This is a big season for Tyler Lockett. The young Seattle Seahawks receiver had a very good 2018 campaign, and now has the chance to build on it this year.
Doug Baldwin retired this offseason due to injuries, meaning Lockett will have a golden opportunity to become the top dog in Seattle's receiving corp.
The Seahawks' coaching staff apparently thinks he's ready for the moment. “He senses it, I’m sure, just by the way he’s expressing himself,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said after an OTA practice, per John Boyle of the team's official site. “His background, experience, success that he’s had, he’s naturally in that position right now. I’ve seen a number of instances already where it’s obvious that he gets it. You kind of grow into it, and he’s doing that.”
Lockett entered the league as a third round pick back in 2015, and immediately carved out a role for himself as a guy with great speed. He had by far his best season as a pro last year, when he reeled in 57 receptions for 965 yards, averaging 16.9 yards per catch. He's also been valuable as a returner during his time in the league.
While Lockett might need to replace a lot of Baldwin's on-field production, the team might miss Baldwin in the locker room just as much. To that end, Lockett said he's doing everything he can to take on more of a leadership role.
“The biggest thing that I learned when it comes to Doug is you have to be yourself,” Lockett said. “I have to be able to understand who I am as a leader and what I bring to the team as a leader. The things that he brought, I was able to learn from that and I was able to see that. But he also taught me how to be myself, because if I can’t be myself, everybody else won’t be able to accept the message that I’m trying to allow them to be able to receive. So I have to be able to speak from a willing heart.”
Lockett signed a big contract extension with the team before last season, as they bet big on him.
He delivered in 2018, and he'll need to do more of the same in 2019, both on and off the field.
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