Deon Butler - wide receiver
There's no way around it. The Seahawks wide receivers are injury prone. Even highly touted new arrival T.J. Houshmandzadeh has been known to miss some games to injury.
So rookie Deon Butler stepping up and being more than just a rookie becomes all the more important.
Even if he enters the season the number four receiver, chances are he'll get his chances either out of the slot or as a starter. And he'll need to make the most of them.
To continue...
One thing working in Seattle's favor is Butler's history as a quick learner. Upon entering Penn State as a walk-on, one-star athlete, Butler immediately emerged as a starter and go-to player.
Here are his college stats:
Backups float or sink
The Seahawks have a history of backup wide receivers being relied upon to come in and produce in a pinch. The success of those players has often determined the success of the offense as a whole.
In 2005, Seattle lost its top three receivers at once for a stretch (Darrell Jackson, Koren Robinson, Bobby Engram).
Rather than flounder offensively and lose some key games, players such as Joe Jurevicius and D.J. Hackett stepped up in a big way to make key plays.
On the flipside, players such as Courtney Taylor and Jordan Kent failed miserably as starters last year, and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had no one to go to.
Butler's rookie projection
In the Projecting the Rooks series, Butler's rookie numbers were projected to be 426 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Now, obviously someone pulled those numbers out of their ass (cough, cough).
But if Butler is forced into the starting lineup for more than a few games, then he's going to have to put up far better numbers than that.
Seattle needs him to be more productive than your average rookie receiver taken in the third round if they're to have consistent, long-term success throwing the ball this season.
And if Seattle isn't throwing the ball successfully, then they aren't heading to the playoffs. Because of that, Butler may wind up being Seattle's most important rookie this year, and the one they most need to make an instant impact.
Number 1 - Jim L. Mora
Number 2 - Chris Spencer
Number 3 - Julius Jones
Number 4 - Gus Bradley
Number 5 - Brian Russell
Number 6 - Lawrence Jackson
Number 8 - Ken Lucas
Number 9 - Leroy Hill
Number 10 - Brandon Mebane
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
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