KIRKLAND, Wash. - Moments after they allowed unhappy Darrell Jackson to flee to San Francisco, the Seahawks welcomed a rookie who has fled a far more daunting circumstance: civil war in Liberia.

Seattle got a fourth-round draft pick from the 49ers on Sunday in exchange for Jackson, and they used it to select Mansfield Wrotto -- a 6-foot-3, 310-pound guard who escaped his native country as a 6-year-old in 1991 with his parents.

Back-to-back civil wars from 1989-2003 killed more than 200,000. One of deadliest conflicts in Africa also displaced more than 1.5 million Liberians from their homes.

"We basically fled," Wrotto said by telephone Sunday from Atlanta, near his college home at Georgia Tech. "My parents ... they made plans to export my family out of there, and thank God that we did. It actually got worse and worse throughout the years."

Wrotto and his family escaped to Sierra Leone -- but couldn't stay long because that country was beginning its own civil war that year. The Wrottos moved to London for a time before finally reaching the United States to stay with extended family in New Jersey. Eventually, Mansfield and his parents settled in Atlanta, where his father is a real estate agent and his mother is a nurse.

But he still thinks often of Liberia, where Wrotto said conditions have improved with the aid of the United Nations. His maternal grandmother is still living there, running a church.

"Hopefully, maybe in the future I can have the opportunity to go back and see it," he said.

He can now do so as an NFL player, thanks to the Seahawks' need for a guard.

"He is a massive man," said Ruston Webster, the Seahawks vice president for player personnel.

Wrotto was a defensive tackle for three seasons at Georgia Tech, before moving to tackle in 2006. The Seahawks see him as having the footwork better suited to be guard -- but not right away.

Chris Gray, the 36-year-old starter recently re-signed, is currently at right guard. Rob Sims, a 2006 draft choice, and oft-injured veteran Floyd Womack will compete opposite Gray.

"This is the perfect situation for him," general manager Tim Ruskell said. "He has a year to develop."

The same is true for the final player Seattle took Sunday, Steve Vallos. The Seahawks took the 6-foot-2, 307-pound guard from Wake Forest with the 232nd overall pick in the seventh round.

Seattle's most intriguing choice was sixth-round pick Jordan Kent, son of Oregon basketball coach Ernie Kent. The raw wide receiver didn't begin playing football until 2005, when he walked onto the Ducks' team.

"Here I am just 20 months into a learning experience and picking it up," Kent said from his family's home. "And now being drafted by Seattle? It's like a dream come true."

Kent has already caught the fancy of Seahawks' offensive coordinator Gil Haskell.

"My favorite pick is Jordan Kent, because he's different. He's 6-5 and FAST," Haskell said.

But the one Sunday pick most likely to play immediately is defensive end Baraka Atkins, selected 120th overall, in the fourth round. The 6-4, 271-pound pass rusher from Miami impressed the Seahawks with his speed. He becomes part of a defensive end rotation with veterans Bryce Fisher and recently acquired free agent Patrick Kerney, plus '06 pick Darryl Tapp.

"He'll be a factor, I think, right away," Seahawks defensive coordinator John Marshall said.

Atkins should be able to figure out the NFL right away. Like cornerback Kelly Jennings, last year's first-round pick who is also from Miami, Atkins has two business degrees. One is in marketing, the other management.

In Saturday's third round, the Seahawks chose another defensive lineman, run-stopping defensive tackle Brandon Mebane from California.

In the fifth round, Seattle selected Will Herring, an outside linebacker from Auburn who was an All-SEC safety until he switched positions for his senior season. When Marshall got Herring on the phone and asked him if he could hit, Herring told his new coach, "Yeah, I can hit coach. Didn't you look at the film?"

When Marshall asked him if he was motivated, Herring excitedly answered, "I don't ever sleep! I don't ever sleep!"

With its other pick in the sixth round, the Seahawks added wide receiver Courtney Taylor. He's the third Auburn player Seattle has drafted in the last 12 months.

The Seahawks' first pick on Saturday was defensive back and kick returner Josh Wilson from Maryland.