One little cut was all it took for Tyler Lockett to justify all of Seattle Seahawks special teams coordinator Brian Schneider’s offseason lobbying.
It was the second quarter of Seattle’s preseason opener against Denver. Lockett, getting his first taste of the NFL, caught a kickoff on the right side of the end zone, moving forward with momentum. He cut to his left, found the edge, then raced past everyone — including Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who was busy getting run over by an official.
One-hundred-three yards later and Lockett had a touchdown. It was just the fourth time he touched the ball in his NFL career. And the Seahawks are banking that it was the first of what will be many gamebreaking moments provided by Lockett in the return game.
It’s no secret Seattle’s return game was anything but special last season. The Seahawks finished 25th out of 32 teams in the NFL in punt returns at an average of 7.0 yards per return. Seattle was even worse on kick returns, ranking 30th with an average of 21.0 yards. Not only did the Hawks fail to gain yardage, they often didn’t even pose a threat — punt returner Bryan Walters’ primary job seemed to be merely catching the ball cleanly, as Seattle finished tied for second in the league in fair catches with 28.
So upgrading the return game was one of the team’s offseason priorities. The Seahawks showed just how high it was on the priority list when they spent four draft picks to move up in the third round and select Lockett 69th overall out of Kansas State University. It was a move that brought a big smile to Schneider’s face.
“I loved it,” Schneider said. “That’s the guy I wanted. I made that known.
“We weren’t very good (in the return game last season), we need to improve that,” Schneider added. “There’s a lot of facets we need to improve it, but we definitely went into this season knowing we needed to do something different there.”
Enter Lockett. The 5-foot-10, 182-pound water bug was an All-American wide receiver at Kansas State, catching 106 balls for 1,515 yards and 11 touchdowns his senior season. But from the moment the Seahawks drafted Lockett they envisioned his chance to make an immediate impact was as a returner. Lockett was a standout return man at Kansas State. As a Wildcat he averaged 28.5 yards and scored four touchdowns on kick returns, while producing 15.3 yards per punt return.
But even the Seahawks couldn’t have predicted how big an impact Lockett would make. During the preseason he put up obscene return numbers, averaging 26.3 yards per punt return and tacking on another 37.4 yards per kick return.
Lockett’s return TD against Denver already generated buzz around the league. NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison picked Lockett as the returner on his preseason All-Pro team, and that was before Lockett produced his even more electrifying 67-yard punt return for a touchdown during Week 3 of the preseason against San Diego.
“We’re really excited about Tyler,” Carroll said. “This is a remarkable kid. He has worked so hard to have his confidence in the right place to take the responsibility of this job with the team. He’s excited about just adding to it, his mindset has been great. Both phases, punt and kick returns, we think he’s going to be a factor.”
So what is it that makes Lockett special as a returner? Is it his speed and quickness? Is it his vision? Is it the time and effort he puts into studying his craft?
How about all of the above.
“I think he’s really natural, and more than anything he works as hard as anyone I’ve been around, as far as studying and fielding balls and just being on top of his game,” Schneider said. “He’s a true pro right now and he’s just going to keep improving.”
Added Lockett: “I think it’s just confidence, trust in the team and being able to work on your vision,” Lockett said. “I’m a true believer you can work on your vision, seeing different plays. Even when we’re in the meeting room watching special teams, I might be there watching kickoff return. Even though they might not go anywhere, I’m just trying to see different holes, different ways, why that person hit that hole right there. What did he see? Even when you see the big returns you see what they see. I try to look at stuff to be able to visualize that every return can go the distance, but how? You have to figure out how it can.”
Will Lockett be the man to reverse Seattle’s fortunes in the return game? The early evidence suggests the answer to that question is an emphatic “Yes.”
“I think I can be the guy,” Lockett said. “It just takes a lot of hard work and dedication to become the guy. There’s a lot of great players out there too, like B.J. Daniels, who are fighting for that spot, too. It’s not like it’s automatically given to me. I think whoever is going to be back there can make a huge difference because we have players out there willing to make those blocks and sacrifice themselves in order for us to be successful on special teams.”
That may be true. But based on the preseason, there’s a greater chance of the return game making a huge difference when it’s Lockett who has the ball in his hands.
Key performer: Jon Ryan
There tends to be a lot of guffawing when the value of punters is discussed — there are those who still gleefully point out Jacksonville picked a punter ahead of Russell Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft.
But a punter can have a significant impact on the battle for field position. Jon Ryan has never been among the league leaders in punting distance, but his punts are rarely returned. Over the past two seasons, just 28 percent of his punts (38-of-135) resulted in return attempts, by far the lowest rate in the NFL among punters who were in the league both seasons.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
