kearly
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The more I think about it, the more I think Vernon Butler is a player I think we should keep a very close eye on at #26. Honestly I am a bit surprised by the lack of people connecting him to Seattle around the blogosphere so far.
Here is why I think he is an obvious fit for Seattle.
1. Seattle loves special athletes. Butler's pro-day performance gave him measurables that were just slightly less impressive than Sheldon Rankins. On tape, Butler stands out as a big man with quickness and core strength. He also has long, powerful arms, can convert speed to power, controls blockers, and plays with motor. Butler might not blow us away with his forty time, but he's still a specimen.
2. Seattle tends to be overly intoxicated with 'untapped potential.' Many times in the past, Seattle has passed on good, polished players (Fletcher Cox, Joel Bitonio, etc) for unpolished ones with exciting potential. By this, I mean that Seattle gravitates towards players who's current worth and future worth have the largest discrepancies, even if the present worth seems dubious. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in full man crush mode over Vernon Butler, I think he's pretty flawed and risky. But if you can coach him up, he's got everything he needs to be the next Muhammad Wilkerson.
3. Unlike Bullard, Floyd, and arguably Sheldon Rankins, Butler has the tools and abilities and past performance to play and potentially excel at three different positions on the defensive line. He's played nose tackle, 3 tech, and 5 tech previously in college, and his skillset works well at all three of those positions. This is key to Seattle as they like to move their DL all over the place and mix things up. Jonathan Bullard is an explosive player, but also one who is clearly best suited attacking B-gaps wouldn't provide the same quality of versatility that Butler could. Rankins is pretty diverse too, though I think Rankins would probably struggle at 5 tech as he has a sloppier build and isn't as agile bending around the edge. Rankins is also just 6'1" with average arm length... which is fine at DT, but problematic over at an end spot.
4. While I generally think this DL class is a bit over-rated, I do think that Rankins, Bullard, Floyd, Billings and Butler all play with pretty good motor. They all have a real love for the game and that will appeal more to Seattle than most other teams.
5. Seattle has generally put a substantial emphasis on arm length on the defensive (and offensive) line. Frank Clark has 34 3/8" Arms (btw, huge props to this guy for his powers of prophesy regarding Frank Clark). Greg Scruggs had 36" vines for arms. Jordan Hill's 33 1/2 inch arms were decent for a guy who's only 6'1", much like Sheldon Rankins. Michael Bennett's arms have never been measured but many scouting reports at the time praised his pass rusher length. The shortest arms of any Seahawks drafted DL belong to Jaye Howard who had 33" arms, which is basically average length.
So with that in mind, here are the arm length measurements of Rankins, Bullard, Floyd, Billings and Butler:
Rankins - 33 3/8"
Bullard - 33 5/8"
Floyd - 33 1/8"
Billings - 33"
Butler - 35 1/8"
The arm length of the first four are all various degrees of average. And then you have Vernon Butler with elite arm length, particularly for an interior lineman. His arms are a full inch and a half longer than 2nd place Jonathan Bullard.
There are mixed reports of Butler's draft stock which give it that same quasi-reach feel that Irvin, Britt, Carpenter, and Clark had. There was a recent quote from Walter Football about Butler that is pretty interesting:
The bold emphasis is mine. The above quote comes from Charlie Campbell at Walter Football. While there has been reason to mock WF in the past, they have recently teamed up with the incomparable Tony Pauline who is simply the most connected man with the best information come draft season. This has given WF's analysis a degree of legitimacy and should be listened to closely.
Anyway, "playoff teams" who "like him off the field" (valuing intangibles) and his "love for football" (more intangibles speak)... I can't prove that he's talking about Seattle, but consider the "Seahawky" boxes and draft clues that are checked already:
-Good athlete, rare physical qualities
-Massive untapped potential. Tons of room for coaching up.
-Versatile
-Long Arms (longest arms, by far)
-Strong motor / intangibles
-Seattle is a playoff team which ties into the report
-Seattle is famous for valuing intangibles which the reported teams value highly
-It would fit with Seattle's history for drafting players earlier than their perceived value.
There are other options at #26 that can say a few of these things, but Vernon Butler is literally the only DL option who can say ALL of these things. I can't guarantee that Seattle will draft him, but he seems more likely than the rest. At a minimum, he's a guy we should focus on at least as much as Bullard, et al.
