An early look at Seahawks fantasy football relevance

It’s never too early to start thinking about a new season of fantasy football, especially when it involves some of the Seahawks.

For the Seahawks, there was plenty of value to be found from a fantasy perspective last year. Russel Wilson finished as the QB9, Chris Carson as the RB14, and Tyler Lockett as the WR11, all in standard scoring. Looking ahead, what should we expect from the 2019 campaign?

Quarterback: Russell Wilson

It goes without saying that Wilson is one of the premier Quarterbacks in the NFL, but I’m going to say it anyways – Russell Wilson is one of the premier Quarterbacks in the NFL, and he just got paid like it with his record-breaking contract. That said, even with him finishing as the QB9 in standard scoring last year, I’m not in love with what will likely be a steep draft-day price tag. His point total was hugely inflated by an unsustainable TD rate. According to Fantasypros.com, Wilson attempted only the 20th most passes, had the 20th most passes completed, only the 18th most passing yards in the league, and yet finished tied for 3rd-most TD passes with 35 of them.

Running Back: Rashaad Penny, Chris Carson

Seattle, as a team, led the league in rushing yards last season to the tune of 2560 yards and 4.8 YPA. While they led the league in yards, they were middle of the pack in rushing scores with 15. (See above – the passing TD’s far outweighed the rushing scores, which I expect to be much more balanced this year.) Chris Carson was certainly the featured back, with 247 carries to Rashaad Penny’s sample size of only 85 carries. While Penny saw a small workload, he was a first round draft pick last year, which can’t be ignored. You don’t spend a first round pick on someone and not believe that they have the talent to win the starting job, but if last year’s production remains in tact for Carson, I think it’s safe to expect him to remain atop the depth chart. If I’m choosing between the two, it’s Carson by a long shot, and I could easily imagine him topping his own stats last year. 1,200 yards and 10+ TDs feels reasonable. Penny is nothing more than a talented handcuff at this point.

Wide Receiver: Doug Baldwin (?), Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf 

TheSeahawks’ wide receiver position, which has been anchored by Doug Baldwin since he entered the league in 2011, may look very different this year. As of now, rumors are swirling about Doug Baldwin potentially retiring.

If we are to believe these heartbreaking rumors, then the top top dogs in the wide receiver room are clearly Tyler Lockett and newly drafted DK Metcalf, who made quite the impression in this week’s rookie mini camp. Baldwin’s departure would open the door for a lot of targets; he averaged 109.75 targets per season from 2014-2017, his last fully healthy season. Even last year, a season where he was not at full strength, he still saw 73 targets, according to pro-football-reference.com. Lockett should see an uptick from an already good season, and Metcalf could fill an immediately large role in this offense. Metcalf, who is a physical freak of nature, is going to be interesting to watch for the Seahawks. It’s early yet, but it’s possible he takes over the role of primary target for Wilson by season’s end – or sooner.

Tight End: Will Dissly, Nick Vannett, Ed Dickson 

Will Dissley looked fantastic in the early going last season, before going down to injury. He’s big, he’s quick, he has great hands, and has the ability to create space, especially on the seams. In his four games last year, he had 156 receiving yards and 4 TDs. That’s pretty solid. At a fantasy position that is just an absolute nightmare of a landscape, he seems to have the potential to put up decent numbers. 800 yards and 8 TDs feels like a realistic campaign. Vannett does not seem to be relevant from a fantasy perspective, and Dickson, who will be 32-years-old before the season starts and currently has the largest contract in the TE room, could be a preseason cap casualty.

To summarize, I don’t believe that anyone on the Seahawks roster will turn out to be top-10 at their position in 2019, but there should be plenty of mid-round value. Wilson has the best shot at reaching top-10 status, but in a run-first offense with an unsustainable TD rate, I have my doubts.