3 reasons to be excited about Demetrius Knox signing with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent

The NFL Draft may be done, but that doesn’t mean former members of the Ohio State Buckeyes have stopped taking calls. The Seattle Seahawks were one of those teams to reach out to a former member of the scarlet and gray, and they ended up signing offensive lineman Demetrius Knox as an undrafted free agent.

Even though he wasn’t one of the nine OSU members drafted, Knox brings some good things to the Pacific Northwest. Here’s three reasons why you should be excited about this signing.

1. Pass protector extraordinaire

This past season was by far the best for Knox—as well as for the Ohio State passing unit. Playing in 959 snaps, Knox was part of an O-line that helped Dwayne Haskins shatter school and conference records. In fact, the offense had 561 passing attempts (a school record), and that couldn’t have been done if the line didn’t give the QB time to make throws.

For his stellar play, Knox picked up third-team all-Big Ten honors.

There’s definitely more improving he can do at the professional level, but he’s already showed signs that he can succeed in pass- or run-heavy offenses. In Seattle, he’ll be protecting the highest-paid QB in Russell Wilson, a dual-threat QB. Fortunately, Knox has experience with protecting QBs that are mobile. He helped shield J.T. Barrett for the likes of Big Ten foes in 2017.

2. A constant starter

On the offense, a mainstay for the last couple seasons was Knox. He had a 20-game start streak going until he got hurt (leg injury) late in the game against Michigan last fall. Because of that leg injury, he missed the final two games of his Buckeye career.

But let’s not look at the negative; let’s look at the positive. He’s appeared in 41 games throughout his career, and was graded as a “champion” nine times in his senior season. Prior to the injury, he was an important cog in the machine—and it’s no wonder why he kept that job week in and week out.

3. All-around experience

2017 was a year where we saw the variety from Knox. He played on special teams, and was was the backup guard. When Branden Bowen went down with an injury, Knox stepped up into a starting role for the remainder of his OSU career.

The more experience you have, the better. With Knox, he can be moved to wherever they need him. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think that he’d begin on special teams and then works his way up the offensive line depth chart.

Any concerns about Knox

Like anybody that missed time in college, injuries are the biggest question mark for Knox. The leg injury that ended his OSU career wasn’t the only time he’s gotten hurt. Back in 2016, he was limited to four games because of injuries. If he can get really healthy between now and the preseason, he has the chance to succeed in the NFL.

Seattle is building for the future, and they’ll have a Wilson for the foreseeable future. It’s about as good a place as any for an offensive lineman to be.