clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

APC Mock Draft 2014: Seattle Seahawks Select Kony Ealy

With the final pick in the first round of the 2014 Acme Packing Company Mock Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select defensive end Kony Ealy from the University of Missouri.

Jamie Squire

We've reached the final first-round pick in the Acme Packing Company mock draft owned by the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks.

Background

The Seahawks finished 13-3 during the 2013 regular season and clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Seahawks used a dominating defense, a punishing rushing attack, and a quarterback who doesn't make mistakes to lead them to the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl win (43-8 over Denver).

The Seahawks lost some key pieces to last year's Super Bowl run during the offseason, including wideout Golden Tate (Lions), defensive tackle Clinton McDonald (Bucs), cornerback Walter Thurmond (Giants), defensive tackle Red Bryant (Jaguars), offensive tackle Breno Giacomini (Jets) and cornerback Brandon Browner (Patriots).

Tate hurts an already limited receiving core on offense, but the loss of Red Bryant and Clinton McDonald on the front of that dominating defense might be the bigger concern. Cliff Avril will be a free agent after this season, and the Seahawks might be wise to hold off on a few needs at wide receiver and offensive line before addressing the need at defensive end.

With the 32nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks select...

Name: Kony Ealy
Position: Defensive End
College: Missouri
Year: Junior (RS)

While many draft prognosticators are projecting the Seahawks to take a guard or center with their first-round pick, I believe the ceiling on Ealy is just too high to pass up for a team that utilizes athletic defensive ends. Ealy would fit the bill of a Seahawk defensive end at 6-foot-4 and 273 pounds. He had the best 3-cone drill time of any defense end at the combine (6.83 seconds), moves very well laterally, and is quick off the snap.

Ealy finished with 9.5 sacks in his junior season at Missouri, with 14.5 tackles for loss, six batted passes, three forced fumbles, and one interception which he returned for a touchdown. Ealy has the physical tools to be a great pass-rusher, and has the athleticism and range to be solid in zone schemes as well.

The biggest detractors on Ealy are that he isn't a finished product yet. He needs to add some more muscle to his frame, work on lowering his pad level, and adding some pass-rush moves to his arsenal. In the film I've seen of Ealy, he appears to rely on his speed too much and not use many moves to get to the quarterback. His instincts at the position aren't top-notch, but if he is given a year to grow into the position without the pressure of being the starter he could blossom into another freakishly athletic defensive end for the Seahawks.

Round One Summary

Pick Team Player Position School
1 Houston Texans Blake Bortles QB Central Florida
2 St. Louis Rams (via WAS) Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina
3 Jacksonville Jaguars Khalil Mack OLB Buffalo
4 Cleveland Browns Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
5 Oakland Raiders Sammy Watkins WR Clemson
6 Atlanta Falcons Greg Robinson OT Auburn
7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mike Evans WR Texas A&M
8 Minnesota Vikings Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
9 Buffalo Bills Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M
10 Detroit Lions Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma State
11 Tennessee Titans Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh
12 New York Giants Eric Ebron TE North Carolina
13 St. Louis Rams Ha Ha Clinton-Dix S Alabama
14 Chicago Bears Darqueze Dennard CB Michigan State
15 Pittsburgh Steelers Anthony Barr OLB UCLA
16 Dallas Cowboys Timmy Jernigan DT Florida State
17 Baltimore Ravens Taylor Lewan OT Michigan
18 New York Jets Odell Beckham, Jr. WR LSU
19 Miami Dolphins Zack Martin OT Notre Dame
20 Arizona Cardinals Dee Ford DE/OLB Auburn
21 Green Bay Packers C.J. Mosley ILB Alabama
22 Philadelphia Eagles Brandin Cooks WR Oregon State
23 Kansas City Chiefs Marqise Lee WR USC
24 Cincinnati Bengals Bradley Roby CB Ohio State
25 San Diego Chargers Kyle Fuller CB Virginia Tech
26 Cleveland Browns (via IND) Kelvin Benjamin WR Florida State
27 New Orleans Saints Ryan Shazier LB Ohio State
28 Carolina Panthers Cyrus Kouandjio OT Alabama
29 New England Patriots Louis Nix III DT Notre Dame
30 San Francisco 49ers Ra'Shede Hageman DT Minnesota
31 Denver Broncos Xavier Su'a-Filo G UCLA
32 Seattle Seahawks Kony Ealy DE Missouri
Josh VanDyke covers the Green Bay Packers for Acme Packing Company. He is also currently a sports writer for MLive.com.