With a Compensatory Pick (98 overall) the Seahawks Take: LEROY HILL

Seattle used one of its compensatory picks, in the third round (98 overall) to draft a inside/outside linebacker, Leroy Hill (6'1" 229lbs) from Clemson. Hill is slightly undersized to play inside linebacker, and will likely move to the outside in the NFL.

One of the most productive linebackers in the country, LeRoy compensates for a lack of ideal bulk with quickness, fluid lateral agility and an explosive straight-line burst. He is a run-&--and-hit type of defender who does a very good job of stringing plays wide. He shows a quick burst to close and when he finds the clear lane, he can be a very disruptive force in the backfield.

While there is no questioning that LeRoy is a tackling machine, he is also not a pro inside linebacker. He has good weight room strength, but his lack of size generally sees him get engulfed by the larger blockers and he struggles to disengage. He has good instincts on the move, but not enough to make proper reads or react to the plays working inside the box. If he is operating at the line of scrimmage, the larger blockers will usually engulf him. In order for Hill to have success, he has to be on the move and work in space.

In pass coverage, LeRoy does a decent job of mirroring the tight ends, and has shown marked improvement picking up the receiver when working the zone. He has fluid lateral agility and shows the hip snap to change direction and make sharp breaks in transition. His range in zone coverage allows him to stay on the hip of the receiver and also maintain vision on the ball in flight. He gets good depth in his pass drops and looks instinctive enough in coverage assignments to possibly get consideration as a strong safety at the pro level.

Hill gets stonewalled trying to work through traffic and is best when he can either chase down the play or come off the edge to apply pressure for the pocket. He will step up to fill the rush lanes, but a lack of bulk will see him constantly get pushed back. He does seem to have a knack for locating the ball in pursuit. He will wrap and drag down the ball carrier along the corner, but he runs around blocks too much and does have the quickness to cross-face the blocker, causing him to get walled off.

In a coverCover-2-two system, he might not have the pure speed to play on the weak- side. His quickness coming off the edge and his ability to perform on special teams is what will make him be a good value pick late in the draft. But, due to his size limitations, he might not be capable of handling every down duty.

4.62 in the 40-yard dash … 375-pound bench press … 530-pound squat … 325-pound power clean … 34-inch vertical jump … 10'1" broad jump … 31 ½-inch arm length … 9 7/8-inch hands.