Trio of Seahawks rookies standing out on offense going into playoffs

Dec 30, 2019, 2:28 PM

Travis Homer led the Seahawks in rushing and added five catches on Sunday. (Getty)

(Getty)

Seattle Sports

The Seahawks’ offense struggled to get going in Sunday’s 25-21 loss to the 49ers, but once it found its groove in the second half, San Francisco could literally only keep Seattle an inch away from pulling off a comeback victory.

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While veterans including the returning Marshawn Lynch and No. 1 receiver Tyler Lockett made big plays during the Seahawks’ late rally, there were integral down the stretch.

Running back Travis Homer, a sixth-round pick, jumps off the page the most. While Lynch received most of the attention, it was actually Homer that led Seattle with 62 rushing yards on 10 carries. He also was an important part of the passing game, hauling in five receptions on five targets for 30 yards, including two on the final drive.

DK Metcalf, a second-round wide receiver, continued his stellar rookie campaign with six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, giving him 900 receiving yards on the year. He also had two big catches on Seattle’s last drive.

And then there was John Ursua, the seventh-round pick Seattle traded back into the draft to get. He made just one catch – the first of his NFL career – but it was a big one. On fourth-and-10 at the 12, he got himself open and made an 11-yard reception to give Seattle a first down at the 1.

On Monday’s Pete Carroll Show on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant, the Seahawks head coach spoke on each of those three players. Here’s a look at what Carroll had to say.

Travis Homer

“This is the same guy we’ve seen since he got here. … He is a downhill, aggressive, really explosive kid, and he’s tough and his mindset is good. He’s leading the punt team. He’s done a lot of things for us all season long, so it’s not a surprise at all, we just need to get him out there. He’s a good player and you can see why. He’s got such a good burst and he attacks so well. He’s gonna be really good in the playoffs, too – I’m not worried about him one bit. Not even concerned about it at all other than he just takes some colossal hits – and delivers some colossal hits, too. He’s tough as nails. At 200 pounds, he hits you as hard as he can.”

DK Metcalf

“I think he will be a foundational guy. He’s gonna be a fixture. He’s tough, he’s smart, he’s totally equipped, he’s a great competitor, he’s a really good blocker. He’s a complete football player, he just needs to grow. … So often we don’t see rookie receivers do stuff like that, just to play the complete game. He’s already done that. So he’s in it and I think he’ll be a fixture for a long time.”

John Ursua

“It was a terrific route he ran. This is a route where you sit down in the end zone and (Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson) moved a little bit so in a natural sense he worked back to the quarterback. … It was a nice reaction. … He looked great in the instance. Johnny’s gonna be a really good player. … He’s really natural, he’s really instinctive. He is more classically like a young player who has a lot of stuff to learn. He was in a different style of offense (at the University of Hawaii) and he has a lot of things he has to carry over in terms of the discipline and splits and alignments and assignments and blocking assignments, all those kinds of things. It’s going to come to him because he’s a great athlete. I picture him being a really big factor. He’s as natural as you can get as a receiver.”

You can hear the full Pete Carroll Show in the second half of the podcast embedded in the player below or at this link.

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