NFL draft: Seahawks select Auburn DE Derick Hall, UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet in second round
SEATTLE – With their first pick of the second day of the NFL draft, the Seahawks began addressing what was perceived to be their greatest need – the defensive line – taking edge rusher Derick Hall of Auburn.
Hall, listed at 6-foot-3, 254 pounds, had 19.5 sacks in 36 career games at Auburn, with 12 tackles for loss in 2022.
Hall has been perceived as able to play the outside linebacker spot and rush off the edge as a down lineman, essentially the same role filled by Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor.
But while Seattle has Nwosu and Taylor returning as well as second-year player Boye Mafe, the Seahawks have little proven edge rushing depth. It was thought Seattle would try to add to that rotation in the draft.
Hall was generally projected to go in the second or third rounds with some questions about his ability to stand up against the run at the NFL level.
“Hall will have to adjust to playing in space and will probably still be targeted by opposing run games, but his pass-rush value makes him a high-probability starter playing outside linebacker in a 3-4,” wrote Athlon’s in its draft preview.
Hall also started for the basketball team at Gulfport (Mississippi) High, where he was a state finalist in the 200-yard dash.
Hall displayed that speed at the NFL combine when he ran 4.55-second 40-yard dash. He also had a 10-foot, 7-inch broad jump, which according to NFL Next Gen Stats each ranked among the top 10% of all edge rushers since 2003. His overall athleticism score of 84 was fourth among all edge rushers this year.
Hall, who was watching the draft in Gulfport with family, said he’d had good talks with the Seahawks at the Senior Bowl and the combine and said with Seattle’s pick nearing he had a thought the Seahawks might take him.
“Very, very special for me,” he said of being taken, saying he had “tears of joy.”
The selection of Hall was the second of two picks Seattle had this year from the Russell Wilson trade and officially closes the door on that deal.
The Seahawks selected cornerback Devon Witherspoon of Illinois at No. 5 overall Thursday with the first of two picks from that deal in this year’s draft.
Seattle also used its first-round pick last year on Charles Cross of Mississippi State at nine overall with a pick taken from Wilson and used the other on Mafe (though RB Kenneth Walker III was taken right behind Mafe at 41. It’s thought the flexibility of having both picks played into the team’s pick of both players).
Seahawks add running back depth
That Seattle had only two running backs on its roster heading into the 2023 NFL draft made it an obvious area of need.
The Seahawks didn’t wait long to begin to fill it, taking running back Zach Charbonnet of UCLA with its second pick of the second round – and fourth in the draft overall – at No. 52 overall.
He joins a running back corps that includes Kenneth Walker III, who became the starter midway through last season as a rookie after being taken 41st overall out of Michigan State, and DeeJay Dallas, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
It is the third-highest pick the Seahawks have spent on a running back in the 14 drafts of Pete Carroll/John Schneider era behind only Rashaad Penny (27th overall, 2018) and Walker. He was also the third running back taken in the draft behind Texas’ Bijan Robinson (eighth to the Falcons) and Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs (12th to the Lions).
“Honestly, I was just excited to be with my family,” the Thousand Oaks, California, native said of his reaction when he got the call from the Seahawks. “It’s just a great moment for us. In the draft, you never really know where you are going, so I didn’t know if I was going to Seattle or somewhere else, but I am just excited for this opportunity.”
Seattle had hoped to re-sign Penny when he became a free agent this year, but he decided instead to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Seattle also saw Travis Homer, a third-down and complementary back the last four years, sign with the Bears as a free agent.
Charbonnet, listed at 6-foot, 214, gained 1,359 yards last season at UCLA, averaging 6.97 yards per carry, which the Pac-12 and was fourth in the nation.
He also had 14 rushing touchdowns, which was second in the Pac-12, as he was named to the all-conference first team by coaches.
“Definitely as a runner, just a physical running style,” he said of how he would describe himself as a runner. “Downhill, one-cut is the type of game I play, but also have the ability to make someone miss and catch out of the backfield. Just another type of player I am, I can plug in wherever I am. Special teams, anything the team needs me to, so that’s the type of player Seattle is getting and that’s the type of player I am going to be when I get up there.”
He gained 1,137 yards in 2021 in his first season at UCLA after spending his first two years at Michigan, saying he transferred in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a desire to be closer to his family and native area.
“It just seemed like the perfect time to come home,” Charbonnet said.
He also took on a more significant role in the offense at UCLA, including much more use in the passing game
Charbonnet was also a significant factor in the passing game in the UCLA offense of coach Chip Kelly, with 37 catches for 321 yards in 2022 and the Seahawks figure to use him both in a rotation with Walker but also potentially as the third-down, 2-minute back.
Dallas can play the third-down role, as well, but in the world of 17-game regular-seasons and a Seahawks team that likes to run the ball, having multiple running backs is a must.
Seattle figures to add a few more players to the backfield as the weekend continues, be it draft picks or undrafted free agents, and possibly veterans later.
Seattle trades pick
Seattle traded its third-round pick (No. 83) to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a fourth-round pick (No. 108) and a 2024 third-rounder. Seattle will have six picks on Saturday: Nos. 108, 123, 151, 154, 198 and 237.