RENTON — Jarran Reed endeared himself to Seattle immediately, walking out on the stage at the NFL draft with a bag of candy in his hand.
Marshawn Lynch may be retired, but the Skittles are sticking around for now.
“I was chewing on the Skittles waiting when I got the call,” Reed said. “I was like, ‘Man, Marshawn loves Skittles.’ I thought it would be kind of funny.”
After addressing the offensive line in the first round, the Seahawks moved to the other side of the line of scrimmage by taking the run-stuffing Alabama defensive tackle in the second round on Friday.
Seattle pulled off a rarity under general manager John Schneider and traded up seven spots to draft Reed. The Seahawks were slated to have the No. 56 overall pick, but moved up to No. 49 after a deal with Chicago. The Seahawks also gave up a fourth-round pick to make the move. Seattle has traded up sparingly with Schneider and Pete Carroll in charge, most notably last year when the Seahawks moved up to draft All-Pro Tyler Lockett.
Schneider said after the first round that the defensive line was the other consideration for the Seahawks when they picked Texas A&M offensive tackle Germain Ifedi at No. 31 overall. Schneider said Friday the other player it considered at No. 31 was Reed.
He’ll fill a major need after the Seahawks lost defensive tackle Brandon Mebane in free agency.
Seattle continued to knock out needs with a trio of third-round selections. The Seahawks drafted Notre Dame running back C.J. Prosise, Ohio State tight end Nick Vannett and Boise State offensive lineman Rees Odhiambo during a span of eight picks late in the round to close out the second day.
Reed was a second-team all-SEC selection as a senior at Alabama and perhaps projected his future by posting a photo to his Instagram page six weeks ago of him wearing a Seahawks shirt and Seattle Mariners hat.
“This whole time I had a certain feeling,” Reed said. “I thought it was going to happen yesterday with the last pick, but I knew today. Right before it happened I told my mom, I said, ‘Mom, I’m going to go to the Seahawks.’ I’ve been talking about the Seahawks ever since the Senior Bowl. I’m just really excited and happy that it happened.”
