Can Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker And Zach Charbonnet All Thrive In Fantasy Football?

The Seahawks added two big pieces to their offense via the draft this offseason. Their WR room is one of the best in the NFL, and they have two young RBs who are both capable of being RB1s within the offense. They are unlikely to beat out the 49ers for the top spot in the NFC West, however, they are expected to compete for one of three NFC wild card spots. They will also produce plenty of fantasy points, so let's look at the key players and their fantasy football outlooks.

QB Geno Smith Fantasy Football Outlook

Smith was among the most pleasant surprises at the QB position in 2022. He was an excellent passer, one of the most efficient in the league, actually, and now he enters another full year in this offense, an offense that added one of, if not the best, WR in this past draft class (Jaxon Smith-Njigba). At this point, Geno is being drafted as a QB2 who can be had in the ninth or tenth round of 1-QB leagues. He has an elite WR corps, though, and if Smith-Nijgba lives up to his hype, there is a pathway to Geno repeating as a QB1 in fantasy and possibly even top 10. In 2QB or Superflex, I would look to draft Geno as the 13th-15th QB off the board and no later than Round 6. 

RB Ken Walker Fantasy Football Outlook

The latest you should be able to draft Walker is in Round 5. He is incredibly explosive and put together some monster games in the second half of last season. He was one the worst RBs in the NFL when it came to the number of rushes he had that went for zero or negative yards, but he also was towards the top of the league in rushes that went for double-digit yards. The prior could be a product of offensive line play; the latter is a product of just how dynamic Walker can be. My only concern with him this year is that the Seahawks brought in a very capable RB in Zach Charbonnet, who could eat into a lot of Walker’s workload, if not take over as the lead back at some point. It might be hard for either guy to finish in the top 20-25 if they split touches, where on their own they could both easily be top 20 backs. 

RB Zach Charbonnet Fantasy Football Outlook

Even though Walker is the RB1 in this offense as it stands now, many people, including myself, believe that we are more likely to see a 1A and 1B situation in the early going of this season. Charbonnet is expected to be the 1B, of course, considering he is a rookie, but I can’t ignore the fact that Charbonnet has shown better pass-catching skills than Walker, dating back to their college days, and he is also a bigger back than Walker, which could lead to red zone carries going Charbonnet’s way. I would love to recommend drafting them both; the problem is, where you have to take Charbonnet (Rounds 8-9), it is too early for a handcuff-type pick. In saying that, I do think if you don’t take Walker early, Charbonnet becomes worth the high upside/high reward pick because he could become the RB1 in Seattle but comes at an RB3/RB4 price. 

WR DK Metcalf Fantasy Football Outlook

I am a Metcalf truther, and he is easily my most rostered player across all my leagues, Dynasties, Keepers and Redraft. He is as fast, strong and talented as any WR in the NFL not named Justin Jefferson or Ja’Mar Chase. The problem is Metcalf has a lot of competition for targets. Last season he was able to get a ton of looks with his main competition being Tyler Lockett, however, the addition of Jaxon Smith-Njigba has complicated things. Metcalf did see a career-high in red zone targets in 2022, which might not change in 2023, so his TD production could go unaffected; it’s his overall targets that concern me if both Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett remain healthy all season. Due to his target totals being in question, you may want to wait until the beginning of Round 5 to take Metcalf as a mid-range WR2. The problem is that if you are in a league with someone who loves him as I do, Metcalf won’t make it out of Round 4. 

WR Tyler Lockett Fantasy Football Outlook

Lockett continues to be unbelievably consistent. He has racked up 1,000 receiving yards in four straight seasons and has at least eight TDs in five straight years. Not many WRs in the league can say that. My issue with Lockett is this: He is 31 years old, he has had some issues with injuries, and just like with Metcalf, Lockett is bound to see a decrease in targets with the arrival of Smith-Njigba. Lockett should be taken in Round 7 or 8 of most drafts, with the expectation that he can still deliver WR3 production. His volume will be less, but that doesn’t change the big-play ability that he has shown off throughout his career. 

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba Fantasy Football Outlook

This kid has so much upside that his ADP would likely have continued to rise had he not suffered a wrist injury in a preseason game. Assuming he does return to full health early in the season, JSN certainly has a lot of competition for targets in this offense, however, we know how quickly injuries can occur in the NFL. Should Lockett or Metcalf pick up an injury of their own, Smith-Njigba is going to fly back up draft boards. Should an injury occur in-season, he would go from a projected WR4 type to a low-end WR2. If an injury doesn’t occur, he can still be a useful player because of his skill set and the fact that the Seahawks drafted him in the first round. There’s a reason they made him the first WR picked in the draft, and it wasn’t that so he could have his talent wasted on the sideline. This team will run a lot of three-WR sets and utilize all of their talented receivers.

TE Noah Fant Fantasy Football Outlook

Personally, I am not drafting Fant this season. He is likely to start the year on waivers anyway, so if he has a good couple of weeks early on, you can always add him. There are only so many targets to go around in the passing game, and the WRs on this team are going to dominate them. It is also worth noting that Fant has seen his catch and yardage totals drop in each of the past two seasons, even though he hasn’t played in fewer games. He likely needs to be traded out of Seattle or have a major injury to a WR in order to have value in season-long fantasy.

K Jason Myers Fantasy Football Outlook

Myers finished as a top-five kicker in 2022 while making nearly 90% of his field goals and 95% of his extra points. He is consistently a K1 in 12-team leagues, and there is no reason to believe that he won’t be again. In fact, there is actually reason to believe that he could be better in 2023, considering the upgrades that were made to this offense. Feel good about drafting him anywhere later than the eighth kicker off the board.

Seahawks DST Fantasy Football Outlook

This wasn’t a good defense in 2022. That’s why they addressed it in the draft by taking a CB, Devon Witherspoon, in Round 1 and linebacker Derick Hall in Round 2. They also brought back long-time Seahawk Bobby Wagner, who is a fan and coach favorite. Those moves alone should help them improve; however, this unit overall still doesn’t project to be a top 12-15 unit in fantasy. They are a good streaming option in certain matchups, and, if their rookies adapt quickly, they could become a team to rely on in the second half of the season.

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