YAC Man Cometh? Laviska Shenault Eager to Shine in Unique Role For Seattle Seahawks

Joining a loaded Seahawks receiving corps, Laviska Shenault's specific set of skills may set him up for more opportunities than expected in Ryan Grubb's offense.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (81) is brought down by Tennessee Titans safety Mike Brown (44) and Tennessee Titans linebacker Otis Reese IV (41) during the second quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

RENTON, Wash. - Hitting the free agent market for the first time in March, Seattle Seahawks receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. hoped to have plenty of suitors for his talents as the former second-round pick looked for a fresh start.

But coming off an injury-plagued season in Carolina, despite still being only 25 years old, Shenault didn't have many teams inquire about him once the new league year arrived. In fact, as he told reporters on Tuesday, one of the few teams in the running for his services wanted him to change positions, something the Irving, Texas native wasn't interested in doing at this stage of his career.

"It wasn't too crazy. I didn't have a lot of teams trying to get me," Shenault explained. "The Commanders were trying to get me, but they wanted me to move to running back full-time. If I do that, that's something I want to do in my own time, but it wasn't too much going on."

Luckily for Shenault, free agency often times isn't about how many teams want a player. It simply boils down to having one team that emerges as the right fit, and even with a loaded receiving corps already featuring DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and rising sophomore Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks emerged as that ideal fit.

Only a few months after signing the dotted line on a one-year contract with Seattle, early returns have been favorable for Shenault in offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's offense, as the team has effectively utilized him both in the passing and run game through two preseason games. He also has been a standout on special teams, where he has thrived as a return specialist and a blocker with the NFL's newly-implemented kickoff rules.

In his first two games as a Seahawk, according to Pro Football Focus charting, Shenault has caught five out of six targets as a receiver, turning an average depth of target of just 2.2 yards into 58 yards and 11.6 yards per reception. Built with a powerful 220-pound frame, most of that yardage has come with the ball in his hands, where he's averaged 10.4 yards after the catch and produced two forced missed tackles.

"You just cut on the tape and you see what I do when I get the ball in my hands," Shenault said. "Unfortunately, though, everybody knows that's about to come, but at the same time, that's my niche. I'm a YAC player, so I got to take it another step." 

Out of the backfield, Shenault has been equally effective, turning two jet sweeps into a pair of five-yard runs and forcing two additional missed tackles. This success shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as he rushed for 252 yards on 50 career carries in his first four seasons with the Jaguars and Panthers, which served as part of the fuel behind teams such as the Commanders wanting him to move to running back full time in a Cordarelle Patterson-like switch up.

But maybe most importantly, Shenault has looked like a natural on the NFL's new kickoff, which features two returners inside the 20-yard line. In Seattle's preseason opener in Los Angeles, on his first chance to show what he could do with the new rules, he bolted 44 yards on an explosive return.

According to Shenault, the rule changes have made the kickoff more condensed, functioning almost like a run play where "there's holes to hit and you just got to hit it." Considering his Swiss army knife skill set and his running back background, he checks off all the boxes as an ideal returner for the modernized kickoff, which was a key component of the Seahawks signing him to begin with.

One week later, with undrafted rookie Dee Williams catching the kickoff next to him, Shenault showed off another reason he's a great fit for the new kickoff rules, making a vicious block to help spring his teammate for a 41-yard return. Though he earned a "couple of pluses" from the Seahawks coaching staff for the bruising lead block, in hindsight, he admitted that he wishes he wouldn't have left his feet in the process.

"That was a little crazy. I probably was doing too much," Shenault laughed. "I probably could have stayed on my feet and actually did more, but that was fun. That was a very great way to start the game."

Signed as a reserve receiver by Seattle in March, Shenault has flashed his unique array of traits on offense and special teams throughout training camp and the first two preseason games, improving his stock with plenty of other talented receivers jockeying to make the team. Like any veteran on a one-year, league minimum contract trying to impress a new staff, he's still keeping his head on a swivel with six days until cut down day.

But if the last three weeks have been any indication, between Shenault's long touchdown catches at practice and body blows dished out as a blocker on kick returns, he should be safely on the right side of the bubble. As Grubb has done in the past at Washington, Fresno State, and prior stops, he values gadget players like Shenault who can line up all over the formation and can pitch in as weapons in a myriad of ways.

With his ability to slip through tackles either on screens or as a runner and combination of burst and size to win over the top, after being largely unwanted when free agency opened, even with so many mouths to feed, Shenault's ability as a YAC master and hard-nosed runner could open up opportunities for more touches than expected in an exciting complementary role for the Seahawks. Adding in his special teams value, he shouldn't have to be sweating it out on August 27.

"It can be very mentally stressful, but you got to trust yourself. You have to trust what you're putting on the tape, every day come out and at 110 percent, but I think the main thing is just staying in the moment. You really can't do anything about the decisions they make, but what you come out and put on film is big."