The Seahawks have made a habit of drafting talented yet undersized players the past several years under GM Tim Ruskell. The latest is seventh-round DE Nick Reed (6-foot-1 247 pounds), who the P-I has profiled here.
"I need to work harder than the next guy. I need to know the playbook better than the next guy. I need to know the other team better than the next guy.
"I understand that," he said. "It's never going to be easy for me, but that's how it's always been."
To continue...
Of note, defensive line coach Dan Quinn coached Jason Taylor when he was 244 pounds and Andre Carter when he was 255 pounds.
If he does succeed, he wouldn't be the first do so at his size. Most prominent is Colts DE Robert Mathis, who, at 6-foot-2 245 pounds, has 53.5 sacks in six seasons. He had a career-high 11.5 last season.
For more on Reed, head here.
For more on coach Quinn, Seahawks.com has plenty of information in this profile.
Here's what DT Craig Terrill had to say about him:
“He’s a high-energy guy, and he brings that to the field for practice. And we can feed off that, because he’s ready to go everyday. He’s very involved. He’s just relentless.”
Quinn is a good example of an entire coaching staff that seems to have transformed into a younger, hungrier unit since the transfer of power from Mike Holmgren to Jim Mora.
That'll help in the early going with a team already stacked with talent in a set system. After a couple seasons go by though, Mora and the coaching staff will need to show as much brains as heart to keep the good will going.
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
