Seattle Seahawks – Pretty Pleased With Pass Catchers

Quarterback Russell Wilson thinks the Seattle Seahawks’ receivers are the “best looking” position so far on the 2014 team roster. Wilson said (via Seahawks.com) “Our receivers right now are as fast as it gets. You’ve got Percy Harvin, Doug Baldwin — Jermaine Kearse is extremely fast too. Then you add Paul Richardson.…” Yup, Wilson sounds pretty pleased, indeed, with his pals’ pass-catching prowess.

Should he be? Well, of course. It’s June. Every team thinks their talent at this talent-building time of year is tops. Alshon Jeffery of the Chicago Bears just proclaimed his team’s top two receivers the two best in the league. It should be noted that Jeffery is 50 percent of that particular duo, which includes Brandon Marshall. How fortunate for the Bears that they not only have the best wide receiver in the NFL but also the second best receiver in the NFL at the same time. Hats off to the Bears’ brain trust that imported and drafted the two best guys at one position. Such a shame that there is only one football per play.

Yes, it’s great to be an NFLer in June.

Earth calling

Wilson’s take on the Seahawks’ receivers seems a bit more grounded by comparison. However, it’s still a pretty bold view in light of the Seahawks’ paltry 26^th-ranked passing offense of last year. Wilson’s confidence is even more striking considering he lost last season’s top wide receiver, Golden Tate, to post-Super Bowl free agent riches. Tate was enticed to join the Detroit Lions’ aerial circus as the primary understudy to (apologies to Mr. Jeffery) the NFL’s true top wide receiver, Megatron Calvin Johnson.

Perhaps the loss of Tate is better viewed as the unfortunate but predictable price of doing Super Bowl business. Tate, though he was Seattle’s top pass catcher last year, was not supposed to be. The 2013 plan was to feature Sidney Rice and Harvin, the two expensive ex-Minnesota Vikings, as the starting wide receivers. A balky knee (Rice) and damaged hip (Harvin) scuttled those plans. Tate, Baldwin and Kearse stepped up to shoulder the load.

So let’s see: keep two, subtract one, add two back, draft a couple more. I dunno. That’s a lot. They can get six out of that congregation, right?

Reason to believe

Wilson may be on to something. Last season’s misfortune may just have laid the foundation for a more successful passing attack in the coming season. Tate is gone, but the previously little-regarded Baldwin and Kearse are unknown no longer. The 6’ 4” Rice, jettisoned due to his inflated contract and then re-signed to a more modest deal, is still in the mix as a viable big-body red zone threat — a distinct contrast to the average-to-small-sized receivers previously mentioned.

The Seahawks, with their battle-tested reliable receivers (Baldwin, Kearse), their special talents (the electrifying Harvin and Rice) and the talented newcomers (rookies Richardson and Kevin Norwood) have a pretty nice, diverse selection of skills and experience on which to build a passing game.

It’s June, so a little dreaming is OK.

Of the top six receivers, it would seem Rice may be the most likely cut if, for instance, the Seahawks elect to keep only five receivers or if any of the other holdovers make major jumps (Phil Bates, Bryan Walters, Ricardo Lockette and Arceto Clark all have spent quality time in the Seahawks’ organization). Barring a spate of injuries, the likely pass-catching line-up is the obvious six.

It’s up to these six to move the Seahawks up from 26. In June, at least, Wilson thinks they’re up to it.