NOLAN TEASLEY: Appreciate everyone being here. Good afternoon. We're excited to be up here talking to you. Excited to be here with Matt and with Trent and with Aaron as we kind of finalize our draft preparation.
Finalizing the draft preparation under the leadership and the guidance of John Schneider. It's John's 15th draft. What makes this unique is that it's our first draft with Coach Mike McDonald and his staff. They've been absolutely awesome from the moment they walked through the door.
We just finalized a really productive free agent period with them, a free agency period. It's just been really collaborative. We've enjoyed working with them hand in hand and looking forward to being more collaborative as we work through the draft process.
And then just wanted to make sure to recognize the contributions of everybody throughout the organization. We've got 11 members of our scouting staff, some of them in the back, I think, looking for ammo for later. And just wanted to thank them specifically, thank the coaching staff, thank the football operation and the organization, and we're looking forward to moving forward. Thank you guys.
Q. Nolan, what, if anything, changes about the process going into the draft and how players are evaluated with having new coach and new kind of philosophies?
NOLAN TEASLEY: In terms of the process, I would say it's familiar. We're going to work forward, move forward and work with the coaching staff and maybe get a little bit more specific as the process kind of develops and we get closer to the day. But I would say in terms of the evaluation process, this started, you know, in the summer last year.
So we've maintained our consistency throughout. These guys are a huge part of it. Our staff in the back is a huge part of it, and I would say it's very familiar and that adds a level of comfort.
Q. When you send scouts out, and for the last 14 years, you knew what the coaching staff wanted and you knew what scheme was going to be run here and how those college players may fit. How long is it going to take to mesh that? It's going to be longer than these two months, right?
NOLAN TEASLEY: Greg, it's a good question. I would say that there's only so much football, okay. So despite some -- there's going to be some intricacies and some changes to scheme and system on both sides of the ball.
But, again, there's only so much football so you're really looking for productive, smart, tough, reliable, fast, physical football players regardless. Again, you're getting into the intricacies, getting into the specifics, and that doesn't take long. That's just a pretty natural conversation.
So, yeah, I don't see that being an issue. We're looking forward to a little bit of the change here and there. But I don't think it's going to be a stark contrast. But it's really positive and it's really exciting moving forward.
Q. Aaron, how did the COVID years, the years that you guys had, how did it play into the analysis and maybe the development you're seeing the college players? Are they a little bit more mature, a little further along because they've had potentially more time in school?
AARON HINELINE: We're getting a lot more guys in the draft class. Guys are taking more eligibility than they have in the past. We have more players to work through.
But I would think it doesn't really change in a lot of ways. Does that make sense? The guys are still getting time to develop. More than anything else, it's really the transfer portal stuff that makes it difficult. Guys are transferring, they haven't been in one institution the entire time. So I would say more the COVID piece has -- it's more the transfer portal piece itself than the COVID piece, I would say.
And then, you know, you got new coaches with that as well. So we're still a little lighter when it comes to numbers this year. But I think overall, the COVID stuff, I think, is up after this year. I think after this year or next year. The numbers will be much more back to normal, I think.
So I don't think it necessarily changes with guys, if that makes sense.
Q. The transfer portal part, is that just being able to see guys in the system for more than one year? Is it trying to track where they're going? What are the challenges?
AARON HINELINE: That's a process in itself. Kirk Parrish has been on that. Our interns. It's a constant evolution, right? These guys can transfer a couple times during the year. So it's just keeping track of where guys are going. Got a pretty good idea with social media and whatnot. You can tell right away who's going in the portal and who's not pretty fast in that process. So we've done a pretty good job of keeping track of that. The combine helps us too.
Q. Nolan, aside from maybe the scheme might be a little bit different, Pete Carroll, obviously, was a very influential voice in the organization. Does much change now that he's not there and that John is sort of at the top of the personnel decision-making chain now?
NOLAN TEASLEY: I don't think -- John, I think, has spoke to this. But they worked so well together that there were very few times -- I mean, John was really in control on draft day and will continue to be.
