Utah’s Sataoa Laumea is taking his talents to the NFL.

He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday during the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft with the 179th overall selection.

Laumea, a California native, spent five seasons with the Utes, starting 44 consecutive games at either right guard (19) or right tackle (25).

He’s expected to play guard in the NFL.

During a pre-draft interview with the Deseret News, Laumea credited the Utah football program with putting him in a position to make his career dreams come true.

“Utah made me, man. I feel like a lot of my strengths are because I came here. I love the culture, I love their brand of football and I feel like that helped develop me, too,” he said.

Laumea earned All-Pac-12 honors in each of the past four seasons.

What experts said about the draft selection

“One of my favorite mashers in this class. College OT but will play guard at the next level,” said CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso, who gave the selection an A+ grade. “Short-area quicks with good length and once he locks on, it’s over. Nice lateral quicks, will be useful inside. Has enough burst to get across the face of DTs on reach blocks. Awesomely balanced, too. Starter.”

“Laumea has played right tackle and right guard and is a quality run blocker with nice athletic traits — although, he has subpar length,” said NFL.com’s Eric Edholm. “A full-time move inside might be in the cards to protect him vs. quality pass rushers.”

Scouting report on Sataoa Laumea

“Laumea is at his best leveraging gaps in the run game, although movement pattern flaws as a pass blocker requires NFL coaching before he sees the field at the next level. He has the versatile experience to play tackle in a pinch but has a guard skill set with down-the-road starting potential,” said The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

“Laumea is a very competent drive blocker and possesses adequate agility and athleticism to get to lateral landmarks on the move. He can get from block to block as a climber and is generally conscientious of his footwork to bolster his success on positional blocks,” said NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. “His habit of over-setting and opening inside tracks to the pocket is a concern … (but) Laumea fits all run schemes and has future starting potential at guard.”

“He is quick, changes directions smoothly, times his punch well in pass protection and mirrors nicely. Laumea is big and strong enough to anchor. He’s a positional run-blocker with the frame to cover up defenders. He shows great awareness locating assignments climbing to the second level and he has the traits to succeed in a zone-heavy scheme,” said ESPN’s Steve Muench.

Sataoa Laumea draft profile

• Position: Guard.
• College: Utah.
• Height: 6-foot-4.
• Weight: 319 pounds.
• Age: 23.
• College stats: Started 44 games for Utah over four seasons, playing a mix of right guard and right tackle.

Sataoa Laumea’s ranking at guard in 2024 draft class