GLENDALE, Ariz. – If you need a big play, Ricardo Lockette is your guy.
The explosive rookie receiver, who spent most of the season on the practice squad for Seattle, has made the most of his opportunities the past two games.
His 61-yard, one-handed touchdown grab against Arizona cornerback Marshay Green was spectacular, tying the game at 20 in the fourth quarter, and would have gone down as the turning point of the game if Seattle had managed to get into field-goal range in its final two drives of regulation.
Lockette, who had a 44-yard catch against San Francisco last week, said his play the last two games has given him confidence he can be a regular contributor in his second season.
Lockette is averaging 52.5 yards a catch, which may be tough to match next season.
“With me, it’s all about confidence,” Lockette said. “Coming from a small school (Fort Valley State in Georgia), when I first got here I was on the practice squad, so it was kind of like, ‘Do I belong here and can I make plays?’
“Last week was my first catch, so that kind of opened the door. It’s kind of just like practice, so this week I had no jitters and I was just ready to make plays.”
Lockette has regularly made “wow” plays against the first-unit defense at practice, so Seattle quarterback Tarvaris Jackson wasn’t surprised to see him doing it during a game.
Now, it’s about making those plays consistently over the duration of the season. In order to help him do that, Jackson said he plans on inviting Lockette to come work out during the offseason in Minnesota with Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald and other pros who get together there.
“His upside is through the roof,” Jackson said. “He can run. He can catch. He has ball skills to make a bunch of big-time catches. It’s just about getting him to understand the NFL game.”
Seattle safety Earl Thomas said the most impressive thing about Lockette, a track sprinter, is his ability to get deep when other teams know that’s what he’s doing.
“If you ain’t got no sixth or seventh gear, you’re not going to cover him,” Thomas said. “And even when they know he’s in the game to run the deep ball, he still finds a way to get open. So that’s a credit to him, and you’re going to have to look out for him in the future.”
Lockette said to expect more of the same next season.
“I plan on blowing that out of the water,” Lockette said of his performance the final two weeks. “I have high expectations. I think I have greatness in the future.”
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437
eric.williams@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
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