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Is Travis Benjamin Worthwhile Reclamation Project for Seahawks?
Heading into the spring, the Seahawks are expected to add at least one more receiver to the depth chart before the start of the team's offseason program.
After signing former Panthers tight end Greg Olsen earlier this offseason, Seattle could look to add another player who recently parted ways with his former team.
On Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that speedy receiver Travis Benjamin and the Chargers were officially splitting up, making the 30-year old play maker an unrestricted free agency.
Effective immediately since he was released by Los Angeles, the eighth-year pro is eligible to sign with any team. However, he may have some trouble finding a suitor in coming weeks, especially considering the depth of this year's receiver draft class.
Since the 2018 season, Benjamin has missed a combined 15 games due to various injuries, including a quad injury that limited him to just five games before landing on injured reserve last October. As a result, the former Miami standout has seen his production rapidly decline over the last two seasons.
During that span, Benjamin played in just 17 games, making 18 receptions for 216 yards and catching one touchdown. In addition, both his average yards per catch and his average yards per target dropped more than a yard during that span.
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Despite these poor results, if healthy, the 5-foot-10 receiver could potentially be utilized as another deep threat in Seattle’s passing game for Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson.
Through five seasons from 2014 to 2018, Benjamin produced the 11th highest yards per catch average (15.14 yards) among all receivers who caught at least 100 receptions, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Furthermore, the former fourth-round selection finished in the top five in back-to-back seasons (2015 and 2016) in 40-plus yard receptions among all receivers in the league, according to NFL.com.
Even when he was entering his age-28 season, Benjamin was still one of the fastest receivers in the NFL. During the 2017 campaign, he played in all 16 regular season games and finished tied for the third most average yards of separation (3.5 yards) among all qualified receivers, according to Next-Gen-Stats.com.
Based on the metrics above, it’s clear that Benjamin’s health will likely determine the type of market that he’ll receive this offseason. Since he has a lot to prove in 2020, the Seahawks could probably acquire the speedy receiver on a one-year prove it deal this spring.
If the former Charger can stay healthy, he would likely be a perfect pairing with fellow receivers Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. With all three players on the field together, Wilson wouldn't have any shortage of options when looking to attack deep down the field and defenses would have to pick their poison.
While adding Benjamin wouldn't be a long-term solution for Seattle and drafting a receiver remains a strong possibility, exploring such a low-risk move would make sense for both parties and could benefit the Seahawks' aerial attack next season.
