Sunday gave us a tough first game from which to judge the playing-time split among Seattle's top three WRs. Rashid Shaheed assumed the No. 3 role in his first game with the team, just five days after arriving in trade. But he played just five fewer snaps than Jaxon Smith-Njigba and ran just three fewer routes. Cooper Kupp -- in his return from missing Week 9 with injury -- led the trio in snaps. Total pass routes went:
What made the game toughest as a judgment day is how quickly and completely Seattle took hold of the scoring.
The Seahawks followed a first-drive TD (to Smith-Njigba) with a fumble-return TD on the Cardinals' ensuing possession. They led 21-0 by the end of the first quarter and 35-0 by the middle of the second.
That led to just 13 Sam Darnold dropbacks for the game, 10 of those in the first half.
Seattle leaning even more run than usual likely favored Kupp's playing time, given his strength as a run blocker. JSN also left briefly with an injury in the first quarter, though his return and involvement in a one-sided game points to it being a non-issue.
It looks like Shaheed tracked closely with Smith-Njigba and Kupp in playing time in his first action, and we might see more three-WR sets from Seattle going forward.
But we'll also need to wait for a more normal game script to judge the situation further. That should come in a Week 11 visit to the Rams, who promise a much bigger challenge than Arizona presented.
WR Cody White also rotated in with the top trio from early in the game. That spot likely belongs to Tory Horton once he's back healthy. But we'll similarly need to see what that fourth WR role looks like in more normal circumstances.
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