Marcell Frazier missed out on becoming the sixth Mizzou defensive linemen drafted in the last six years, but the benefit of not going late in the draft is that you end up with a little more choice in where you end up. Frazier chose Seattle.

Frazier erupted late in both his junior and senior seasons and packs quite a bit of strength and explosion potential into a lean frame.

His stats:

• 2017: 32.0 tackles, 15.5 TFLs (7 sacks), 5 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
• 2016: 26.0 tackles, 8.5 TFLs (7.5 sacks), 2 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
• 2015: 14.0 tackles, 6 TFLs (2 sacks), 1 forced fumble

Through some combination of nagging injury and other factors, Frazier wasn’t a particularly fast starter in his Mizzou career. In his two years as a starter, Frazier produced these month-to-month stats:

• September: 8 games, 14.0 tackles, 3.5 TFLs (2.5 sacks)
• October: 8 games, 16.0 tackles, 3 TFLs (2 sacks)
• November: 9 games, 28.0 tackles, 18 TFLs (10 sacks)

November Marcell was an All-American caliber player. It’s now up to the Seahawks (and Frazier himself, obviously) to figure out how to tap into November Marcell for more than one month. Staying healthy is a big piece of that.

Frazier wasn’t blessed with quite as much natural athleticism as other recent #DLineZou products, like Markus Golden or Charles Harris. But he also rarely makes a false step. One he draws a bead on you, he brings you down — he doesn’t overpursue.

He also improved dramatically against the run. Almost every disruptive play he made in 2016 — 7.5 of his 8.5 tackles for loss — came in pass-rushing situations. But in 2017, while nearly matching his sack total, he also took part in 14 run stuffs and made 8.5 non-sack tackles for loss. He diversified his skill set pretty well as a senior, which suggests he’s still moving toward his ceiling and isn’t a finished product just yet.

His back story is worth hearing.

Frazier didn’t qualify academically out of high school after signing with Nevada-Las Vegas and attended two junior colleges before arriving at Missouri. Then he had to earn playing time at the spot where the program has produced more millionaires than any other position.

Frazier came to Mizzou from College of the Siskiyous in Weed, Calif., a detour after an initial stop at Iowa Western Junior College. Finally, in 2015 he showed up at Missouri, recruited to chase quarterbacks and replace departed stars Shane Ray and Markus Golden. [...]

As a senior last fall, Frazier overcame a broken arm suffered during spring practices and played most of the season with a torn quadriceps muscle — and still led the SEC with 15.5 tackles for loss.

Frazier found his way to an SEC school through the back roads and indeed led the SEC in TFLs. Now he ends up close to his old Oregon home base. If he has landed in the right opportunity and gets a chance to develop further, he could become a steal.

Other Mizzou UDFAs

Anthony Sherrils: Detroit Lions

Jason Reese: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tyler Howell: New York Giants

A.J. Logan: Washington (maybe)

Adam Ploudre: Oakland Raiders (maybe)