Watching him live during draft day is really, really impressive in the way that he controls and commands and operates throughout the process. So, again, the process stays consistent so I don't foresee there being a lot of change in that regard either.
Q. With the combine this year, you guys have been through a ton of these. For a long time, it was you guys and coaches together. How different did it feel this year when it was personnel guys --
TRENT KIRCHNER: -- I'm not there because Pete had such control of the interview room. He loved that part of the process. He'd made it a lot of fun. It was a good chance to get to know the coaches better. So it's just -- we had everything recorded. Video guys recorded that. So when we came back, coaches had the opportunity to watch all that.
Q. What have been your impressions of Mike and how have you seen, like, the dynamic between him and John?
NOLAN TEASLEY: It's hand in hand, as it has been in the past. But, obviously, it's a different relationship. It's going to be between the two of them, but it's been just as collaborative.
Mike has a unique way of communicating and conveying his message directly but efficiently, but also being opinionated. And that's all you can really ask in terms of understanding and moving forward through the process.
But they're going to work really well together and looking forward to seeing it as it kind of grows moving forward.
Q. Nolan pointed out earlier, while the coaching staff is new, the scouting department and all of you guys have been together for a very long time. How has it allowed you to refine the process of what's going to happen on draft day and all the conversations you're having leading up to it?
MATT BERRY: We're really fortunate, Jen, to have been together, most of us up on the stage, for ten years and the group overall. We know each other really well. We know, when we're talking about certain things having to do with makeup of a prospect, what guys mean.
When we're talking about talent, scheme, fit, we're able to talk the same language. That's a huge advantage. It's been an advantage with us as a group to be able to convey that to the coaching staff as well so that we're all talking the same language so that we can achieve alignment as we get to the finish line here next week.
Q. You mentioned getting to the finish line. What does the last week look like for you guys? You've put in the work already.
MATT BERRY: We'll meet with the coaches Friday and Saturday. We'll get back together Sunday. Monday, Tuesday, I think John is with Mike, and they're finalizing it. Then we're on the phone a lot. We're trying to figure out the landscape of the league, trying to button up the rest of the process.
I mean, we've pretty much -- this is the third time we've gone through the board as a group so a lot of the questions we had coming out of February have been answered, and we're trying to get consensus and alignment throughout the building from scouting to coaching to analytics, and we're all moving forward as one. And that's really the goal of our process.
Q. Trent, I know you guys study yourselves and how you adapt to kind of how you've done each year, tweaks you try to make here and there.
What's something you guys have looked to change and refine over the last five, six years from a scouting department staff and kind of improve upon as you kind of evolve what you do?
TRENT KIRCHNER: I think we've incorporated analytics more and more each and every year. Patrick Ward and Becca have done a good job of sitting in the draft meetings and interjecting when their opinion doesn't exactly match up with ours. So that's been probably one of the biggest differences throughout the process, just the incorporation of analytics.
Q. What part of analytics specifically have been added more recently?
TRENT KIRCHNER: Now they have -- you get more GPS from colleges, probably the biggest thing. There's PFF stuff that goes into it. We don't care about the grades. Aaron's a big proponent of that. He likes the grades. Kidding. He doesn't.
So it's more of just, you know, in terms of yards after catch, the smaller stuff like that that's -- you know, it's been more accessible recently than in the past.
Q. What advantages are there, if any, of having guys like Mike who coached in college not too long ago and then go up and scout guys fresh out of college. Is there any advantage to that?
MATT BERRY: I think they're familiar with the prospects. Recruiting, it's always big. We've got a bunch of questions. We're trying to find if these guys fit our culture and fit what we're looking for. Any information he can bring to that from another perspective, we take and we add it to the mix and try to figure out if these guys are us, you know, if they're competitors, if they're resilient; smart, tough, and reliable. All the words you've heard John say multiple times.
Q. In your careers, to that end, have you had guys, coaches and such, dominant positions for scheme, head coach, offensive coordinator who have come straight from college three or four months ago. In McDonald's case, a couple years ago. And how transferrable is that to this draft process and the prospects? Not just from Washington and Michigan --
TRENT KIRCHNER: -- Pete. He came here. He knew basically everybody.
