RENTON -- The Seattle Seahawks added the pass rushing help they so desperately needed with their only selection on day two of the draft.
Seattle took USC defensive end Rasheem Green with the No. 79 overall pick of the draft, the 15th selection in the third round.
"Young, long, played a lot of three-technique," Schneider said. "83 career pressures, 15 career sacks. Loves rushing inside and he's got some real nice outside rush too. Great workout. He had a really good workout this past spring the same day (Sam) Darnold worked out (at USC)."
Head coach Pete Carroll said they planned on playing Green at the five-technique defensive end spot, which Michael Bennett has predominantly played in recent seasons. Red Bryant also occupied that spot early in Carroll's tenure with Seattle. They do intend to move him inside as a pass rusher in nickel situations as well.
"We definitely will have some options here. He's really young. He's a 20-year old kid," Carroll said. "... He's got a lot of potential to grow and so we'll move him all around and figure it out."
Schneider said medical concerns were the likely reason Green was available to them in the third round.
"It's three years ago," Carroll said. "It's an old high school injury and he's been playing with it for years. He doesn't even think of it as being an injury."
Added Schneider: "We brought him in (for a visit). Our doctors were able to put their hands on him twice, gave him a great exam up here and then he was able to spend some extra time with our coaches and stuff, get to know him even better than we did.
"He has a very solid durability grade so we're excited about that."
Green will turn 21 on May 15. He's listed at 6-foot-4, 275 pounds and ran a 4.73 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in March. A former five-star recruit by USC, Green elected to turn pro after his junior season with a year of eligibility still remaining.
Green started all 14 games at defensive tackle in 2017 for the Trojans, recording 43 total tackles with 12.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. He was named to first-team All-Pac 12 team last season. As a sophomore, he started 12 of 13 games for USC in 2016, making 55 tackles, 6.5 for losses, and a team-best six sacks.
"I feel like I'm a very long and quick player and I do a good job of knowing what's going to happen before it happens," Green said. "I would say I'm real quick, long and smart are some words I'd use to describe my game."
The depth at defensive end has suddenly become rather thin this offseason. Michael Bennett was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and Cliff Avril's football future is in serious jeopardy due to a career-threatening neck injury.
While Frank Clark led the team with nine sacks last season and had 10 sacks in 2016, he's set to enter the final year of his rookie contract with the team. Additionally, Dion Jordan - who had four sacks in five games last season - has had injury issues throughout his career and remains one misstep away from a second year-long suspension. Marcus Smith was re-signed, Barkevious Mingo provides a hybrid linebacker/pass rusher role and Branden Jackson flashed in spurts last year in limited duty, but adding to the pass rush capability of the roster was necessary.
The Seahawks currently have eight picks scheduled for the final day of the day on Saturday. The selections included four fifth-round picks and two seventh-round selections.
Seahawks reportedly agree to re-sign Byron Maxwell:
The Seahawks bolstered their cornerback depth before the draft got underway on Friday as they reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with Byron Maxwell. Schneider wouldn't confirm the deal Friday night saying only that Maxwell was expected to come into the facility next week.
Maxwell returned to Seattle last season after being released by the Miami Dolphins and quickly regained a starting job after Richard Sherman went down with a torn Achilles in November. The trio of Maxwell, Shaquill Griffin and Justin Coleman gives the Seahawks a capable set of cornerbacks to serve as their front line defenders. DeAndre Elliott, Donte Johnson, Mike Tyson and Neiko Thorpe will compete for primary backup roles as well.
While adding to the position could certainly happen on day three, Seattle isn't desperate for cornerback help with their current roster construction. Getting Maxwell back goes a long way toward shoring up their lineup.
Pete Carroll on possible Earl Thomas trade: "It's not even a topic. ... He's our guy"
The first two days of the NFL Draft have come to pass without a trade for free safety Earl Thomas coming to fruition.
Thomas was reportedly available in trade this offseason and Schneider acknowledged they have taken calls about Thomas, including during the second and third rounds on Friday. However, no trades have been completed and both Schneider and Carroll seemed to indicate that a deal won't be happening at any point in time.
"It’s awesome," Carroll said of Thomas still being with the team. "Earl’s a great football player. You may have looked (at it) like he wasn’t going to be here; we didn’t look at it like that. That’s been a lot of speculation on your guys’ end of this thing. We’ve been counting on Earl being here the whole time."
"It's not even a topic. Nothing worth even talking about. he's our guy."
Draft Picks:
Rd. 1, Pick 27 -- Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State
Rd. 3, Pick 79 -- Rasheem Greene, DE, USC
Rd. 4, Pick 120 --
Rd. 5, Pick 141 --
Rd. 5, Pick 146 --
Rd. 5, Pick 156 --
Rd. 5, Pick 168 --
Rd. 6, Pick 186 --
Rd. 7, Pick 220 --
Rd. 7, Pick 226 --
Photo Credit: LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Rasheem Green #94 of the USC Trojans attempts to sack Keller Chryst #10 of the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 9, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)