2017 NFL mock draft: Seattle Seahawks select Obi Melifonwu

The Seattle Seahawks knocked the Detroit Lions out of playoffs and now they have the 26th pick in the NFL Draft. Pride Of Detroit commenter Elephant Trees is the acting general manager for the Hawks in our mock draft. With his first round pick, Elephant Trees has selected safety Obi Melifonwu out of Connecticut. Here is his rationale for his pick:

John Schneider and Pete Carroll have built an elite defense during their time together in Seattle. They look to keep that trend going by selecting their first piece for The Legion of Boom 2.0. Richard Sherman is getting old, has two years left on his contract and has been rumored as a trade piece. Earl "the squirrel" Thomas suffered a nasty leg injury at the end of last season and has contemplated retirement (he plans to be back). So that leaves us with the pick, pre-draft riser, Obi Melifonwu.

[Editor’s note: Obi’s score has dropped a tad since the above tweet]

Obi is an athletic specimen. His RAS score is nasty (9.66). His play at the Senior Bowl put him on the map as a first-round talent. All reports of his tape show he is an above average tackler and has solid range. Obi is a physical and fast player in the secondary; this just oozes Seattle Seahawks. The talk is that he could convert to play cornerback in the NFL if drafted by the right team. We, the Seahawks, will use him to the best of his abilities. His career will probably start in the big nickel package, unless injury and or decline (Thomas, Sherman) come first.

If players like Charlton, Reddick, and Humphrey were available to select from, this would of made our selection a lot tougher. The board played out nice and we believe we just selected a stud in the secondary.

Other considerations... pfffff offensive line? No big deal, we have Russell "Houdini" Wilson.