Easop Winston Jr. Continues to Make Strong Case to Be Seattle Seahawks' Sixth WR

Steeped in a deep wide receiver competition with Dareke Young and Cody White, Easop Winston Jr. is doing everything he can to aid his chances of making the Seahawks' 53-man roster.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Easop Winston Jr. (13) hauls in a touchdown pass ahead of Tennessee Titans cornerback Tre Avery (23) during their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashvillet, Tenn., Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Through two preseason games, Easop Winston Jr. is making the competition for the Seattle Seahawks' sixth wide receiver spot on its eventual 53-man roster closer and closer.

Winston, who is leading the team in the preseason with 77 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches, is steeped in a competition with fellow wide receivers Dareke Young and Cody White. Seattle will almost certainly keep one of them on the roster following the final cutdown and, if they clear waivers, the other two will be brought back on the practice squad. The clearing waivers portion, however, is a big “if” with the talent of each player.

“Me and [Jake] Bobo were talking about it today — we’re deep at receiver,” backup quarterback Sam Howell said after Seattle’s 16-15 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday. “It’s only my third year in the league, but I’ve never seen a receiver room this deep. Especially with the twos and the threes that we have. It’s really impressive and a good problem to have. Unfortunately, every single guy can’t make the team. That’s the tough part about this business, but we got some really, really good football players in that room.”

Young may remain the favorite to be kept on the roster as a 6-2, 224-pound pass-catcher who also possesses 4.40 speed, but Winston and White are keeping it close. White has three catches for 63 yards in two games this preseason, while Young has four catches for 49 yards.

The advanced metrics show Winston has been by far Seattle’s best receiver through two games that has played at least 15 pass snaps. He has been the Seahawks’ highest-graded offensive player (91.8 grade) overall, per Pro Football Focus, and has run just 18 routes despite having the most receiving production. Young has run 44 routes and White has run 29.

As a result, Winston has posted a stellar 4.33 yards per route run in Seattle’s two games, per PFF. White is second at 2.17, while Young is fifth on the team at 1.11. Howell and third-team quarterback PJ Walker have had a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeting Winston.

“Sop can play. I love Sop. I love getting to play with him,” Howell added. “He’s got great hands, great ball skills, some of the best ball skills I’ve ever seen. In practice, he makes some ridiculous catches. He’s great versus press coverage. He’s got a great release package.”

This is preseason, so every statistic should be taken with a grain of salt. But Winston, who compiled 1,419 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in two seasons at Washington State, has been a standout for Seattle. He also displayed a veteran tendency on his touchdown reception on Saturday, showing his hands late to secure a perfect throw by Howell after beating Titans cornerback Tre Avery one-on-one via a go route down the right side of the field.

“I think that’s just something I’ve always did even since I was a kid. That wasn’t taught at all,” Winston said postgame. “And I’ll be honest if it was, but it wasn’t. And it was just something that I pride myself on in my game — never letting the DB know when the ball is coming. So, that was kind of a routine thing for me.”

Howell had plenty of confidence in Winston to pull in the throw. All he needed to see was Winston against press coverage with a single-high safety.

“When we were in the red zone today, they came up and pressed him and all I had to do was hold the safety a little bit and knew Easop was going to do the rest,” Howell said. “He’s a good player and I love playing with him. I love when he’s in there for sure.”

Winston, 27, bounced around to three different practice squads in his first three seasons in the NFL. He eventually landed with Seattle in October 2022 but has been released and brought back twice since. Winston has played in four regular season games (three with New Orleans in 2021) but has yet to catch a pass.

Easop Winston Jr. of the New Orleans Saints runs with the ball in the fourth quarter. Sunday, December 12, 2021. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

He is two years older than Young and White, which may hinder his chances if the Seahawks want a longer development timeline for their sixth pass-catcher. Now five years into his professional career, Winston is glad to still be presented opportunities in a league that can rip away chances quickly.

“I try not to look too far ahead. I treat every day as it is,” Winston said. “I just try to get better each and every day. I am thankful to God to be in this position; however it pans out, I’ll be grateful. I’m just grateful to be here. I know what it feels like to be on the outside looking in. So just to be here another year, like I said, I’m thankful and grateful and I’m blessed — very, very blessed.”

Winston was Seattle’s second-leading receiver in the 2023 preseason with six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, trailing only Jake Bobo (seven catches, 125 yards, two touchdowns). He still landed on the practice squad. Only time will tell if his preseason performances will be enough to earn him a spot on the 53-man roster in 2024.

Regardless of the result on cutdown day, one thing is certain: Just like last preseason, Winston got another ball to give his mother after catching a touchdown.

“I love getting questions about my mom because she just sacrificed a lot for me,” Winston said. “It’s a lot of times I wanted to give up on the sport. A lot of times she had to talk me out of a lot of dark places. So being here, I just owe it all to her and I know she watched. I can’t wait to talk to her.”