The Seattle Seahawks have had periods of their history where they were run-heavy but Seattle has also produced some excellent receivers such as these 15.
When Seattle started out as a franchise in 1976, they were like any other team in any sport just beginning: They were lousy. Still, they built enough talent that they would get competitive fairly quickly and by the early 1980s, they were in the playoffs. But one of the first players they had was a fantastic receiver and would make the Hall of Fame. No surprise, he is on this list.
There are also several receivers that follow that were part of the early 2000s when Seattle had likely its best offense in franchise history. Seattle reached its first Super Bowl in 2005 and mostly because its offense, led by quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and running back Shaun Alexander, were fantastic.
Who are the 15 best wide receivers in Seattle Seahawks history?
Even though Seattle had its greatest decade of success in the 2010s and a lot of the reason was because of its defense, the offense still did its part. There are a few receivers from that decade on this list as well.
Seattle has been a team since 1976 that has had a bunch of really good running backs leading the offense, some OK quarterbacks (two were really good, though!), and several good wideouts. One receiver is pretty special, however, not only for Seattle but in NFL history overall.
So who are the best wide receivers in Seahawks lore? The 15 that follow might be it.
15. Jermaine Kearse
Jermaine Kearse is an enigma wrapped in a riddle and…Oh, well you know the rest. Plus, Kearse isn’t on this list because he was uber-talented or put up incredible numbers. He was solid but not great. Still, it was what Kearse did in big moments that sets him apart from most other receivers in Seattle history.
Kearse currently ranks 16th in Seahawks history in receiving yards (2,109), 27th in catches (153) and 26th in touchdown catches (11). But these are all regular season numbers. In the playoffs, Kearse was really good.
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Heck, even in the NFC Championship game for the 2014 season where he basically created three interceptions for Russell Wilson, Kearse still managed to be at the end of the most important play of the game – a 35-yard touchdown pass in overtime to win the game.
In 12 postseason games for the Seahawks, Kearse had 31 catches for 493 yards and 6 touchdowns. Twice he went over 100 yards receiving. In Seattle’s Super Bowl victory over the Broncos, Kearse caught 4 of his 5 targets for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Kearse isn’t on this list because he was the best receiver in Seattle lore; He is simply one of the best postseason wide receivers the Seahawks have ever had.
14. Daryl Turner
Turner played from Seattle from 1984 through 1987 and never played again after that. He had just 101 receptions in his four years but his efficiency in those seasons was ridiculous. Not that he came close to leading the NFL in yards or catches but with what he did in that number of receptions is astonishing.
Turner had a couple of issues that likely kept him from greatness long-term but more on that in just a minute. First, let’s examine just how productive Turner was immediately after being drafted by Seattle in the second round of the 1984 draft.
In his rookie year, Turner broke the franchise record for yards-per-reception at a staggering 20.4. He only had 35 catches but 10 of them were for touchdowns. He finished third in the AP’s Rookie of the Year voting. At Michigan State, Turner was big and fast (6’3″ and a sub-4.4 40) and he seemed faster once he entered the NFL.
In year two, he caught one fewer pass but had a league-leading 13 touchdown catches. Through 32 NFL games, Turner had 23 touchdown catches on only 69 receptions. But then Turner’s issues overcame him and in the final two years of his career (even though he still had 13 touchdown catches in 32 receptions), he diminished. Turner had a drug problem and it killed his NFL career.
But it didn’t kill Turner and he currently lives in Michigan and talks to young people about addiction and he is clean and sober. And while he only played for Seattle for four years, he still ranks 6th in touchdown catches with 36.
13. Jimmy Graham
I know people won’t like Graham being on this list. Seattle’s 2015 trade of Max Unger and a first-round choice for Graham and a Saints fourth-round pick ended up being awful. Even at the time, it appeared Seattle was being greedy trying to add an offensive piece that they didn’t need to a team coming off back-to-back Super Bowl runs.
Maybe this was the first sign that Seattle was trying to remake the team in the favor of making Russell Wilson happy? The team wanted to move on from Marshawn Lynch-heavy to Wilson throwing the ball more. Possibly. Either way, it was a mistake.
But Graham shouldn’t be to blame for any of that. It isn’t like he didn’t try to be good, he was just coming from a completely different offense than the one he had in New Orleans and one ill-suited to his strengths.
Graham ended up playing three years with the Seahawks and missed only five games, all in his first year with the team. Graham still found a way to rank 17th in receiving yards (2,048) in Seattle history, 10th in touchdown catches (18) and 12th in yards receiving per game (47.6). And let’s be real, Graham was always more of a receiver than a blocking tight end anyway.
