Surpassing Expectations, Jake Curhan Emerges as Unlikely Candidate to Win Roster Spot
RENTON, WA - While this past spring offered a bit more normality for incoming NFL prospects compared to the previous year when the COVID-19 pandemic first began, not everything returned to pre-2020 form. Coming off an unprecedented college football season, while pro days returned at a number of schools to help with the pre-draft process, the scouting combine didn't take place for the first time since 1982.
After starting 40 games in four seasons for the California Golden Bears in the Pac-12 conference, few players were impacted more by the combine being cancelled than Jake Curhan. While he was able to participate in his school's pro day workout, he underwent independent medical examinations only a few weeks before the draft and a heart-related issue he had dealt with for some time was flagged during testing.
"I don't really feel like discussing it much further, but I went through a bunch of tests, through the - whatever the version of the combine was this year - I spent a lot of time in hospitals earlier this year, and it's not something that I'm worried about while I'm playing," Curhan said in an interview on Tuesday. "It's something it's good that I got to flush all that out through the combine and get all that stuff looked at and taken care of. I'm thankful that there's nothing serious going on there. Nothing that I'm concerned about."
Having played through the condition without a hitch, Curhan didn't believe his aspirations for a career in the NFL were finished. With his results being revealed to all 32 NFL teams, he understood his chances of getting drafted were minimal at best, initially calling the news a "big bummer."
Only a few weeks later, despite his expectations that he wouldn't get picked at all, Curhan still tuned into the draft to celebrate when former college teammates and friends were selected. The first two days went by quickly and as the fourth round opened, he began to pay a bit more attention anticipating interested teams would begin to connect with him and his agent.
As day three unfolded, several teams did indeed reach out to Curhan, hoping to sign him as a priority free agent. Among those suitors, the Seahawks presented a unique opportunity in his eyes given their reputation for success with undrafted players, the relationship he had already developed with offensive line coach Mike Solari and other coaches during the pre-draft process, and depth along the offensive line.
At the advice of his agent, Curhan happily agreed to terms with Seattle shortly after the conclusion of the draft, ultimately receiving the largest signing bonus among the team's undrafted class.
"One of the things they were talking about is a good track record here for undrafted players to have a real opportunity and actually get a chance to go earn a spot," Curhan said prior to Tuesday's training camp practice. "I had a good relationship with coach Solari and I had good interviews with the coaches before any of that [medical testing], and then also just talking it over with my agent and seeing what kind of the best organizations to go to because I don't think there's a better organization in the NFL than right here. It just seemed like a good place to be and a good opportunity."
Upon his arrival for rookie minicamp in May, the Seahawks initially slid Curhan inside to guard, a position he had only started playing during the Senior Bowl in late January. He took most of his reps during the offseason program and the early stages of training camp playing inside, getting acclimated to the position change.
When asked why he was moved away from the position he had thrived at throughout his college career, Curhan didn't have a "straight answer" to provide. But he speculates that his arm length (33 inches) is a bit shorter than teams view as ideal at the tackle position and citing his testing numbers, he also admitted he's not the most athletic lineman around, which may have led teams to think he was a better fit as a guard.
"That was a big shock for me because I wasn't expecting it to be as different as it was back then," Curhan reflected. "But I'm glad I got that experience because it gave me a lot of time in the offseason to work on that. It's still work in progress, but I feel comfortable now when I'm inside whereas back in January, I felt completely lost out there. For me, the reason I'm good at football is because I'm smart, I understand angles and where I need to be on different plays, and how to get there with whatever I'm seeing on the defense, so I was completely reset when I was inside because I didn't have any of that prior knowledge to bank off of like I do when I'm at tackle."
But as camp progressed, the Seahawks quickly became short-handed at both tackle spots due to contract disputes and injuries. All-Pro left tackle Duane Brown wasn't practicing as he pursued a new deal, while Cedric Ogbuehi, Jamarco Jones, and Tommy Champion all missed at least a week nursing various ailments, and with Curhan making a positive impression at guard, the door was opened for him to return to his natural position.
