Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks enjoy an explosive, run stuffing defensive tackle that can apply pressure to the quarterback: Cortez Kennedy, Brandon Mebane, Poona Ford and Joe Nash, to name a few former players. Enter rookie Deven Eastern. With their second pick in the seventh round, John Schneider and Mike Macdonald selected the Minnesota Golden Gopher to add to the depth of their defensive line, joining players like Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Byron Murphy, Rylie Mills and Brandon Pili. How will he fit in with the Seahawks? Time for the deep dive!
At 6’5” and 320 lbs, Eastern has a similar size profile of Williams and Reed. He is an explosive athlete, having a quick get off. His Relative Athletic Score of 6.95 notes that his broad jump at the Combine of 9’4” is above average for defensive tackles. His combine testing comp according to Pro Football Network is Andrew Billings, while his size comp is John Ridgeway. Meanwhile, his style of play is very similar to Reed, and is seen as a potential successor to Reed. Both players are run stuffers who use their wide frames to fill in any gaps along the line, and above average wingspan to wrap up opposing running backs or even quarterbacks. Reed will be a good veteran mentor for Eastern on the team.
Eastern’s explosiveness off the line helps him with applying pressure on the quarterback and stopping running backs in their tracks. He had at least two sacks in his last two years at Minnesota, 12 total tackles for loss, five total passes deflected, two forced fumbles, and averaged 31 tackles each of the last three years. He makes his presence known on the field, and the variety of ways he can impact the game is something that Macdonald will be looking to tap into.
On the other side of the coin, he is not the most technically sound player, relying more on his sheer size and strength than technique and feel for the game. This will need to be something he works on during training camp if he is to succeed in the NFL, especially in the complicated defense that the Seahawks run.
On the Seahawks website, Eastern is listed as a nose tackle, which means he will need to prove that he can be an immovable object on the defensive front and take on double teams against opposing offensive lineman. Luckily for the Seahawks, that is a specialty of his. Emory Hunt noted that, “he can hold the point of attack vs the run game, clogging up his gap while also condensing the adjacent one as well.” Dane Brugler’s analysis of Eastern’s game was that he, “doesn’t get embarrassed when facing double teams,” and that he, “uses his long arms to threaten gaps and break down shoulders.”
Macdonald established the culture of Mission Over BS with the Seahawks, meaning that the players do not let anything distract them from the goal at hand. Eastern fits the bill of this philosophy. He is...
