Two years into his career, Wilson has defied the odds and proven to the other 31 teams in the league that they were fools for not choosing him in the first two rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Data as of July 21 | Current Cheatsheets | Current Projections

NR = Not ranked

QB Russell Wilson

Two years into his career, Wilson has defied the odds and proven to the other 31 teams in the league that they were fools for not choosing him in the first two rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft. After a superlative rookie season during which he led the Seahawks to a Divisional Playoffs loss, Wilson led Seattle to a Super Bowl triumph, cementing his status as one of the top quarterbacks in the league. While Wilson is clearly a winner and has consistently displayed the ability to make game winning plays, his fantasy prognosis isn’t quite as illustrious. With Seattle leaning heavily on the run game, Wilson has averaged just 400 passing attempts per season during his first two years in the league. Despite his low attempts, Wilson has somehow managed to throw for 26 touchdowns in each of his two years, a touchdown to attempt ratio of 6.5% (which would have ranked 3rd in the league last season). His ability to generate passing touchdowns and ability as a rusher (1,028 rushing yards and five touchdowns) have propelled his fantasy production so unless the Seahawks somehow morph into a passing team, that is what you are banking on with Wilson. Given that we expect the Seahawks to remain heavily committed to the running game, we feel it is best to hedge your bets on Wilson as a low end QB1. If that strikes your fancy, keep in mind that Wilson will throw up the odd dud as his five games with fewer than 15 points attest.

RB Marshawn Lynch

After three and a half years in Seattle, I guess we can conclude that the Seahawks won the trade with the Buffalo Bills for Marshawn Lynch. Last season, Lynch was the key cog in the Seahawks Super Bowl winning rushing attack, as he ran for 1,257 yards and matched a career-high with 12 touchdowns. For icing on the cake, he also reached career-highs in receiving yards with 316 and receiving touchdowns with two. While that’s all fine and dandy, there are a couple of red flags regarding Lynch’s fantasy prognosis for 2014. First off is that he has eclipsed 300 touches in each of the last three years and accumulated 1,094 touches over that stretch including playoff games. As you may have heard, such a heavy workload often leads to a decline in performance the following season and look no further than Arian Foster’s issues last season as evidence of that. Secondly, with two years left on his contract, including a healthy $7.5-million in salary and easily reachable bonuses in 2015, and with quarterback Russell Wilson in line for a lucrative, long term extension following the season, Lynch could be expendable following this season. That could lead the Seahawks to increase backup Christine Michael’s role and they have made noises about either using a committee approach or reducing Lynch’s usage in 2014. While we fully expect Lynch to once again approach 300 touches, a small decline in seems likely. Despite these risks, Lynch still rates as a mid-tier RB1 partly due to his ability to find the end zone on a consistent basis with 39 touchdowns over the past three seasons.

RB Christine Michael

After a season spent mostly sitting on the sideline, Michael, the Seahawks 2nd round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, seems poised to assume the lead backup role to Marshawn Lynch in 2014. An obvious physical specimen at 5’11” and 220 pounds, Michael has the size and speed to eventually take over as Seattle’s leading running back provided the character concerns that caused him to drop in the draft do not resurface. While there is little debate that Michael will push aside former top backup Robert Turbin, he is unlikely to leapfrog past Lynch this season barring injury. And, sorry, but we’re not buying into the reports out of Seattle that offensive coordinator Darren Bevell is planning on using a committee approach this season. Michael rates as a must-have handcuff to Lynch owners and a solid dynasty prospect.

RB Robert Turbin

Last season, Turbin fought off 2013 2nd round pick Christine Michael to hold onto the backup running back position behind Marshawn Lynch. Unfortunately, Turbin failed to repeat his solid performance as a rookie, finishing the season with just 264 rushing yards on 77 carries, for a less than stellar 3.4 yards per carry, and eight receptions for 60 yards. While we think Turbin has the requisite talent to enjoy a lengthy career in the league, we aren’t sold on his ability to hold off Michael in 2014. Simply put, Michael has too much talent and upside to barely play for a second season in a row. That will render Turbin unappealing for fantasy purposes.

