Seahawks meet South Carolina State cornerback Jarod Washington at Pro Day

Seattle’s front office sent a representative to South Carolina State’s Pro Day on April 11, 2026 to meet with 6-foot-2, roughly 190-pound cornerback Jarod Washington, a prospect who paired a reported 4.42-second 40-yard dash with a measurable frame that fits Seattle’s recent outside-CB prototype. Washington also logged a team-tracking top speed of 21.33 miles per hour during East-West Shrine Bowl practices on Jan. 27, 2026 in Frisco, Texas, giving his pro-day clocking a corroborating in-game speed metric teams covet.

Washington told Seahawks Wire contributor Justin Melo that the Seahawks were one of several clubs he met with at Pro Day, alongside the New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders, and that he held Zoom discussions with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans. Those interactions arrive at a practical time for Seattle: the team’s 2026 free-agency tracker lists cornerback Riq Woolen as a departure to the Philadelphia Eagles and notes safety Coby Bryant signing with the Chicago Bears, while the Seahawks re-signed Josh Jobe, who started 15 of 16 games in 2025, leaving a clear need for outside-corner depth behind the starters.

Washington’s on-field production, while condensed, reads as explosive. ESPN’s 2025 game log shows he played five games — Sept. 6 at South Carolina, Sept. 20 at South Florida, Oct. 4 vs Savannah State, Nov. 8 vs Howard and Dec. 13 versus Prairie View A&M in the Cricket Celebration Bowl — and recorded 36 total tackles, two interceptions and 13 passes defended across that stretch. In the Dec. 13 Celebration Bowl win, a 40-38 four-overtime thriller, Washington was credited with three tackles. The MEAC named him Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 11, 2025 after a Nov. 8 win over Howard in which he had six passes defended, a 27-yard pick-six and a 56-yard touchdown return on a blocked field goal; South Carolina State later tabbed him the 2025 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year on Dec. 10, 2025.

Translate the numbers to role fit: Washington’s 6-2 length plus a verified 4.42 40 and a 21.33 mph top speed suggest press-man upside against boundary receivers and the athleticism to recover over the top in single coverage. His 13 passes defended in five games signals catch-point playmaking, not luck. The counterweight is the small sample of meaningful snaps in 2025, which raises questions about route recognition and zone-processing that Seattle will probe on tape and in interviews.

Realistically, Washington’s most viable roster path in Seattle is the developmental route the franchise has used before: special-teams snaps and sub-package outside work while coaching staffs cultivate his technique for press and off-man reps. The Pro Day meeting on April 11, plus Shrine Bowl metrics and an SCSU championship resume, puts Washington squarely on the Seahawks’ radar for a late-round pick or priority undrafted free-agent signing and increases the chance of a rookie-minicamp audition if draft weekend does not produce a selection.