What You Need to Know:

• Wilson ranked 6th among QBs in fantasy points last year.
• He’s now finished as a top-12 QB in each of his 9 NFL seasons. That includes 5 top-6 finishes.
• Wilson is the only QB to throw 30+ TDs in each of the past 4 seasons.
  • He’s ranked top 2 in pass attempts into the end zone in all 4 of those seasons, according to Pro Football Focus.
• Wilson provided a nice weekly ceiling and floor last year.
  • He scored 35+ fantasy points in 4 games -- tied for 2nd most among QBs.
  • He scored 24+ points in 9 games -- tied for 3rd most.
• Wilson was spectacular over the 1st half of last season.
  • He averaged 318 passing yards and 3.5 TDs over his first 8 games.
  • He completed 71.0% of his passes and averaged 8.6 yards per attempt.
  • He ranked 2nd in Pro Football Focus’ passing grades among 34 qualifiers.
  • He ranked 2nd among QBs in fantasy points per game.
• But Wilson struggled over the 2nd half.
  • He averaged 209 passing yards and 1.5 TDs over his final 8 games.
  • He completed 66.3% of his passes and averaged 6.4 yards per attempt.
  • He ranked 16th in PFF’s passing grades among 35 qualifiers.
  • He ranked 17th at his position in fantasy points per game.
  • Wilson also went 11-of-27 for 174 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in the Wild Card loss to the Rams.
• There was talk early this offseason that Wilson and the Seahawks were headed for a divorce, largely due to disagreements between Wilson and HC Pete Carroll over the direction of the offense. That cooled off by the spring, so expect Wilson to be in Seattle for at least this season.
• The Seahawks canned OC Brian Schottenheimer and replaced him with Shane Waldron.
  • Waldron’s only OC experience came at Buckingham Browne & Nichols High School in 2011.
  • He spent the past 4 seasons as passing-game coordinator/QBs coach for the Rams under Sean McVay.
  • He also worked under Bill Belichick in New England in 2008 and 2009.
• The Seahawks return WRs D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, who accounted for 56% of the team’s receiving yards and 50% of the receiving TDs last year.
• Seattle added WR D’Wayne Eskridge with the 56th overall pick of this spring’s draft. He’s the favorite to replace David Moore as the #3 WR. Eskridge has a shaky prospect profile but boasts elite speed, clocking a 4.40-second 40 time at his Pro Day.
• The Seahawks also signed TE Gerald Everett to a 1-year, $6 million deal in free agency.
  • Everett spent the past 4 seasons with the Rams, alongside Waldron.
  • He split time with Tyler Higbee throughout that time but did top 400 yards in both of the last 2 seasons.
  • Everett ranked 13th in yards per route run and 8th in PFF receiving grade among 40 qualifying TEs in 2019; 18th and 28th among 43 last year.
• The Seahawks’ offensive line has been a problem for years.
  • They’re ranked 18th, 30th and 20th in Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking grades the last 3 seasons; 30th, 24th and 30th in adjusted sack rate.
  • They’re expected to return 4 of 5 starters from last year’s unit. The new guy is G Gabe Jackson, who Seattle acquired from Vegas in exchange for a 5th-round pick. Jackson has ranked top 19 in PFF’s pass-blocking grades in 7 straight seasons.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

Wilson has been as reliable as they come, finishing as a top-12 fantasy QB in each of his 9 seasons. He ranked 6th last year.

But 2020 was a tale of 2 seasons for him. Wilson was excellent over his first 8 games, ranking 2nd among QBs in fantasy points per game. But his numbers sunk across the board over the final 8. Wilson was QB17 in fantasy points per game over that stretch.

The question is whether that was a blip or the start of a downward trend for a guy who will turn 33 in November. We’re betting on the former, but Wilson comes with a bit more risk in 2021 fantasy drafts than he has in the past.