Danny Kelly of Field Gulls explains the Seahawks' selection of West Virginia defensive end Bruce Irvin, a pick that really surprised me, in part because if you want Irvin that badly, you can still probably just wait until the second round to get him. At least that's what I thought. Mike Florio reports that at least seven teams thought Irvin was one of the best 15 players in the draft. Here's Kelly to explain why.
They think Irvin is the best pass rusher in this draft - something that's not really a weird notion when you take a look at some of the players at his position this year and take into account his 21.5 sacks in two seasons. Still on the board were Quinton Coples - character risks, questionable effort, poor production in his senior year. Courtney Upshaw- not a prototypical pass rushing defensive end and completely different type of player. Melvin Ingram, same deal, and the short arms came into question, sort of a hybrid of the three.
Irvin is a bit small, but he's extremely athletic, and the Seahawks probably feel he can give opposing quarterbacks fits on third downs. He was a late riser in the draft, and Seattle must have felt it couldn't afford to wait on him.