2026 DRAFT PICK #148: G Beau Stephens

[sutz]

Hard to argue against that mid-west corn fed beef. They grow good stock out there.

 

[JustTheTip]

Okay, there have multiple reports of posts in here pertaining to the running jokes about Beau’s mom.

Let’s start with no rules are being broken and it would be difficult to clean this thread without losing good information as well. So no posts have been removed or edited.

I get it. A few think it is funny, a few think it is offensive and most think nothing of it.

Let’s just say at this point the joke has more than ran its course and stick to what this thread is supposed to be about. If you want to continue with the juvenile humor, take it to the shack. Any further Beau’s mom jokes in the main forum will be considered rule violation and handled accordingly.

Also, try to apply this concept throughout the main forum. Continuing to hammer a joke outside of the smack shack that is obviously irritating multiple people isn’t in the spirit of this forum.

 

[Mike MacDarnold]

Didn't allow a sack in 3 seasons, against very good competition. I don't care if his arms are 11 inches long.

I hope he does well but Iowa's offense was pretty run heavy last 3 years, particularly last 2 years where the run to pass ratio was around 2:1.

The Seahawks run to pass ratio last year was pretty close to 1:1, and we know how ravenous DLs are in the NFL and how confusing all the stunts and fake pressures can be.

I think he'll take some time to develop and hopefully his processing and reaction time will be better than Bradford's with more willingness to mix it up in the blocks.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

No doubt. It takes time to adjust to the pro game.

 

[sutz]

No doubt. It takes time to adjust to the pro game.

Particularly for O-linemen. Not very often an OL can step right into a starting role, and most of them get grabbed in the 1st round. I'm rooting for Beau because he's a Hawk. But Bradford showed some good improvement towards the end of last season and I'm not super worried about him like others are. I'm just hoping for good health for all of our O-linemen this year. It'll be key to repeating if we can.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Depth, depth, depth.

 

[TheLegendOfBoom]

So was Olu.. NFL is different.

Calling checks in the Big10 is vastly a different language than in the NFC West calling checks against the Rams and the Niners.

Some aren’t able to adapt and learn an NFL language while playing against athletes that are the premier athletes.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

I suspect Stephens is going to be on this line the next 10 years.

 

[sutz]

Depth, depth, depth.

Quality depth.

 

[glenwo2]

Particularly for O-linemen. Not very often an OL can step right into a starting role, and most of them get grabbed in the 1st round. I'm rooting for Beau because he's a Hawk. But Bradford showed some good improvement towards the end of last season and I'm not super worried about him like others are. I'm just hoping for good health for all of our O-linemen this year. It'll be key to repeating if we can.

Please refresh my memory what the improvement was 'cause I don't recall his lateral movement during pass-blocking being improved any.

Maybe I'm missing something here...

 

[godawg]

I like this pick, and I will like it even more if we sign Joel Bitonio as a free agent. Bitonio is still one of the best guards in football, and could mentor our young offensive linemen while they develop. Depth is a great thing.

 

[loafoftatupu]

The kid seems like a great snag for where he was selected. Honestly, I don't know how JS doesn't parlay the healthy number of picks next season (and a comp few also) into fewer picks in the 4th round or higher or even more picks overall between rounds 2-5.

 

[glenwo2]

Again....What a steal this was!

 

[glenwo2]

He's built different.

 

[MORGULON]

View attachment 79859
IYKYK

I'd gladly pay you a 4th round pick next year for a pick this year

 

[glenwo2]

 

[oldhawkfan]

I'd gladly pay you a 4th round pick next year for a pick this year

Thanks for playing.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

A case of size doesn't matter when you have more heart, brains and determination, Chris Gray, is another great example of having prototypical defeciencies but was so damn smart he was both the back up Guard and Center.

Absolutely, Gray is a great comparison and one that also ran through my mind. Stephens was something of enigma in this process, at first he wasn’t as high on my personal preferences. Most of us draft junkies are trained to adhere to the prototypes, first and foremost, but the more tape and film analysis, and analysis in general of this guy it was crazy just how consistently dominant he was despite the fact he wasn’t dripping with jaw-dropping athletic traits or even semi-reasonable length traits.

He’s plays with a solid base, his footwork plus hand eye coordination are almost flawlessly in sync with each other where he doesn’t waste much movement, instead every action has directive and purpose and you see his intelligence and his coaching come alive in his hand placement, he knows when and where to attack on the body to either keep defenders in front of him or get them off-balance with quick but explosive punches.

His floor is simple, he might not possess the length metrics combined with elite athleticism but he basically possesses all the fundamentals and intelligence intangibles paired with a highly competitive scrappiness that O-line coaches could only dream of a rookie possessing. The sort of stuff a lot of these collegiate linemen don’t refine or implement on consistent basis until their 2nd contract if at all.

Don’t get me wrong though, I’m far from anointing him, yet his floor seems stable enough to say that he’ll be somewhere between a high quality versatile back-up to a consistently dependable but maybe average at best type of starter if he can stay healthy. He randomly reminds me of Will Fries but that is perhaps just recency bias from looking into Fries last season.

Stephen’s ceiling though if it is possible for him to refine and maximize his body, not only getting more powerful but just more explosive, not just more athletic but more flexible if only to stay healthier, he might start to trend more from Chris Gray type to a Steve Hutchison type.

Hutchison also wasn’t dripping with insane athleticism (although it was a much different game in the prime of his time) and his arm length was a modest 32.5 inches from what I gathered but he dominated with a very obsessive almost unrivaled development of sheer power paired with an unrelenting, unforgiving disposition. Basically, he would not only work to just man-handle you but he wanted to blow you up.

However, you look at the construction of the Seahawks offense and Macdonald’s vision for it especially when he more than less lock it down in the final month into the post-season, you don’t get the overall sense he wants the cute modernize type of stuff or exciting or even unpredictable. There is a strong feeling he wants dependability and discipline and substance wrapped up in a smart, hard-nosed, physical style obviously mixed in with enough explosiveness and misdirection to keep teams off-balanced but far from it forming an identity and one that might not be as effective as other top offenses in the first two quarters but by the 3rd and 4th quarters opposing defenses are just drained and they are fighting tooth and nail on reserves to match-up. Its a throwback type of offensive vision that pairs well with not only his elite defense but a special teams unit built up to dictate outcomes.

So, yeah Stephens is very much the type of throwback type prospect teams tend to pass on in this day and age of elite athleticism and prototypical measures . But for what the Seahawks have built, are continuing to develop or trying to sustain, Stephens should fit right in and there is a good chance he hits the ground running while many of peers are going to just be learning how to walk in this league.

Again, to stave off pure optimism or accused of an unrealistic, homer view, Stephens is more floor than ceiling at this point and if he is already maxed out body wise then the ceiling just might not exist.

 

[glenwo2]

 

[glenwo2]