Seahawks 2021 Offseason Position Preview: Wide Receiver
There will be a plethora of changes coming the Seahawks’ way this offseason, particularly on offense. With a new offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron, plenty of holes along the roster, and not a ton of salary cap to address their needs, Seattle will need to get creative. This is perhaps most true looking at their group of receivers which, behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, has a pretty steep drop-off in quality and reliability.
Today we’ll be looking at three aspects of the Seahawks’ receiver situation as the team prepares for a fairly significant offensive overhaul this offseason.
What We Know
At the top of the depth chart, Metcalf and Lockett may arguably be the best receiving duo in the NFL right now. Both players set franchise records in 2020 with Metcalf posting 1,303 receiving yards and Lockett hauling in exactly 100 catches, respectively. Serving as the tertiary receiving option behind them was fourth-year man David Moore, a former seventh-round selection of the Seahawks who flashed at times during the season and finished with 417 yards and a career-high six touchdowns and 35 receptions. Moore is going to be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career this March, however, and it’s unclear whether the Seahawks are planning on bringing him back or not.
If Moore does leave, that would seemingly present a bigger opportunity to players like Freddie Swain and Penny Hart. Swain had a solid season by a sixth-round selection’s standards, catching 13 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. He also made an impressive catch down the sideline versus the Rams in Seattle's wild-card loss not many will remember considering the Seahawks’ fate had already been sealed by that point.
Though Moore and Swain were fine in the roles they played in 2020, it became obvious as the season moved along the Seahawks desperately needed a natural slot receiver to win in the middle of the field. Of course, Seattle had planned on free agent signings Phillip Dorsett (foot) and Josh Gordon (suspension) to be big contributors for them, but neither played a single down for the team this past season. They also reportedly tried to sign current Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown at the midway point, but likely dodged a public relations and locker room nightmare when he decided to head to Tampa Bay instead.
What We Don’t Know
If acquiring another legit receiving option is as important as I've made it sound, then how exactly are the Seahawks going to do it? Will they be able to, or will their needs elsewhere outweigh the ones they have at receiver?
As previously mentioned, the Seahawks are pretty strapped for salary cap space, so it'll be hard to address the receiver position in a significant way through free agency. They're also currently projected to have just four selections in April's draft as of now, with just one in the top 100, so opportunities to get better are limited.
Do they think Swain is capable of being more involved in their offensive game plan? Cody Thompson and Aaron Fuller, whom the Seahawks signed to future contracts this month, made some noise at training camp this past summer—could they see a considerable opportunity to make the team?
What to Expect
With Swain, Hart, Fuller, Thompson, and John Ursua all under contract, the Seahawks definitely have some interesting options to sift through toward the back-end of their roster. But this isn't just about depth; Seattle needs to raise its ceiling behind Metcalf and Lockett in some way.
While it feels like coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider will target a receiver in a draft class that's becoming more attractive as the days go on, they could allocate some of their limited funds to taking a flyer on a talented - but flawed - free agent on the cheap. Fitting that mold could be someone like Dede Westbrook who played well on his rookie deal in Jacksonville but suffered a torn ACL this past season, or former first-round selection and University of Washington star John Ross. Maybe it's as simple as bringing back Dorsett after not being able to see what he had last year. But would any of those truly move the needle enough?
Perhaps this mystery pass-catcher they need isn't a wideout at all but rather a tight end. But we'll touch more on that in the upcoming tight end preview. That's called a tease, folks.
Seahawks Offseason Position Previews
