Bump: An area of added importance in Seahawks’ new offense

As a product of the famed Shanahan coaching tree, new Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is bringing a Shanahan-style rushing attack to the Pacific Northwest.

That means a heavy dose of outside-zone blocking schemes.

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It also means the Seahawks’ wide receivers better make sure their blocking skills are on point, according to former NFL wideout Michael Bumpus.

“You have to be a good blocking receiver if you want to play in this offense and if you want this offense to go,” Bumpus said during Tuesday’s edition of Four Down Territory on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

“A lot of the formations we’re going to see out of this Kubiak offense, the receivers are gonna be up tight (closer to the offensive line). They’re gonna (put) them in bunch formations and try to set the edge with those receivers. The tackle is gonna reach, but then it’s up to the slot (receiver) to climb and get that outside linebacker. It’s up to the wide receiver to get the corner. You have to be good at blocking.”

Pro Football Focus grades are certainly not the end-all, be-all, but they indicate the Seahawks wideouts were generally around middle-of-the-pack in run blocking this past season. DK Metcalf ranked 47th out of 133 wide receivers in run block grading, followed by Jake Bobo at No. 63, Tyler Lockett at No. 78 and Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 111.

“I’m not saying that these guys weren’t invested in blocking last year,” Bumpus said. “But this year, you’re gonna be forced to. … You have to be bought in, because you will be exposed fairly quickly (if not). The closer you get to the ball – the closer you get to those offensive linemen – the more violent this game gets.

“So if you’re not violent yourself, if you don’t get a good jump, if you don’t get your hands where you’re supposed to be and fight for your leverage as a receiver, it’s gonna show up on film more this year than it has in the past. … I’m not saying it’s gonna be a problem. There’s just gonna be a bigger emphasis on it with this offense.”

Listen to the full Four Down Territory segment at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• 2 ways Kubiak’s Seahawks offense could resemble the high-scoring Lions
• One thing Seattle Seahawks GM Schneider says never changes about O-line
• Seahawks GM: ‘We know exactly what our deficiencies are’
• New Seattle Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak describes vision for offense
• Huard: What a new development with Nwosu’s Seahawks contract says

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