Before we get into the subject line of this article, let’s note that the Seattle Seahawks defense ranked No. 2 last season while the San Diego Chargers tumbled to No. 20 on the charts.
Apparently, defensive tackle Brandon Mebane feels like he brought all of Seattle’s defensive talent over when he signed with the Chargers during the offseason.
“There is so much talent on this team, it’s unreal. I was telling guys there is more talent on this defense than there was in Seattle,” the veteran defensive tackle said on Monday, via ESPN. “If you look at the draft, you’ve got four first-round draft picks and you have five second-round draft picks all on defense.”
Mebane continued with his optimistic evaluation of his new defense.
“In Seattle, you only had two first-rounders and one second-rounder. Everybody else was pretty much down in the draft, or wasn’t drafted. So if we put it together, play together, and work on our skill, I think the sky’s the limit for this defense.”
Mebane himself was a third-round pick from 2007. So it is curious that he is putting so much emphasis on first rounders versus later-round picks.
Seemingly impressed after working out with Chargers first-round pick Joey Bosa, Mebane drew a comparison to former Seattle Seahawks teammate Patrick Kerney.
“I think he’s more like a Patrick Kerney. He (Bosa) said he liked Mike Bennett, but I’m going to say Patrick Kerney. He’s got Patrick Kerney’s build. What Patrick play, like, 11 or 12 years? He had a great career, so that’s not a bad guy to be compared to.”
As for Mebane, his numbers dropped some in his last season with Seattle when he recorded only 24 total tackles and one sack.
If anything, Mebane certainly can’t be faulted for having a positive attitude and outlook. That’s more than we can say for some players around the league.
We will see soon enough if Mebane’s outrageous comparison plays out this fall.