No Seahawks receiver consistently emerged behind Doug Baldwin in 2016. What to do in 2017?

You can’t say the Seahawks receivers weren’t busy in 2016.

Seattle’s 368 completions this season were the third-most in franchise history (the record is 372 in 2009) while the 4,422 receiving yards were a record.

Still, how effective the Seattle receiving corps was as a whole in 2016 was often a matter of debate.

Doug Baldwin tied a franchise record with 94 catches and certainly has played to the level of a Pro Bowler — and having been named as an alternate could still end up in the game.

But if he’s not, then a streak will remain intact of no Seahawk receiver having been named to the game since Brian Blades in 1989 — by far the longest drought of any Seattle position group (Tyler Lockett was named last year as a return specialist and Alex Bannister also made it as a special teamer in 2003) — a stat that doesn’t deter those who think it’s a group from which the Seahawks could hope for a smoother season in 2017.

Here’s a review of the season that was for the receivers.

WIDE RECEIVER

STARTERS

Doug Baldwin

Snaps played: 897 of 1,059 total, 84.7 percent (per Pro Football Reference).

Contract situation: Signed through the 2020 season.

2016 stats: 94 catches on 126 targets, 1,128 yards, 12.0 yards per catch, 7 TDs.

Jermaine Kearse

Snaps played: 829 of 1,059 total, 78.3 percent.

Contract situation: Signed through 2018.

2016 stats: 41 catches, 90 targets, 511 yards, 12.5 YPC, 1 TD.

Tyler Lockett

Snaps played: 558 of 1,059 total, 52.7 percent.

Contract situation: Signed through 2018.

2016 stats: 41 catches, 67 targets, 597 yards, 14.6 YPC, 1 TD.

BACKUPS

Paul Richardson

Snaps played: 338 of 1,059 total, 32 percent.

Contract situation: Signed through 2017.

2016 stats: 21 catches, 36 targets, 288 yards, 13.7 YPC, 1 TD.

Tanner McEvoy

Snaps played: 132 of 1,059 total, 12.5 percent.

Contract situation: Signed through 2018.

2016 stats: Nine receptions, 11 targets, 140 yards, 15.6 YPC, 2 TDs.

(Kasen Williams was also on the 53-man roster for the final game of the season against the 49ers, playing 13 snaps without recording any statistics. He is under contract through 2017).

2016 REVIEW

Baldwin, coming off a 2015 season when he tied for the lead in the NFL in touchdowns with 14 and an offseason in which he signed a four-year extension worth $46 million, took another step toward elite status with a 2016 campaign as statistically impressive as any in team history as well as just one drop — a rate of 0.8 percent that was the best for any player with as many targets other than Denver’s Emmanual Sanders, who had no drops on 137 targets.

But the season was spottier for the next three receivers.

Lockett battled injuries much of the season, spraining a PCL in the second game, which limited his snaps for a few weeks, and which then had him at less than 100 percent for a few more. Then came the gut-wrenching season-ending broken tibia and fibula against Arizona.

Richardson took some of Lockett’s snaps early in the year but also battled a hamstring injury and had a stretch of just 12 catches in nine games before breaking out in the final two regular season games and the playoffs.

Kearse had the most enigmatic season of them all. After re-signing with the team as a free agent, a three-year deal worth $13.5 million and $6.3 million guaranteed, he had eight fewer receptions than 2015 on 22 more targets, scoring just one touchdown compared to the career-high five of 2015. He also finished tied with Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins for the most offensive pass interference penalties — five.

Once Lockett got healthy late in the season, he took over the role as the starting receiver in the team’s base (two-receiver) offense ahead of Kearse for the Dec. 14 against the Rams, with Kearse returning to that role when Lockett was hurt the following week.

McEvoy, one of the surprises of training camp, had a knack for the big play. Former UW and Skyline High star Williams had his season waylaid by a hamstring injury in training camp before finally returning to the active roster the final week.

GRADE: B-minus. Baldwin deserves an A. But the rest of the corps was spotty either due to injuries or inconsistent performance.

OFFSEASON OBJECTIVES

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says Lockett will be ready for the start of the season meaning this is a group that can return intact in 2017 if Seattle wants.

The future of Kearse has been hotly debated in some fan circles. But his contract — he has a $3.66 million dead cap number for 2017 — just about ensures he’ll be back.

Carroll, though, acknowledged they’ll hope for better in 2017.

“It wasn’t as good as he’s had but he was busting his tail all year long and he’s a really good player and I don’t think he’s lost anything,’’ Carroll said. “It’s just the numbers didn’t feel that way.”

The team hopes Richardson’s big plays in the playoffs mark a turning point — he’s entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract in 2017 and his future with the team undoubtedly rests on how he performs (and his durability) next season.

“Going into the next year we’re just counting on him being a big factor,’’ Carroll said. “I think he was able to give us the same sparks that Tyler gave us and we think the world of Tyler. It’s a good-looking group.’’

Next season also looms as a big year for Williams with the Seahawks undoubtedly bringing in competition in camp (with Carroll also noting in his end-of-season press conference how eager he is to see the progress of Kenny Lawler — a seventh-round pick in 2016 who spent the year on the practice squad — next year).

NEXT: Tight ends.