Q. Has that given you a head start in that way?
TRENT KIRCHNER: Yeah, I think so because they've recruited. They've been in the homes of kids. So plus they just know how to dealing with the younger kids now. I think Mike has incorporated that here, just with team meetings, doing two a week instead of every day.
So that worked for him in the past, and I think he's going to continue to do that.
Q. How have you guys seen NIL change maybe like the way players come into the NFL? They've already gotten aid. Has that changed them?
MATT BERRY: I think it just gives us more information as we're evaluating makeup and character. It's the landscape we're in, like Aaron was talking about. Rosters are constantly changing so if we're really trying to figure out a person's makeup, you're depending on the relationships you have in the school. If the player's only been there six months, your information is incomplete when you talk to who you talk to.
So it's just one more element to our evaluation, how they handle money. Is it an issue? Is it not an issue? It can give us a lot of insight on how they're going to be once they get an NFL contract.
Q. What's your network like, your staff, and what's the communication like?
AARON HINELINE: I've been fortunate enough to be here for 18 years, I guess. Done a few different areas. Did pro stuff early on. Been to the midlands, been to the southwest, southeast, and now I'm in a different role. So I've been fortunate enough. And then the turnover in college coaching is different, right? So it's always new in that regard.
But I feel like we've got a pretty good network overall. Not just myself, but the guys up here, all our college scouts. Such a big part of our process is to dive into your resources, the relationship part of it, because then you're getting factual information, you hope, right?
So it's been cool that way to watch those guys too, but all our college scouts are well-versed in that area. They do a great job of grinding and finding information, asking questions, continuing to get more questions from those.
We talked about earlier, the process hasn't changed. It's still the same. We come to somewhat of a conclusion this weekend. We have the coaches, and then, you know, obviously those resources as well. They're going to know the players, like Matt and Trent referenced.
But I think all of our college guys do a great job of building relationships in these schools, no matter their area of expertise or the area they're doing and finding out information on these guys so we can keep asking questions, so we understand the person, what kind of player we're getting in this building, if that answers your question.
Q. Aaron, how far are you going -- because of the transfer portal, how far back? Are you going back to two and three schools now with prospects?
AARON HINELINE: I think you have to. We're trying to figure out as much as we can on these guys so we get it right in the end as a group.
The positive thing about the transfer portal thing is the guy might have been at a west coast school and then he goes to the southeast, and the guy on the west coast probably knows that guy better because he was there two or three years sometimes. So he'll have more insight so we'll lean on him.
In our case, if it would be a guy in Florida, it would be Armani Perez does the state of Florida for us. I cover it, Matt covers it. Josh Graff does the west coast. Those guys do a great job and have a lot of resources. It's another avenue to work. Those guys, he might be able to go back on a guy from UCLA that he did, you know, three or four years ago that's now at Florida.
So it's just a relationship thing more than anything. It's something that, you know, that's ingrained in our guys. They do a great job with that.
Q. How much of a manpower time issue is that, that you have to now double back? Instead of one school, maybe three?
AARON HINELINE: Depends how good a player he is more than anything, right? But our guys, I'll say this. There might be guys that are free agents or guys we bring to rookie mini camp. The guys are thorough. We work. A lot of them are sitting in the back. It's a testament to them.
So be thankful for their significant others, their wives, their kids, girlfriends or whatever. Those guys are gone a lot. So they invest their time well and they travel all over the country and grind and work their butts off. I speak for these guys. They'd agree with me, I think.
It's a hard job sometimes. It's not as easy as everybody thinks it is. So a lot of time on the road. A lot of window time.
Q. I was going to ask you this question, Aaron, but you've been talking a lot so one of the others can answer. But given everything that's happened in the college landscape and how the NFL game has changed, have the characteristics you look for in players changed over the years, or is it still going back to a football player is a football player and he looks like this?
