Don’t be surprised if the Seahawks add a speedy wide receiver before training camp

The Seahawks have talent at wide receiver, but at the moment DK Metcalf is the only deep threat defenses need to respect.

On Monday, the Seattle Seahawks broke up the summer doldrums of the offseason with a series of rosters moves, which gave fans something resembling actual football to discuss while awaiting the start of training camp.

The moves themselves were unremarkable, with the team waiving a trio of undrafted free agents and adding a former undrafted free agent running back who had most recently played in the UFL. However, the result of these moves leaves Seattle with a pair of open roster spots with roughly three weeks until rookies report to training camp in the middle of July.

With that in mind, and with the recent 53-man roster projection from Field Gulls own Managing Editor Mookie Alexander, there is a glaring hole at wide receiver that the team could address between now and training camp. That is not to say that the Seahawks don’t have talent at the position, they most certainly do. However, within a wide receiver room there are specific roles that complement one another, and right now the ‘Hawks are lacking a speedy deep threat.

The Hawks are loaded with shifty receivers able to create separation and get open in Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jake Bobo, but in order for space to exist for those receivers to get open in the secondary, someone needs to drag the safeties deep. Yes, DK Metcalf can do that, but Metcalf has evolved as a route runner and a receiver, and a big part of his success as a receiver in recent seasons has come as a result of the mismatches his size and speed create with the ball in his hand in that very same underneath area he so often helps produce for other receivers.

Now, it’s certainly possible that the Hawks new coaching staff doesn’t mind using Metcalf as a $24M per year decoy, but that seems rather inefficient. That leaves the coaching staff looking at the other potential option, and the reality is none truly jump right out in their ability to threaten a defense deep. Sure, Dareke Young and Dee Eskridge are speedy, but in five combined seasons in the NFL the pair has just 19 receptions for 146 yards between them, meaning they’re not much of a threat. Meanwhile, Bobo is a threat, but he’s neither speedy nor a deep threat, with 17 of his 25 targets in 2023 coming less then ten yards downfield.

Continuing on down the list, Hayden Hatten ran a 4.70, Shenault clocked in at 4.58, Cody White ran the 40 at a 4.66 clip and Dee Williams used his 4.56 speed to amass a total of two college receptions. Of the receiving depth on the roster, on Easop Winston would be considered speedy, having run a 4.42 at his Pro Day, but entering his fifth NFL season at age 27 and with 16 NFL snaps of experience to his name, seems an unlikely candidate for a breakout season.

In short, the Seahawks have a good amount of talent at receiver, but they don’t have that David Moore or Jaron Brown type who is good enough that the safeties have to respect the threat they pose on a go route. That could easily help explain their interest in seeing what Robbie Chosen has left in the tank, and means it shouldn’t be a surprise if the team adds another speedy deep threat between now and the start of camp.