Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Seahawks add another rookie to their ranks following successful tryout at minicamp

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Nicholas McGee | Last updated 5/13/24

The Seattle Seahawks have added to their class of rookies, signing another undrafted player following their rookie minicamp.

Nathan Pickering, a defensive lineman out of Mississippi State, signed with Seattle having had a tryout with the Seahawks at their rookie minicamp.

The deal was reported by his agency Universal Sports Management.

Pickering played five seasons as an interior defensive lineman for the Bulldogs and registered 13 sacks in that time, including a career-high four in 2021. On top of that, he registered 23.5 tackles for loss, posting a career-high seven in that impressive 2021 campaign. He had six in 2019 and five and a half in 2022.

An undersized D-Lineman at 6ft 2in and 300 pounds, Pickering's pre-draft testing did not point to him being an athlete who will be able to excel on an NFL front. He received a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of just 2.5 out of 10.

66 is tryout player Nathan Pickering of Mississippi State.
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) May 4, 2024

But he clearly did enough during his practices with the Seahawks to convince them he is worthy of an opportunity to impress over the course of Seattle's offseason workout program, training camp and preseason.

Pickering obviously still faces an uphill battle to put himself in a position to even earn a place on the practice squad.

He joins a Seahawks defensive line that features a host of veterans, including Leonard Williams and Dre'Mont Jones, and recent draft picks. The Seahawks spent a first-round pick on Byron Murphy II this year having drafted Cameron Young and Mike Morris in the fourth and fifth round respectively in 2023.

The odds of Pickering playing a regular-season snap for the Seahawks this year are slim, but the Seahawks signing him following his tryout is another reminder of the value of persistence.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: