Team news: Tennessee Titans | Page 45

Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett came back to play after suffering a sprained knee and caught a 53-yard pass in the final minutes.

There was really no other info provided other than Lockett was in some pain but managed to get back in the game. Obviously, that was good news but it's something to monitor this week.

Jags Inactives
Brandon Allen QB
Prince Amukamara CB
Tyson Alualu DT
Chris Ivory RB
Christopher Reed G
Bryan Walters WR
Chris Smith DE

Julius Thomas is dealing with an ankle injury but it good to go this week against the Chargers. It's a real nice matchup and Thomas is sixth on our TE list.

Pete Carroll has said Tyler Lockett is going to be "in the middle" of everything the Seahawks do offensively. He and Russell Wilson struggled at times to get their timing down last year, but Lockett showed he can get open downfield on a consistent basis. And if the summer is any indication, Lockett will see plenty of opportunities in the short game on screens and other plays where he can pick up yards after the catch. That should translate to consistent touches on a weekly basis.

The Seahawks are not a high-volume passing offense, but 900 yards and eight touchdowns is a reasonable projection for Lockett, and he has upside.

As a rookie, Lockett owned the #5 fantasy points per target (FP/T) in standard formats (#3 in PPR), and he plays in a historically efficient passing offense. The only issue is volume. Lockett saw just 69 targets in 2015, but averaged 5.4 T/G (and 57.1 yards) over the final nine games of the season, including the playoffs. That’s an 86-target (and a 913-yard) pace, so if he’s able to maintain his 1.48 FP/T, it would yield 128 fantasy points, which is about what Rueben Randle scored as the #28 WR last year. If Lockett is going to crack the top 20, he’ll need to see 6.0+ T/G. The good news is that Wilson has increased his pass attempts in each of the last three seasons, and with Marshawn Lynch retired, it sounds as if there will be more opportunity in the passing game for Lockett.

Pete Carroll almost always speaks positively about his players, but it's clear that Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett has become one of his favorites.

"He’s a legit player for us, and he’s right in the middle of all our planning and all of our preparation," Carroll said. "You have to deal with him in our offense. He’s going to be moved around to a lot. He'll be in a lot of different spots. He can do everything. We’re really pumped about him coming back. He looks so confident, which he always has. We had to make him prove it a little bit. But once we got a hold of the kind of dynamic player that he is, we used the heck out of him, and he’s going to get a lot of play time, a lot of stuff happening his way. Really helps Doug [Baldwin], really helps [Jermaine] Kearse. Those guys are great complements."

One of the things Lockett has focused on this offseason is beating press coverage. Some pegged Lockett, at 5-foot-10 and 182 pounds, exclusively as a slot receiver coming out of college. But according to ESPN Stats & Information, he lined up outside on 65.6 percent of his routes last season. And 63 percent of Lockett's receiving yards came when he set up out wide.

"The biggest thing is I’ve been going against Richard about 95 percent of the camp, and he’s just made me a better player," Lockett said. "Going against Richard (Sherman), I’ve got to be able to move him and get him off at the line, and I can’t use the same stuff every time because he’s a smart defender, so I’ve got to switch some things up.

"And if things don’t work, at least it doesn’t work in practice against him. If it does work, he’ll let me know and be like, ‘Hey, that was a good release. That really does work.’ And it just makes it easier for me to go against anybody else, especially on other teams, after I go up against the best DB in the league."

As a rookie, Lockett owned the #5 fantasy points per target (FP/T) in standard formats (#3 in PPR), and he plays in a historically efficient passing offense. The only issue is volume. Lockett saw just 69 targets in 2015, but averaged 5.4 T/G (and 57.1 yards) over the final nine games of the season, including the playoffs. That’s an 86-target (and a 913-yard) pace, so if he’s able to maintain his 1.48 FP/T, it would yield 128 fantasy points, which is about what Rueben Randle scored as the #28 WR last year. If Lockett is going to crack the top 20, he’ll need to see 6.0+ T/G. The good news is that Russell Wilson has increased his pass attempts in each of the last three seasons, and with Marshawn Lynch retired, it sounds as if there will be more opportunity in the passing game for Lockett.

Tyler Lockett continues to help the Seahawks in a number of ways. In last week's win over the Minnesota Vikings, he caught seven balls for 90 yards. Both were season highs. On one play, Lockett made a 29-yard reception down the right sideline, took a big hit from the safety and popped right back up. He has shown the ability to stretch the field and is really slippery on the screens and shorter routes that call for the receiver to pick up yards after the catch.

On the season, Lockett has 35 catches for 436 yards. Both marks rank fourth among rookie wide receivers. He's scored five touchdowns (two as a returner) and has a catch rate of 79.5 percent.

When he was coming out of college, some pegged Lockett as a slot receiver, but according to ESPN Stats & Information, 24 of his 35 receptions have come when he's lined up outside, the story said. Lockett has been targeted 15 times during the last three games. Fourteen of those attempts have resulted in completions for 176 yards. The story said Lockett could very well be targeted more the final month of the season as both QB Russell Wilson and the offense heats up.