Terry Poole to Seattle Seahawks: Full Draft-Pick Breakdown

For as physical and as efficient as the Seattle Seahawks' running game was in 2014, it didn't receiver a ton of help from the offensive line.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Seahawks actually ranked just 21st overall in run blocking. This is why it was a priority for Seattle to seek help along the line in this year's draft. 

The Seahawks made former San Diego State tackle Terry Poole their first selection in Round 4 (130th overall), and he is a guy who will most likely move inside to guard in their system. He is a 6'5", 307-pound force in the running game who is also a relentless worker. 

These are traits that fit what the Seahawks like to do along the offensive line, and Poole definitely has the potential to eventually develop into a starter at the pro level.

The downside with Poole is that he doesn't look to have an incredibly high ceiling as an offensive line prospect. As a former basketball player, he does possess good footwork and a fair amount of athleticism, but he isn't an overly elite athlete.

Bleacher Report Lead NFL Draft Analyst Matt Miller wrote the following of Poole in his predraft analysis:

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A big man with long arms and surprising quickness, Terry Poole turned heads at the Combine with his 5.09 40 yard dash and 113 inch broad jump. In the run game he shows NFL-caliber hands and locks onto defenders with ease. From there he can control them and shows very good toughness. You won’t catch Poole ducking or lunging at pass rushers.

Poole played left tackle, but doesn’t have the agility to stay there in the NFL. He doesn’t have pro-level strength on the field and needs to improve his base to play with more power and better balance.

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If Poole can gain something in the strength department, he should have no trouble finding a home on the Seattle roster as a primary backup guard, at the very least.

However, it appears that the Seahawks do believe that Poole's athleticism is good enough to allow him to serve in a tackle position.

According to Brady Henderson of 710 ESPN Seattle, the Seahawks have talked to Poole about playing guard, tackle and center:

This suggests the Seahawks see Poole as a lot more than a guard at the NFL level, which is why the team drafted him a lot earlier than some other teams might have. If other teams view Poole as a guard-olny prospect, his value to them is limited. This obviously wasn't the case with Seattle.

Overall, the selection of Poole is difficult to argue with, because Seattle doesn't have a ton of holes on its roster to fill and can afford to take chances on potential depth players.