With Brown, Ogbuehi, and Jones all unavailable and starter Brandon Shell being held out, Curhan started each of Seattle's first two preseason games at right tackle. He played the entirety of a 20-7 loss to the Raiders two weeks ago, calling the chance to make his NFL debut in Las Vegas' new Allegiant Stadium an "awesome" experience. Starting once again against the Broncos on Saturday, he didn't play as many snaps with Champion returning healthy, but still turned in a stellar all-around outing.
Logging a total of 73 offensive snaps, with 47 of them coming at right tackle, Curhan didn't allow a single quarterback pressure or hit. He also showed dramatic improvements as a run blocker against Denver, springing fellow undrafted rookie running back Josh Johnson for a pair of quality runs.
"I feel like I played well. I bumped back out to tackle, which is where I'm comfortable," Curhan said. "So it felt good."
Taking notice of his outstanding performance, Carroll said after Tuesday's practice that the rookie lineman has unquestionably exceeded his expectations since joining the Seahawks four months ago.
"He's done a really good job. Yes, yes he has," Carroll gushed. "He's played very steady. We played him early at guard, because we had need there, and as soon as we put him back to right tackle, he did a really nice job."
When asked whether or not he's surpassed his own expectations thus far, Curhan pondered for a second and responded, "I'm not sure exactly what my expectations were - just [wanted] to come in here and compete and do everything I could. I came in knowing that I could compete with anybody, so I guess that's all I expected was to compete and I've been doing that."
Breaking down what has allowed him to enjoy early success, Curhan's experiences on the practice field have helped speed up his development. Going against talented pass rushers such as the powerful Carlos Dunlap on a daily basis has presented unique challenges and taught him valuable lessons he's been able to take with him into game action.
In particular, battling against Alton Robinson during and after practice has served him well from a technique standpoint, as the second-year defensive end's speed, explosiveness, and ability to bend around the corner have forced him to short up his hand placement at the point of attack.
"Different people are tough for different reasons," Curhan explained. "Alton's really, really great at getting up the field quick and then dipping real low to get around the corner. And that's that's helped me try to work on using more independent hands rather than a two-handed punch because if you miss that two hands and someone dips around, you're behind him at that point. So I've gotten a lot of really good quality reps against him in team and he's been helpful working with me a little bit after practice here and there too."
Graduating early from Cal with a bachelor's degree in business administration, Curhan already has other plans in place for whenever his football career comes to a close. A connoisseur of buildings and architecture, he's interested in breaking into real estate and internships in college prepared him well for when that time arrives, whether that's this fall or 15 years from now.
But as Curhan's first NFL training camp approaches its conclusion, his excellent play has ensured the Seahawks will face a difficult decision determining which tackles will survive 53-man roster cuts. Before camp opened, Jones and Ogbuehi looked to be locks to stick around as valuable veteran reserves and the undrafted rookie wasn't even on the radar as a possible diamond in the rough.
As Brown, Jones, Ogbuehi, and Shell approach free agency next March, even with sixth-round pick Stone Forsythe guaranteed to be on the roster, Curhan has youth, versatility, durability, and club control on his side compared to the competition. Only 23 years old, his cap number won't exceed $949,000 over the next three years and the team could keep him at an affordable rate on a restricted free agent tender in 2024.
Considering the quality snaps Curhan now has on film for other teams to evaluate, cutting him with hopes of slipping him onto the practice squad would be a major roll of the dice for Seattle. Given his ample experience playing in one of the nation's best conferences at the college level and his current fast start, he could emerge as a candidate to potentially start at right tackle as early as next season.
Someday intending to be selling homes, the confident Curhan is equally adept at selling himself. After traveling a bumpy road to the league earlier this year, he's put his competition on notice and with one preseason game left to play, he's proven the stage isn't too big for him and he may just be the franchise's next undrafted gem.
"At the end of the day, it's still just football. Some guys might be a little bit faster, stronger, bigger, but, you know, same same sort of plays, same sort of players. Everything happens a little bit quicker, but nothing I can't handle."
