Tedric Thompson Color Rush Jersey , from national media pundits, on social media and even among fans of the Seattle Seahawks regarding what the team’s corps of receivers will look like in 2019...." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteField Gullsa Seattle Seahawks communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsSeahawksOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections VideosCoffee and CigarettesGame AnalysisThe Numbers GameCigar ThoughtsFiled under:The OffseasonWhat should Seahawks fans expect from the young receiving corps?New,36commentsPDTShareTweetShareShareWhat should Seahawks fans expect from the young receiving corps?Bob Donnan-USA TODAY SportsThere has been a lot of talk, from national media pundits, on social media and even among fans of the Seattle Seahawks regarding what the team’s corps of receivers will look like in 2019. Obviously, the loss of Doug Baldwin is a significant factor in these matters, and on top of that is the fact that behind Tyler Lockett and Jaron Brown there is very little experience in the receivers room. Specifically, it appears that many fans feel they may have seen enough of David Moore, and are ready to move on to see which of the three receivers the Hawks drafted in April can come in a make a splash. However, before handing the starting job to one of the new guys, whether that be DK Metcalf, Gary Jennings or John Ursua, let’s take a look at how good Moore’s development has been in the context of having been a seventh round pick. In the years since the NFL lockout in 2011, and the subsequent adoption of the current CBA which reduced the amount of time players could spend with coaches, receiver development has been an area of concern. This is nothing new, as for decades many coaches, such as Mike Holmgren, have lamented that it can take two or three seasons for a receiver to learn the nuances of the position in the NFL. Moore isno exception to that, which is part of what makes his 2018 season so spectacular. Since the adoption of the current practice time restraints in that 2011 CBA, there have been 46 receivers who have been drafted in the seventh round. Obviously, the four wideouts taken in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft have yet to have a chance to make an impact on the field, so we’ll only look at the 42 who were selected from 2011 to 2018. Of those 42 receivers, six were chosen in 2018, so we only have a single season of data on them, but that gives us 78 player seasons of data for the first two years of a player’s career for seventh round receivers drafted under the current CBA. Here’s where Moore’s 2018 performance ranks among those 78 seasons in a variety of different categories: Receiving yards, single season: 455 in 2018, third best of 78 in sampleReceptions, single season: 26 in 2018, third best of 78 in sampleTouchdown receptions, single season: 5 in 2018, best of 78 in sample (second best performance in this category is two). The obvious rebuttal from fans is that while Moore’s second season ranked highly in the sample for the categories mentioned Ethan Pocic Color Rush Jersey , he did absolutely nothing as a receiver in his first season. Thus, the question becomes where does he rank when his two seasons are combined? The results are somewhat amazing given that, as noted, he had absolutely no production in his first year, but here they are: Receiving yards, first and second season combined: 455, third best of 36 in sampleReceptions, first and second season combined: 26, fourth best of 36 in sampleTouchdown receptions, first and second season combined: 5, best of 36 in sampleIn short, Moore’s first two seasons have far outperformed the expectations for seventh round receivers, but what happens if we expand the sample to include other rounds? How do Day 3 receivers in general perform? Expanding the sample to look at all Day 3 receivers, we find that between 2011 and 2018 there were 157 receivers drafted by NFL teams, with 24 of those drafted in 2018. That means we have 290 player seasons of data from their first and second years, and we have 133 players that have seen two years pass since being drafted whose performance we can compare to that of Moore. Where does Moore’s 2018 season rank compared to any single season of the other 156 receivers? Receiving yards, single season: 455 in 2018, 26th best of 290 in sampleReceptions, single season: 26 in 2018, tied for 33rd best of 290 in sampleTouchdown receptions, single season: 5 in 2018, tied for 10th best of 290 in sampleWhat happens when we combine the seasons and remove the 2018 draft class for which there is only a single season of data? Receiving yards, first and second season combined: 455, 22nd out of 133 in sampleReceptions, first and second season combined: 26, 30th out of 133 in sampleTouchdown receptions, first and second season combined: 5, tied for 12th of 133 in sampleBasically, Moore has not only been exceptional for a seventh round draft choice, he’s outperformed expectations for any receiver chosen on Day 3 of the draft through his first two seasons. That’s no promise that his development will continue at the same rate of improvement, but it shows how difficult it is for receivers to develop into contributing members of the team no matter where they’re drafted on Day 3. So Shaquill Griffin Color Rush Jersey , the issue then becomes what the team can expect of Ursua and Jennings as rookie receivers selected on the final day of the draft. Obviously, expectations should be low, but with the amount of turnover at the receiver position for the Hawks, there should be an opportunity for them to perform, especially on the outside. There’s been plenty of discussion among fans about which receiver will take over in the slot for Baldwin, and to me the most logical conclusion is Lockett. The thing about the offense the Seahawks run is that the outside receivers have fairly simple duties, as a very large percentage of the routes they to run are either go routes or curl routes. Those routes are far easier to run than other, more complicated routes, and makes the outside receiver position a fantastic place for a developing rookie to learn. Metcalf, Jennings and Ursua should be able to step in as rookies and contribute on the outside, with Lockett moving inside to the slot and dominating. The reason to expect success