Film Breakdown: Freddie Swain Offers Seahawks Short-Term Potential, Long-Term Upside
Freddie Swain made the Seahawks final 53-man roster. The sixth-round pick may even see action at receiver against the Falcons in Week 1 of the 2020 NFL Season.
“We’re really anxious to see Freddie,” coach Pete Carroll said ahead of the encounter. “We really won’t have any hesitation playing Fred.”
It’s impressive that a day three addition has made it this far. The camp reports and press conference made it sound like Swain was struggling with a rookie learning curve that limited the playing time of John Ursua as a newbie in 2019.
On August 25, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer spoke about Swain in detail. “[He’s] having to think a little bit and we’re moving him in multiple spots so he’s playing both inside and outside, was slowed for a couple of days with a tight groin.”
Clearly Swain managed to escape the newcomer trap of "thinking too much." Asides from Schotty’s clue of inside and outside versatility, we know very little about what Swain looks like wearing Seahawks blue. However, the 22-year old’s time in Florida - where he wore a different shade (Gator blue) — gives us a strong idea of his game.
Let’s start with the immediately obvious reason for Swain making the roster: special teams. “He’s a very good punt returner,” projected general manager John Schneider following the draft. “I would say, you know, from a special teams standpoint, he’s a guy that’s gonna be in the mix right away.”
Ursua, Swain's positional rival, is currently on the practice squad with minimal special teams value. Whereas Swain? He was a four-year punt and kick returner in college. He was reliable, not turning the ball over while making sound decisions. Most exciting? He was able to eek yards out. He transitions quickly from receiver to runner. His weaving style and patience in the open field sets blocks up well. Added to that, he is able to see the open lanes. He finishes his runs with physicality and optimal pad level, falling forward. He also has enough speed to run one all the way back.
“Special teams kinda will get me just a step further on the field besides offense,” a prescient Swain predicted after being drafted. “So just come in, and catch the ball, and don’t put the ball on the ground, and get it back for the offense, so.”
“He really contributed in special teams,” Carroll said of Swain’s camp. It’s slightly odd that Seattle does not have Swain listed on the depth chart as a returner for neither punts nor kicks. That said, it is clear the rookie can be depended on with either role.
Of course, Swain is a pass catching option too. After the draft, the receiver drew some comparisons to Tyler Lockett.
Looking at this athletic profile, though, he is more similar to Golden Tate than Lockett.
I dislike comparisons for a whole host of reasons. However, there is a strong chance that Swain’s usage, especially in his rookie season, is similar to that of Tate’s main stuff in Seattle. The key will be relying upon Swain’s yards-after-catch threat.
Swain has a thick lower half. More important, he runs with no fear. The traits that compliment his return ability are present in his after the catch stuff too. Swain will maximize the available yards on plays. We know that Schottenheimer isn’t a Darrell Bevell-esque caller of bubble screens, but there are other ways - like reverses - to get Swain the ball quickly and let him read blocks before lowering his pads or dipping and slipping hits.
Swain’s straight-line explosiveness is enough for him to blaze past guys too. There is also a nasty, although linear, cut that he can make downhill and at speed, a true ankle-breaker. Crucially, he does not overrun his blocks and seams, instead waiting for the action to set up and possessing the ability to tempo his ball-carrying. This shouldn’t be confused for dancing, with Swain getting up-field quickly after the catch without hesitation.
Being a gadget-y player in Seattle’s offense is another way the Seahawks could quickly get Swain on the field in year one. Florida did this a bit and Swain executed the important stuff that won’t immediately come to mind too. For instance, he was really working to sell that he had the football on fake handoffs to him.
Swain’s college routes downfield featured positives. He looked to get on the toes of his opponents and sell the vertical route before breaking on underneath stuff. Swain tried to break his defender’s down with a stutter at the top of the route or a skip. He is also able to speed cut effectively with little wasted movement. His best move is a gorgeous, smooth dead leg cut on digs and out routes.
Swain’s understanding of defender leverage in his route stems was nice to see, with him working one way before breaking back the other. This was best-sold with a head fake to one side before the break up the other. Swain largely understood coverage concepts and how to manipulate them too.
Swain must improve a ton in the route running department though. Most of his college success came in the slot, where he rarely faced press coverage. His route tree is also basic, to the point of being incomplete in professional terms. These particular issues are not unique to Swain, instead being an example of how the college game is different to the NFL. They are still challenges to overcome though.
What is a problem is Swain's stutters and skips that he does at the top of his routes. This was by far his most attempted route running move. A number of Florida routes were “choice” in variety, naturally lending themselves to choices like a stutter and skip. Van Jefferson, Swain’s teammate who went in the second round to the Rams, made the skip work for him regularly too - so it’s obviously a heavily coached deal.
However, Swain often took way too long to get out of his break when skipping or stuttering. The consequence was the timing being completely off with his quarterback. Additionally, as 2019 progressed, defenders learned to read Swain’s moves and were tipped off to what the receiver was doing, anticipating and blanketing the route.
