Seahawks training camp: Russell Wilson gives special praise to one young receiver

The Seattle Seahawks opened training camp on Saturday, and when asked who had an outstanding day one, quarterback Russell Wilson gave an unexpected first shoutout:

“Deshon Foxx.”

So who is Deshon Foxx?

Undrafted out of UConn in 2015, Foxx spent all of last season either on the Seahawks practice squad or on waivers, waiting until the next time Seattle signed him to the practice squad. He did not make the first round of cuts last August, but was signed again in December before getting waived/signed again and then signing a futures contract in January.

At 5’10, 177 pounds, Foxx does not provide the size difference that the team might be looking for to complement the likes of Tyler Lockett and Doug Baldwin, both of whom are also about the same height and a little bit heavier. Also, you might expect that Foxx was a statistical beast in college who couldn’t get drafted because he went to a small school (for football) and is undersized, but he only really played during his last two seasons at UConn and as a senior, he had 384 yards in 12 games. He averaged just 12.6 yards per catch in his career.

He ran a 4.46 at his pro day, but NFL Draft Scout also lists a 40-best of 4.36 (not sure where that came from though.)

As long as Paul Richardson stays healthy, one can assume there is only one, maybe two, open spots at receiver. That competition will include Kenny Lawler, Kasen Williams, and Kevin Smith, one of whom was just drafted by the team and the other two who have some gameday experience with the team and perhaps a physical advantage to Foxx. Even making the first round of cuts this year might be a mini-surprise for Foxx, but it sounds like he couldn’t have gotten off to a better start if he’s going to pull off the impossible.