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Julian Neal's long arms and run defense fits Seahawks' style
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- Julian Neal's long arms and run defense fits Seahawks' style
Julian Neal's long arms and run defense fits Seahawks' style
The Seattle Seahawks prioritize defending the run from deep coverages, and rookie cornerback Julian Neal fits their defense like a glove well enough to play right away.
He’s mainly a zone cornerback, but has enough physicality to play man. Seattle’s defense is rare in that they like to play zones yet prioritize defending the run from them, which most units throughout history have not been able to do. It’s also a way to take advantage of having great speed, size and length, because anything that helps players avoid blocks and get to the running back quicker becomes a weapon in the run game.
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Neal has all of those, but also the mentality of playing physical, smash-mouth football on the perimeter. For a cornerback’s best ability to be his tackling while still having sufficient coverage skills to be trusted at an NFL level is rare, but that’s exactly who he is. Notice two things from this highlight reel that tell you what the Seahawks might’ve liked- he plays in a lot of zones and comes up to tackle with physicality, and his raw hitting ability is backed by his testing numbers . His 96th percentile height and 93rd percentile weight are matched by extremely long arms at 32.630 inches, which is the same exact measurement Will Campbell got- who’s nearly 6’6”, 320 and was a top-four pick at offensive line last year. It’s no coincidence the Seahawks consistently pick players with long arms over other traits in the draft, and explains why Neal already felt a better connection with the Seahawks in his draft night story . They knew they wanted him and made sure to make a better impression on him than any other NFL team during the draft process.
Watch for Neal to be able to give Josh Jobe and occasionally even Devon Witherspoon breathers on early downs or third and short situations, and his long arms to help him cause problems for opposing run games, as is their number one priority.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks rookie CB Julian Neal's long arms and run defense fits style
