Seattle Seahawks: Josh Gordon can make offense near unstoppable
The Seattle Seahawks claimed Josh Gordon off of waivers and the wide receiver has the potential to make the Russell Wilson-led offense unstoppable.
Following his release from New England, the Josh Gordon sweepstakes commenced. The ultra-talented wide receiver, though he’s battled with off-field issues, seemed as if he’d be a hot commodity on waivers. But when the dust settled, it was the Seattle Seahawks that ultimately won the sweepstakes as many teams chose to pass on Gordon.
As first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Seahawks lucked out in landing Gordon as they were 28th in the waiver order. However, Gordon now comes to Seattle and joins MVP-candidate quarterback Russell Wilson and a talented offense. And the results could be something special.
With the Seattle defense looking like the most pedestrian unit we’ve seen under Pete Carroll’s watch, the Seahawks offense has picked up the slack this season. Averaging 26.7 points per game, the Seahawks have the 11th best scoring offense and rank ninth in total yards per game in the NFL through eight weeks.
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Wilson has been a huge part of that, playing the best football of his already impressive career. He’s complemented with a solid running game, headlined by Chris Carson. But the passing offense has largely relied on the duo of Tyler Lockett and rookie D.K. Metcalf to make plays with Wilson.
That has clearly worked well for them because of the skills those two possess in relation to how Seattle uses the passing attack. This team loves to get the ball downfield quick on deep passes and Lockett and Metcalf are matchup nightmares in that regard. At the same time, though, having just those two players does sometimes limit the ceiling of the offense.
Adding Gordon, in theory, could change that. First, Gordon’s prowess as a deep-ball receiver was on display in his breakout seasons with Cleveland. When you ask him to get out and go long, he’s near uncoverable with his blend of speed and size. So you’re adding an elite deep threat to a group that already has two high-end players of that same caliber in an offense that loves to throw deep.
More than that, though, Gordon adds some more nuance to what the Seahawks can do. While his route tree is not the most complete in the league, he remains a dangerous player in regards to his prowess coming across the field on slant patterns. That’s a wrinkle that a young guy like Metcalf doesn’t have in his arsenal just yet and that Lockett has worked on but is still not great at.
To be sure, Gordon was a bit lackluster and certainly inconsistent with the Patriots prior to going on IR and his eventual release. Even still, the top-end talent that he possesses seems to be a perfect fit in what the Seahawks do. On top of that, his kinship with Wilson should help him to keep his head right upon arriving in Seattle.
If that is indeed the case, we could see the Seahawks offense go from dangerous to almost impossible to contain. Gordon coming in and being even 85 percent of what he was at his peak would make Seattle one of the most versatile and explosive offensive teams in the NFL. And in a loaded NFC, that could be the type of boost this team really needs.
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Whether or not the addition of Josh Gordon is enough to put the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl conversation remains to be seen. Looking at what he does as a player, who’s on the roster in Seattle and how the Seahawks like to play, though, he should undoubtedly be a vital addition to this team that will vault them to another level that makes them more of a contender than they were before.