The more I think about it, the more I think Vernon Butler is a player I think we should keep a very close eye on at #26. Honestly I am a bit surprised by the lack of people connecting him to Seattle around the blogosphere so far.
Here is why I think he is an obvious fit for Seattle.
1. Seattle loves special athletes. Butler's pro-day performance gave him measurables that were just slightly less impressive than Sheldon Rankins. On tape, Butler stands out as a big man with quickness and core strength. He also has long, powerful arms, can convert speed to power, controls blockers, and plays with motor. Butler might not blow us away with his forty time, but he's still a specimen.
2. Seattle tends to be overly intoxicated with 'untapped potential.' Many times in the past, Seattle has passed on good, polished players (Fletcher Cox, Joel Bitonio, etc) for unpolished ones with exciting potential. By this, I mean that Seattle gravitates towards players who's current worth and future worth have the largest discrepancies, even if the present worth seems dubious. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in full man crush mode over Vernon Butler, I think he's pretty flawed and risky. But if you can coach him up, he's got everything he needs to be the next Muhammad Wilkerson.
3. Unlike Bullard, Floyd, and arguably Sheldon Rankins, Butler has the tools and abilities and past performance to play and potentially excel at three different positions on the defensive line. He's played nose tackle, 3 tech, and 5 tech previously in college, and his skillset works well at all three of those positions. This is key to Seattle as they like to move their DL all over the place and mix things up. Jonathan Bullard is an explosive player, but also one who is clearly best suited attacking B-gaps wouldn't provide the same quality of versatility that Butler could. Rankins is pretty diverse too, though I think Rankins would probably struggle at 5 tech as he has a sloppier build and isn't as agile bending around the edge. Rankins is also just 6'1" with average arm length... which is fine at DT, but problematic over at an end spot.
4. While I generally think this DL class is a bit over-rated, I do think that Rankins, Bullard, Floyd, Billings and Butler all play with pretty good motor. They all have a real love for the game and that will appeal more to Seattle than most other teams.
5. Seattle has generally put a substantial emphasis on arm length on the defensive (and offensive) line. Frank Clark has 34 3/8" Arms (btw, huge props to this guy for his powers of prophesy regarding Frank Clark). Greg Scruggs had 36" vines for arms. Jordan Hill's 33 1/2 inch arms were decent for a guy who's only 6'1", much like Sheldon Rankins. Michael Bennett's arms have never been measured but many scouting reports at the time praised his pass rusher length. The shortest arms of any Seahawks drafted DL belong to Jaye Howard who had 33" arms, which is basically average length.
So with that in mind, here are the arm length measurements of Rankins, Bullard, Floyd, Billings and Butler:
Rankins - 33 3/8"
Bullard - 33 5/8"
Floyd - 33 1/8"
Billings - 33"
Butler - 35 1/8"
The arm length of the first four are all various degrees of average. And then you have Vernon Butler with elite arm length, particularly for an interior lineman. His arms are a full inch and a half longer than 2nd place Jonathan Bullard.
There are mixed reports of Butler's draft stock which give it that same quasi-reach feel that Irvin, Britt, Carpenter, and Clark had. There was a recent quote from Walter Football about Butler that is pretty interesting:
Charlie Campbell":4a5aigy8 said:
The bold emphasis is mine. The above quote comes from Charlie Campbell at Walter Football. While there has been reason to mock WF in the past, they have recently teamed up with the incomparable Tony Pauline who is simply the most connected man with the best information come draft season. This has given WF's analysis a degree of legitimacy and should be listened to closely.
Anyway, "playoff teams" who "like him off the field" (valuing intangibles) and his "love for football" (more intangibles speak)... I can't prove that he's talking about Seattle, but consider the "Seahawky" boxes and draft clues that are checked already:
-Good athlete, rare physical qualities
-Massive untapped potential. Tons of room for coaching up.
-Versatile
-Long Arms (longest arms, by far)
-Strong motor / intangibles
-Seattle is a playoff team which ties into the report
-Seattle is famous for valuing intangibles which the reported teams value highly
-It would fit with Seattle's history for drafting players earlier than their perceived value.
There are other options at #26 that can say a few of these things, but Vernon Butler is literally the only DL option who can say ALL of these things. I can't guarantee that Seattle will draft him, but he seems more likely than the rest. At a minimum, he's a guy we should focus on at least as much as Bullard, et al.
