You’ve probably come across reports saying “Prospect X has a 30-visit with Team Y”. What are these 30 visits, what are they for, and how do they impact the Seattle Seahawks’ NFL Draft plans?
We’ll talk about that in this post.
First Things First
First, no team is required to report who they’re bringing or will bring to a 30-visit. Insiders go after this information and report it. These visits can happen at any time and each team has its own way of organizing it. Seattle usually has one day when the vast majority of prospects come to participate and others come on individual visits.
Call me crazy, but I keep an eye on the Instagram stories of draftable prospects on the day of Seattle’s 30-visit. In recent years, I’ve gotten several additional names, but this year, perhaps at the request of Seattle’s management, none of the players, with the exception of Zah Frazier, posted photos at the Seahawks’ facilities. So we’re left with only the insider information.
We only had access to 21 names, here is the list:
Esa Pole, OL, Washington State;
Tyler Shough, QB, Louisville;
Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina;
Savion Williams, WR/RB, TCU;
Bryce Cabeldue, OG, Kansas;
Chase Lundt, OT, UConn;
Shavon Revel, CB, ECU;
Mason Taylor, TE, LSU;
Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia;
Ty Robinson, Defensive End, Nebraska;
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama;
Jared Wilson, C, Georgia;
Dylan Fairchild, OG, Georgia;
Princely Umanmielen, EDGE, Ole Miss;
Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona;
Kyle Williams, WR, Washington State;
Shemar Stewart, DL, TAMU;
Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama;
Kam Alexander, DB, Oregon;
Zah Frazier, CB, UTSA
Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
These 21 were reported as 30-visits. However, there is another rule that complicates things a bit. In addition to the 30-visits, there are local visits or local pro days. These are players who played at nearby universities or have a residence nearby. These visits are unlimited. Washington State players are not considered local since they are not in the Seattle metro area (unless those players grew up in the Seattle region), so they count toward 30 visits.
Traeshon Holden, WR, Oregon;
Dontea Manning, DB, Oregon;
Jackson Slater, OL, Sacramento State;
Gee Scott, TE/FB, Ohio State;
Marcus Harper II, OG, Oregon;
Carson Bruener, LB, Washington;
Jaden Robinson, DB, Oregon State;
Enokk Vimahi, OG, Washington;
Everett Hayes K, Oregon State;
Jermaine Terry, TE, Oregon State;
What is the purpose of the 30-Visit?
Calling a player for a 30-Visit does not indicate an unusual interest from the team in drafting him. There are factors outside of the team’s control for the draft. So, I think there are a few main reasons to bring a player in. The first is health. We often see players recovering from injuries and not having the opportunity to participate in the Combine and Pro Days. This visit gives the team a chance to further investigate the players’ situation. Seattle did this with Darrell Taylor, who had surgery to place a titanium screw in his leg and was given the (incorrect) assessment that he would be ready for the season. However, Taylor was out the entire year. The team also did this with Devon Witherspoon, who was unable to participate in the Combine and Pro Day, and put together a “Pro Day exclusively for him.”
The second reason is off-field/character issues. There are players who are reported to be problematic, have poor work ethic, or have been involved in off-field issues. Jalen Carter was brought in for a visit after his poor Pro Day and his legal issues.
The third reason is to test players’ processing/football IQ or get more information on lesser-known prospects or how they fit into the team. See how they might fit into Seattle’s scheme and things like that. Finally, the last reason is to gather information from teammates or show interest as a smokescreen for other teams.
If I had to break down the 21, it would be as follows:
Off-field/Character: Tetairoa McMillan, Princely Umanmielen, Nick Emmanwori
Health: Shavon Revel Jr, Tyler Shough, Will Johnson, Chase Lundt, Dylan Fairchild, Jihaad Campbell, Mykel Williams;
Smokescreen : Jalen Milroe;
Fit: Shemar Stewart, Jared Wilson, Savion Williams, Zah Frazier, Bryce Cabeldue, Esa Pole, Kyle Williams, Mason Taylor, Kam Alexander, Ty Robinson
How have 30-Visits been used in the John Schneider era?
Players who also benefit from this are late-rounders. Having a little extra information about a player can be the difference between classifying a prospect as draftable or not.
2011: Malcolm Smith (LB);
2012: Bobby Wagner (LB), Jeremy Lane (CB), [UDFA] Deshawn Shead (DB);
2013: Christine Michael (RB);
2014: Paul Richardson (WR), Eric Pinkins (S), [UDFA] Brock Coyle (LB); 2015: Frank Clark (EDGE), Mark Glowinski (OG), Terry Poole (OT), Kristjan Sokoli (C);
2016: Germain Ifedi (OL), Rees Odhiambo (OL);
2017: Malik McDowell (DT), Shaquill Griffin (CB);
2018: [UDFA] Poona Ford (DT);
2019: L.J. Collier (EDGE), Darwin Thompson (RB), Jace Sternberger (TE);
2020: Darrell Taylor (EDGE);
2022: Boye Mafe (EDGE), Dareke Young (WR);
2023: Devon Witherspoon (CB), Anthony Bradford (OG), Jerrick Reed II (S), Drake Thomas (LB), [UDFA] Robert Cooper (NT);
2024: Tyrice Knight (LB), Mike Jerrell (OT), [UDFA] George Holani (RB), [UDFA] Carlton Johnson (CB), [UDFA] John Rhys Plumlee (QB), [UDFA] Michael Dowell (LB);
There were some classified as local day, such as Will Dissly, Abe Lucas and others. Again, we do not have all the information. For example, it was reported that Byron Murphy had a visit with the Seahawks, but this information was later denied.
Based on Schneider’s history, we should expect at least one player from this year’s 30-visit list to be a Seahawk come next week.
