The Seahawks say Doug Baldwin entered training camp experiencing knee soreness, and will be sidelined "a few weeks." I'm making somewhat of a leap here, but the oddly lengthy timetable (not "day-to-day," for example) makes me think they know more than they're saying; that there's something more here than simple soreness. I hope I'm wrong, but it's not unreasonable to be worried about Baldwin being 100 percent for the start of the season.
The former undrafted free agent is as tough as they come, missing only 2 games in his seven-year career. I don't have much doubt he'll be out there when the games start. But sore knees entering camp doesn't suggest a problem that will go away with a few weeks rest; it might be an issue he has to deal with at the start of the season, sitting out practices and making missing some snaps during games. When I'm in drafts and he comes up in the rankings, I'm probably going to be looking at comparable players maybe a spot or two behind him.
Of broader concern is the fact that Baldwin is the clear No. 1 receiver in Seattle's offense, and the Seahawks have already said goodbye to their No. 2 and 3 receivers from last year, at least in terms of targets. Seattle had three players targeted at least 75 times a year ago. Baldwin is the only one still on the roster.
| RECEIVER TARGETS, 2017 (75-PLUS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Tgt |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 96 | 1378 | 13 | 174 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 101 | 1533 | 9 | 163 |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 112 | 987 | 9 | 161 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 109 | 1156 | 6 | 161 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 102 | 1393 | 6 | 159 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 104 | 1245 | 5 | 149 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 88 | 1444 | 3 | 148 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 75 | 1078 | 8 | 143 |
| Adam Thielen, Minn. | 91 | 1276 | 4 | 142 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 83 | 949 | 5 | 140 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 71 | 1001 | 5 | 136 |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 69 | 838 | 6 | 132 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 83 | 1038 | 8 | 122 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 57 | 789 | 9 | 120 |
| Golden Tate, Det. | 92 | 1003 | 5 | 120 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 74 | 885 | 10 | 117 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 75 | 991 | 8 | 116 |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 64 | 722 | 6 | 115 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 63 | 941 | 7 | 114 |
| Brandin Cooks, N.E. | 65 | 1082 | 7 | 114 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 80 | 651 | 5 | 113 |
| Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 74 | 807 | 3 | 111 |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 63 | 840 | 8 | 111 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 74 | 824 | 8 | 110 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 57 | 966 | 4 | 109 |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 80 | 690 | 4 | 108 |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 61 | 1101 | 9 | 107 |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 85 | 655 | 2 | 106 |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 69 | 1084 | 8 | 105 |
| Kenny Stills, Mia. | 58 | 847 | 6 | 105 |
| Marquise Goodwin, S.F. | 56 | 962 | 2 | 105 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 75 | 1183 | 7 | 105 |
| Jamison Crowder, Wash. | 66 | 789 | 3 | 103 |
| Jermaine Kearse, NYJ | 65 | 810 | 5 | 102 |
| Michael Crabtree, Oak. | 58 | 618 | 8 | 101 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 81 | 826 | 5 | 100 |
| Jimmy Graham, Sea. | 57 | 520 | 10 | 96 |
| DeVante Parker, Mia. | 57 | 670 | 1 | 96 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak. | 48 | 680 | 7 | 96 |
| Marqise Lee, Jac. | 56 | 702 | 3 | 96 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 67 | 703 | 5 | 96 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 62 | 768 | 8 | 95 |
| Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 64 | 849 | 8 | 95 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 62 | 869 | 5 | 94 |
| Duke Johnson, Clev. | 74 | 693 | 3 | 93 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 47 | 555 | 2 | 92 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 66 | 653 | 4 | 92 |
| Mike Wallace, Balt. | 52 | 748 | 4 | 92 |
| Kendall Wright, Chi. | 59 | 614 | 1 | 91 |
| DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 50 | 668 | 3 | 90 |
| Brandon LaFell, Cin. | 52 | 548 | 3 | 89 |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 59 | 350 | 0 | 88 |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 53 | 482 | 6 | 88 |
| Jason Witten, Dall. | 63 | 560 | 5 | 87 |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 64 | 788 | 6 | 87 |
| Rishard Matthews, Tenn. | 53 | 795 | 4 | 87 |
| Jared Cook, Oak. | 54 | 688 | 2 | 86 |
| Eric Ebron, Det. | 53 | 574 | 4 | 86 |
| Danny Amendola, N.E. | 61 | 659 | 2 | 86 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 56 | 781 | 5 | 85 |
| Martavis Bryant, Pitt. | 50 | 603 | 3 | 84 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 59 | 731 | 2 | 84 |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 58 | 476 | 4 | 83 |
| Eric Decker, Tenn. | 54 | 563 | 1 | 83 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 61 | 631 | 1 | 83 |
| Keelan Cole, Jac. | 42 | 748 | 3 | 83 |
| Kyle Rudolph, Minn. | 57 | 532 | 8 | 81 |
| Paul Richardson, Sea. | 44 | 703 | 6 | 80 |
| Benjamin Watson, Balt. | 61 | 522 | 4 | 79 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 58 | 917 | 7 | 79 |
| Josh Doctson, Wash. | 35 | 502 | 6 | 78 |
| Terrance Williams, Dall. | 53 | 568 | 0 | 78 |
| Kelvin Benjamin, 2 tm | 48 | 692 | 3 | 78 |
| Cameron Brate, T.B. | 48 | 591 | 6 | 77 |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 59 | 448 | 2 | 77 |
Of course, those targets have to go somewhere. Tyler Lockett, for one; he was 4th on the team a year ago in that regard, and will now be a starter opposite Baldwin. And then?
Seattle signed a pair of free agents, Jaron Brown and Brandon Marshall. The latter seems like a long shot for the roster (and at 34, a long shot to stay healthy). But to push him off the roster, some youngster who's done nothing to this point will need to emerge. Last year's third-rounder Amara Darboh is your dynasty sleeper; Pete Carroll praised him yesterday. Praise from the relentlessly sunny Carroll doesn't always mean much, but better than the alternative. The linked article notes also that Brown is having a nice camp; he and Darboh are likely battling for that No. 3 role.
What's clear is that Darboh, Brown and Lockett are going to get a lot of reps in the preseason. Because it looks unlikely that we'll see any of Baldwin.
--Andy Richardson