AARON HINELINE: I think it always evolves to an extent. But the main points, the critical factors of football don't really change. I would say that. If you're a good football player, you're a good football player, and it stands out when we watch the tape. When you watch the practice, you go to the game, usually those guys stand out. It's not hard to see it.
So I don't see a whole lot of -- the game's evolved, obviously, but I don't see a lot of change in the critical factors that make guys good football players.
Q. What do your roles look like during the draft itself?
TRENT KIRCHNER: John yelling at us to find more trade partners.
AARON HINELINE: Yeah, pretty much.
MATT BERRY: As it gets close, we're communicating with John. These are the players. This is who we think's going. This is the probability. This X player has visited these four teams that are ahead of us. Keeping tabs on that. And then we're on the phone pretty much constantly.
TRENT KIRCHNER: We split up the teams amongst each other and always trying to find teams that will trade back or if we're willing to trade up. So there's always constant communication going on throughout the whole process.
Q. Are you talking to GMs or other people, like, in your positions with other teams?
TRENT KIRCHNER: It depends. Sometimes GMs, sometimes it's owners, sometimes it people in our position.
AARON HINELINE: Really depends on the team.
Q. You mentioned getting the board finally set the way you want it. How long is that process? Setting that board, how much does it change as the draft approaches? And for any of you guys that want to answer, when is information too much information? And just say, okay, enough. This is what we know about this guy. Let's move on.
MATT BERRY: We talk about our process being continuous. So we don't have all the answers. So there will be information that will continue to come out as we talk to people from the background standpoint or something can come up. I mean, some guys just finished working out last week if they've been injured.
So there's always information trickling in. You're always adjusting and taking the information in and seeing how it's going to affect a player on the board. As far as how much it changes, it changes quite a bit from when we set it initially in February. One, you don't have medical. You have a bunch of questions on players. You haven't done any of the athletic testing.
Really, you're trying to build consensus on which players can stay. Which players check all the boxes from scouting, from analytics, from coaching, and those are the guys that stay in spots on the board.
And then you get into this time of year, and it's how do you acquire the player? What's their market when it comes to draft day? Where do you have to take a player? So all those factors come into it. So it's pretty malleable. And it's been that way since John came in and that first draft in 2010. That was different from what preceded it. We were more rigid early, my first few years here.
So I think the process is -- I think we all buy into how we do it and how long and thorough it is, but I think we ultimately get to a good spot by the time next week rolls around.
Q. Last year, you had the fifth pick in the first round. This year, you're a 16. Does that change anything at all in how you have to approach the top of the draft?
MATT BERRY: Changes quite a bit. I don't know if these guys want to -- it's the calculus of what players are going to be available, right? You had to see who the fifth player would be last year. Then we also had 20 so you were trying to figure out who is going to be in each spot.
This year, we're at 16. That's a lot more factors go into that. A lot more players will go off the board. You're trying to figure out if there's going to be a player you want to select. If not, if you have a trade partner to slide back with. You're working both angles all the time.
Q. Nolan, how does the acquisition of Sam Howell change, if at all, in how you perceive your need at quarterback going into the draft?
NOLAN TEASLEY: I would say I touched on free agency, and the Sam Howell trade kind of falls under that category, right?
So the goal during free agency is really, it's been tried and true and year after year that that's not how you build, right? It's an opportunity to supplement your roster.
And that was the goal, including the Sam Howell trade, is to supplement our roster and get to a point where we don't feel we need to force anything and all options are on the table, whether we're talking about a player at a position or our ability to move up and down the draft.
So I think we achieved that. We're excited about what we did, excited about what we're going to be able to do next weekend and moving forward. Even after the draft, we're not done right?
So all options on the table, and excited about that.
Q. In that same vein, does the acquisition of Laken does the same thing for the offensive line, make it so you don't have to force --
NOLAN TEASLEY: -- excited about Laken. That was a really good acquisition for us because all that guy does is play football. You talk about the best ability being availability, right? We're talking about 130-plus starts for him, 90 some in a row. He doesn't miss time and he's been a key cog of some good offensive lines that we're familiar with down in San Francisco, and we're happy he's a Seahawk moving forward.
