Greg Olsen signing for the Seattle Seahawks last week was an interesting move through the lens of fantasy football. He was relatively healthy in 2019 and managed to catch 52 passes for almost 600 yards with Will Grier and Kyle Allen throwing him the ball. It is only natural to think Olsen will improve with Russell Wilson behind center.
Let’s slow that thought train down for a second. For starters, Wilson doesn’t throw a lot. Last year he had only four games with 25+ completions. In 2018, Wilson had one game with more than 25 completions. Maybe the Seahawks open things up again. They probably don’t, however.
Olsen will also have some competition for targets in Seattle. Will Dissly is expected to be back from an Achilles tear while Jacob Hollister could also return. The latter showed some pass catching talent after being poached from the Patriots’ practice squad. It is amazing Bill Belichick couldn’t do anything with Hollister but kept running Ben Watson out there last season.
Anyway, Seahawk tight ends caught 49 passes in 2018. That number ballooned to 77 receptions on 102 targets last year. Olsen had 82 targets alone in Carolina in 2019. Unfortunately, a lot of them were wildly off the mark. So, what does all this mean for his fantasy prospects in 2020?
Best- and worst-case scenarios for Greg Olsen
Seattle pass catchers are frustratingly inconsistent. It is a low volume offense and Wilson tends to sporadically lock in on guys from game-to-game. It leads to a lot of boom/bust weeks for Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf and now Olsen who will follow up a double-digit game with a goose egg.
The best-case scenario for the XFL commentator is that Hollister signs somewhere else and Dissly comes along slowly in his return from injury. If this happens, Olsen catching 50 passes for something like 600 yards, his numbers from 2019, seems realistic if he stays healthy.
The worst-case scenario sees the Seahawks keep Hollister and Dissly come back in as a hog for red zone targets – he has six touchdowns in ten career games. A healthy Olsen is probably closer to 35 catches in this case with limited touchdown upside.
