Why the Seahawks have long-term questions at wide receiver

The Seahawks don’t have a lot of players under contract beyond 2025, and wide receiver is a position that could be addressed again in this year’s NFL Draft.

In the short-term, wide receiver is not an immediate need for the Seattle Seahawks in 2024. DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be the three main targets, with Jake Bobo, Laviska Shenault Jr, Dareke Young, and Dee Eskridge expected to be battling for playing time and/or roster spots. The long-term is a completely different question.

As of April 17, the Seahawks only have 13 players under contract beyond 2025, of which Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the only receiver with a long-term deal. Lockett’s restructured contract gives him a cap number approaching $31 million next season, good for third-highest in the entire NFL. DK Metcalf could conceivably get extended this offseason, but if we pretend that’s not happening then his 2025 cap number is $29.5 million. That’s north of $60 million in cap space tied to the top two wideouts on soon-to-be expiring contracts.

I’ve been very resistant to the idea of trading Metcalf this season and will not relent on that front, but if he doesn’t get extended then there may very well be consideration about moving on when next offseason arrives. The wave of high-profile receivers getting dealt in recent years should suggest that even DK isn’t untouchable. Lockett may justifiably dislike all of the articles about trading him, but at 32 years old he’s already a possible 2025 cap casualty either via trade or release.

Smith-Njigba is ideally a long-term part of Seattle’s offense, but everyone else is a legitimate question mark for cost and/or performance reasons. Will Seattle view Metcalf as worthy of a second contract extension? Is Lockett really worth a massive cap number this deep into his career? Is Bobo going to the Hall of Fame first-ballot or second?

Once again, this year’s draft class is stacked with promising receivers from Day 1 through Day 3. Should Seattle use its first-rounder on a receiver? Almost certainly not. However, if, Rome Odunze somehow falls to No. 16 then he shouldn’t be automatically bypassed just because they don’t need him right this second. I’m of the strong belief that regardless of the quality of the offensive line, you can never have too much receiving talent in a league designed to favor quarterbacks and wide receivers.

There are value picks to be had outside of Round 1. Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley already met with the Seahawks in a pre-draft 30 visit, and he may be a second- or third-round option (although he may end up in Round 2 and possibly out of Seattle’s reach). Rice’s Luke McCaffrey, brother of Christian McCaffrey, has remade himself by swapping from quarterback to receiver (a reverse Ryan Tannehill, if you will) and is one of my favorite potential Day 3 gems. He gets open in zone coverage and has a great contested catch rate. USC’s Brenden Rice could follow in his father Jerry’s footsteps and become a Seahawks legend. If you want to stay local, Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan are both projected in the Day 2/early Day 3 range.

The cupboard is reasonably full right now and simultaneously could be scarce in the blink of an eye. I’m hoping Seattle takes a couple more swings in the mid-to-late rounds and adds to one of the sport’s most premium positions next week.