> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 2026 NFL Combine: 6 Potential Seahawks Targets Who Impressed on Day 2 of Workouts - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/nfl-combine-2026-seattle-seahawks-day-2-workouts-impressed/ - Published: 2026-03-01T07:22:58.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:56:13.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, 2026 NFL Draft, Chris Johnson, Jalon Kilgore, Charles Demmings, Xavier Nwankwo, VJ Payne, Ephesians Prysock \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="7235"\] ![ San Diego State defensive back Chris Johnson (DB17) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_28356376-format-original.jpg) San Diego State defensive back Chris Johnson (DB17) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images \[/caption\] Ushering in the next stage of the NFL offseason for the Seattle Seahawks and all 32 teams, the annual NFL Scouting Combine kicked into full throttle with cornerbacks and safeties participating in on-field athletic testing and drill work on Friday. Which players who could be on Seattle’s radar heading into the 2026 NFL Draft improved their stock the most? Here are six prospects who starred on Day 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium: ### Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State Arguably the best cornerback in college football last season, at least statistically, Johnson locked down Mountain West receivers from start to finish. Earning MWC Defensive Player of the Year honors in his third season as a starter for the Aztecs, he held opposing quarterbacks to a ridiculous 16.1 passer rating and under a 42% completion rate while giving up no touchdowns, intercepting four passes, and producing five pass breakups. But leading up to the combine, questions persisted about level of competition and his overall athleticism, clouding his prognosis as a draft prospect. But Johnson couldn’t have quieted critics much more than he did in Indianapolis, running the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds, far faster than most expected from a defensive back lauded for technique more than speed. He excelled in explosion drills as well, posting a 38.5-inch vertical jump and a 126-inch broad jump, while tacking on 17 bench press reps of 225 pounds with his lean 193-pound frame. Most impressively, aside from a dropped pass that bounced off his hands, he looked like he had been doing the on-field defensive back drills since he came out of the womb, demonstrating his natural coverage and movement skills. With Riq Woolen and Josh Jobe set to hit free agency next month, Johnson’s ball skills, sound technique, and excellent tackling ability - he finished with under a 6% missed tackle rate for his college career - would make him a strong successor candidate with the No. 32 overall pick for the Seahawks. But it’s possible that his performance in Indy locked him up for a top-20 selection, which would put him out of reach for the defending champions. ### Ephesians Prysock, CB, Washington Spending his entire college career with coach Jedd Fisch, Prysock originally committed to Arizona and saw extensive action early for the Wildcats, finishing with 61 tackles and an interception as a sophomore in 2023\. He followed Fisch to the Pacific Northwest as a member of the Huskies, instantly jumping into the starting lineup and producing 45 tackles and six pass breakups. This past season, though the senior did yield five touchdowns in coverage, he held opposing receivers to just a 57% catch rate and 8.3 yards per reception to earn himself a combine invite as a means to bolster his draft stock. A true example of a player who impresses walking off the bus standing 6-3 with 33-inch arms, Prysock proved in Indy that he isn’t simply tall and long and offers more than enough athletic juice to handle NFL receivers. Flying down the sideline out of his stance and making up distance quickly with long strides, he finished the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds. In addition, he almost jumped out of Lucas Oil Stadium with a 39-inch vertical jump and nearly equaled the much smaller Johnson with a 124-inch broad jump. He chose not to do change of direction skills, which still stands out as a significant question mark for him as a bigger cornerback. But even without agility scores, Prysock undoubtedly helped his NFL draft resume this week, standing out as part of a deep, crowded cornerback group for more than simply being one of the tallest players. In the past, he would have been a top target for the Seahawks in the Pete Carroll era, but while Mike Macdonald hasn’t been as focused on height and arm length as his predecessor, the defender’s athletic profile and physicality in press coverage could push him onto their big board as a Day 2 candidate. ### Charles Demmings, CB, Stephen F. Austin Dominating at the FCS level from the chute, Demmings started for the Lumberjacks for four seasons, suffocating opposing receivers by limiting them to under a 45% completion rate from his sophomore to senior campaigns. His overall ball production steadily improved over the course of his college career, as he jumped from two interceptions in 2023 and 2024 to four picks last season, giving up just one touchdown while surrendering a 39.8 passer rating during his senior year. His lofty numbers earned him a rare combine invite from the lower Division I tier, providing a chance to show how he stacks up against top FBS peers. Without knowing he played in the Southland Conference ahead of time, it would have been easy to mistake Demmings as a Power 4 standout from a Big Ten or SEC powerhouse on Friday. Nearly hitting a perfect 10 for Relative Athletic Score after measuring in at 6-1, 193 pounds, he blazed to a 4.41-second finish in the 40-yard dash before skying in the air to a 42-inch vertical jump and exploding to a 132-inch broad jump. He also held his own in positional drills, looking more than the part of a viable NFL prospect as part of the deepest position