WR Percy Harvin

After catching one pass during the regular season, Harvin displayed his game breaking ability in the Super Bowl, scoring on a kick return and gaining 45 yards on a pair of rushes. While there is little point in debating Harvin’s obvious jaw-dropping skill level and speed when healthy, his inability to remain healthy makes him a huge risk for fantasy purposes. During his first three years in the league, he seemed capable of playing through his various nicks, bruises and migraine issues, missing just three games. However, over the past two seasons, Harvin has missed 22 regular season games. Reportedly fully healthy, he will assume the role as the Seahawks leading wide receiver but question marks surround him in 2014. First, he must get up to speed with the Seahawks playbook and get in sync with quarterback Russell Wilson. Second, just how valuable is the leading wide receiver in the Seahawks heavily run-based offense? And, hey, there is the injury risk. Did we mention that Harvin has never topped 1,000 receiving yards or six receiving touchdowns during his five years in the league? If we generously (and optimistically?) project Harvin to gain 1,000 total yards and six touchdowns, that production would have him rated as the 23rd ranked wide receiver last season. Is Harvin worth the risk? Sometimes you don’t mind missing out a player’s breakout season based on their risk profile and that seems to be the case with Harvin in 2014.

WR Doug Baldwin

Baldwin has had a roller coaster ride during his first three years in the league. The former undrafted free agent had a surprisingly solid rookie season with 51 receptions for 788 yards and four touchdowns before seeing his production plummet to 29 receptions, 366 yards and three touchdowns in 2012. He rebounded last season as injuries to Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice opened up a spot in the starting line up, catching 50 passes for 778 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. While the Stanford product has displayed solid playmaking ability when given an opportunity and figures to open the season in the starting line up, the fact is that the Seahawks don’t seem sold that he is a long term option as a starter. With Golden Tate having departed in free agency, Seattle used 2nd and 4th round picks on Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood and re-signed Sidney Rice after first releasing him in the offseason. Consider Baldwin a back of the roster player on your fantasy squad or a potential waiver wire fill in as an injury or bye week replacement.

WR Jermaine Kearse

Kearse emerged as a decent backup receiver in his third year in the league, catching 22 passes for 346 yards and four touchdowns while averaging an eye popping 15.7 yards per catch. At 6’1” and 209 pounds, he possesses solid size to go along with better than average speed. And with Percy Harvin returning from injury and Golden Tate having taken his talents to Detroit, Kearse could carve out a bigger role for himself in 2014. Consistent veteran Doug Baldwin and a pair of rookies in Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood stand in his way. While we like Kearse’s talent level, we expect the Seahawks to mix and match at receiver this season with Harvin and Baldwin hogging the target count. Kearse could be a decent in-season waiver wire pickup.

WR Paul Richardson

After trading out of the 1st round, the Seahawks made Richardson their initial choice in this year’s rookie draft, grabbing him with the 45th overall selection. The speedy Colorado product checks in at 6’0” and 183 pounds and gives quarterback Russell Wilson another option in the passing game. While reports out of Seattle suggest Richardson looked solid in OTAs, he is unlikely to emerge as a useful fantasy option during his rookie season given the performances last season of Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse, coupled with the return of a healthy Percy Harvin. Richardson does rate as a mid-tier prospect in dynasty formats.

WR Sidney Rice

Released during the offseason, it seemed the Seahawks had given up on Rice after signing him to a five-year, $41-million contract prior to the 2011 season. However, after finding no market for his services on the open market, Rice returned to the Seahawks on a, “prove it” deal. With only Percy Harvin, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and a pair of rookies accompanying him on the depth chart, Rice could have a bounce back season. We’re just not drinking that Kool-Aid. It says here that if Rice is on the Seahawks roster on opening day, it is for his ability to snag some balls in the red zone and that just won’t be a big enough role for him to warrant consideration as a player on your fantasy roster.

TE Zach Miller

Three years into his Seattle career, Miller has neither found a prominent role in the Seahawks passing offense nor lived up to the lucrative five-year contract he signed to join the team. While Miller averaged over 750 receiving yards during his final three years as a Raider, he has failed to top 400 yards as a Seahawk. A glorified blocker, Miller just doesn’t see enough targets to be a consistent fantasy producer. With Luke Willson nipping at his heels and Anthony McCoy returning from injury, Miller is a low-end TE2 or high-end TE3 with little upside.