Seahawks’ Tyler Lockett calls historic rookie season just ‘decent’

After signing his name all over the franchise rookie record book – and propelling himself into the NFL Rookie of the Year conversation – it’s pretty surprising to hear Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett describe his first regular season as just “decent.”

“I think I did a decent job,” Lockett said on the Seahawks postgame show after their 36-6 win over Arizona on Sunday. “Of course there’s a lot of things I need to learn, just the way I saw myself in college and coming here. The transition wasn’t bad, but there are still some things that I did well in college that I know I can be able to do well at this level. It’s just gonna take some time for me to get there.”

Lockett had already become just the second rookie in the last 15 years to score touchdowns via receiving, punt return and kick return in a season, but he made more history Sunday, rocketing past Seattle’s 17-year-old single-game punt return yards record with 139 yards on four returns. Lockett’s 1,915 all-purpose yards for the season also set a team rookie record, and his 379 total yards in punt returns during the regular season rank second-highest by a Seahawks rookie. His 51 receptions were good for sixth all-time by Seattle rookies.

What more is there for the humble third-round pick to show?

“You just gotta wait and see,” he said.

Other highlights from the postgame conversation:

On his punt returns: “I think we did a tremendous job executing. It all started with practice. It’s always those 10 people out there that make my job a lot easier. I catch the ball and it’s like I have 15 yards to the opponent and it’s all about how we hold up, the way that people continually stay on their blocks.”

On whether he’s worried teams will start to kick away from him: “Oh no, it’s all about making the best out of the opportunities. Whenever they do kick, that’s whenever you have to take advantage of it, because you never know how many you’re going to get. We only had two kickoff returns I think today and all of them took a knee, so you never know when you’re going to get it but when you get it you’ve got to be ready and take advantage of it.”

On building momentum through field position: “Even when we played (Arizona on Nov. 15), we struggled in field position, and that’s the biggest thing we talk about on special teams is just making a difference to get our offense in the best position to be on the 30 or the other team’s 20 so we can have a better chance to score. Being able to have great field position this game is what allowed us to be successful.”

On his health for the postseason: “I’m ready. The regular season was just getting us ready for the playoffs. Now it’s win or go home. Regardless of how your body feels, regardless of what the case may be, you gotta be out there and you gotta be ready. You gotta play every down as if it’s your last.”