Tyler Lockett Ranks As One Of The NFL’s Best Slot Receivers

Seahawks wideout Tyler Lockett has made his fair-share of lists and rankings this offseason, getting his due props as an elite receiver. Back in May, Lockett earned the Seattle Male Sports Star of The Year award, and in June Lockett was named one of the league’s best difficult pass-catchers. In the latest from Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, he lists his Top-11 receivers from the slot. Coming in at No. 10 is Lockett, even with limited reps from the inside in 2021.

Farrar’s data and rankings were compiled from a few different criteria, and he starts out by addressing the elephant in the room. The Seahawks really didn’t line up much in the slot – but Farrar explained his reasoning.

If the first thing you thought after reading this was, “I bet the Seahawks don’t do enough to attack opposing defenses in the slot,” you would be correct. Seattle had the NFL’s fewest slot targets by far in the 2021 season, with 164. The Vikings, 49ers, Bills, and Saints rounded out the bottom five.

Farrar explained why even with limited reps from the inside, Lockett was one of the most-impactful slot receivers in the league in 2021.

“As mentioned in the intro to this article, the Seahawks didn’t do a lot from the slot last season. When they did, however, Lockett — who has been one of the NFL’s more underrated receivers for a while now — was the pointman for opponent destruction. This was especially true on deep passes from the slot. Overall, Lockett caught 30 of 40 slot targets for 510 yards and three touchdowns. But on passes of 20 or more air yards, he was especially dangerous, with 12 catches for 408 yards, 299 air yards, and all three touchdowns. Only Cooper Kupp had more deep slot catches last season, and Kupp had far more opportunities, with 144 total slot targets.”

Read more on Farrar’s list here.