Seahawks 90-Man Countdown: WR Dareke Young - Emerging Chess Piece

Showing promise in limited action as a receiver and hybrid fullback as a rookie, Dareke Young has the physical traits to develop into a valuable asset for the Seattle Seahawks on offense, but he will have to beat out new challengers in a deep receiving corps.

Author:
Corbin K. Smith
Publish date:
Jun 28, 2023 9:35 PM EDT

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Seattle Seahawks

With the calendar flipping to June and offseason activities wrapping up league-wide, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC in less than two months, officially ushering in the 2023 season.

To celebrate the new incoming season, we'll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, exploring best and worst case scenarios and what to expect from each player entering the 2023 campaign.

Dareke Young, Receiver

Height/Weight: 6-2, 224 pounds

2022 Stats: Two receptions, 24 yards

While the COVID-19 pandemic and a knee injury limited Young during his final couple of seasons at Lenoir Rhyne, a Division II program in North Carolina, the uber-athletic receiver blew away scouts with an impressive pro day workout. After bringing him in for a top-30 official visit, the Seahawks drafted him in the seventh round, making him the second player in three years from the school to be selected in the NFL draft. Even with stars such as DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett in front of him on the depth chart, he showed enough in his first training camp at receiver and on special teams to lock up a spot on the team's 53-man roster.

Though Young barely played on offense for most of his rookie season, he emerged as one of Seattle's best young special teams players, downing several punts inside the opposing 10-yard line and registering five tackles on kick coverage. As the season progressed, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron found unique ways to get him on the field, including playing a handful of snaps at fullback.

Best-Case Scenario: Making major strides after a second full offseason in Waldron's offense with sharpened route running skills, Young stars during the preseason for the Seahawks while catching a pair of touchdown passes and continuing to see action as a hybrid fullback as well as on special teams, maintaining his roster spot as a reserve split end receiver behind Metcalf.

Worst-Case Scenario: Struggling with focus drops, Young isn't able to capitalize on his opportunities in the preseason and with the arrival of Jaxon Smith-Njigba as well as a pair of talented undrafted rookies in Matt Landers and Jake Bobo, he becomes the odd man out for the final receiver spot and gets released in a surprise final roster cut.

What to Expect in 2023: Athletically, Young possesses a combination of size, quickness, and speed that few receivers can match. Having played running back early in his college career at Lenoir Rhyne, his positional versatility to play out of the backfield and prowess on special teams give him a notable advantage over other competitors vying for a roster spot in a loaded receiving corps.

But after making the difficult jump from Division II to the NFL successfully a year ago, Young will have to showcase improved route running and better efficiency with his opportunities as a receiver to ensure his spot on the team. With Smith-Njigba poised to join Metcalf and Lockett as one of the best wideout trifectas in the league and third-year receiver Dee Eskridge eager to prove himself after two injury-plagued seasons, only one or two spots may be available and while he should be viewed as a favorite to win one of those spots, worthy challengers will be gunning for his job throughout camp and the preseason.

Previous Seahawks 90-Man Profiles