Seattle Seahawks: Tyler Lockett Is Ready to Shine in 2016
By Nick Ziegler
The Seattle Seahawks are in the process of having a change in their offensive philosophy, and that has led to them needing wide receivers to step up.
In 2015, the Seattle Seahawks had Russell Wilson throw the football nearly 500 times, as injuries to Marshawn Lynch hurt their once dynamic running game. Wilson was still very effective as a scrambler out of the pocket, but their traditional running game wasn’t the same without Lynch in the backfield.
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This offseason, Lynch decided to retire, and the Seahawks will continue to move into having more of a passing offense. Wilson was able to have a very good season in 2015 when the team asked him to do more on offense, as he totaled 4,024 passing yards, 34 touchdown passes, and just eight interceptions.
In recent years, the Seahawks’ wide receiver corps hasn’t been given that much credit, but they rose to the occasion when the offense made the shift to throwing the ball more. Last offseason, the Seahawks made a blockbuster trade with the New Orleans Saints for tight end Jimmy Graham. The Seahawks hoped that Graham would be their No.1 option in the passing offense, but he didn’t play all that well in Seattle before he got hurt.
Instead of Graham being the star in the passing offense, it was wide receiver Doug Baldwin who took a big leap forward. In 2015, Baldwin had a career-year, as he totaled 78 receptions, 1,069 receiving yards, and 14 receiving touchdowns. Baldwin’s success was a welcome sight for the Seahawks, but they also had two other wide receivers play well in 2015.
Jermaine Kearse was the Seahawks’ No.2 wide receiver last season, as he totaled 49 receptions, 685 receiving yards, and five receiving touchdowns. In his rookie season, Tyler Lockett had a big year for the Seahawks in 2015, and head coach Pete Carroll expects him to be a starter in 2016.
On Tyler Lockett, Carroll said "he's a starting wide receiver for us." Much more than just special teams, one of hardest working ever.
— Liz (@Liz_Mathews) June 16, 2016
Last season, Lockett totaled 51 receptions, 664 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns. After being selected in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft, Lockett has quickly proved to be another talented mid-round pick of the Seahawks. In the postseason, Lockett was able to make a few big plays for the Seahawks, as he totaled four receptions, 110 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.
With Baldwin as the clear cut No.1 wide receiver, the Seahawks have two fairly good ones behind him in Kearse and Lockett. It will be very important for the Seahawks’ offense in 2016 to continue to get a lot of production from their wide receivers, as it will be hard to predict how Graham will recover from his knee injury.
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Carroll seems to have a lot of faith in Lockett that the second-year wide receiver will be even better in 2016 as he is one of the hardest workers on the team. After the strong rookie season, Lockett will be looking to compete with Baldwin as the No.1 wide receiver on the team, as he is certainly a candidate to be a breakout player in 2016.