The Seahawks and their fans are going through an offseason of disrespect, at least as far as the national media is concerned. Not knowing quite what to make of rookie head coach Mike Macdonald and his talented but as-yet underachieving roster, most analysts seem to have checked out on Seattle and written them off as another mediocre 9-8 team at best.
Seahawks fans know that this group hasn’t lived up to its full potential yet due to coaching issues more than anything else. Truthfully, this is an excellent roster even considering the potential back-breaker that is the offensive line. Some folks seem determined to underrated them, though.
The latest example is from Pro Football Focus, who ranked all 32 wide receiver corps around the NFL a few days ago. The Seahawks only came in at No. 10 on their list.
“The Seahawks finished 2023 with the fifth-highest team receiving grade, buoyed by a trio of wide receivers in D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Plus, running back Kenneth Walker earned a 71.0 receiving grade. The tight end position has been lacking in Seattle, but the team’s wide receivers and depth keep this group in the top 10.”
Meanwhile, the 49ers’ group of receivers came in at No. 1 on PFF’s list. The catch is that they included all of Santa Clara’s pass-catchers, including tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey. Why not include Kyle Shanahan, Trent Williams and Jerry Rice, as well?
PFF has separate rankings for tight end and running back rooms, as well. If they had simply named their rankings “top 32 pass-catching groups” we’d have no beef, but this is a skewed picture calling it a receiver corps ranking because Seattle’s quartet of DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Tyler Lockett and Jake Bobo beats out any other 1-2-3-4 wide receiver group in the league by a decent margin as far as we’re concerned.
