Nico Collins' new deal proves Seahawks made perfect pick in 2023 NFL draft

Nico Collins is about to be a rich man. The Houston Texans proactively extended the receiver for three seasons beyond 2024, the last year of Collins' rookie deal, and paid him $72.75 million, or an average of $24.25 million. That is a lot of money for a receiver who has had one good season in the NFL. Collins' contract might also prove the Seattle Seahawks made a smart choice in the 2023 draft.

While teams obviously hope their draft picks can help the team straight away, the real point of taking a player is with the hope they will help for several seasons, not just one. This is why sometimes fans will ask why a team has chosen a player who plays a position where the team does not seem to have a great need. With their second pick in the first round in 2023, Seattle could have taken an offensive lineman or interior defensive lineman, but they took a receiver instead.

Wide receiver contracts have been exploding over the last few years. Collins' deal might be based more on what the Texans hope he will do instead of what he has done, but assuming Collins keeps playing as well as he did in 2023, then his new contract will be a steal. his yearly average of $24.25 million ranks only seventh-best in 2025.

Seahawks choosing Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first round in 2023 is going to help financially an extra year

The Seahawks currently have a trio of wide receivers who would start on any other team. DK Metcalf is a five-year veteran who is signed through 2025. Tyler Lockett is signed through 2025 as well, though he is likely much closer to retirement than Metcalf. Jaxon Smith-Njigba's development is key to the long-term success of the receiving group, though, as he will sooner than later take a lot of the targets that Lockett gets after Lockett is done.

Seattle cannot afford to keep three highly-paid receivers on the roster for many years as other positions will need to be addressed, but the Seahawks also cannot count on just having two very good receivers. Most NFL teams need at least three good receivers now so that defenses have a more difficult time scheming to shut down two. With Lockett retiring in a year or two, most likely, Seattle will save the money paid to Lockett while still having Metcalf and JSN.

The key to Seattle choosing Smith-Njigba in 2023 is the first-round selection. This is because the Seahawks will have full control over JSN for another four seasons because the team will have a fifth-year option on JSN in 2027. His contract will increase in 2027 if the option is picked up, but he won't be so expensive that the contract will have a huge impact on the salary cap.

In essence, Seattle should still have Metcalf on the team, assuming the Seahawks give him an extension past 2025, which would make sense, and JSN through 2027. Seattle could take another wide receiver during that time to maintain having three excellent receivers on the team. Had Seattle waited until the second round in 2023, the team would not have had the fifth-year option, which means the Seahawks would have had to be more aggressive to add another receiver.

Seattle avoids a situation, for now, like the one that Texans have with Collins. Not that Houston has an issue being able to keep a player of Collins' ability, but the Seahawks don't have to worry about spending $24 million a season on JSN. Not yet anyway.

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