from Lockettinside is that over the final five weeks of the 2018 season he lined up in the slot about equally as often as he lined up on the outside, however, his production from the slot disproportionately outpaced his production when he lined up outside. Small sample caveats and all that, but during that five game stretch Russell Wilson posted a passer rating of just 112.5 when targeting Lockett from the outside, but a perfect 158.3 when Lockett was targeted from the slot. Yes, it’s a small sample, but in the offense the Hawks run, slot receivers have a significant advantage over outside receivers, particularly when the defense aligns in order to take away the deep outside routes.In summary, expect Lockett to slide inside to the slot and have a fantastic 2019 season, while Metcalf and Jennings fight with Moore for the jobs on the outside. There, their size and speed will allow them to fulfill the basics of those roles while learning the intricacies of playing receiver in the NFL and giving them time to develop into the weapons their athleticism gives them to potential to become. PITTSBURGH (AP) — The faces around Russell Wilson have changed as the Seattle Seahawks rebuild themselves on the fly. One thing, however, has not. Seattle goes as its ever imaginative quarterback goes.And in the second half in a place where the franchise hadn’t scored let alone won in two decades, Wilson’s resilience propelled the Seahawks to their best start in six years.Wilson threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns to give the Seahawks the lead, then used his legs and smarts to protect it in a 28-26 victory that pushed Seattle to 2-0 for the first time since 2013, the year Wilson guided the franchise to its only Super Bowl victory.Article continues below ...Sure, it’s early. Yet the Seahawks proved both opportunistic and aggressive, hallmarks of their dominant run behind Wilson and the “Legion of Doom” defense earlier in the decade.“Really fired up about this start,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said after picking up his 100th victory with the Seahawks, including playoffs. “We have so much improvement. We have so many areas and ways we can get better.”Having Wilson certainly helps. His perfect 28-yard rainbow to rookie DK Metcalf midway through the fourth quarter put the Seahawks in front by nine Delano Hill Color Rush Jersey , and three expertly timed scrambles on Seattle’s final drive helped drain the final 5:34 off the clock.“We were battle tested today and we found a way to win a great game,” said Wilson, who completed 29 of 35 passes while becoming the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to reach 200 career touchdown tosses.ROETHLISBERGER EXITSThe Steelers fell to 0-2 for just the second time in Mike Tomlin’s 13-year tenure and could be without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger indefinitely. The 37-year-old watched the second half from the sideline in a baseball cap following a right elbow issue that popped up late in the second quarter when he grimaced several times after releasing passes.Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said he had no initial details on the nature of Roethlisberger’s injury and refused to blame Pittsburgh’s performance on Roethlisberger’s absence.“We lost a number of guys in this game, but that wasn’t the reason we didn’t win the game,” Tomlin said.Backup Mason Rudolph completed 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, but couldn’t quite keep pace with Wilson and the Seahawks.“I am completely confident in myself, being a leader of a team, and playing games,” Rudolph said. “That’s what it all comes down to. If (Roethlisberger is out a while), I’m ready to roll.”SHARPER SEATTLEA week after escaping Cincinnati with a one-point win, a game in which Carroll said his team wasn’t particularly crisp, the Seahawks took advantage of a series of mental mistakes by the Steelers to win in Pittsburgh for the first time in 20 years.Wilson’s first touchdown pass to Will Dissly — a 14-yarder in the second quarter — came after Steelers defensive tackle Dan McCullers was called for a personal foul on a field goal attempt by Seattle. The Seahawks took the first down instead of the points, and on the next snap Wilson hit a soaring Dissly for the score.Seattle went in front early in the second half when a pass from Rudolph to Donte Moncrief went through the receiver’s hands, smacked off his facemask and landed in the arms of Seahawks safety Bradley McDougald. Wilson found Dissly again for a 12-yard score seven plays later.“It shows our guys we can do it, we can go cross country in the morning and play good football,” Carroll said. “They did a fantastic job.”UPON FURTHER REVIEWPittsburgh trailed by two in the fourth quarter and appeared to have momentum with the Seahawks facing a third-and-20. Wilson threw a jump ball for Tyler Lockett and the pass fell incomplete. But Carroll challenged the play, claiming Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds interfered with Lockett. The 38-yard penalty was enforced after review. Three plays later, Wilson placed the ball perfectly into Metcalfe’s outstretched hands while Edmunds gave chase.“Regardless of how I think about the play, they made the call,” Edmunds said. “So I’ve just got to live with that. Got to live with that they made the call. I’ve got to make the play down there in the end zone.”READY TO RUN?After managing just 32 yards on the ground in a Week 1 loss to New England, Pittsburgh managed 81 but 23 came on a burst by Benny Snell and 7 on a scramble by Rudolph. James Conner had just 33 yards on 11 carries, including 12 yards on seven carries in the first quarter.“We can’t keep drives going,” guard David DeCastro said. “We’ve got to start faster in these games. You don’t start fast, you don’t have a chance to run the ball. Other teams get control.”INJURIESSeahawks: RG D.J. Fluker left in the second quarter with an ankle injury, but returned in the second half.Steelers: Roethlisberger, Conner (knee), ILB Vince Williams (hamstring), Conner (knee) and LB Anthony Chickillo (plantar fasciitis) all exited.UP NEXTSeahawks: Host New Orleans next Sunday. Seattle has won the last three home meetings with Saints.Steelers: Head west to face San Francisco next Sunday. Pittsburgh hasn’t beaten the 49ers on the road since 1999.