Bruce Irvin? That was the question on the mind of probably 99.9% of the Seahawks fans out there including myself. I was very happy with the Seahawks trading back from 12 to 15 and picking up a couple more picks and was even more excited when all the big name defensive ends were still available.
Seattle had its pick of Melvin Ingram, Quinton Coples, Chandler Jones, and a handful of other players. I would have even been happy with someone like Riley Reiff or David DeCastro. But then the pick is announced. Bruce Irvin. I had never really heard of him so my first reaction was “Crap…”. But I started thinking about it and the more I think about it the more I am liking the pick.
What was Seattle’s biggest need coming into the draft? A pass rush. What did they get? Maybe the best pure pass rusher in the draft according to quite a few people. Did Seattle get the next Dwight Freeney? Did Seattle get the next Jared Allen? Neither of those guys are great against the run but they can get after the QB.
From what I have been reading many scouts had Bruce Irvin as the quickest defensive end on the board and his numbers show he is quicker than many of the safetys and CBs in the draft. He can get to the QB and that is what Seattle needs. They do a good job against the run on 1st and 2nd down already with Red Bryant in the game and Irvin will give them a great 3rd down pass rush.
Yeah, he was probably a reach at 15. But I don’t really care. If he is who John Schneider and Pete Carroll wanted and if they had him rated higher than the other ends they should have picked him. Maybe they could have traded back a bit more and still got him but there were 7 other teams who had him in the top 15. Who know how much longer he would have lasted.
He isn’t a choirboy by any means. Bruce Irvin has a good back story and it seems like his criminal past is behind him now. Check out this video below from the WVU athletic department.
And just for good measure here are some highlights:
So is Bruce Irvin who most people would have picked with the 15th pick? Probably not. But he is a Seahawk now and that means I will cheer for him every chance I get.
Whatever number Irvin wears next year he will be terrorizing QBs all season long.
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