12. Golden Tate
Golden Tate seemed during his Seahawks career to be a bit divisive. He reportedly got into a fight with Percy Harvin prior to Super Bowl XLVIII (which didn’t stop Seattle from winning its first championship) and it wasn’t overly clear at the time who might have been to blame for the argument.
Of course, as we have learned since, Harvin just has a bunch of personal demons he is dealing with so Tate seems relatively blameless.
But more importantly, Tate was an increasingly more productive receiver in his four years in Seattle. He was fairly sure-handed with good enough speed to create separation from defensive backs. Tate’s yards-per-target with Seattle was 8.3. Compare that to current Seattle receiver DK Metcalf’s 8.9 and Tate isn’t far off.
Tate is currently 15th all-time on the Seahawks list of receiving yards with 2,195. He is 14th in receiving touchdowns with 15. And he is eighth in yards-per-target among receivers with 76 or more receptions.
Tate’s career took off after he left Seattle, though, when he started getting a bunch more targets. He made his only Pro Bowl in 2014 with the Detroit Lions when he had 99 catches and 1,331 yards. Tate would have two more seasons of 1,003 or more yards in a season.
11. Deion Branch
There is little difference between Tate and Branch as far as impact but Branch is one notch higher here because he had more receiving yards, the same amount of touchdowns and more catches with Seattle but in fewer games. Branch was a metronome of production with the Seahawks.
In each of his first three years with the team, he had 4 touchdowns receptions. His average yards per catch in 2006 was 13.7, 13.5 in 2007 and 13.7 in 2008. He wasn’t a Pro Bowler but he was a solid cog in a Seattle offense that was beginning to diminish from Seattle’s first Super Bowl season in 2005.
Branch is probably better remembered for the team he bookended his Seattle years with, the New England Patriots. With New England, Branch was brilliant in the playoffs with the Patriots, especially early in his career. Four times between 2003 and 2005, Branch had 116 yards receiving or more in playoff games for the Patriots. He was Super Bowl XXXIX’s MVP after catching 11 passes for 133 yards.
Back to the metronome bit, Branch played in three games for the Seahawks in the playoffs but in one he was injured and didn’t play much. In the other two, he was targeted 7 times each, had 4 catches in each game and 48 yards in each contest. Branch currently ranks 12th on Seattle lists of all-time receiving yards with 2,347.
10. Koren Robinson
The Seattle Seahawks had two first-round picks in 2001. The early 2000s drafts would set up the team for its first true championship-caliber teams. In 2000, Seattle chose Shaun Alexander in round one and in 2001 Seattle used one of its first-round choices on future Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson. Hutch went 17th overall but Seattle had an earlier pick and chose Koren Robinson at number 9.
For those who don’t remember Robinson, he was actually really good early in his career. After a 2001 rookie year where Robinson caught just 39 passes for 536 yards (it is always tough for any rookie receiver to do really well even in 2020s football), Robinson exploded in his second year.
2002 was special for Robinson. He caught 78 passes for 1,240, 5 touchdowns with an average of 15.9 yards a reception. His receiving yards in 2002 were second in Seahawks history as far as a single season goes until DK Metcalf had 1,303 yards in 2020. Robinson’s number is still third all-time for a single season for Seattle.
Robinson also holds the record for the longest reception in Seattle history (90 yards in 2008) and fourth-longest (83 yards in 2002). Overall, Robinson spent two stints with Seattle and five years. A chronic knee issue, however, ended his career when he was still on 29 years old in 2008.
9. Sam McCullum
If you don’t remember Robinson, you may not remember McCullum either. But McCullum’s leadership as well as his play is why he is on this list. McCullum played for the Seahawks from the franchise’s outset in 1976 and continued through 1981. He missed only one game in those six years.
McCullum was a bigger receiver for the time at 6’2″ and 205 pounds. He also didn’t get drafted until the 9th round and that was with the Minnesota Vikings in 1974. McCullum would never be taken in the 9th round in the NFL now because the NFL draft only goes seven. This means McCullum would basically have been an undrafted free agent in today’s game.
McCullum is currently ranked 10th all-time in Seattle history in receiving yards (3,409). I say currently because DK Metcalf is 11th at 3,170 and will likely surpass McCullum in 2022. McCullum is 9th in receiving touchdowns with 21. And McCullum is 10th in receptions with 232 (Metcalf is 12th with 216).
But McCullum’s true mark may be as a leader with the National Football League Players Association. He led a pre-game handshake in preseason games in 1982 when the players were on strike. Seattle released him because of this. McCullum sued and eventually won. McCullum also served with the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Board after retiring.
