Seattle Seahawks 2020 Preview
Can Russell Wilson takeover the toughest division in football?
TEAM OVERVIEW
An 11–5 season and a second-place finish in the much improved NFC West ended at the hands of a divisional-round loss to the Packers. Retaining many of the same stars that were productive in 2019, head coach Pete Carroll will continue to implement his run-first offense with Pro Bowl QB Russell Wilson under center. Wilson has been nothing short of stellar in his 8-year career and is coming off a season where he posted the second-highest Pro Football Focus (PFF) passing grade, at 90.8. With the 4th most rushing yards and a 46% run rate in 2019, Seattle provides Wilson with some of his best opportunities by running play action, a facet of the game the QB excels in. In Wilson’s 173 play action dropbacks, he threw for 9.4 yards per attempt and a 124.4 passer rating while completing 71.2% of his passes which all ranked top-10 among QBs last year (PFF). Outside of what should once again be a successful offense, the biggest questions about Seattle surround a defense that lost three-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney to free agency and gave up the seventh most yards to opposing offenses last year. Even with another year of sub-par defensive output, Seattle remains firmly in the hunt for another NFC title as long as Russell Wilson continues to cook under center.
2019 TEAM DATA & FANVEST’S 2020 ESTIMATES
SEA 2019 REGULAR SEASON AGAINST THE SPREAD (ATS) PERFORMANCE
FANVEST’S 5 FANTASY IMPACT PLAYERS
Any team that runs the ball as much as Seattle is bound to produce a strong fantasy RB, and for the Seahawks, that guy is Chris Carson. With 1,008 yards after contact and 62 avoided tackles in 2019 (PFF), the 25 year-old rusher has proven he can put up big numbers if provided with ample carries. With presumptive backup RB Rashaad Penny still working back from a 2019 ACL tear, Carson may be in for a boost in carries to start the season. Currently being drafted as RB17, Carson has all the makings of a strong 3rd-round fantasy value.
QB Russell Wilson has finished as a top-5 fantasy QB in each of the last three years, and is appropriately priced as fantasy QB6 in current ESPN drafts. From a fantasy perspective, the only real negative about Wilson is Seattle’s aversion to throwing the ball, but he is so talented that it’s certainly not enough to draft him outside the top-50. Averaging 19.2 fantasy points per game throughout his entire career gives us a good idea of what to expect from Russ in 2020: dominance.
Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf will command the majority of the WR targets, and both players offer strong upside at their respective draft positions. Both players earned 25 or more targets of 20+ yards downfield (PFF) while also drawing roughly 20% of the target share. With both players being given such a high volume of deep targets, inconsistent fantasy scoring is something prospective drafters should anticipate for 2020. Regardless, both WRs should be started in any league with 10 or more teams, but the low floor / high ceiling scoring nature of both players make them better suited for Best Ball and DFS tournaments.
TE will likely be a timeshare after Seattle signed veteran Greg Olsen and Will Dissly fully recovers from his 2019 Achilles injury. Olsen is entering his age-35 season, and presents very limited fantasy upside since he hasn’t played a full season or eclipsed 100 targets since 2016. Dissly flashed great promise in his sophomore season last year where he averaged 12.3 PPR points per game in weeks 1–6 while posting an incredible 148.2 passer rating when targeted. Once he’s back up to 100% Dissly will be a top-12 fantasy TE and could be a draft steal as the 28th TE off the board on ESPN.
SEA 2020 WIN TOTAL & OUTLOOK
The Fanvest model and the FanDuel Sportsbook both offer up the same win total of 9.5 making neither the over nor the under a reasonable bet unless there is a dramatic shift in FanDuel’s line.
