The Seahawks added to their secondary on Day 3 of the NFL draft, selecting Oklahoma cornerback Tre Brown in the fourth round. To learn more about the newest member of Seattle's secondary, here are five things to know about Brown:
1. He's ready to play anywhere.
Brown thrived as an outside cornerback at Oklahoma, but due to his size—he's 5-foot-9, 185 pounds—a lot of people have been projecting him as a nickel cornerback instead. Brown played the nickel spot at the Senior Bowl to show he could handle that role and made a strong impression there, but as of now at least, he said he hasn't been told where the Seahawks see him playing. And regardless of how things shake out, he's ready to come in and play anywhere the Seahawks ask him to.
"I'll play wherever they want me to play," he said. "If they need me inside, I'll go in there and play inside and contribute right away. If they need me to play outside, I can also do that. My range is pretty wide, so it doesn't matter."
2. He's looking to destroy folks on special teams.
How the Seahawks will use Brown on defense remains to be seen, but it's safe to assume that he will come in right away and make an impact on special teams. In addition to being a stand-out return man, Brown has handled multiple other roles on special teams, including serving as a gunner on punt coverage, and as NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein put it in his scouting report on Brown, he puts for "maniacal effort as a special teams ace."
"When you say what position do I play, I just say I'm an athlete," he said. "I do special teams really well. When I get on the field, I'm going to give it my all. Kickoff return, guarding you on the punt return as well, every time I get out there I'm going to try to destroy you, be the fastest guy out there and just make those plays. I pride myself on special teams just like defense."
3. He's got a connection with fellow Tulsa native Tyler Lockett.
At some point in training camp, Brown will line up against veteran receiver Tyler Lockett, and while those two don't actually know each other, they should have plenty to talk about when the meet. Both Lockett and Brown are from Tulsa, and their dads went to school together and have remained in touch over the year.
Through Aaron Lockett, the Browns have heard good things about the team that ended up drafting Brown.
"My pops when to school with his father, Aaron Lockett, so we've got some really good connections with that family," Brown said. "… My father has a lot of conversations with his father, so there's a lot of things that my pops told me about the Seahawks, that it's a great place to be, they just do everything right, do everything well."
4. He likes the D.J. Reed comparisons.
At first glance it's easy to look at Brown's credentials and physical stature and compare him to current Seahawks cornerback D.J. Reed, and that's a comparison Brown embraces. Both players are versatile corners who are on the smaller side for their position—Brown is 5-foot-10, 185 pounds and Reed is 5-9, 193—both come from Big 12 schools, and both thrived as returners in addition to being defensive standouts.
"I've been familiar with his play, him being at K-State and stuff like that," Brown said. "I see we have a lot of similarities. We're the same size. I'm very familiar with his play. He did kickoff return, I did that stuff, so we've got a lot of similar play."
5. He steps up in big moments.
In addition to his overall strong play at Oklahoma, Brown also stood out with his ability to step up in big moments, most notably the Big 12 Championship Game. In last year's conference title game, Brown set up two scores with long kick returns, then sealed the victory over Iowa State with an interception with 1:05 left on the clock. The year before against Baylor, he chased down a potential go-ahead touchdown after a 78-yard catch and run with the Sooners leading by three. That turned out to be 4-point play, as the defense held, then Oklahoma went on to win in overtime. And in 2018, Brown had a fourth-quarter sack for a safety to help the Sooners to a win over Texas.
"Somebody needs to make a play, and I want to always be that guy that you can count on," he said. "Accountability is big for me… That's when you can really count on me to make that play, I'm not going to let my teammates down. I'm there for my teammates, and I'd rather be the guy that's lifting us up rather than be the weight on our shoulders."
With the No. 137 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected Tre Brown, a cornerback out of Oklahoma.