Seattle Seahawks: Where would Dez Bryant fit in on team?

Former Pro Bowl wide receiver Dez Bryant is still a free agent. If he joined the Seattle Seahawks, how would he fit in on the team?

Speaking bluntly, Dez Bryant doesn’t really have a place waiting for him on the Seattle Seahawks. The team made that clear when they signed Brandon Marshall. Marshall, at 6-5, 232 pounds, fills the role of the big bodied, red zone threat. That’s the role that Bryant would presumably take if he joined the team.

Of course, Bryant offers much more at this point in his career than Marshall does. So if the former Dallas Cowboys receiver joined the team, he would take a lot of plays and snaps away from Marshall. That could happen, but it would make signing Marshall pointless for the Seahawks and could lead to more controversy inside the team’s locker room. At this point that’s the last thing head coach Pete Carroll wants.

At his current level, Bryant is a second string wide receiver, but the Seahawks have been pushing Tyler Lockett to fill that role. So far I think Lockett has done a subpar job and the addition of Bryant would fill the job and send a message to the former Pro Bowl return man.

But for now the Seahawks seem content with Lockett as the number two, at least for one more season. And there’s no way Bryant signs on as a third string receiver. He won’t sign with a team that gives him that small of a role and that small of a contract. After all, the Seahawks won’t spend much for a third string receiver.

Who knows if he’d even be willing to accept a second stringers salary and role. The Seahawks won’t pay him like Doug Baldwin and he won’t be replacing the Seahawks’ Pro Bowler either. So if he hasn’t accepted himself as a second string player, then he definitely won’t be going to Seattle. Bryant also has a history of dramatic and sometimes distractive behavior, which the rebuilding Seahawks won’t want. The team just parted ways with several of their big personalities, such as Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett, after all.

Comparing stat lines

Just because I think they won’t get Bryant and that he doesn’t fit, doesn’t mean the Seahawks don’t need help. While signing him would displace Marshall and Lockett, based off of recent seasons Bryant is still better than both of them.

Over the last two seasons he has 1,634 receiving yards compared to Marshall’s 942 and Lockett’s 1,152. Bryant also has 14 receiving touchdowns over the last two seasons while Marshall and Lockett each only have three. In the same span Bryant has 119 receptions compared to 77 for Marshall and 86 for Lockett. When you look at those numbers, maybe the Seahawks should pursue Bryant.

To be fair, Marshall played in only five games for the New York Giants last year because of injuries, but that’s a part of him growing older. 2018 will be Bryant’s age 30 season making him significantly younger than Marshall who is 34. The former Giant is also only on a one-year deal. Essentially the Seahawks should be and are prepared for life without him. But that doesn’t open a door for Bryant, because he wants to get paid and have a role in the offense that the Seahawks aren’t prepared to offer.

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While talent wise signing Bryant would fill a need for the Seahawks by giving them a more productive second receiver than Lockett, he wants more than the team is willing to offer. His personality and vocalness is also out of line with the locker room Carroll seems to be creating. For a rebuilding team like the Seahawks, signing Bryant is an unnecessary gamble. They’ll be fine without him.