Mike Macdonald reveals Seahawks' new pecking order at wide receiver

For the last 10 years the Seattle Seahawks wide receiver room was led by some combination of Tyler Lockett, Doug Baldwin and DK Metcalf. That's a long time for any unit not to see huge changes, so perhaps the Seahawks were overdue for a big shakeup at this position going into the offseason.

If that's the case they certainly followed through on the instinct to break it all up and start over, because there's precious little leftover regarding last year's depth chart at wide receiver. Jaxon Smith-Njigba remains at the top, where he ascended to at some point in the middle of last season. Next, Cooper Kupp is the strong favorite to hold the team's WR2 role. After that, it's anybody's guess.

Last week head coach Mike Macdonald dropped a hint at what the team is thinking at this spot with so many new faces to find a place for. Apparently the new 1-2-3 starting combo here consists of JSN, Kupp and then Marquez Valdez-Scantling. The rest will need to earn most of their playing time on special teams - per Cameron Van Til at Seattle Sports.

“It’s exciting, and it’s going to come down to a large part of how they play on special teams... Can you move people? Can you block people? Can you get people in the ground? Who is going to play gunner for us? Who is going to be our punt returner? All those things haven’t been settled yet... And then go make plays on offense. Can you dig out a safety and be a force out there and also come alive in the pass game as well? And how does that complement the skill sets of Coop and Jaxon and (Marquez)? Really excited about those guys. It will come to life throughout the preseason.”

With that information, our best guess at what Seattle's WR depth chart will look like going into the regular season is something like this:

- Jaxon Smith-Njigba

- Cooper Kupp

- Marquez Valdez-Scantling

- Jake Bobo

- Tory Horton Jr.

- Ricky White III

- Dareke Young

The Seahawks only usually roster seven wide receivers, so this is where it cuts off. Others who will be competing with Young for that last spot include undrafted free agents Tyrone Broden and Montorie Foster Jr. and veterans Cody White, Steven Sims and John Rhys-Plumlee.

If Marquez Valdez-Scantling looks like a weak WR3 option on paper, you're not alone. However, fans should remember he's only here on a one-year deal. With no long-term commitment it should be relatively easy for one of the younger burner type receivers like Horton to take his place on the depth chart.

However, the real answer to that question may be rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo, who looks like a better pass-catcher than anyone else on the roster outside JSN or Kupp.