Getty The Seattle Seahawks drafted an Oklahoma defensive linemen in a mock draft from USA Today.
The Seattle Seahawks do not have a first-round pick in the NFL draft this spring because the team dealt it in the trade for Jamal Adams in July 2020. So for the Seahawks’ draft, all eyes are on what the franchise will do with its second-round pick.
With needs on offense and defense, Seattle general manager John Schneider could go in a number of directions when the team picks first at No. 41 overall. In a new mock draft from writer Tim Weaver of USA Today, the Seahawks selected Oklahoma defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey.
“Seattle’s interior rotation is strong but aging, with Al Woods set to be 35 years old next month and Poona Ford turning 27 during the middle of the 2022 season,” Weaver wrote. “Reloading with fresh legs for this group is a good idea. Winfrey (6-foot-4, 292 pounds) might help. In 20 games at Oklahoma, he posted three batted passes, six sacks and 16.5 TFL.”
Weaver has done three different mock drafts for the Seahawks this offseason. The first two were all-linemen and all-offense mock drafts. In the all-linemen Seahawks mock draft, Weaver slotted Central Michigan offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann to Seattle in the second round.
Winfrey, who was not included in the Seahawks all-linemen mock draft, landed with Seattle in Weaver’s new mock draft, which has the Seahawks taking all defensive players.
While Winfrey is hardly guaranteed to go to Seattle, he’s a prospect that possesses a very high ceiling.
Perrion Winfrey Compares to Former All-Pro Fletcher Cox
The second round of the NFL draft is generally a place where teams look for players who have high potential but are a little bit riskier.
If that’s the strategy the Seahawks use with their second-round choice this year, Winfrey fits.
The Bleacher Report Scouting Department wrote that “Winfrey’s technique is a few years away from being NFL-ready, and there should be concern about how he will hold up when he needs to anchor against the run” but that “Winfrey is a ball of potential.”
Ken Noble of Draft Dive agrees. Noble placed a very high ceiling on the Oklahoma defensive lineman by comparing him to 2018 All-Pro defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.
“They both had similar height, weight and play style,” wrote Noble. “Whether he develops into the player Fletcher became is unknown. However, I believe his ceiling is higher than what Fletcher [Cox] was able to achieve.”
Cox made six straight Pro Bowls from 2015-20.
Winfrey Impressive at 2022 Senior Bowl
Similar to Boston College offensive lineman Zion Johnson, who Sports Illustrated’s Corbin K. Smith slotted to the Seahawks in the second round of his newest mock draft, Winfrey had a terrific Senior Bowl.
It’s hard to have a better Senior Bowl week than the one turned in by Oklahoma DT Perrion Winfrey.
ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay moved Winfrey significantly up his overall board because of his performance in the Senior Bowl.
“His first-step quickness was the best of any defensive lineman, or defensive tackle I should say, in Mobile all week long,” McShay said on ESPN’s “First Draft.” “It was like every single drill — watch, phew! — flying off the ball, penetrating, getting on the edge of offensive linemen. And by the time offensive linemen could get set, they had no chance. He was already working around the edge of them.
“He was productive throughout the week in practice. He had a sack in the game on Saturday, and I’ve bumped him up to No. 43 overall in this class. I think he could be an early second-round pick.”
The Seahawks draft 41st overall, which is ninth in the second round, of the 2022 NFL draft.
Perhaps the biggest worry for Seattle, assuming the franchise is actually targeting Winfrey, is if the Oklahoma defensive lineman’s stock continues to rise. ESPN has Winfrey ranked the third-best available defensive tackle in the draft class.