Within the third spherical, John Schneider lastly obtained to flex his buying and selling muscle mass, dropping down a couple of spots from No. 96 to No. 99 whereas including a sixth-rounder (No. 216) within the course of. At No. 99, the Seattle Seahawks stayed within the secondary, including cornerback Julian Neal from Arkansas. Neal’s finest attribute may be his physicality which implies he ought to match proper in with Mike Macdonald’s protection…though it’d take a while for Neal to crack the lineup.
Relative Athletic Rating (RAS)
Whereas Seahawks second-round decide Bud Clark appears like a cornerback taking part in security, Julian Neal has some security dimension on the boundary at almost 6’2” and 203 lbs. Each of these marks assist push Neal into the “Elite” RAS class for dimension. Neal’s explosiveness can also be spectacular as he sports activities a 40” vertical and a 96th percentile broad leap per the Mockdraftable chart. His pace scores are nonetheless within the “Good” vary with a 4.49 second 40-yard sprint. Actually, it’s simply the agility grade that’s a bit underwhelming, notably the sixteenth percentile three-cone drill. That’s regarding since Neal is a cornerback matched up in opposition to a few of the quickest athletes on the planet. If Neal loses a rep rapidly, he doesn’t essentially have the highest finish pace to make up floor both.
These first RAS comps actually set some lofty expectations for Neal which I’m hesitant to even present. I do wish to spotlight Nnamdi Asomugha, nonetheless.
Asomugha was taller and heavier than Neal whereas being only a smidge slower and fewer explosive. We don’t have any agility numbers to check, sadly. The principle purpose I selected to take a look at Asomugha is that I can see Neal having an identical path to taking part in time early in his profession. Try Asomugha’s profession stats from Professional Soccer Reference.
Discover that Asomugha didn’t play all that a lot within the first two seasons previous to locking down a beginning spot in his third season. In actual fact, he didn’t even have an interception till his fourth yr, the place he exploded with eight picks! After that, he had roughly half a decade of being a dominant participant. Julian Neal would possibly by no means attain these lofty heights of Asomugha, however I can see him having a gradual begin to his profession earlier than cracking the beginning lineup in late 2027 and past.
The opposite comps I wish to briefly point out are Jaylen Watson and Ahkello Witherspoon. Watson and Neal are very comparable athletes when it comes to all of the RAS classes. It simply so occurs that Watson can also be within the NFC West now, having signed a 3-year, $51 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams in free company. Are you aware what different cornerback spent the final three seasons with the Rams earlier than heading to the Washington Commanders this offseason? Former Seahawks legend Ahkello Witherspoon! The opposite Spoon is a complete completely different class of athlete in comparison with Neal with greens almost throughout the board. His physicality (or lack thereof) can also be notable in comparison with Neal. Ahkello walked in a Seahawks uniform so Devon might run.
There’s one comp that confirmed up in each lists that warrants dialogue. One other former Seahawks legend Michael Jackson – the cornerback, not the Seattle linebacker…or Browns broad receiver for that matter!
Now right here’s the place I feel we begin dialing in on Julian Neal. Jackson is an inch shorter and a bit stouter than Neal with barely higher pace and agility. Athletically, they’re very comparable. I feel the product on the sphere might be as effectively. Jackson was a tricky, hard-nosed participant that earned his approach onto the sphere. Previous to Mike Macdonald’s first season in Seattle, I wrote an article about essentially the most “Raven-y Seahawks” that started with Mike Jackson.
I feel Mike Macdonald beloved him and solely traded him due to a surplus of expertise at that spot. Josh Jobe very a lot suits that mildew as effectively, however we don’t have testing numbers for him. It makes full sense that Schneider would draft somebody who comps so carefully to Jackson.
Alright, on to some extra Seahawks-specific comps. First up is the apparent one for Riq Woolen. Regardless of being an athletic freak and producing on the sphere, it at all times appeared like he was destined to depart Seattle with the mind farts and underwhelming tackling at occasions.
Once more, Woolen is a mutant, with clear top and pace benefits over Neal. Apparently, nonetheless, their agility scores are shut. The true distinction is that Woolen was in a position to make up for errors along with his ridiculous pace, one thing Neal seemingly gained’t have the ability to replicate.
This has in all probability gone on approach too lengthy, however I like this sort of stuff! Anyway, listed below are some rapid-fire Seahawks comps.
I kinda like all of those for varied causes. Neal and Simon are very shut when it comes to dimension and pace. Flowers is sweet for weight and 3-cone. Maxwell is dimension, pace, and attainable play-style as he relied extra on physicality than successful with athleticism. Sherman I put in there as a result of I felt like I needed to, as he’s the most effective in Seahawks historical past! Sherm confirmed which you can be a dominant nook regardless of top-end lengthy pace as a consequence of his size and explosion. Neal has a protracted strategy to go earlier than we begin speaking about him in the identical breath as Sherman, however he has a ton to work with athletically!
Main as much as the No. 96 choice, I had my eyes on Jaishawn Barham who was plucked by the Dallas Cowboys at No. 92. It looks as if the Seahawks have been him too.
Regardless of, since Schneider was in a position to commerce down a couple of spots, add further draft ammo, and nonetheless get a man who stuffed certainly one of their few remaining wants. Ken Walker III, Coby Bryant, and Riq Woolen all depart in free company? Draft Jadarian Value, Bud Clark, and Julian Neal within the first three rounds. Clearly, changing these three just isn’t so simple as I simply made it appear, however Seattle has the horses within the barn now to attempt to do it. Neal was one other instance of draft grade and wish lining up. That’s a superb course of in my ebook.
Julian Neal has all the bodily instruments wanted to be a unbelievable addition to the Darkish Facet. He’s huge, bodily, and comes with greater than sufficient athletic traits to be a stable NFL starter. When he will get his arms on a receiver, he completely blows up their timing. See the primary play within the tweet beneath.
Preserve watching that video and also you see a number of examples of that together with Neal’s plus tackling capacity. That’s precisely the kind of cornerback Mike Macdonald desires on the surface, and the explanation Riq Woolen is now not in Seattle regardless of his traits and manufacturing. That being stated, Neal might be not less than third on the depth chart this season behind Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe as an outdoor nook battling with guys like Noah Igbinoghenie – somebody the Seahawks have been after for a couple of years – for reside reps. As I talked about with the Asomugha comp, I can see Neal taking a backseat in 2026 whereas he develops his craft. I’ll say he performs totally on particular groups with some dime reps blended in later within the season. Neal will nonetheless make his presence felt as a attainable core member of the defensive backfield’s future with 25 complete tackles and 1 fumble restoration.
Oh yeah, and he’ll carry a ton of vitality together with Bud Clark!
