Snapshot: Seahawks picture with all 12 wide receivers in camp

Jaron Brown posted a photo of the entire wide receivers group on Instagram this week, and I thought it was a good opportunity to get a literal look at the competition since it is set to be one of the most wide open and interesting (as usual) of the preseason.

The Seahawks certainly expect Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett to be the top two options, but with the loss of Paul Richardson and no clear replacement added, there are a considerable handful of options hoping to win the job as a starter on the outside. There were 12 wide receivers in camp, and this is a look at all of them, plus two coaches:

Photo (Left to Right): Brandon Marshall (15), Nate Carroll (WRs), Caleb Scott, Tyler Lockett (16), Damore’ea Stringfellow (17), Marcus Johnson (14), Amara Darboh, Cyril Grayson (13), David Moore (83), Jaron Brown, Keenan Reynolds (85), Tanner McEvoy, Doug Baldwin (89), Steve Shimko (Offensive Assistant)

This snapshot in time could be interesting to look back on in a few years, as Marshall is considered to be a longshot, with many fans hoping to see a younger player like Darboh or Moore make the roster over him. Marshall provides Seattle with a taller option (6’5), though McEvoy has him beat by an inch at 6’6. Though I think Brown could get mistakenly labeled as a “slot type” (or maybe that was just my own thoughts prior to this year), he stands almost a full head above Reynolds at 6’3.

Notice the contrast here with Brown between Baldwin and Lockett:

The Seahawks will keep half of the 12, at most, and by September, for all we know they might only retain four of these guys. They could always choose to keep four and decide to add their number five through a trade or waivers. That’s not what anyone expects or wants, I’m just throwing it in there as a possibility.

If healthy, Baldwin and Lockett are the two locks, while Brown might be able to rest easier than the rest because he signed a two-year deal in March. Though it was only for $5.5 million total, that’s an interesting commitment from a Seattle front office that typically only gives one year deals to outside free agents. If the Seahawks keep those three, that leaves nine players for two or three spots.

Darboh would seem to be in the lead for the fourth spot based on his draft position a year ago and the desire to get him more opportunities to prove his third round status was not a mistake. It’s not a lock by any means (Kris Durham, Chris Harper, Kevin Norwood all went in the fourth round), but it’s enough to believe that the Seattle coaching staff and front office personnel is probably rooting for him to prove them right.

Marshall has all the experience but is three years removed from the last time he really played at a high level. Moore was a bit of a team favorite last offseason but has to make some serious moves in August to establish himself as a guy who is too good to let go; remember how well Kasen Williams played a year ago and not even that was enough for him to make the final roster. A seventh round pick is just not a real investment and Seattle was willing to lose Moore last season as he hung around on the practice squad for most of the year. There was a lot you could have projected with Kenny Lawler too and now he plays for the BC Lions and nobody even really reminisces about the time spent with Kenny Lawler.

I think that has to be the top six as of now, but Stringfellow got positive marks in camp this year. Here he is in the preseason with the Miami Dolphins a year ago:

That still leaves intriguing options with Grayson for speed, Johnson for the fact that Seattle traded for him and he has special teams ability, and McEvoy for his size/athleticism/experience with the Seahawks despite a 2017 we’d all like to forget.