The Seahawks' three-day rookie minicamp concluded on Sunday afternoon, with 66 players taking to the field at Renton's Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Here's eight things we learned from day three of the team's workouts, a day that saw head coach Pete Carroll, assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tom Cable, and cornerback-to-linebacker convert Eric Pinkins meet with the media:
1. Frank Clark & Tyler Lockett Had Good Starts
The team's first two picks in the 2015 draft were among the standouts the past three days at Seahawks headquarters.
Frank Clark, who Seattle chose in the second round (No. 63 overall), played a different spot each day - defensive end, LEO, and as a pass-rushing defensive tackle inside.
"As we put all that film together and look at how he moved and get a feel for how comfortable he is, it'll give us a good first indication of what we can do with him," Carroll said of Clark. "He's very quick. Gets off the ball really well, and that's really exciting for pass rushing."
Carroll said the team used rookie minicamp to try and gather as much information as possible on Clark with the hope of understanding how to best utilize him in the Seahawks' defensive line rotation.
"There's not much limitation to what we can do with him," Carroll said. "He has the ability and the range and he seemed to pick things up very, very easily. He's going to be a very versatile player for us."
Tyler Lockett, the wide receiver/return specialist the team traded up to take in the third round (No. 69), hauled in a long touchdown pass from R.J. Archer on Sunday.
"Tyler looked so comfortable," said Carroll. "He's an adept football player. He's a very natural player. He has a terrific sense for releasing and getting off the line of scrimmage and space stuff and finding his way down field against the zones and all. He caught the ball beautifully. He looked really fast. He did really good catching the ball in the opportunities on the catch-return stuff.
"He had a great start and he had no trouble with any of the learning, so that was a really good start for us."
2. It Will Be The Most Competitive Training Camp For The Offensive Line
Carroll referred to the offensive line as the focal point of this weekend's rookie minicamp.
According to the Seahawks coaching staff, among those that shined were fourth-round draft picks Terry Poole and Mark Glowinski, sixth-round selection Kristjan Sokoli, undrafted free-agent signee Jesse Davis, and tryout player Kona Schwenke out of Notre Dame - a former defensive lineman.
"Without any hesitation, they all move really well," Carroll said. "They all come out of their stance and they can move well enough to be in the zone-scheme. That's a big criteria. They pick things up."
Cable said he sees Poole at guard and center, Glowinski at guard and tackle, and Davis at left and right tackle, while Sokoli will focus strictly on the center position. The O-line guru said he can't wait to see how the four pair up with the team's veteran players this summer.
"I think it'll be the most competitive camp for the offensive line, from here out moving forward through training camp," said Cable. "That's good. We'll get the best out of some people and it'll be pretty cool."
3. Kristjan Sokoli Is The Fastest O-Lineman The Seahawks Have
Carroll called sixth-round draft pick Kristjan Sokoli, a defensive tackle at Buffalo who the Seahawks will work on converting to center, the quickest lineman Seattle has on its roster.
"He's the most mobile guy," Carroll said. "We need mobility at that spot. It's a position that really calls for a guy to get on the second level quickly and be able to adjust to linebackers, so the athleticism is really a factor there.
"[J.R.] Sweezy will take offense to this, but he's our fastest lineman."
Cable thinks the most difficult part of Sokoli's transition to offense will be learning to multi-task. On each down, Sokoli will be asked to communicate at the line of scrimmage, snap the football, step into his blocking assignment, and then call the huddle for the next play.
"That all has to come bam-bam-bam for him every play," said Cable.
Seattle knows Sokoli is making a big transition that will take time, but the coaching staff came away impressed with his initial efforts in minicamp.
"He didn't know who he was blocking half the time," said Carroll. "But he was moving quickly and showed that he's got a shot."
4. Eric Pinkins Picked Up Linebacker Pretty Well
Rookie minicamp has provided the coaching staff with their first look at Eric Pinkins in a new position.
Pinkins, selected in the sixth-round of last year's draft to play cornerback, worked at outside linebacker the past three days. A foot injury kept him from competing during his rookie season, but he's healthy now and coach Carroll thinks he's fitting in nicely in his new role.
"He picked up the outside backer stuff pretty well," Carroll said. "It's very similar in how we play our strong safeties, so there was a lot of carryover when they're in the aggressive modes at the line of scrimmage, so he was able to do that stuff. He's really fast for the position and all that, so we'll see how it goes."
Pinkins said he's not entirely unfamiliar with the linebacker spot. He played the position in high school and as a safety at San Diego State was asked to move down in the box to cover the slot receiver, or guard the running back coming out of the backfield.
"They said pretty much we see you as a good linebacker because you're very physical," Pinkins said of how defensive coordinator Kris Richard approached him about the position switch in recent weeks. "It's a business decision and a faster chance for me to get on the field. That's what everybody wants to do growing up. They want to play in the NFL and they want to get on the field."
Pinkins said he was asked to maintain a 221-pound body weight as a defensive back. He'll target a 230-pound frame as he moves to linebacker.
"At the end of the day, I'm an athlete," he said. "I'm going to play where they want me to play at. It was a very easy decision."
5. Seattle Wants Kasen Williams Back
Former University of Washington wide receiver and Sammamish, Wash. native Kasen Williams is one of 39 players who participated in this weekend's rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.
Williams made a leaping, one-handed grab in Saturday's session and stood out with his play over all three days. Carroll said the Seahawks hope to have the 6-foot-1, 219-pound target back.
"He looked very good," Carroll said of the former Skyline High School star. "We've known him for a long time during the recruiting process and our expectations that he's a really accomplished receiver, a great athlete getting off the ground and all, he showed all of that.
"He looked like he fit, so we'll try to get him back."
6. The Backup Quarterback Plan Is Ongoing
We know Russell Wilson is entrenched as the team's starting signal caller for 2015, but his backup the past two seasons - Tarvaris Jackson - remains unsigned as an unrestricted free agent.
Outside of Wilson, that leaves B.J. Daniels and rookie minicamp arm R.J. Archer as the two players under contract at the spot.
"It's kind of ongoing," Carroll said of the team's plan at backup quarterback. "We got a very good look at R.J. and he did a nice job. He did well for us. He's a candidate for us. We'll see where that fits.
"Other than that, there's still some deals to be made and of course we're in negotiations and we really liked what Tarvaris has done for us, so we'll see where that all goes. It's still up in the air."
7. Who's Out
Running backs Demitrius Bronson and Rod Smith, defensive end Tory Slater, linebacker Matt Hansen, defensive tackle Jimmy Staten, and cornerbacks Tye Smith and Trovon Reed all took in Sunday's session from the sideline.
Post-practice, Carroll clarified Bronson is dealing with a "nagging" injury to his hamstring, while the team's 2015 fifth-round pick Smith was held out for precautionary reasons after his hamstring tightened up earlier this weekend.
8. What's Next
The Seahawks offseason workout program continues with the second week of "Phase Two," when non-contact activity that includes individual player instruction and drills as well as team practice conducted on a "separates" basis is allowed.
Non-contact team offense vs team defense drills aren't permitted until "Phase Three," when the Seahawks will hold OTAs (Organized Team Activities) May 26-27, May 29, June 1-2, June 4, and June 8-11. The team will also hold a mandatory three-day minicamp June 16-18 and training camp is expected to kick off in late July.
