BOB, GROZ AND TOM

Seahawks WR Paul Richardson ‘ready to go’ as Tyler Lockett’s understudy

Dec 29, 2016, 3:45 PM | Updated: Dec 31, 2016, 12:45 pm

Paul Richardson said he's excited for his expanded role in the Seahawks offense. (AP)...

Paul Richardson said he's excited for his expanded role in the Seahawks offense. (AP)

(AP)

It won’t be easy to replicate the game-breaking skills Tyler Lockett provides the Seahawks at receiver and as a kick returner. But third-year pro Paul Richardson has been biding his time, waiting for his chance to try.

“You know you can’t replace a Tyler Lockett,” Richardson said on “The Huddle” Thursday. “He’s quick, he makes plays and I just want to come in and use my speed to open up defenses, make them play honest and challenge teams vertically.”

Video: Tyler Lockett thanks fans for support after leg surgery

With Lockett lost for the season with a broken leg he suffered in the second quarter of Sunday’s loss to Arizona, Richardson, a former second-round pick, is now the team’s No. 3 receiver. He, Tanner McEvoy and Kasen Williams, who was promoted off the practice squad Tuesday, will likely see increased roles.

Richardson has 17 catches on 29 targets for 248 yards and one touchdown this season. His production picked up in the second half Sunday, catching a season-high four passes for 42 yards, including the game-tying touchdown late in Sunday’s loss. He also returned a pair of kickoffs for 56 yards.

Richardson, who tore his ACL in college and during his rookie season with the Seahawks and has been hampered by other injuries throughout his professional career, acknowledged that the physical limitations have been “very frustrating.”

“I’ve been able to focus on other things, focus on my faith, focus on my attention to detail at work and it has helped me to be prepared for this opportunity that I was given,” he said. “I’m ready, though. I stepped into it my rookie year and then I got hurt, and guys stepped up and it comes around again my third year and I’m ready to go.”

Richardson said he’s expanded his game immensely since his days at the University of Colorado, taking pride in his blocking on the outside, a skill that humbled him years ago.

“Now when I’m in, it’s not just like, ‘OK, he’s gonna go vertical,’” he said. “You don’t know what I’m gonna do when I’m in now. Because I do block, I do do short stuff, I don’t just go downfield.”

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