RENTON -- It was a short two days of on-field work, but the Seahawks rookies had their first taste of being a part of an NFL team during the team's rookie mini-camp.
It was a limited taste as only 31 players were able to take part in the camp and the group of rookies comprising the majority of the players on hand. The camp was as much about teaching the players how to practice as it was learning about their skills on the field. However, it was the first chance for the newest crop of draft picks and undrafted free agents to leave an impression on the coaching staff.
"They have an introduction to what's going to hit next week," head coach Pete Carroll said. "Now they'll step into the meetings on Monday and they're gonna hear a lot of stuff they haven't heard before, and we've installed a ton already on both sides and our veteran team is moving, you know. So these guys will be in catch up mode for a while. But good start, really good start. They show their energy and their love for wanting to be here and make something of this opportunity. That's really all we're hoping for right now just get off to a start."
Second-round wide receiver D'Wayne Eskridge was able to show off show of his speed during Saturday's practice, getting behind the defense a couple of times, including beating fourth-round cornerback Tre Brown off the line of scrimmage.
"There's no question that he's a flyer," Carroll said. "He showed it right out of the chutes yesterday. His quickness, he's a very powerful guy. He's built really strong and built really solid and you can see the explosiveness. He gets off the line of scrimmage really quickly and certainly has the burst. So that was really fun to see what we were hoping to see and so we're pleased with the first showing.
"He's got a chip on his shoulder. He's going to prove that he belongs. That's probably as valuable as anything he could have and bring to our club. He's talented. You can see it already that he's quick and explosive. He caught the ball well also, got good strong hands. He's made nothing but good impressions so far. But I'm really fired up about his attitude because he's here to prove something and that always brings out the best in guys."
Carroll has said that they drafted Brown to be an outside cornerback for them and it's what he did primarily during his time at Oklahoma.
"Yesterday he did a really nice job of demonstrating that he understands how the game works in that staying on top on everything," Carroll said of Brown. "He was in the right spots. He looked very comfortable. He looked very fast, very speedy out there, staying with everybody that we ran at him. I'm anxious to see today because we just gave him some more looks and some more things to do but he looks like he's going to be a real competitive player and he made a couple plays out here today that did catch my eye. He's very bursty and looks like he's going to take his shots and being aggressive at corner. That's what he showed in college, and he showed it out here in a couple spots I saw today. I'll know more tomorrow."
For sixth-round tackle Stone Forsythe, his size alone made an impression. It's way too early to know if he'll be a successful player at the NFL level, but he certainly looks the part with his massive frame.
"You know the one thing you can't miss is Stone Forsythe is a monster of a guy," Carroll said. "Gosh, he's such a big, good looking athlete, I'm anxious to see what the film looks like on his first day out here, but man he's got tremendous length and his stature, he's just built so beautifully. He's really just perfectly fit for the position of left tackle so we're looking forward to see how that goes."
Photo Credit: EVANSTON, IL- SEPTEMBER 03: D'Wayne Eskridge #7 of the Western Michigan Broncos runs for a touchdown past Montre Hartage #24 of the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half on September 3, 2016 at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. the Western Michigan Broncos won 22-21. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)