Seahawks take Georgia RB Kenny McIntosh at No. 237 in NFL draft
With the last of their scheduled 10 picks in the NFL draft — and six on Saturday — Seattle selected Georgia running back Kenny McIntosh at No. 237 in the seventh round.
But that was a lot lower than McIntosh — the leading rusher for the national champion Bulldogs last year — expected to go.
McIntosh said in a conference call with Seattle reporters that he was on the phone with his agent discussing free agent options when the Seahawks called.
His reaction?
“Man, I’ve been waiting all day,” he said, displaying visible emotions.
Many had initially projected McIntosh to go in the middle rounds. But a slower-than-expected 4.62 40 at the NFL combine likely led to his slide. That was the third-slowest of any running back at the combine.
McIntosh was the first skill position player taken by Seattle on Saturday, when the Seahawks mostly focused on the trenches.
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But he is the second running back taken by the Seahawks, joining Zach Charbonnet of UCLA, taken in the second round on Friday.
Those two will join holdovers Kenneth Walker III and DeeJay Dallas as Seattle’s running back corps for now.
McIntosh gained 824 yards on 151 carries and also had 43 receptions for 504 yards and could be initially viewed by the Seahawks as a candidate for the third-down/two-minute back role. Dallas appears the leader for that for now.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, McIntosh comes from a football family — a brother R.J. played at Miami and another, Deon, played at Notre Dame and spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons at Washington State.
Throughout his conference call with reporters, McIntosh reiterated that going far lower than he anticipated will motivate him further.
“Just give me a chip on my shoulder to work harder,” he said. “… I’m going to prove my point for sure.”
Wrote NFL.com in its scouting report on McIntosh: “McIntosh is best suited for a complementary role that allows him to explore the flanks of the offense instead of trying to pound and create between the tackles. He lacks the vision to recognize and exploit opportunities quickly and the elusiveness to dart in and out of developing run lanes. He’s more than capable of finding big runs over the tackles and becomes a more physical finisher as the run progresses. McIntosh has excellent hands and the potential to mismatch coverages when isolated out of the backfield. He could become a RB2 with full-time third-down reps.”
This story will be updated.
Source: The Seattle Times
