Newcomer Chris Matthews could become red-zone threat for Seahawks

Matthews celebrating a touchdown, courtesy of thestar.com

When the Seahawks signed wide receiver Chris Matthews in mid-February, a lot of eyes were rolled since the name “Chris Matthews” is more synonymous with “Hardball” on MSNBC than the NFL.

But after taking another look at the signing, it might be more significant than people once gave it credit.

When Matthews was signed, Golden Tate was expected to re-sign with the Seahawks, so Matthews wasn’t expected to be anything more than a No. 5 or No. 6 receiver — if he made the roster come training camp.

But now that Tate is gone, Matthews could use his size to make a big impact on the Seahawks next season.

At 6-foot-5, Matthews is the tallest receiver currently signed by Seattle, and he could use that to become the Seahawks new red-zone target.

Last season, Seattle only scored a touchdown on 53.23 percent of their red zone trips, 14th in the NFL, according to TeamRankings.com.

The year prior, Seattle was slightly better at 53.85 percent, but that was their best performance in the category since 2008, when they finished the season completing 50.00 percent of the red-zone trips with a touchdown.

Without doubt, the Seahawks would like to improve that number and putting Matthews on the field could do that.

He has never played in the NFL, but he played well in the Canadian Football League, catching 95 passes for 1,330 yards and eight touchdowns.

In 2012, he was the CFL Rookie of the Year and at 24-years-old, he still has a very bright future ahead of him.

The Seahawks signed him to a two-year, $940,000 contract so it is very low-risk, high-reward. And that high-reward could be more red-zone touchdowns and who wouldn’t love that?

Matthews has great hands and has the legs to jump for high passes. His signing may be one of the reasons the Seahawks don’t draft a receiver in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

And then again, maybe his presence has nothing to do with who the Seahawks draft. I just trust Pete Carroll and John Schneider at this point.