Seahawks Passing Offense Flourishing with Emergence of TE Luke Willson

Let's talk about Luke Willson for a second. Not the younger brother of Owen Wilson. No, this Luke Willson is a tight end for the Seattle Seahawks.

In the midst of a 35-6 blowout on Sunday Night Football he became his quarterback Russell Wilson's best friend. The Wilson-to-Willson connection against the Arizona Cardinals' pass defense resulted in a career night for the 24-year-old tight end.

His three receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns were enough to lead the team in receiving.

Prior to his special evening, Willson hadn't really been a factor in Seattle's offense. Looking at his game log from 2014, he's only broken the 50-yard receiving mark once—versus the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11.

But on Sunday, it was a different story. Credit offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell for lining him up in great spots. His play-design and structure was impressive. Those calls allowed Willson to take advantage of poor coverage and gash the Cardinals' secondary whenever he touched the football.

The one moment that stands out above anything else came on his second touchdown catch.

On that particular play, he was lined up against Cardinals linebacker Larry Foote. Not known for his coverage skills—Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has him listed as the 58th-ranked inside linebacker in that category—Willson was able to easily expose those flaws.

With 11:59 left in the fourth quarter in a 14-6 game, Willson beat Foote down the seam. That allowed Russell Wilson to connect with him on a lead pass in the end zone.

It was a beautifully construed play that put the tight end's speed to good use.

Like so many other Seahawks, Willson himself was a late-round pick during the 2013 draft—he was taken in the fifth round. His scouting report on DraftInsider.net described him "an under the radar tight end prospect who played second fiddle to teammate Vance McDonald at Rice."

The best part about that entire summary was the last sentence: "He offers upside but must commit to football and find a team willing to develops his skills." What better environment is there for a young tight end to thrive in than up in Seattle? We've seen so many mid-to-late round guys blossom into stars.

Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Byron Maxwell. The list goes on and on.

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With Willson, it seems like the team has done a good job of bringing him along and now he's finally starting to emerge at the perfect time.

According to PFF's data, the snaps he's taken this season have varied. But as of late, they've started to see a level of consistency.

Of course situations and game-planning have something to do with those numbers, but prior to the Sunday Night Football contest, his 473 snaps were by far the most of any tight end on the roster this season. 

When you catch two touchdowns and go over 100 yards on three receptions, you're going to get a lot of love for the media and fans.

Bleacher Report NFL contributor Sean Jensen was one of those supporters:

Even Al Michaels got in on the lovefest when he called Willson "the most famous Luke Willson in the country" on the broadcast.

In fact, the second-year pro's night carried a historic vibe with it. Twitter user WGB84 dug up this great stat from Pro Football Reference:

When Seattle parted ways with Percy Harvin earlier this year, there were questions about how this pass offense would function and where would they generate game-breaking plays from.

The answer has come by way of a variety of players. Tonight, it was Willson's turn to take up that role and literally run away with it.

When you get production like that out of one player, it allows the passing game to flourish. Russell Wilson's numbers prove that to be true.

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Completing 20 of his 31 attempts throwing the football, the Seahawks QB finished up with 339 yards and two aerial touchdowns. On the ground, he also ran the ball six times for 88 yards and completed it with a ridiculous score.

Games like these have washed all of those Harvin concerns away. The Hawks are now 11-4, and barring a loss to the St. Louis Rams in Week 17, the road to Super Bowl XLIX looks like it's going to run through CenturyLink Field.

The emergence of this tight end is simply more proof that Russell Wilson is an exceptional quarterback. Like Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead tweeted, he's "Russ-diculous."

Heading into their clash with St. Louis, it's going to be fascinating to see if Bevell utilizes the pass-catching Willson more. Based on what we saw versus the Cardinals, I'm thinking that wouldn't be a bad idea.

The Hawks could use him to take advantage of the Rams' core of linebackers. PFF's grading scale has handed out dismal pass coverage grades to every linebacker in that locker room aside from James Laurinaitis, and even he hasn't been great in that area.

Despite ESPN's conclusion that the Rams have only allowed 599 yards receiving and two touchdowns to opposing tight ends in 2014, the threat of Marshawn Lynch and the ground game should give Willson a chance to make himself stand out.

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Again, going down the PFF route, not counting the team's Week 16 game Willson has been called on in run-blocking situations 226 times this year. His involvement there should free him up when the team decides to dial up any sort of play-action pass.

Will we see another 139-yard performance? That probably won't be the case. But if the game plan is reminiscent of what we saw against the Cardinals, he will get his opportunities.

Keep on eye on Luke Willson. That flash of dominance we saw tonight could become yet another thing teams have to watch out for when they play the Seahawks.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information come courtesy of ESPN.com.