Things change quickly in today’s NFL. With the departures of quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner there is no longer a link between the 2022 Seattle Seahawks and the Super Bowl roster of the 2013 season. Wide receiver Tyler Lockett is the elder statesman of the team and the last remaining member of the 2015 squad.
Despite being the dean of the Seahawks, and in the midst of a terrific career, Lockett was recognized by Doug Farrar of USA Today’s Touchdown Wire as one of The NFL’s Most Underrated Players going into 2022. He was one of three wide receivers to make the list, along with Las Vegas’s Hunter Renfro and Cedrick Wilson of Miami.
Great Receiving Tandem
Of course you could make the case that Lockett is overshadowed by teammate D.K. Metcalf. But receiving tandems feed off of each other. Certainly Metcalf benefited from joining a team that had Lockett in place. And for Lockett, he recorded his first 1,000-yard season when Metcalf was a rookie. The 2021 season represented the third straight 1,000-yard year for Locket.
Lockett played at Kansas State as a collegian, following in the footsteps of his father Kevin, who also went to K-State and played wide receiver in the NFL. As a rookie Tyler shined as a return-specialist, and as a receiver as well. But it was as a return specialist that he made the All-Pro Team as a rookie, and was twice recognized as NFC Special Teams Player of the Month.
Lockett and Metcalf make in interesting pair, standing at 5’10” and 6’4”, respectively. They’re like the Laurel and Hardy or C-3PO and R2-D2 or Siskel and Ebert and pass-catching tandems.
In his article, Farrar said this about Lockett:
“Lockett was particularly dangerous last season on deep over routes, where he uses his sneaky speed and ability to take zones apart, even if the ball comes in late. Lockett is a good contested-catch receiver, even at 5-foot-10 and 182 pounds, because he understand coverages so well.”
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