Lions sign Golden Tate. That looks like a vertical move for him. He’ll get a lot more opportunities in Detroit than he was going to get in Seattle.
The Seahawks have plenty of other receivers. Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse are both Tate-type receivers. Those guys can play. And Percy Harvin should be their go-to guy. Keeping him healthy will be a priority. Harvin has had lots of injury problems, and if and when he gets hurt, then Seattle might be thin at wide receiver (let’s see who else they sign and draft).
Detroit last year averaged 41 pass plays were game. Seattle, on the other hand, was down at 29 pass plays per game, 2nd-fewest in the league.
The Lions, ironically, used two other former Seahawks receivers behind Calvin Johnson last year – Nate Burleson and Kris Durham – and didn’t get enough out of either of them.
For strictly fantasy purposes, however, none of the four primary receivers in this situation looks like a particularly valuable fantasy commodity – Tate, Harvin, Baldwin and Kearse. I don’t know that I’ll draft any of those four guys onto any of my teams this year.
But it’s early in the process, and I’m still researching.
| PASS PLAYS IN 2013 | |
|---|---|
| Team | Plays |
| Cleveland | 45.6 |
| Atlanta | 43.9 |
| Denver | 43.4 |
| New Orleans | 43.0 |
| Houston | 42.2 |
| New England | 41.8 |
| Baltimore | 41.7 |
| Detroit | 41.1 |
| Washington | 40.9 |
| Miami | 40.8 |
| Jacksonville | 40.1 |
| Pittsburgh | 39.3 |
| Dallas | 38.8 |
| Cincinnati | 38.5 |
| Arizona | 38.4 |
| Green Bay | 38.4 |
| Indianapolis | 38.4 |
| Chicago | 38.1 |
| NY Giants | 37.9 |
| Minnesota | 36.9 |
| Kansas City | 36.7 |
| San Diego | 35.9 |
| Tennessee | 35.6 |
| Buffalo | 35.6 |
| Oakland | 35.2 |
| Tampa Bay | 35.1 |
| Philadelphia | 34.6 |
| St. Louis | 33.9 |
| NY Jets | 32.9 |
| Carolina | 32.3 |
| Seattle | 29.0 |
| San Francisco | 28.5 |
—Ian Allan