Seahawks Draft Target: Forrest Lamp, OT/OG, Western Kentucky

Profile for Forrest Lamp out of Western Kentucky. If the Seattle Seahawks draft this stand-out blocker, they’ll have an instant upgrade on their offensive line.

Western Kentucky isn’t exactly an NFL pipeline school, but they’ve produced a few NFL caliber players in this year’s draft class. The best of which is their excellent left tackle: Forrest Lamp.

Lamp is a technician. His footwork is excellent, and he never gets off balance. His hips, hands and knees do exactly what they must at the right time. He’ll come into the NFL with a level of polish that is extremely rare.

While they are different types of players, Lamp’s tape reminds me a bit of David DeCastro when he came out of Stanford. DeCastro was also a technician, and the knock on him was that he wasn’t overly physical. That caused him to drop to the 24th pick, and he has developed into an All-Pro for the Steelers.

Lamp’s polished technique allowed him to handle even Alabama’s defensive ends. That defense dominated everyone, but they didn’t dominate Lamp. Even saying “he held his own” in that game would be underselling Lamp’s performance. While he didn’t regularly get much push in the run game, he also didn’t give up pressure on his QB.

Against lesser opponents, like LA Tech, Lamp dominated with little effort.

At the Senior Bowl, Lamp measured out at under 6-4 and with only 31 and 1/8 inch arms. Both of those aren’t ideal for an offensive tackle, which has led to many draft pundits and scouts to suggest that his future inside at guard.

Lamp said after the first Senior Bowl practice this week that he’s never taken a snap inside at guard, and his tape suggest that he may not have the raw power to handle the big defensive tackles on the inside.

Some suggest that Lamp will ultimate end up at center, but i don’t buy it. He can play LT in NFL, and his lack of height won’t matter any more than than it has for Aaron Donald or Russell Wilson.

Lamp’s lack of length will cause him to drop in the draft. If he drops to the Seahawks at the end of the first round, they should definitely grab him.

NFL Comp: Cody Whitehair