Eric Williams' notes from the NFL scouting combine

The News Tribune's Eric D. Williams is in Indianapolis covering the NFL scouting combine. His report from Sunday:

Help available at DB

With the Seahawks struggling for a second straight season defending the pass, drafting a defensive back early could be a consideration.

Most draft experts consider Tennessee’s Eric Berry the best safety available. He’s been compared to talented Baltimore Ravens’ safety Ed Reed thanks to his ability to make plays in the back end of the defense.

Although unlikely, Berry could slip to Seattle at No. 6. His goal is to be the first player picked, despite teams’ preference to select a safety later in the draft. League scouts believe history shows you can get a high-quality safety later.

“I really do feel that I’m supposed to be up there with those guys,” Berry said about the No. 1 overall selection. “I don’t think something like a position should keep you from (being) up there.”

A cornerback to keep an eye on is Boise State defensive back Kyle Wilson. At 5-foot-10, 194 pounds, Wilson is considered one of the top cover corners in the draft. He improved his stock by playing well at the Senior Bowl last month, and would give Seattle another quality athlete to match with the bevy of talented receivers in the NFC West.

Wilson said the Seahawks are one of the teams he interviewed with this week. Wilson also brings an added dimension; he returned punts and kickoffs in college.

“My biggest strength is my playmaking ability,” Wilson said. “I cover, I hit, I can do it all.”

Mays glad he returned for his senior season

USC product and O'Dea High grad Taylor Mays talked to the media. Considered one of the top defensive back prospects last year because of his freakish athleticism, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound safety says he doesn't regret returning to college for his senior season.

"I came back to become a better football player, and I feel like I did that, come back to help some of the young guys on the team learn like older guys before helped me," he said. "That was important to me. I feel like regardless of what our record is, or how I played the season, that's what I accomplished."

Mays plays physical. However, questions about his playmaking ability caused him to dip in the draft. But his former coach, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, believes Mays could be an impact player in the NFL.

"He's really an all-around great person," Carroll said. "He's a terrific competitor. Everything that you would want, you get. He studies the game to improve his craft. He's really very mature in that regard."

Quotable

"When I'm on the football field, I'm a football player. I'm tough, I'm physical, I'm aggressive and I like contact. I want to do some violent things on the field. That's the total opposite of how you need to be as a neurosurgeon."

- Former Florida State safety Myron Rolle, who plans to be a neurosurgeon after retiring.

Eric D. Williams, staff writer