Seahawks: WR D'Wayne Eskridge must step up in 2023 and 'add value'
Former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus went on Bump and Stacy on Seattle Sports and detailed why D’Wayne Eskridge must be a threat in 2023.
At some point, D'Wayne Eskridge has to show the Seattle Seahawks something.
When he was selected as a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, he was seen as a critical part of the organization's future. But things haven't panned out that way in recent history.
The 5-foot-9 receiver has appeared in 20 games over the last two seasons, catching 17-of-33 targets for 122 yards and one score.
It's easy to give up on the small receiver who hasn't produced much of anything during his NFL career. But that is something former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus is unwilling to do. He still believes in Eskridge. And he might be the only one.
“This is gonna be my last time making a plea for this guy,” Bumpus said during Wednesday’s Bump and Stacy on Seattle Sports. “I think if he’s healthy, he can do something.”
If he is healthy, the Seahawks could use him as a No. 3 receiver. But, he will have to beat out talent at that same spot.
And his recent track record, in terms of production and health, hasn't been great. He’s played less than a third of Seattle’s offensive snaps each of the last two seasons. He has dealt with his share of injuries during his career. In his first game in 2021, he suffered a concussion, and then a hand injury midway through 2022 sidelined him again.
He needs to produce in 2023. It is his last real shot with the team.
“This is it. Honestly, this is it,” Bumpus said of Eskridge in 2023. “He has to add value to the team.”
Bumpus added: “The thing that I see that stops him the most is just snaps. You need snaps in this league to feel it, to understand it, and to understand your role. And because he hasn’t been healthy, he hasn’t gotten a lot of those.”
To do that, Bumpus thinks that means Eskridge needs to get involved in a little bit of everything.
“How is he going to do that? If he has 25 to 30 receptions, if he has a couple big (kick or punt) returns, if he has three to four jet sweeps where he breaks them. He just has to show his full potential,” he said. “… I just see something in this dude.”
Eskridge is running out of time to prove that he belongs in the league. If he has to slog through another injury-riddled season, it may be his last in a Seahawks uniform.
It's now or never.
