By Mike Vorel / The Seattle Times
RENTON — Tyler Lockett is listed at 5-foot-10 and 182 pounds.
The fourth-year Seahawks wide receiver looks like he could still be a freshman at Kansas State.
Sometimes it seems like the shorts he wears in practice are wearing him.
So how does that guy — probably the least physically imposing Seahawk — continue to come down with contested catches against bigger, stronger corners?
“That’s something that I used to do when I was at Kansas State every single day,” Lockett explained this week. “I just stayed outside (after practice) and let my bro Jake Waters throw the ball to me and I picked up somebody on defense and had them try to literally make me drop the ball. ‘Hold me, grab me, push me, punch me’ — whatever the case was.”
So they held and they grabbed and they pushed and they punched.
And Lockett won.
For a while.
“Just looking at last year, a lot of the plays that I left out on the field were a lot of contested passes, which could have been 50-50 balls,” said Lockett, who caught 45 passes for 555 yards and two touchdowns in 2017 after returning from a broken leg.
“So the one thing that I decided to get back to working on was being able to work on some of those contested catches that I used to do back in the day.”
Lockett’s work is paying off. Through 10 games this season, the slender Seahawk has just one fewer receiving yard (554) than he managed in 16 games in 2017. His seven touchdown catches are already a career-high.
And think of how many of those touchdowns were the furthest thing from untouched. Against the Bears in Week 2, he fended off cornerback Kyle Fuller, corralled a 19-yard pass over his shoulder and dragged his feet in the corner of the end zone. Against the Raiders in London, Lockett made such an impressive leaping 10-yard score that the play-by-play announcer initially credited 6-3 teammate Jaron Brown. In a road win over the Lions, Lockett shielded cornerback Nevin Lawson with his body and snagged a 24-yard strike. And in a loss at the Rams two weeks ago, he skied over 5-11 corner Troy Hill for another touchdown.
Plus, don’t forget Lockett’s sliding 18- and 34-yard catches on back-to-back plays that extended Seattle’s go-ahead touchdown drive in a win over the Packers last week.
Against the Panthers on Sunday, Lockett will more than likely be held, grabbed or pushed. He might even be punched.
He’ll still probably win.
“I think, a lot of credit to him, he knows how to use his body to kind of shield people and hold them off,” said first-year Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. “We call it late hands. He shows his hands late and he’s been terrific on those plays. Again, (it’s my) first year being around him. I’m sure he’s probably done it maybe before, but I’ve been pleased by that.
“When you look at the size, you think the big, tall guys are the guys that leap up and take it but that’s not the case. It’s all based on fundamentals and your ability to hold them off.”
Sure, Schottenheimer has a point. The hands are important.
But don’t forget about Lockett’s eyes.
“I’m not the biggest receiver so you’ve got to be able to figure out how to put yourself in a position to be able to catch the ball, and one of the things that I’m able to work on is being able to check the trajectory of the ball when I’m catching punts,” Lockett explained. “When I’m catching punts, I’m literally sitting there trying to put it wherever it is that I need to catch it at or wherever I want to catch it at.
“When it comes to the deep balls and stuff like that, it’s a little easier for me to be able to figure out where the ball is going and be able to put myself in a situation to shield players off (and) to jump when I want to jump.”
Added Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson: “Tyler’s is one of the most instinctual players you’ll see on the field. I think second of all, he’s got great vision — he’s got unbelievable vision. I think that he sees things that only a handful of people get to see. I think that he plays the game like he’s playing quarterback, and he’s even growing that even more.
In his fourth season, Lockett — who received a three-year, $31.8 million extension this offseason — is growing.
Not physically. He’s still 5-10 and 182 pounds. He still looks more like an Olympic sprinter than a professional football player.
But his game is still expanding. With Doug Baldwin hobbled and Jimmy Graham in Green Bay, Lockett has been easily Wilson’s most consistent receiver. He has 38 catches, 554 receiving yards and seven touchdowns thus far, averaging a career-best 14.6 yards per catch.
The Seahawks’ smallest receiver has been playing really big.
“He’s got more touchdowns than he’s had and if we can just keep pecking away at that, he will put together a fantastic season,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said. “But he’s been great. He’s been really consistent. It’s been great to have him in good health and all of that, and at top speed you can see how effective he is.
“He’s so fast and he utilizes it really well. Probably more though, he’s come through with great catches. He’s made a lot of great catches this year and taking the ball away from guys at times and getting off his feet to make the plays he’s made. I think that seems to have (stood) out more. Why, I don’t know other than he’s just, he’s on it and having a great season. He’s a fantastic player.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