Q. Obviously, the focus when it comes draft time is evaluating all the players. Where is the importance, also, of the guys knowing the other teams? Like, okay, here's what we think this team's going to do, what they need. That knowledge of all 32 teams as you go into it?
NOLAN TEASLEY: Trent talked about it. Brady had asked about roles. That's part of it. Constant communication in the draft room, trying to assess, based on need, what player could be coming off the board. Trying to be a step ahead and understanding the landscape so we can be prepared when our selection comes.
Q. How successful have you been pegging that second board with the rest of the league, and how do you think your continuity has helped in that regard and your contacts around the league?
NOLAN TEASLEY: In terms of assessing needs and where --
Q. Predicting where the rest of the draft will go and anticipating a guy won't be here for us to have, and trade partners, and how accurate has that second board been? How has the continuity helped it? I'm not trying to get all your state secrets.
NOLAN TEASLEY: Go ahead.
TRENT KIRCHNER: I think it's been -- it's obviously much better early on. Patrick Ward does a great job of basically putting the analytics together, and the first round is much more concrete in terms of what players are going to come off the board. As you get into the second, third, fourth rounds, it becomes less and less likely.
I mean, we still have a good idea of what position. In terms of the player, it's not as concrete.
Q. Is this draft as deep, given all the NIL and the various things that have happened from top to bottom as drafts of the past few years, are you seeing changes there in terms of the overall depth of the class from first round to seventh?
MATT BERRY: I think you've seen it the last few years with kids going back to school using the COVID year, there are less and less players in the class. Obviously, that will thin out the back. And then the UDFA class is different.
I think we have one more year of that, next year, and then it will be back, as Aaron talked about, to normal numbers. But there's always players. It's about identifying the role fit and then the culture fit, and those guys tend to be successful if you identify both those things.
Q. In terms of a new head coach, Mike McDonald, he's younger. You also going from defensive line head coach to another defensive line head coach. In terms of players you're looking for, how does it change with Mike McDonald? We heard players say physical and dominant over and over again with the style of play they want to have.
What kind of change, if there is a minor one, from Pete Carroll's style to Mike McDonald's style?
NOLAN TEASLEY: Again, there's only so much football. I wouldn't say a that a lot changes. One thing I would emphasize is versatility. I think they probably touched on it by retaining Leo, his ability to play up and down the line of scrimmage, depending on the front and personnel.
I know a player we're really excited about, that they're excited about moving around is Dre'Mont Jones because of his ability off the edge, his ability to rush anywhere from the 3, to the 6, maybe even out to the 9.
And so we feel like we have versatility throughout our roster. You talk about the back end with Julian Love and now Rayshawn Jenkins, we're truly nuanced at that safety position. Talk about Coby Bryant, who's a player that's going into his third year, but he's played outside corner, he's played nickel, he's played dime.
So they've kind of identified some of that versatility that's already here, and we're excited about seeing what they can do with it.
Q. How do you feel about the linebacker spot and the two guys you brought in there?
NOLAN TEASLEY: We've got two good athletes. Both have had the opportunity to wear the green dot. Dodson with Frazier, Coach Leslie Frazier in Buffalo. So you talk about communication. Again, you talk about athleticism. You talk about coverage awareness and, again, the athlete. They've put that on full display, and Dodson's always had value in the kicking game.
So, yeah, we're pleased with where that position group is, and we've got some young depth level players that we're excited about too.
Q. Aaron, because of how spread out the offenses are in college, is there a difference in what, like, backers and DBs have to do in college versus what they have to do in pros?
AARON HINELINE: I think you're seeing more of the college game leak into the pros, right? So I don't think it really -- I guess maybe they're adapting earlier than we are, NFL game overall.
But I think there's a lot of carryover now. Doesn't seem much different to me, at least from a defensive perspective, what those guys are required to do. Run and hit, cover people, tackle, right? Other than that, I think there's enough of the college game leaked into the NFL now where you got to look at the same -- it's got to be pretty consistent. Guys who can cover are at a premium. So it's a good thing at every level.
