Team Previews - Seattle Seahawks
Projected Starting Lineup
QB: Russell Wilson RB: Rashaad Penny WR: Doug Baldwin WR: Tyler Lockett WR: Brandon Marshall TE: Ed Dickson
LT: Duane Brown LG: Ethan Pocic C: Justin Britt RG: D.J. Fluker RT: Germain Ifedi
Seahawks 2014-2017 Offensive Profile 2014-2017 Pass Attempts Rank: 32nd, 28th, 18th, 16th 2014-2017 Rush Attempts Rank: 2nd, 3rd, 20th, 21st 2014-2017 Play Volume Rank: 14th, 16th, 19th, 17th 2014-2017 Yards Per Play Rank: 6th, 5th, 12th, 17th Unaccounted for Air Yards from 2017 (Rank): 2,098 (6th) Unaccounted for Carries from 2017 (Rank): 127 (15th) Quarterback- Russell Wilson enters his seventh season after leading the league in touchdown passes (34). The offense was a one man show, as Wilson was needed to do anything and everything for the Seahawks to move the football. Wilson accounted for 37 of the 38 touchdowns that the Seahawks offense scored, which is an absolute mind-boggling statistic. Unfortunately for him, he will have to be a magician all over again in 2018, as this Seahawks team has seen a lot of talented players depart from it's roster. Wilson has finished as a top-three fantasy quarterback in three of the last four years and will need to do so again if the Seahawks want to make the post-seeason. This is the type of quarterback that you're looking for in fantasy football, as he has the highest floor and ceiling of any quarterback in the league not named Aaron Rodgers. He will need to use his legs once again as Doug Baldwin hasn't practiced all camp, while also losing Jimmy Graham, Paul Richardson via free agency. The good news is that they drafted Rashaad Penny who looks to take some of the load off of Wilsons shoulders in the run game. If Baldwin can get healthy and Tyler Lockett can emerge as the playmaker that I think he can be, Wilson should be in for another monster fantasy season.
Wide Receiver-
One of the most consistent playmakers on the outside, Doug Baldwin enters 2018 with three straight top-15 fantasy receiver finishes. With the loss of Graham, Baldwin should add to his TD totals, as Graham was targeted 37 times in the red-zone. The last time Baldwin wasn't sharing targets with Graham, it was in 2015 when Graham missed the final seven games including the playoffs. During that span Baldwin caught 41 of 58 targets for 509 yards and 9 touchdowns! While Baldwin does go against some very good corners this season, he avoids them as he lines up in the slot on over 70% of his routes. If he shows up at the end of camp healthy and his knee is not an issue this season, he will be an absolute steal in the 3rd round of your drafts.
One of my favorite selections a few years ago, Tyler Lockett finally gets the opportunity to officially breakout this season. Averaging 68 catches a season in his first three years, he will see that number rise with over 100 targets coming his way. If Lockett can stay healthy, he should achieve career highs in catches, yards and touchdowns this season. With his current ADP of 161 you're stealing value anywhere towards the end of your draft, oh and it's also a contract year.
The third receiver spot is up for grabs, as Brandon Marshall looks to grab a roster spot in what could be his last season in the NFL. I do not have any interest in him, Amara Darboh, or Jaron Brown as none will provide enough consistency to make them fantasy football relevant. Tight End-
With the departure of Jimmy Graham and Luke Wilson, the Seahawks will be relying upon Ed Dickson and Nick Vannett to handle the tight end duties this season. Dickson is coming off of a productive year in which he filled in for the injured Greg Olsen catching 30 balls for 437 yards with most of that coming in the games he started when Olsen was out. Vannett has not had much of an impact in the passing game having caught 15 balls in his first two years in the league. With 100 targets vacated by Jimmy Graham, Dickson should get involved in the passing game but it probably won't be enough to be more than a TE2 this season. Running Back- If you wanted to see a philosophy change on offense in Seattle you got your wish. The Seahawks hired one of the more run-happy offensive coordinators in the NFL. Schottenheimer is much like his father, hammer the football on the ground and let your defense keep you in ball games. Frankly, I am not a fan of the hire as I think this does not match his excellent quarterbacks skill-set. The Seahawks clearly want to improve the run game, as they drafted Rashaad Penny with the 27th pick in the draft. Unfortunately Penny broke his finger and had surgery yesterday taking away valuable reps in pass protection, something that he did not excel at in college. One of the most electric players in college football, albeit against very poor defensive talent, Penny rushed for 2,248 yards on 289 carries (7.8 Avg) and 23 touchdowns as a Senior. With such a high draft pick being used on Penny, it will only be a matter of time before he unseats Chris Carson as the starter this fall. With the Penny injury, I now have him behind Barkley, Freeman, Johnson in this deep rookie running back class.
One player that I am pulling for this year will be Chris Carson. He had a nasty broken leg at the end of a game running out the clock. He is a big powerful runner at (6'0/220) and someone I was excited for to carry the load this season before the selection of Penny. So far through camp he has outplayed the rookie and still listed as the starter. If Carson continues to sit there late in drafts, he is someone I am going to grab.
With Penny out, Mike Davis looks to be backing up Carson who played well filling in last season when called upon. I would not expect him to factor in much unless there was an injury to Carson or Penny during the season. 2018 Vegas Win Total The Seahawks’ Win Total opened at 8. The Seahawks have won 9 or more games in six straight seasons. The Seahawks unloaded a lot of talent in the off-season with the departures of Kam Chancellor (Retirement), Jimmy Graham, Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Sheldon Richardson, Paul Richardson and also are still awaiting for All-Pro Earl Thomas to report to camp. There is now more pressure on ever for Wilson to carry this team. They will have to play the improving AFC West, and very deep NFC North which makes the climb to nine wins very difficult. With all of the off-season turnover and addition of Brian Schottenheimer, I do not see the Seahawks winning 9 games.