8. Joey Galloway
Galloway played 8,237 seasons in the NFL. Or so it seemed. He did play from 1995 through 2010, though. Five of those seasons – his first five years in the league – were with the Seahawks. Shockingly, Galloway never made a Pro Bowl in his career yet finished his career with 10.950 yards and had 1,000 or more yards in a season six times. Three of those six were with Seattle.
Actually, in three of Galloway’s first four years, he broke the 1,000-yard mark. He made an immediate splash and looked like he might be on his way to a Hall of Fame career after being taken 8th overall in the 1995 draft.
After leaving Seattle in 1999, however, Galloway’s career took a bit of a nose-dive until a resurgence in 2005 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Galloway then had three straight years of 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Galloway also had 10 touchdown catches in 2005.
But Galloway had two double-digit touchdown catch years in Seattle (1997 and 1998). He currently ranks fifth all-time for the Seahawks in touchdown catches (37), seventh in receiving yards (4,457) and eighth in receptions (283). But Galloway is about to get passed in most of his categories by the player who is number 7 on this list.
7. DK Metcalf
DK Metcalf is number 7 on this list, however, is he really? Well, as far as his production goes so far, yes. But this isn’t a list about the potential a receiver has. I can’t assume Metcalf is ever going to gain another yard receiving for the Seahawks. He definitely should, of course, but there is no guarantee.
My guess is that by the time Metcalf is done with his career in Seattle he ranks number 2 or 3 all-time for Seattle in a lot of categories. He has only played in three seasons, yet he is already number 11 in receiving yards with 3,170. Metcalf is 8th in touchdown catches with 29. If he has another double-digit touchdown catch season, he will move up to fifth. If Metcalf has another 1,000-yard receiving year, he will move to 8th.
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Metcalf currently ranks third in yards-per-game receiving for Seattle, just behind Hall of Famer Steve Largent and Darrell Jackson. He can still be better, however. Metcalf, as we all know, has ridiculous physical ability but he could still define his routes better and learn to use his size as well.
But Metcalf, while not yet having his rookie deal extended, will be in Seattle a long time. He is still only 24 years old entering the 2022 season with many years left to play at a high level. He may never catch the player who is number 1 on this list but he is certainly going to give him a chase.
6. Bobby Engram
Bobby Engram was a smart player who got the most out of his physical abilities by outthinking defensive backs. A 1995 draftee in the second round for the Chicago Bears, it took Engram a couple of years to find his way. He never made the Pro Bowl but he was solid for most of his 14 years in the league.
Engram came to Seattle in 2001 and helped form the nucleus of the offenses that would lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl in 2005. He was clutch when he needed to be and didn’t drop passes. Engram caught 66.7 percent of his targets in his 8 seasons with the team.
Engram was great at finding the open spaces and picking up first downs even if he didn’t always turn his catches into touchdowns. He helped keep the offense on the field. Between 2002 and 2007, Engram never had a catch-per-target percentage lower than 66.7 and had a high of 70.1 percent in 2007.
2007 was Engram’s best season in the NFL as had a career-high 94 receptions (a Seahawks record at the time) and 1,147yards. He tied his career mark in touchdown catches with 6. All this even though Engram was at the advanced age of 34 for an NFL receiver. He currently ranks 6th all-time for Seattle in receiving yards with 4,859.
Engram is now the offensive coordinator for the University of Wisconsin. Who knows? Maybe one day he will end up as a coach for the Seahawks.
5. Darrell Jackson
Darrell Jackson was the guy who caught the touchdown pass in the first quarter of the 2005-season Super Bowl only to have it called off because of an atrocious pass interference call by referee Bill Leavy. Leavy was the same referee who basically stole the game from the Seahawks and admitted as much later when things didn’t matter.
The shame is that Jackson’s time in Seattle is overshadowed a bit by what a third-party took from him and his team. Jackson should have been a Super Bowl champion. Instead, he will have to be remembered as simply one of the best receivers in Seattle history.
Jackson was a third-round choice in 2000 and, like Engram, helped build the foundation for one of the best offenses in franchise lore. He made an immediate impact as a rookie catching 53 passes for 713 yards and 6 touchdowns. In three of his first five years, Jackson had 1,081 yards receiving or more.
He currently still ranks pretty high all-time for Seattle. His 6,445 yards receiving are fourth, his 441 catches his sixth, and he is third with 49 touchdown catches. Now if he only had the Super Bowl ring that he should have.
4. Brian Blades
Brian Blades had the misfortune of playing for the Seahawks during one of the franchise’s worst extended periods. Blades played between 1988 and 1998 and his teams only made the playoffs once and that was in his rookie year. Seattle had winning records just twice – both seasons were 9-7 – and this happened in Blades’ first and third seasons. He deserved better.
