It is hard to quantify what went wrong for the Seattle Seahawks. They had a strong defensive season and the offense, while not elite, wasn’t anywhere near bad. Still, a 10-7 record wasn’t enough to secure a playoff berth in a brutal NFC.
As a result, they walk into next season with more questions than answers. However, one analyst believes the first step to making that change is a complete overhaul on the offensive side of the ball. And he has two names in particular, he’d like to see replaced.
Seattle Seahawks Predicted To Remodel Wide Receiver Room
Despite a sixth-place finish in PFSN’s Defense+ rankings, the Seahawks’ offense let the team down as the 20th-ranked unit according to PFSN’s Offense+ metric. Some of that blame fell on quarterback Geno Smith, who nearly posted a 1-to-1 TD-INT ratio.
However, a bigger factor was the lack of production from their wide receiver room. While the seasons from Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf were nowhere near bad, the price tag attached to both makes it a hard bargain to support them on the roster.
As a result, Aaron Schatz of ESPN believes moving on from both is the way forward for Seattle. “Maybe it’s time to refresh the wide receiver room with some big changes.” While Lockett and Metcalf totaled 600 and 992 yards, respectively, it fell way short of the numbers from Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
In his second season with the team, he had 1,130 yards as he truly exploded into a WR1. As a result, Schatz believes the team needs to look to get younger and cut its costs. “Lockett, who will turn 33 early next season, had just 600 receiving yards and two touchdowns last season.”
A 2015 draft pick, Lockett has spent the entirety of his NFL career in Seattle, but his cost far supersedes his production. “He may be a Seahawks legend, but cutting him will save Seattle $13 million in cap space.”
According to Schatz, “The next step would be to trade Metcalf. His contract voids after the 2025 season, so see what teams like the [Buffalo] Bills and [Los Angeles] Chargers would give for him right now.” Some rumors have also indicated that he could be in line for a return with Pete Carroll in Las Vegas.
Lockett and Metcalf both have cap hits of over $30 million. Moving on from them might be the best choice for Seattle, both in the short and long term.
With the ample cap space emerging from both moves and some draft compensation from the Metcalf trade, it would pave the opportunity for the Seahawks to rebuild on the fly and give themselves a fighting chance next season.
“Then use those acquired draft picks to add a couple of young receivers who can flourish alongside Smith-Njigba.”