Fantasy Football 2021 Team Previews: Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks Fantasy Preview 2021

All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.

** = target in drafts at this ADP

Top 120

D.K. Metcalf, WR (ADP: 18): Metcalf built on an impressive 2019 rookie season with a full on breakout, tallying 1,303 yards and 10 touchdowns. One of the most physically impressive players in the NFL, Metcalf is an obvious stud worthy of his lofty ADP. The overall numbers may be slightly deceptive because the bulk of the blowup games happened early in the season when Seattle was leaning into their  star QB, Russell Wilson, running the show. Still, even if the Seahawks stubbornly insist on being run-first, the receiving options are sparse. It’s Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and little else so even though the pie is smaller than in other offenses, Metcalf is devouring that pie. Oh, and the targets are coming from one of the best QBs in the league. Draft him here with full confidence.

Chris Carson, RB (ADP: 36): Carson is a modern NFL marvel, a seventh-round draft pick who has turned into a three-down back whom the offense revolves around despite a first-round back in his backfield, a perennial All-Pro QB, and two Pro Bowl receivers. We consistently underrate Carson, and he consistently delivers. He’s never fallen below 4.2 yards per carry, and he’s been above 4.4 for three straight seasons. Carson dealt with injuries in 2020 that limited him to 141 carries, 681 yards and five scores, but his performance was typically excellent when he was on the field. Carson graded 16th in the NFL at the position per PFF and his 15.1% RB DVOA ranked 12th in football. Simply put, Carson is a plug and play option and as the 20th RB off the board he offers value.

Russell Wilson, QB (ADP: 59): We saw Wilson’s ceiling last season in the first eight games of the season; Wilson averaged 37.1 pass attempts, 317.6 yards and tossed 28 touchdown passes. For context, that’s more touchdowns than he threw in each of his first three seasons, and in 2016. Prior to 2020, Wilson’s career high was 35 touchdowns in 2018, and he threw 28 in the first half of last year. This was because the Seahawks unleashed him to wing it to his elite receivers. Then, he had some high-INT performances and the coaching staff gave up on what was working, reverting to a Carson-centric attack. A tale as old as time. Wilson can be counted on for 4,000 yards this season, and you can be sure he’ll have a high touchdown rate. Those are things he does consistently. You can also be certain that you’ll spend multiple weeks frustrated with his attempts and yardage, and annoyed that he’s not running more when he is clearly one of the best in the league at gashing defenses on the ground. Few things are scarier as a fantasy owner than facing Wilson when he’s going off, but he’s also capable of real week-losing duds. I do like Wilson, but definitely not at this ADP. See if he falls, but if someone grabs him here, you’ll certainly find value later in the draft9

Tyler Lockett, WR (ADP: 55): Lockett is similar to Wilson; he’s got elite talent, and for the last three seasons you can count on touchdowns. Lockett has scored 28 touchdowns in the last three seasons, striking for double digits twice. Wilson is elite, so the touchdowns will be there, as will the 1,000 yards, which he has reached in back-to-back seasons. What you cannot count on is consistency. Lockett likes to do his damage in bunches, and there will be games where you feel like you might as well have started an elderly family member in your lineup. In Week 3 Lockett struck for nine receptions, 100 yards and three scores. In Week 7 he lit up Arizona for 15 receptions, 200 yards and three touchdowns. These are ridiculous games! He also had seven games with fewer than 50 yards, and he didn’t find the end zone in any of them. So while his overall numbers sparkle, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can focus elsewhere – maybe grab both an elite QB and TE for instance – and lean on Lockett as a value WR1. He’s not that, and your team will suffer if you construct it in such a way that you need consistency from Lockett.

Fantasy Relevant (121-200 ADP)

**Rashaad Penny, RB (ADP: 162): I recently touched on Penny’s value here, but he has a chance to be a standout, league-winning player. I truly believe that he has that ability if he gets on the field, but opportunity is certainly an issue. As we mentioned previously, Carson is a rock solid RB, and outside of injury he’s likely to keep Penny off the field. He produces, and the coaching staff has the utmost trust in him. But this section is about Penny, and he’s capable of detonating. Penny averaged 5.3 yards per carry in his first two seasons, and posted the second-highest RB DVOA amount running backs with fewer than 100 rushes in 2019. Right now he’s going at a price that’s pretty much free. Carson owners should absolutely spend a late pick on Penny, seeing as how the Seattle offense wants to be ground-based. An injury to Carson – far from an impossibility – opens the door for a big workload. The competition for the backup spot is DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer and Alex Collins, a.k.a nobody. Penny might not do anything in 2021, but upside like his is rarely found this deep in the draft.

Gerald Everett, TE (ADP: 199): Everett has snuck into the Top 200, and I get it. He’s never posted elite numbers in his Rams days, but he had a ton of competition for targets, and QB play levels below what Russell Wilson can do. Everett does have competition here though, and despite my expectation that he’ll lead the position in opportunities, volume will be too big of an issue to trust him as an every week option. Streaming is the way to go with Everett, as Metcalf and Lockett figure to swallow up the vast majority of Wilson’s targets.

Sleeper Class (200 & later)

Will Dissly, TE (ADP: 314): Once upon a time we were excited about Dissly. In 2019 he put up 262 yards and four touchdowns on just 23 receptions. He had a four-week stretch in which he never dipped below 50 yards, scored four touchdowns in three games, and averaged 62.5 yards per game. Then a serious injury ruined the rest of his season, and bled into 2020. Now he’s fighting with Everett for target share, rendering him undraftable. However, if Everett gets hurt or disappoints, there’s a glimmer of hope for him as a back-end TE1.

D’Wayne Eskridge, WR (ADP: 302): Eskridge doesn’t have mind-blowing college production, but his second-round draft slot was eye-opening. An undersized receiver, he ran a 4.38 40 at the combine, and offers game breaking ability for Wilson. Like with Everett and Dissly, Eskridge has the impediment of target share looming. He likely would need an injury to one of the big receivers to even see the field enough to warrant consideration, but that speed, and his eight-touchdown senior campaign at Western Michigan, combined with the draft capital spent on him mean he cannot be outright ignored.

Defense/Special Teams (ADP: 232)

This was a middling D/ST that’s currently going 17th among D/STs, which is appropriate. There’s some star power here – S Jamal Adams, LB Bobby Wagner – but the days of the dominant Legion of Boom are a faint memory. These guys are a streaming play, no need to really spend much more time thinking about them.