But none of Seattle’s lack of overall success should be blamed on Blades. Chosen in the second round out of the University of Miami. Blades was immediately impactful with 8 touchdown catches in his first year. In 1988, he became the first receiver to lead Seattle in receiving yards not named Steve Largent. Four times Blades eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in a season.
He made one Pro Bowl (1989) when he had 77 catches for 1,063 yards. Blades had back-to-back 1,000-plus receiving seasons in 1994 and 1995 and had 80 or more receptions in back-to-back years in 1993 and 1994.
The problem for Blades, even though he led the team in receiving yards five times, was that he played mostly with not-good quarterbacks. For instance, in 1992 the quarterback who led Seattle in passing yards was someone named Stan Gelbaugh and Gelbaugh threw for only 1,307 yards that year. If Blades had played with Russell Wilson, he would have likely made multiple Pro Bowls.
Blades is currently second in Seattle history with 7,620 yards receiving and second in passes caught with 581.
3. Tyler Lockett
Lockett has played seven seasons in Seattle with hopefully many more left to play. Assuming he stays healthy, he is going to likely finish second all-time in many categories for the Seahawks. If we re-do this article in five years, there is going to change. Metcalf is clearly, unless something horrible happens, going to be among the all-time leaders too. But one thing that makes Lockett great is his consistency.
And let’s be honest, Lockett is fast and quick but the thing that has always made him special is he doesn’t drop passes. In fact, since catch rate became a statistic in the 1990s, Lockett has a Seattle best-ever 71.8 percent.
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Lockett was chosen in the third round of 2015 out of Kansas State and was expected to mostly be a dynamic punt and kick returner. He was too through 2018 but at the same time, he was becoming a much better and more valuable receiver than Seattle probably anticipated.
Lockett is now one of the better receivers in the NFL. While he is a bit overshadowed now by DK Metcalf’s effervescence, he is every bit as good on the field. Lockett is currently fifth all-time in receiving yards (6,067) but if he has even a bad year of 500 yards he will be third. He is also fifth in catches with 449, but again, if he has a bad season and catches just 45, he will be third. And Lockett needs just 5 touchdown catches to move into second all-time for Seattle.
2. Doug Baldwin
Doug Baldwin made himself into a great receiver when no one else expected him to be. He was undrafted out of Stanford in 2011 but was very good as a rookie and led the team with 788 receiving yards. This even though he started just one game. In his second year, he was targeted 35 times less and was far less productive. But in his third season, Baldwin began to become the second-best Seahawks receiver ever.
In 2013, Baldwin’s catch percentage jumped to 69.4. In the NFC Championship game, Baldwin had 6 catches for 106 yards and in the Super Bowl – a 43-8 victory for the Seahawks – Baldwin caught all 5 of his targets for 66 yards and a touchdown. In fact, in 13 postseason games in six seasons, Baldwin caught 69.9 percent of his targets for 734 yards and 6 touchdowns. He was a clutch performer.
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Baldwin is second on this list because of what he was able to produce with his catches. He had fewer targets than Jackson but more touchdowns. And he is second only to Lockett in catch rate. And Baldwin was able to become a great receiver while not really having him from a true number 2 option. Plus, some of his catches were just ridiculous.
For all the greatness he had on the field, however, Baldwin is probably even better off of it. He was a leader on the team but never afraid to speak his mind. He is active in service with the military community, runs an investment firm in the Seattle area, and is an advocate for criminal justice and education reform.
1. Steve Largent – the Seahawks best receiver ever
Let’s be honest here. If anyone makes a list of best Seahawks receivers ever and doesn’t have Steve Largent at the top of it then two things are at play. One is that it is a list of projections based on current Seattle receivers. Two, the list is just incorrect.
Largent isn’t only the best (by far) wide receiver in Seattle history, he is among the best to ever play in the NFL. When he retired in 1989, Largent’s 13,089 yards were the best ever in the NFL. He still ranks 13th overall even though the game has changed and the NFL become a much more pass-happy league. Largent is still 9th in touchdown catches with 100 but was first when he retired.
Between the franchise’s beginning in 1976 through 1987, Largent led the team in receiving yards every season. Eight times he surpassed 1,000 yards in a season and three times he had double-digit touchdown receptions. He led the NFL in receiving yards in 1979 and 1985 but his highest number of catches in a season is 79. He never came close to leading the league in receptions.
This means that Largent maximized every opportunity he had once he had the ball in his hands. In 7 postseason games, Largent had 4 touchdown catches and averaged 18.9 yards a reception. And for a player who wasn’t chosen until the 4th round by the Houston Oilers in 1976 and then traded before his rookie year to the Seahawks for an 8th-round pick, that is a pretty good return on investment for Seattle.