The Seahawks completed their smallest draft class in the tenure of Pete Carroll and John Schneider by trading up to select Florida tackle Stone Forsyth with the 208th overall pick in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
Seattle had acquired a sixth-round pick, No. 217 overall, from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by trading out of their fourth round slot earlier in the day. The Seahawks then combined that pick with their only seventh round selections to move back up in the sixth round to take Forsyth and complete their three-man class.
Forsyth is a tackle that befits his name, Stone. At 6-foot-8, Forsyth is a very large-bodied individual for the tackle position. He started 25 games over the last two seasons for Florida at left tackle after initially seeing spot duty at right tackle during his first two years in the program. Forsyth's scouting reports are varying opinions. Some tout his strong pass blocking as having been worthy of a second or third round pick. However, other reports equally pan his issues with the running game and blocking in space as reasons to downgrade him to later stages of the draft or even undrafted ranks.
"I would say that's kind of accurate," Forsyth said of his scouting reports saying he's better as a pass blocker than run blocker. "We didn't run a lot at Florida this past year so I kind of brushed up on that pass game so I've just done a great job over the past year in the pass game."
General Manager John Schneider said they had been trying for a while to find a trade partner to move up and select Forsyth. Efforts to trade up began when the picks in the 190s began to be made. Schneider felt that that's when they began to have the ammunition needed to have a chance to move up to get the pick to secure Forsyth.
"Stone was a guy that really because of his uniqueness, he's really a unique player," head coach Pete Carroll said, "he brings a great level of potential in what he's doing. He's played a lot of football. He's had over a thousand pass rushes against him in the SEC. His numbers are really good. His stats are really good in pass protection. He can come off the football, he runs pretty well. He runs well for a big guy so he moves alright. We've just got to get him where he's coming off the football they way we want to."
Dane Brugler's of The Athletic's scouting report on Forsyth: A two-year starter at Florida, Forsythe lined up at left tackle in head coach Dan Mullen’s offense. After struggling to find his footing on the Gators’ depth chart his first three seasons on campus, he won the left tackle job as a junior and steadily grew into one of the SEC’s top pass protectors. Forsythe has a wide base in his pass sets and enough range to stay square, using his length to strike and keep rushers busy. His upright posture leads to leverage/recovery issues, putting more onus on his hand timing and reset skills. Overall, Forsythe will struggle to lock down a starting job in the NFL if he doesn’t improve as a run blocker, but he shows a natural feel for controlling his massive frame as a pass protector, which gives him a chance to fight for early playing time at tackle.
Photo Credit: Florida tackle Stone Forsyth sets in pass protection during the Gators' game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship on Saturday, December 19, 2020 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. (photo courtesy of University of Florida Athletics / UAA Communications / photo by Alex de la Osa)