Go ahead and play press coverage against the Seahawks receivers

The empty void of the summer has arrived for NFL fans, so the time for dreams of an underdog season for the Seattle Seahawks will continue to grow as training camp approaches. With longtime captains and 2012 draftmates Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner off to new homes with new franchises, there are certainly a lot of questions regarding the Seattle roster and how 2022 will play out.

However, one place where there are not a lot of questions for the Hawks is at the top of the depth chart for wide receivers, where Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf should once again form a formidable duo. In the three seasons the duo has played together they have combined for 417 receptions, 6,456 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns as defenses have had trouble slowing them down.

Opponents have tried different things to slow down the pair, however, most of those attempts have fallen flat. In particular, opponents have not been able to slow down Lockett and Metcalf using press coverage, as both of them post well above average yards per route run when facing press coverage.

One of the most interesting takeaways from this chart, beyond how absolutely phenomenal Tyler Lockett is, is how much above average college teammates Metcalf and A.J. Brown are, though perhaps this should not come as a surprise.

Both selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, it makes one daydream about what could have possibly been had the Seahawks opted to select both of Brown and Metcalf, rather than using their first two picks on L.J. Collier and Marquise Blair. While that thought is rough for Seahawks fans who have watched Collier and Blair struggle to make an impact for a variety of reasons, what may be even rougher is Arizona Cardinals fans (Author’s Note: I’m assuming those actually exist) who can think back to the time when their team drafted Andy Isabella two picks before the Seahawks drafted Metcalf and four picks before the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Diontae Johnson.