Field Gulls
The Seahawks signed Utah pass rusher Connor O’Toole. Does he have a shot to make Seattle’s crowded defensive front?
The Seattle Seahawks have changed their approach to signing UDFAs a bit in recent years. One example of this was when they gave the fourth-highest guaranteed salary (264k) among 2025 UDFAs to Connor O’Toole. Other names like Zy Alexander and Federico Maranges were also among the UDFAs who received the most guaranteed money.
The big question is whether O’Toole will be able to make the Seahawks’ money worth it.
Let’s go!
He is a player from Albuquerque, was part of the track and field team in high school, participating in different events such as the 100-meter dash and the hurdles. He played on both sides of the ball, including a blocked extra point. He scored 16 receiving TDs in the last two years, in addition to 3 rushing TDs.
He became a 3-star prospect as a WR and committed to Utah. He redshirted in 2020 and had only one reception in 2021, highlighted by his 10 tackles on special teams. In 2022 he made the move to EDGE and his numbers were highlighted. He led the DLs with 41 tackles, in 14 games.
He was injured in 2023 and played only the last eight games. He again appeared on special teams, blocking two field goals. In fact, he became the first Utah player since 2010 to block a field goal in consecutive games, achieving the feat against Washington and Arizona.
It seemed that 2024 would be his breakout season, but injuries again appeared and this limited him to only 8 games in the season. He finished his career with 15 TFLs and 8.5 sacks.
O’Toole impressed at the Big 12 Pro Day, the same event that also crowned another Seahawks pick, Bryce Cabeldue, with a 40-yard dash in 4.66 seconds and a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.5. Trusting in this athletic potential, the Seahawks made this “high” bet (at the UDFA level) on the defender.
Despite being new to the position, he has a good chop-move that he uses frequently.
The big issue is that he becomes very predictable with this move. He needs to develop a more consistent plan and diversify.
In this play, the OL threatens to put his hands up early and O’Toole misses the timing of the strike. He still manages to pressure the QB, but only based on his speed, something that is not sustainable at the NFL level.
We were able to see his outstanding speed on the field at the Pro Day. Leaving him unblocked is not a good idea.
His athletic ability is also seen with an excellent bend.
Very fast in the open field, but rarely used in these zone blitzes in Utah.
His biggest challenge will be against the running game. Both in maintaining the anchor and correctly processing what happens in the backfield. On some snaps he easily loses the...
