274 pounds, he ran a slow 5.15 40-yard dash along with sub-par testing in explosiveness and agility drills, including a lethargic 4.68 second short shuttle time, netting a dismal 2.0 Relative Athletic Score.
With those unfortunate athletic testing results, Nystrom doesn’t expect Ivey’s pass rushing production at Ole Miss to fully translate to the next level. But at the same time, his length, physicality, and toughness should allow him to continue holding his own as a run defender while potentially playing multiple positions in coach Mike Macdonald’s defense, offering enough upside to carve out a long NFL career as a rotational reserve in Seattle.
“The smart organizations focus on what a player can do and the dumb organizations focus on what they can't do. And you have a lot of dumb organizations in the NFL and a lot of teams were focusing on what Jared Ivey could not do,” Nystrom explained. “He's not the best athlete in shorts. His Relative Athletic Score was 2.01, but he was very productive on the field. And there are projectable things about his game to the NFL. Length and strength in particular. That's a guy that can set the edge. The pass rushing that we saw at Ole Miss, that's not going to translate one to one. We know that. But the run defense should. That's a guy that profiles as a grinder who hangs around for a long time. That guy's not worth the seventh round pick? Anyone?”
After only using two of their 11 draft picks on defensive players, with Ivey as the headliner, the Seahawks prioritized that side of the ball with undrafted signings, including landing a pair of intriguing cornerbacks in LSU’s Zy Alexander and Villanova’s Isas Waxter. Nystrom had both players with draftable grades on his final big board.
Originally starting his college career at FCS program Southeastern Louisiana, the 6-1, 187-pound Alexander transferred to join the Tigers in 2023, quickly becoming a starter in Baton Rouge. In two seasons with the blue blood program, he intercepted four passes and generated nine pass breakups, demonstrating plus-ball skills in coverage, while also posting an impressive 3.2 percent missed tackle rate as a senior last year.
Like Ivey, Alexander didn’t test well in the pre-draft process at the NFL combine, including a poor 31 1/2-inch vertical jump that tied for the second-worst among corners in Indianapolis, which dropped his stock significantly. He did run a decent 4.56 40-yard dash, however, demonstrating average long speed for a taller, longer defender at the position despite not having very good 10 and 20-yard split times.
“He reminded me a little bit of an UDFA that made an NFL roster a few years ago in Eli Ricks,” Nystrom said of Alexander. “I thought there were similarities there. Coming out of the SEC, both well-built corners. You’ve got the athleticism thing there too in shorts [similar to Ivey]. But on the field, as far as a boundary press corner, I think he's got enough athleticism to stick there. That was my supposition about Eli Ricks as well.”
As for Waxter, the Newark, New Jersey native put himself on the NFL map with three interceptions and six pass breakups for the Wildcats in a breakout 2023 season. He wasn’t near as effective during his senior season at Villanova, failing to intercept a pass while surrendering two touchdowns in coverage, but he tested far better than Alexander did at his pro day workout, posting a similar 4.58 40-yard dash, 35-inch vertical jump, and a 4.18 short shuttle at 6-1, 209 pounds to notch a respectable 7.39 Relative Athletic Score.
While Alexander will strictly be a boundary cornerback in the NFL, Waxter has enough size to be a candidate to try at safety if he isn’t able to move up the depth chart at cornerback for the Seahawks. As Nystrom stated, such versatility isn’t often found with undrafted rookies and gives him a little better chance to stick around in the league for a while.
“It’s another press boundary corner who sometimes maybe plays a little too physical,” Nystrom said of Waxter. “But I actually kind of like his game. And with Waxter, you get two bullets. That Villanova kid, if he does not hit as the boundary corner, try safety. Not every UDFA or every draftable prospect that you get has multiple developmental bullets. We'll start them here. If that doesn't work, we can try them here. Waxter certainly has that and I think he's got a decent shot too.”
Among the other players listed atop Nystrom’s rankings for Seattle’s undrafted class, Illinois edge defender Seth Coleman (339) and UCF tackle Amari Kight (376) both ranked in his top 400 and Arkansas receiver/special teamer Tyrone Broden ranked 422nd. As for Utah outside linebacker Connor O’Toole, who received the most guaranteed money from the Seahawks of their undrafted signees, he had the versatile edge ranked 464th overall.
From that group, Nystrom highlighted Broden and O’Toole as players to keep an eye on pursuing a roster spot in Seattle due to their athletic traits and special teams ability. O’Toole battled injuries with the Utes, but when healthy, he found decent success as a twitchy pass rusher while excelling on kick and punt coverage teams, while Broden also performed well on punt coverage and could be a candidate to try out as a gunner in the NFL.
With OTAs just getting underway for the Seahawks, undrafted rookies such as Ivey, Alexander, and Waxter will have their work cut out for them and getting off to a quick start will be a must if they want to make a push for a roster spot. But since the team didn’t draft a cornerback and fifth-round pick Rylie Mills may not be ready to return until at least midseason from a torn ACL, the door has been opened for one or more of those players to crash the 53-man in September, and special teams always creates an avenue for UDFAs like Broden and O’Toole to make their mark as well.
If history serves as any indicator, expect at least one of those aforementioned players to make Seattle’s initial roster. And as Sundell proved last year signing days before the start of training camp and ultimately earning a spot, there’s always a chance the best undrafted gem hasn’t even been signed yet, making the next few months fascinating to watch.
