Lockett says new offense looks like two-minute drill; Duane Brown ‘isn’t pleased’ no deal done yet
Fans who have long been clamoring for Seattle to run its two-minute drill offense more often might get their wish this year. That’s according to receiver Tyler Lockett, who recently inked a four-year, $69.2 million contract extension with the Seahawks.
“It looks a lot like what we do in two-minute from the past six years we’ve been here, but now it’s more efficient,” Lockett said of the new, up-tempo offense being installed by new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. “There’s a whole bunch of plays that Russ can choose from. It’s not just 15 plays like we used to have.”
Lockett estimates Wilson can choose from around 40 to 50 plays at the line of scrimmage now.
“You really have to be able to understand the offense and know every play and understand signals, understand the terminology and all that stuff,” Lockett said. “You’ve gotta know the whole entire offense. Because he can call whatever play he wants to call from the line of scrimmage because we have the words and all that type of stuff that goes within it. It’s very fast but it’s only going to be as fast as we’re able to pick up on it.”
Lockett said the team has been working hard to learn all the new terminology in the offense.
“We’re all pros,” Lockett said. “The biggest thing is, just because a lot of us graduated college doesn’t mean we’re not still in school. We sit here in meetings all the time where we have to learn 75, 80 plays going into games. But now for us, it’s more so being able to learn the concepts. Being able to really understand why we’re running a lot of these plays. Once you’re able to understand why, you’re able to dictate what the defense is doing.”
On Wednesday, Waldron said the offense doesn’t want to eliminate the deep-shot, explosive plays down the field and that it won’t be merely a ‘dink and dunk’ offense. That doesn’t mean the offense won’t feature more short and intermediate routes, though. Lockett said the offense is looking to take what the defense gives them more often this year, rather than trying to force the issue.
“(The new offense) has always been complex, it’s always been difficult,” Lockett said. “But everyone is starting to understand their assignment, understand what they’re supposed to do. We’re out here, it might not be a lot of explosive plays, but we’re moving the sticks.
“It’s not always about looking pretty or being explosive, but it’s being able to do the dirty work. That’s what you see a lot of us doing.”
An interesting position battle to watch during preseason games will be the No. 3 receiver spot. Second-year receiver Freddie Swain had some good catches on Friday and is making the most out of his chance to make his case while rookie second-round draft pick D’Wayne Eskridge remains on the sideline, working his way back from a foot injury.
“I see Freddie doing a lot of great things,” Lockett said. “Obviously, he’s understanding the assignments, understanding the offense.”
Pete Carroll had positive things to say about Swain midway through camp.
“Freddie is an all around dude, he can do everything,” Carroll said. “He blocks well, he catches the ball well, he runs with the ball after the catch, he’s really smart, and he plays multiple positions. Freddie is right in the mix of everything, he’s playing. I think he’s going to be really comfortable with everything that we are doing. He’s fighting for playing time in camp and he’s in great shape. We are very confident with him in the game.”
Lockett also said he thinks Eskridge’s training camp absence will motivate the rookie.
“Sometimes, when you’re not able to play, you get that hunger and you get that grit,” Lockett said. “You come out here and watch everybody else and you watch people in your position and it makes you say, ‘I can’t wait to get out here.’”
JAMAL ADAMS, DUANE BROWN STILL NOT PRACTICING
It was status quo on Friday afternoon with two of the team’s most important pieces. Safety Jamal Adams and left tackle Duane Brown both watched practice from the sidelines as they await new deals.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted on Friday afternoon that Brown, who is in the last year of a contract scheduled to pay him $10 million this season, ‘isn’t pleased’ that he hasn’t gotten a contract extension.
It seems unlikely Brown’s situation will be addressed before the team signs Adams to an extension. It’s not time to hit the panic button yet, but the longer Adams and Brown remain without extensions, the bigger the distraction potentially gets.
Seattle’s investment in trading away multiple draft picks for Adams makes it more than likely a deal will get done sooner than later. But it’s unclear whether Seattle will want to extend the 35-year-old Brown, and if the Seahawks do, just how far away the two sides are in negotiations.
EXTRA POINTS
Friday morning, Seattle announced it had signed former Iowa State basketball player Michael Jacobson, after waiving receiver Darvin Kidsy.
Jacobson, who is 6-foot-7, 244 pounds, played football at Waukee High School in Iowa, before opting to play basketball in college. He played two years at Nebraska before transferring to Iowa State, where he started 67 games over two seasons, averaging 9.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. As a junior, Jacobson helped lead Iowa State to a Big 12 tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
After finishing his college career, Jacobson spent last year playing for Kyiv-Basket of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague.
This isn’t the first time the Seahawks have attempted to convert a former college basketball player. Seattle signed George Fant as an undrafted rookie following his basketball career at Western Kentucky, and Fant went on to play 46 games, starting 24 as a tackle and a big tight end over three seasons before signing with the Jets as a free agent last year.
This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 5:53 PM.