Q. As you guys have scouted them, what stands out about this year's quarterback class?
MATT BERRY: It's a talented group. It's a really talented group. We've spent time studying those guys, visiting with them. Without getting into specifics about players, I think it's one of the stronger groups that there's been the last couple years in terms of depth.
Q. What about interior offensive line?
MATT BERRY: What about it?
Q. What about your impressions of that group?
MATT BERRY: They're good players. They're good players at all spots across, you know, all position groups. I don't really want to get into a whole lot of specifics about, you know, which position has strengths in the class and which doesn't at this point.
Q. There are six Huskies that might end up going in the first three rounds. You got an OC that just came from there. Do you find him talking those guys up a lot, or is he able to separate?
MATT BERRY: You can chime in too, but I think he's been awesome. He's been really open to players at all schools. And we take the information he's got on those guys. We have quite a bit of inside information on the Husky guys with him and Scott Huff, our offensive line coach, so that's really valuable to us.
But as far as pushing players from one school or another, I have not seen that at all. He's a good evaluator and really been a good part of our process.
Q. Saturday of draft weekend, seventh round, I've been told sometimes it's chaotic, like Wall Street trading. Is it all hands on deck with calling potential UDFAs versus is this guy going to get drafted, and we're going to call you after the draft, and that kind of stuff?
NOLAN TEASLEY: -- referring to. That all kind of comes to -- but seriously, after the seventh round, there is a process for it. You have to have organization to it. I like our process for it, and we treat it like another draft.
Q. Everybody that's making calls and contacts, do you have to funnel that, streamline it?
NOLAN TEASLEY: Yeah, we funnel it, and there's different levels of communication, who's communicating with whom, whether it's representation, whether it's the player. Because there's, you know, there's the negotiation piece. But those guys are all free agents so there's also the recruiting piece. So it's a nuanced and detailed approach to a really important part of our process to kind of put a bow on it.
Q. What's it like when you guys do months, years of scouting on a guy, and then a couple weeks before the draft something comes up, you get new information on him or he gets in trouble? How do you guys handle that?
TRENT KIRCHNER: It's just part of the process. I think probably the toughest thing throughout the evaluation process, the scouts develop such great relationships with all the players, and you can get emotionally attached to these kids, these players.
They know their coaches, they know their background. They know so much about them, and you can hear the passion when they talk about these players. And they'll push for them or sometimes they won't push as much for them.
But a guy like Armani Perez, there's probably nobody more passionate about his players than him. You can feel that in the room. And when he's talking about them, you know, you just kind of got to separate him talking about the person and the player because, ultimately, you want to know both things, right? The person, the player.
But I guess that's probably one of the toughest things for me is separating the emotions from the player. The scout and the player, sorry.
Q. It seems like that as analytics become more incorporated into, like, draft boards and everything, teams are less likely to trade up. At least that's what it seems like. Have you seen, as analytics become more prevalent, finding trade-up partners is harder?
NOLAN TEASLEY: I don't know if we've tailored it to that. There's obviously, like, a proximate value in things that we talk about. But I don't know if it's a definitive driver in which direction we go. It's just more information and an assessment of exactly putting a number on what we're doing.
Q. Does the number of times a college player transfers affect how you evaluate them if it's three and potentially four?
AARON HINELINE: Funny you bring that up because I was looking at something the other day. Some guys, we have three or four reports on already. Some are still in college. So I guess the positive thing is that report's done hopefully for next year.
But, no, I think it's pretty prevalent. A lot more quarterbacks, I would say, stand out. If quarterbacks are moving schools, that stands out. But to say there's a position, no. I don't know that. But it's always interesting now, if you ask our college guys, you got two or three reports there in two different areas. It's pretty funny.
TRENT KIRCHNER: I would say it used to be more of a red flag than it is now. Now it's just guys trying to make more money.
Q. Do teams use their own charts to determine, like, this pick is worth this much or -- when you're assessing a trade --
NOLAN TEASLEY: -- the charts that we'll look at.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, everyone.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports