Which undrafted free agents could make an impact in the 2023 NFL season?

#8. Jonah Tavai, IDL, Seattle Seahawks (San Diego State)

San Diego State defensive lineman Jonah Tavai

The younger brother of now-Patriot linebacker Jahlani Tavai, Jonah turned himself into a different beast over the past two seasons with the Azetcs, when he combined for 106 tackles, 28 of those for loss and 19 sacks, going from honorable mention to first-team All-Mountain West in 2022.

This is another name I expected to drop further than where I had him in my rankings, because he doesn’t quite scratch the six-foot mark and comes in just short of the 30-inch arm mark in terms of arm length. But this kid is a bowling ball of butcher knives, and I want to see what he can do out there on the field.

Tavai is quick off the ball and can penetrate in a gap-attack style of front, where he consistently is able to play super-low, reduce his surface area for blockers and not allow himself to be shielded off.

While he is slippery to create disruption in the backfield and that’s where he will mostly make his mark in the league, he also has the strong core and arms that allowed him to stack-and-shed at SDSU, even with the length deficiencies.

There are plays where he’s lined up at the nose, stays square and just drives the center a couple of yards into the field, not even allowing the ball to press front-side on zone schemes. Plus, he uses his hands exceptionally well to swat down the reach of blockers and create angles towards the ball for himself.

Not only does his natural leverage allow him to work underneath and around blockers in pass-pro, but it also allows him to transfer force from the ground up and put linemen on rollerblades quite frequently with the bull-rush. Off, that he seamlessly transitions into the dip-and-ride, where he also shows the ankle flexibility to corner his rushes through contact.

On top of that, he flashes a tight, rapid spin move that looks like its sped up when you watch it. That’s how he was able to put up an insane 22.4% pass-rush win rate, with 69 total pressures across 408 rush snaps, and received an elite PFF grade overall (92.0).

Of course having those T-rex like arms with just a 73-inch wingspan forces him to work overtime constantly and it becomes an issue when trying to disengage from blocks once guys get their hands into his frame. He also hasn’t been a very disciplined run defender, trying to get around blockers when he should hold the point and spinning off contact, which opens up voids on the interior (and I thought some teams would be turned off, simply because they didn’t know where he fits).

With that being said, I absolutely love that he landed in Seattle, because the guy he reminded me of when watching the tape was Poona Ford (of course that guy’s arms are about three inches longer). So understand the limitations here, but I also believe beyond Jarran Reed being brought back and Dre’Mont Jones being signed as this long guy with inside-out flexibility, there’s very little to get excited about on the interior D-line.

The Hawks did draft a couple of guys on day three – Mississippi State’s Cameron Young and Michigan’s Mike Morris – who both have the profile of base D-ends in an even front, but neither excite you with their ability to “win the gap”. I think Tavai has a chance to get on the field for passing downs quite regularly and wreak some havoc.