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Final Seahawks grades for defense and special teams in 2018

By Lee Vowell

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 10: Jarran Reed #90 and Bobby Wagner #54 of the Seattle Seahawks get the crowd going in the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at CenturyLink Field on December 10, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 10: Jarran Reed #90 and Bobby Wagner #54 of the Seattle Seahawks get the crowd going in the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at CenturyLink Field on December 10, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Special teams

Kicker – Sebastian Janikowski

Janikowski was better than Blair Walsh was in 2017. And to be honest, Janikowski was not bad for most of the season. The issue was that he began to break down physically. One could even tell that prior to his being injured against the Cowboys. Janikowski was 22 for 27 for field goals which was a better percentage than in most of his career. Plus, he had a long of 56 yards. Janikowski wasn’t bad. He’s just old. And Seattle needs a younger kicker.

Grade: B

Punter – Michael Dickson

Dickson was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 draft to be a defensive weapon and that he was. Dickson was First-Team All-Pro in his rookie season. He is going to be good for a long time.

One issue that popped up was late in the season when the rush to block his kicks seemed to bother him. In the final regular season game against the Cardinals he had a punt completely blocked and another altered. After those punts in the Arizona game, he outkicked his coverage several times. That might be something to keep an eye on in the future.

Otherwise, Dickson’s start to his career included a fake punt that ended up him running for a first down. He also led the NFL in net-yards-per-punt for most of the season.

Grade: A

Returns

Tyler Lockett was limited in his returns this season. Due the new NFL kickoff rule that meant a lot of kickoffs go into the end zone, kick returners don’t get a chance to do much. And a couple of times Lockett tried to do too much since he is such a dangerous weapon. Lockett was only able to return 19 kicks with a long of 84 yards.

Next. Four Seahawks may not return in 2019. dark

Lockett was even more limited in punt returns as he returned a career-low 25 for a paltry average of 5.7 yards per return. Maybe he will make a bigger difference next season.

Grade: C

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