Sitting Pat at Receiver, Seahawks Bestow Vote of Confidence to Freddie Swain
One week into a new league year, the Seahawks have made a plethora of moves to fill critical positions of need through free agency signings and trades. Most notably, they acquired guard Gabe Jackson from the Raiders and reunited pass-catching tight end Gerald Everett with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who coached him each of the past four seasons with the Rams.
But while Everett's athletic presence should give Seattle's passing game a boost, one area the team has yet to address thus far this offseason has been adding depth at receiver. Despite a saturated market chocked full of talented veterans and intriguing young players, no new wideouts have been signed to help replace David Moore and add firepower alongside stars DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
Given the Seahawks current salary cap dilemma and the dwindling number of quality receivers available to sign, it seems unlikely the organization will add anyone significant before April's draft. Even if they address the position then, there's no guarantee a receiver selected in later rounds would be able to jump right in and contribute.
This puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the receivers behind Metcalf and Lockett to step up following Moore's departure for Carolina. But it also creates an outstanding opportunity for several young players on the roster.
Most notably, Freddie Swain could be in line for an expanded role after getting his feet wet playing in all 16 regular season games as a rookie.
Selected in the sixth round out of Florida, Swain impressed early in his first NFL training camp as a receiver and kick returner, drawing rave reviews from coach Pete Carroll and then-offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. When camp ended in early September, he beat out John Ursua, Penny Hart, Cody Thompson, and Aaron Fuller for a spot on Seattle's initial 53-man roster.
During the first few weeks of the season, Swain unexpectedly came through with several clutch plays on offense and special teams. In a season opening win over the Falcons, he recovered a fumble on a botched fake punt. The next week against the Patriots, he came wide open against a broken coverage on a crossing route and quarterback Russell Wilson hit him in stride as he raced 21 yards for his first NFL touchdown.
Through the first five games, while playing only 110 offensive snaps, Swain reeled in seven out of eight targets for 97 yards and a touchdown. On that pace, he would have produced 22 receptions for 310 yards and three touchdowns in a 16-game season, which would have been very respectable numbers for a No. 4 receiver as a rookie.
As the season progressed, however, Swain wasn't quite as much of a factor in the passing game. With the rest of the offense stagnant in the second half and struggling to put points on the board, he caught just six passes for 62 yards and a touchdown over the final 11 games and had four games without a single target on offense. He did see a bit of action in the return game, returning six kicks for 137 yards.
Reflecting on his rookie season as a whole, there's a lot to be optimistic about regarding Swain's future in Seattle. Wilson posted a 129.1 passer rating when targeting him last season and the youngster proved reliable when given opportunities to make a play, recording zero drops and catching 14 out of 20 targets in 17 total games.
Albeit with a very limited sample size, Swain also was one of the team's better playmakers with the football in his hands, averaging 7.8 yards after the catch per reception. Among receivers with at least 15 targets, he ranked fourth on Pro Football Focus, a welcome development for a team that finished 19th in that category in 2020.
When considering Swain's skill set, he could mesh well with Waldron's scheme, which will likely be predicated more on the quick, short-to-intermediate passing game. He possesses 4.46 speed at 6-foot, 197 pounds, he has the flexibility to run routes out of the slot and from the outside, he boasts a quick accelerator on screens, and as the aforementioned numbers indicate, his elusiveness with the ball in his hands allows him to manufacture yardage after the catch.
It's also worth noting that Swain could be utilized as a component of Seattle's run game as well. While he didn't have any carries as a rookie, if Waldron's offense functions at all like the one his apprentice Sean McVay deploys, there will be more fly motion and direct handoffs to receivers. His speed, quickness, and ability to make defenders miss in space would make him an ideal option for those type of plays.
For these reasons, the Seahawks may not deem it necessary to spend limited cap space on another veteran receiver, especially after signing Everett to a one-year deal. Though time will tell how the team approaches the draft, they also may not feel inclined to use one of their earlier picks on a wideout given other positions of need on the roster.
Instead, after seeing glimpses of his capabilities as a rookie while learning on the fly in an unprecedented season, the coaching staff may be ready to cut Swain loose in an offense that should accentuate his strengths quite well.
