SEATTLE — Special teams, offense, and even defense, sort of.
Ricardo Lockette did a little bit of everything for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in a 26-20 victory over Denver.
The fourth-year wide receiver scored Seattle’s first touchdown on a long reception, prevented a potentially game-changing play by the Denver defense moments earlier, and was a demon in punt coverage all day at CenturyLink Field.
“I thought Ricardo Lockette was unbelievable today,” Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson said. “That guy, he has so much ability, so much speed, so explosive.”
Lockette had only one catch, but it went for 39 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter.
With the score tied 3-3, Lockette used his track star speed to get a step behind Denver cornerback Aqib Talib down the right sideline, then used his 6-foot-2 frame to shield Talib away from the ball as it dropped into his hands in the end zone.
“That’s what defenders try to do,” Lockette said of his ability to keep good position on Talib. “They try to wall you out of bounds when the ball’s in the air.”
Lockette also made like a defensive back five plays earlier. On a quick out to the right sideline, Talib jumped the route and was in position for an easy interception and touchdown return.
But Lockette climbed Talib’s back and knocked the ball away. He was called for offensive pass interference, but that was a far better outcome than a pick six.
“That was a big play,” Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said. “He went on defense. He got a penalty, but it was worth it at the time because that might have been a touchdown for them.”
Lockette declined to say where the breakdown was on the play, whether Wilson made a poor read or poor throw or whether he had run a poor route.
All he said was that as soon as the ball left Wilson’s hand he knew he had to become the defensive back on the play.
“When the ball’s in the air and the defender has a chance to catch an interception he turns into a receiver and I turn into a DB,” Lockette said. “I made a great play on the ball … as a DB.”
In addition, Lockette was sensational in punt coverage, complementing the brilliant work of Seattle punter Jon Ryan.
In the first quarter, Lockette got downfield fast enough to force a fair catch on a 61-yard punt. In the fourth, he tripped up Denver punt returner Isaiah Burse for a return of zero yards on a 58-yard punt.
“He had great coverage all day long,” Carroll said of Lockette. “I don’t know that anybody’s doing it any better than he is right now. He’s incredibly effective, and he is so fast, and his intensity and the attitude he has that he brings to the coverage teams is phenomenal.”
Lockette said there’s nothing magic about what he does in coverage.
“I just come back to my track training,” he said. “It’s pretty much that first 20 yards. I just dig and dig and dig, and then I look up and the returner’s right there in my face.”
Lockette won the NCAA Division II 200-meter championship at Fort Valley State, and he has run 40 yards in 4.27 seconds.
Speed like that can get you into the NFL as a special teamer — if you’re willing to hit somebody at the end of it — and Lockette bounced around between practice squads and special teams duties in Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago for two and a half years.
He finally seemed to stick halfway through last season as a special teamer in Seattle, and his next goal is to play a bigger role in the Seahawks offense.
He is certainly making a case for it. Lockette already has three catches for two touchdowns this season after making seven catches for one touchdown in his first three seasons.
“I think we earn responsibility. I don’t know what I’ve earned today, but I’ll talk to (offensive coordinator Darrell) Bevell and coach Carroll about that,” Lockette said.
Lockette is one of four Seattle wide receivers who entered the league as undrafted free agents. Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, and Juanita High School graduate Bryan Walters are the others, and Lockette knows that Seattle is a place where he will continue to have a fair chance to earn his keep and his playing time.
“It’s not really about finding a home,” he said when asked if he has done that. “It’s just about being the best player you can be on every snap.”
“I’m just trying to be the best player I can possibly be,” Lockette said. “I’m not thinking, ‘Make a play.’ I’m just thinking, ‘Do everything that you’ve been taught.’ If I do that I feel like I’ll be successful.”
And if the Seattle secondary, the so-called Legion of Boom, ever needs a stand-in, Lockette says he’s ready.
“LOB, baby.”
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