Tyler Lockett stepped into a bigger role as a receiver Thursday night for the Seahawks, and had his best game of the season.
The Seahawks moved Tyler Lockett into the No. 2 receiving spot behind Doug Baldwin. Lockett replaced Jermaine Kearse in the receiving rotation, and in his first game with an expanded role, Lockett had seven catches for 130 yards and one touchdown.
It was Lockett’s first 100-yard receiving game of the season and only the second of his career.
Lockett was hampered by injuries early in the season, but he has looked explosive in the past few weeks. He caught a 57-yard touchdown against the Rams, turned quick passes in the flat into healthy gains and created separation down the field.
There’s been a lot of debate lately about the play of Kearse. Some of it is warranted; he hasn’t made as many big plays as he has the past few seasons. Some of it is not; purely looking at his number of targets skews the number of catchable passes he’s actually had.
But it was also clear how dangerous Lockett can be and the boost he provided the offense. He’s a good route runner and can hurt teams both with his speed down the field and his precision underneath. His ascension to No. 2 receiver wasn’t a big surprise and the move paid off.