There was an element of defender physicality before the ball was in the air and uncalled early contact that was ignored in college but is illegal in the more stringent NFL. That said, what was most frustrating about Swain’s stutters and skips was they often weren’t necessary. It became a bad habit. I wish we had seen more of his quicker, less pronounced cuts.
Other areas that need working on include getting Swain’s weight over his front toe more with sinking - think basketball step-back - when running comebacks, hitches, etc. This will clean up the added footwork on these routes. Swain also needs to improve the selling of double moves, with more convincing body positioning and a few more seconds of the fake required.
Swain has the height and speed to be more of a downfield threat also, but in the games I saw, he was only able to threaten on short-to-intermediate targets. This is largely a projection and therefore another aspect that requires work for the NFL.
The basic job description of a receiver is to catch the football and Swain is polished in this area. Before the catch, Swain tracks the ball well and monitors his speed, slowing if required. There is no panic, just adjustment. There were some efforts to stack defenders once Swain had them in the trail position and he worked his off-hand as a wiper, sticking defensive backs in the meat grinder to keep himself clean.
Swain has a variety of techniques and choices depending on the catch type and situation. He picks well. He can catch away from his frame but also use various parts of his body to secure more difficult catches in traffic before imminent contact. Low and in front, mid and behind, high-point, or working back to the ball, Swain can do it.
One specific technical aspect which popped was Swain getting his up-field shoulder back to the quarterback on underneath passes, allowing him to naturally come back to the ball but also maximizing the available target. His hands are mighty strong at the catch point too, holding up against the swatting of defenders. Preparing for certain catch, Swain was also able to show his hands late when required.
Most receiver coaches preach an attitude of “no block, no rock.” It’s all fine and dandy having a player who can recite that mantra. What’s more impressive is a receiver who actually plays with that mindset for each and every game. Even better is when the receiver is a capable blocker too.
Swain combined effort with blocking skill to make himself an attractive proposition to Seattle, who regularly asks their receivers to be strong at the point of attack. He was scrappy, willing, and a fighter. He was sticky, won leverage, and got movement. He could do it in tight confines or wide space while using his shoulder, keeping his head out of the play.
In college, Swain was never ultra productive. His receiving totals: eight catches for 118 yards in 2016, eight catches for 96 yards in 2017, 14 catches for 265 yards in 2018, and 38 catches for 517 yards last year as a senior. Instead, Swain was a really useful player who could do a bit of everything for the Gators, setting up his teammates.
Swain’s attitude in the process was absolutely adored by Seattle. “We loved his toughness,” said Schottenheimer on August 25. “We loved the grit and the competitor that he is.”
“First and foremost, he’s a really, really tough minded individual, tons of grit, very instinctive. Has played outside, played inside... He’s just got a great attitude about him. Aaron Hineline [area scout southeast] and Alonzo Highsmith [personnel executive] and Matt Berry [director of college scouting], the guys that went into the school, really liked the person when they left the school. They were extremely fired up about him. He’s got some swag about him, he’s a smart football player, he’s a competitor...He’s one of those guys that studies his tail off. You know, as I told you before or as we talked about last night, it’s been important for us to try to acquire players that seem to be a little bit ahead of the curve from a learning standpoint in this current environment that we’re in.” John Schneider following the 2020 NFL Draft.
The 2019 full-time move to slot action really benefited Swain. Yet his 7.03 second 3-cone isn’t a pure slot in Seattle - it’s a bit of an outside Z and slot combo. Swain should be able to do this. It must also be mentioned that the Florida quarterback play was, at best, patchy. Russell Wilson, on the other hand...
“We’ve got a great quarterback, he loves to spread the ball around,” Swain accurately assessed following his selection.
In college, Jaguars 2020 undrafted free agent Josh Hammond was getting playing time over Swain. What Seattle must have loved to see is the high effort Swain played with in spite of this. Swain is an exciting day three pick when that comes together with the potential his height, weight, and speed brings.
“He’s picked it up really, really well,” was how Schottenheimer described Swain’s adaptation to playing some inside receiver and some outside receiver in Seattle.
Indeed, prior to cut downs, it became obvious that Swain was making the 53.
“Man he had a nice camp, he had a really nice camp,” praised Carroll on September 3. “Missed a couple of days in here with a little something-something, but he—all in all—he showed he’s a really smart football player,” Carroll continued “And his toughness showed up and his well-roundedness showed up... so he did a nice job, a really nice job.”
If Swain has managed to sharpen up his routes plus get open faster in camp? Then he represents a new type of inside-outside weapon for Wilson to distribute the ball to, one fans haven’t seen since Tate was on the roster back in 2013. These skills won’t be a year one fix for Swain. Encouraging as it is that Swain made the roster, the route-running skills are an area to constantly refine. From day one, though, Swain’s impact on special teams and as a gadget option brings exciting Week 1 potential.
Note: This is a free preview of our premium room. We will be launching our premium membership program soon. Stay tuned for more information.
