Fantasy Football NFC West Team Preview: Seattle Seahawks
Fantasy Football NFC West Team Preview: Seattle Seahawks
Hello and welcome back to another Fantasy Football NFC West Team Preview. The NFC West is an interesting one this year and today, we will focus our attention on the Seattle Seahawks. If you are serious about fantasy football, and want to succeed, then make sure to take a look at these team previews. What FantasyCPR offers you is a fantasy outlook for each NFL team. We will cover all positions QB, RB, WR, TE, K, and D/ST while attempting to give you an idea of potential depth charts.
This team is one that may cause some headaches week in and week out. With a defense that is uncertain to dominate in years past, it is hard to tell how Pete Carroll and his team will fare. They will be fairly unpredictable in the first few weeks.
There are two things we do know though. For one, the Seahawks are set at quarterback with Russell Wilson calling the shots. Two, they have one extremely reliable receiver in Doug Baldwin. Another staple that could usually be counted on was the Legion of Boom and the intensity of that defense. Major changes occurred during the offseason and have everyone wondering what to make of it.
The Seahawks finished 9-7 last season and second in the NFC West. It feels as though the changes are coming in this division and Seattle fans may not be too happy with the outcome. The Los Angeles Rams have emerged as the clear favorite, and Arizona was breathing right down their neck at 8-8. The 49ers look ready for a major leap as well. Let’s jump right into it!
Fantasy Football NFC West Team Preview: Quarterback
Russell Wilson
Wilson had his best fantasy season in 2017, finishing at the number one QB in most formats. He struggled in the first game at Green Bay, but never looked back after. He followed that performance by going 15 consecutive games with a passing touchdown and ran for three as well. In week 8 against the Houston Texans, Russ threw for 452 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Wilson is one of the most methodically sound quarterbacks in the NFL, and does not make many mistakes. The majority of his passes are short and towards the sidelines. Over 50% of his passes went either short right or short left. The Seahawks are a pass heavy team. In 2017, they threw 596 passes compared to 396 rushes. Some of those rushes are Wilson using his legs to create.
The addition of big bodied Brandon Marshall should help as another reliable option for Russ. Losing deep threat Paul Richardson will hurt, but getting Jaron Brown from rival Arizona should bridge the gap.
Remember Austin Davis? Me either. He got first team playing time back in 2014 with the St. Louis Rams and threw for 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was one of those small school phenoms at Southern Miss who put up big numbers throughout his four-year college career.
He brought the Golden Eagles to four straight bowl games and finished with 10,892 passing yards, 83 touchdowns and a 135.4 QB rating. Those big numbers never really translated at the next level however. He can 100% be an afterthought during your draft, and should only be rostered if Russell goes down with an injury.
Fantasy Football NFC West Team Preview: Running Back
Rashaad Penny
The San Diego State running back was the second running back taken in the draft. There really was no competition to surpass Saquon Barkley as the top back in this class, but Rashaad Penny is no pushover. In college last year, he had 289 carries for a NCAA best 2,248 yards and 23 touchdowns.
He had a great junior year, then followed that up with a senior year that more than doubled his junior year stats. He is a prototypical three down back and has the power, speed and elusiveness to avoid arm tackles. Penny may prove to be more like dollar if you can manage to draft him on your squad.
He looked ready to take over as the starter in 2017 before suffering that season ending knee and ankle injury. It was unfortunate too because the former 7th rounder out of Oklahoma State was starting to show some life.
In the second game of the season, Carson had 20 rushes for 93 yards. Each game he played, he added a reception showing a little bit of versatility on top of earning double-digit carries. It sounds as though he’s healthy now, but very likely lost his starter role to Mr. Penny. Carson could be a waiver wire option or a late round handcuff at best.
Mike Davis/C.J. Prosise/J.D. McKissic
Let’s pair McKissic, Davis and Prosise together here. If Chris Carson is healthy, these three are all likely in a season long competition for the third-string running back spot. Between the three in an injury riddled 2017 at running back, Davis played six games, Prosise played five, and McKissic with thirteen.
You know your team is struggling at running back when the quarterback leads the team in rushing touchdowns with three. McKissic factored into the pass game decently though if you are looking at a deep dynasty PPR league. He had 34 receptions and two receiving touchdowns. But as a whole, you can pretty much fade out any of these three in your draft.
Fantasy Football NFC West Team Preview: Wide Receiver
Doug Baldwin
Baldwin has quietly been one of the most consistent WR1 in the league in the last few seasons. He has finished with 50+ receptions in six out of seven seasons. He was only nine receiving yards shy of a third consecutive 1,000 yard season as well and has 29 touchdowns over those three seasons.
He has great rapport with Russ Wilson and has been on the field in all but one game in the last four seasons. It would not be a surprise if he put up another 75+ reception and 1,000+ yards with 7+ touchdowns again in 2018.
Brandon Marshall
For a guy who seemed more concerned about his TV deal in New York, it was a bit of a surprise to me that he wanted to reappear on the field. He is not a lock to make the team, but with his experience
Lockett has not fully broken out yet since joining the Seahawks in 2015 out of Kansas State. Last season he earned the highest number of targets in his career with 71 and pulling in 45 receptions. Lockett only had two touchdowns last season but was utilized a little differently rushing 10 times.
He was the 4th most targeted player on the team, and two of the guys ahead of him are no longer with the team. He should benefit from those subtractions, but could lose opportunities with the addition of 1st round running back Rashaad Penny and another similar type receiver in Jaron Brown.
Jaron Brown
Brown is a welcomed addition to the Seahawks and definitely helps add depth to a position that requires options. Best of all, you never again have to look at the Arizona Cardinals receivers J. Brown stats and wonder whether it was John Brown or Jaron Brown.
Jaron did not put up huge numbers with the Cardinals, but he did finish with four touchdowns on 31 receptions.
Fantasy Football NFC West Team Preview: Tight End, Kicker, D/ST
Nick Vannett
It is unfortunate that the Seahawks lost a talent like Jimmy Graham, but Vannett should benefit the most. Graham earned the most red zone targets by far with 29 last year. Someone else will get those targets this year, and it makes sense to go to another big target at 6’6” and 261 LBS. He showed flashes in 2017 of what we can expect this year.
It is not a big number, but he caught 80% of his 15 targets with a touchdown. It remains to be seen how the TE competition will pan out, but I would assume he earns more snaps than the 30-year-old Ed Dickson.
Ed Dickson
Dickson has been in the NFL now since 2010. If you look back on his career numbers, the former 3rd rounder has never reached his full potential. His one solid season was back in 2011 with the Baltimore Ravens when he had 54 receptions and five touchdowns. Since then, he has been unreliable and almost never makes it through a whole season.
Sebastian Janikowski is now 40 years old. He still has a strong leg, but there is a reason why he was released from his Oakland Raiders team. SeaBass is not what he used to be as he did not play in 2017. 2016 was not a terrible season, except for his 3 for 8 from 50+.
D/ST
The Seahawks have been one of the top defenses for the past few seasons so it is hard to imagine them falling of. However, the defense regressed last year and it does not look like it will get any better this season. They lost Richard Sherman to division rival 49ers and Kam Chancellor to retirement. They will need to come up with a new nickname for the backfield and hope that the Seahawks 12th man can stay motivated throughout each game. As of now, FantasyPros has them as the 13th best defense, and that might be generous.
Next: 32 in 32: Pittsburgh Steelers
Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for more NFL rundowns and previews. We also have a fantasy football mailbag coming soon, so tweet us those questions!