Seahawks 90-Man Roster Rundown: Freddie Swain

After doubling nearly every receiving stat in his second season, Swain will try to improve his game even further to secure the third wide receiver position.

Ted Zahn | Jul 11, 2022

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Seattle Seahawks

With the calendar flipping to July and offseason programs wrapped up across the country, NFL training camps will begin around the NFL in less than a month's time. To celebrate the new incoming season, the All Seahawks staff will be breaking down the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, exploring best and worst case scenarios and what to expect from each player entering the 2022 campaign.

Freddie Swain, Receiver

Height/Weight: 6-foot, 199 pounds

2021 Stats: 25 receptions, 343 yards, four touchdowns

Late-round receiver draft picks have been a mixed bag for the Seahawks. For every David Moore, there’s a Kenny Lawler or John Ursua. Hoping for the former of those examples, Seattle chose wide receiver Freddie Swain out of the University of Florida in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Since then, he’s appeared in all 33 regular season games while also fielding kickoffs in 2020 and punts in 2021. Swain is not overly impressive in his size or athletic profile but makes up for that deficiency with his football IQ according to wide receiver coach Sanjay Lal. Swain can quite literally be classified as Seattle’s forgotten man. At least a few times each season, he is left inexplicably wide open including on a 68-yard touchdown against the Tennessee Titans in 2021. Swain has been a steady contributor as both a wide receiver and special teamer thus far.

Best Case Scenario: Continuing to expand his game at wide receiver, the dependable Swain locks up the third wide receiver position by being available and reliable throughout training camp and preseason. His 2022 stats look similar to last year – even with questions surrounding the quarterback – as he finishes with over 350 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Worst Case Scenario: Being consistent isn’t enough for Swain, as he is passed up on the depth chart by a finally healthy Dee Eskridge and loses snaps during the season to one of the rookie receivers. To make matters worse, he is replaced as a punt returner in hopes of finding someone who will produce more explosive plays in the return game.

What to Expect in 2022: There shouldn’t be a question about Swain’s spot on the roster in 2022, just his placement on the depth chart. Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf are the clear-cut first and second options at wide receiver. Dee Eskridge will be given every chance to win the third spot if he can finally put the injuries behind him. Swain has already shown that he can be a reliable target, so he should have plenty of reps on the field. A renewed focus on running the ball would impact the number of targets for the whole wide receiver group, and the trickle-down effect could cut Swain’s amount even further. Seventh-round pick Bo Melton returned punts in college at Rutgers, so he could be part of the competition to be the primary punt returner. Taking all of this into account, Swain will be competing more for the number of reps he’ll receive during the regular season rather than just trying to make the 53-man roster out of training camp.

Previous Seahawks 90-Man Roster Profiles

Published Jul 11, 2022

TED ZAHN