San Francisco 49ers: Stacking up the wide receiver groups in the NFC West

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SEATTLE, WA – DECEMBER 03: Wide receiver Doug Baldwin #89 of the Seattle Seahawks makes a reception against the Philadelphia Eagles at CenturyLink Field on December 3, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

Seattle Seahawks

Key Contributors: Doug Baldwin, Brandon Marshall, Tyler Lockett

Between Doug Baldwin and Paul Richardson, the Seahawks receivers did a pretty good job last season. Baldwin had 991 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, while Richardson notched 703 yards and six touchdowns.

Tyler Lockett was third among Seattle receivers with 555 yards on 45 receptions and a pair of scores.

Richardson is gone now though, having joined Washington. And along with him, obviously, went a large chunk of Seattle’s offense.

To help fill the gap, the Seahawks brought in Brandon Marshall, though just how much punch he’ll add is unclear at this point. At best, it’s a lateral move to go from Richardson to Marshall. At worst, it’s an absolute dumpster fire.

Marshall is now three years removed from his last good season. With the Jets in 2015, Marshall had 1,502 receiving yards on 109 catches and 14 touchdowns. Those numbers tapered off in 2016 – 788 yards on just 59 receptions, and three touchdowns.

And last season, an injury limited him to just five games total – in which, he had 18 receptions for just 154 yards.

But, that’s who Seattle brought in to revitalize their passing attack. Okay.

When healthy and at his best, Marshall can be a game changer. He’s had 1,000 yards or better in eight of his 13 seasons in the league. But, those days seem far behind him now. At 34 years old, how much can be reasonably expected to contribute?

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Baldwin is their number one guy, no doubt about it. And Lockett has never been anything more than a role player over his three years in the league, basically. He’s a complementary piece, who’s made just 25 starts in 47 total games over his career.

Seattle better hope that Marshall can find the fountain of youth or that Lockett is ready to step up and be more than a complementary piece when the seasons starts, or Russell Wilson isn’t going to have a lot of weapons to work with.