group in this year’s draft class with a smooth backpedal and acceleration out of his breaks. Like any FCS prospect, Demmings will have a substantial learning curve going up against NFL talent, but he has all of the tools to develop into a starter on the boundary with the right team. Macdonald has already earned a reputation for bringing the best out of unheralded defensive backs, and as early as the fourth round, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Seahawks - who have become more willing to pick FCS players in recent years - pull the trigger to bring him on board. ### Jalon Kilgore, S, South Carolina Following in the footsteps of several other future NFL standouts to star in Columbia, including current Seahawks budding star Nick Emmanwori, Kilgore wasted little time carving out his own role as a key cog in the Gamecocks’ secondary. Jumping into a starting role as a freshman while playing over 100 snaps at three different positions, he recorded 78 tackles, a pick, and four pass breakups. By his junior season, he became South Carolina’s ringleader on the back end, intercepting two passes with nine pass breakups while limiting opponents to a 52% completion rate when targeting him, earning Second-Team All-SEC honors for a second straight year. While he didn’t measure in quite as big as Emmanwori did a year earlier and didn’t post ungodly testing numbers as his former teammate did last February, Kilgore still put on quite the show of his own. One of the fastest safeties in a group with several players hovering under the 4.4 range, he finished in 4.40 seconds with a 1.54-second 10-yard split, later adding impressive vertical and broad jump results at 37.5 inches and 130 inches respectively. He scored in the 92nd percentile or better in all of those events except for the vertical jump, finishing with an overall score of 9.66, fourth-best in his position group. Unlike some of the players who scorched the Lucas Oil Stadium turf on Friday, Kilgore entered the combine already viewed by many draft pundits as a solid Day 2 selection. While it may be difficult for him to jump into the top 32 picks, especially in a loaded safety crop, the Seahawks would be an enticing landing spot to reunite him with Emmanwori, giving Macdonald the ultimate array of chess pieces to leave opposing offensive coordinators and quarterbacks under constant panic. ### VJ Payne, S, Kansas State A three-year starter for the Wildcats, Payne underwent growing pains in the first two seasons in coverage and dealt with some inconsistency in that department, allowing close to a 65% completion rate while only surrendering two touchdown passes. Missed tackles also were a bit of an issue at times, but he made dramatic improvements as a senior in 2025 for the Wildcats, cutting his missed tackle rate down to 10% while allowing a 47% completion rate and a 57.4 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks. A far different player than the raw one who initially arrived in Manhattan, that growth paved the way for a combine invite to keep his stock rising and he didn’t disappoint. For teams enamored by big-bodied safeties and searching for their own Emmanwori, Payne rivals the former stature-wise to an extent, as he checked in at 6-3, 206 pounds. Matching the smaller Kilgore in the speed department, he knotted up his higher profile peer with a 4.40 time in the 40-yard dash. Though he wasn’t quite on par with a solid, yet unspectacular 35-inch vertical jump, he ranked near the top of the list among safeties in Indy with a 127-inch broad jump, exhibiting elite explosiveness for a player of his size. Like many of his brethren, he chose to bypass the agility testing drills. As a prospect, Payne comes into the NFL much more polished than he was only two years ago for Kansas State, and yet, there’s still much upside left to tap into with modest overall production and a fantastic athletic skill set. The Seahawks may not be looking for another safety who spends much of his time in the box, but at the same time, Macdonald has never been averse to having multiple players who can jump into that role in his versatile scheme, keeping him in the mix as a Day 3 possibility. ### Xavier Nwankpa, S, Iowa Fighting his way into the lineup as a sophomore for the Hawkeyes, Nwankpa logged more than 1,800 defensive snaps in his final three years on campus in Iowa City, evolving from primarily a box safety early in his career to a free safety as a senior. Coverage has never been his strong suit, as he gave up five touchdowns with only one interception and two pass breakups combined in 2023 and 2024, allowing passer ratings of 96.7 and 144.6 in those seasons. But with more reps as a deep safety in 2025, he made stark improvements yielding just one touchdown on the back end, and he remained a threat as a blitzer with four pressures on only 10 rush attempts. Even without much to lean on statistically, Nwankpa’s experience at one of the best programs for developing NFL talent earned him a call to participate in the combine, and he may have been the biggest unexpected surprise from the safety group as a whole. The 6-2, 208-pound prospect exceeded all expectations by breaking the 4.5 barrier in the 40-yard dash, clocking in at 4.48 seconds while rocketing off the starting line with a 1.54-second 10-yard split. He also out-jumped Payne, leaping 37.5 inches vertically, an 87th percentile result. Though he opted not to do any of the other athletic tests, he performed well in the on-field drills, rounding out a stellar all-around workout. Given his underwhelming numbers at Iowa, including the mostly ugly aforementioned coverage numbers, Nwankpa likely remains a late Day 3 selection whose traits entice more than his football skills, at least at this point. For teams that have a strong track record developing size/speed prospects in the secondary such as Seattle, however, he checks off that box coming from an esteemed program and taking the role of the dice would make more sense if the team recoups a sixth or seventh round pick to add depth.