Is Rookie WR Tyler Lockett the Seahawks' New Golden Tate?

The similarities between the recently departed free agent and incoming draft pick are undeniable. Their individual skill sets are too close—and the price paid for the replacement too high—for anything but the obvious to be true. 

The Seattle Seahawks drafted Kansas State receiver Tyler Lockett as an answer to losing Golden Tate to the Detroit Lions last spring. 

Consider the restoration process on track. The No. 69 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft needed just one day at last weekend's rookie camp to start turning heads. 

"I thought Tyler was all over the field, catching balls and making plays," head coach Pete Carroll said, via Tony Drovetto of the team's official website. 

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Lockett doesn't have prototypical receiver size—he's only 5'10" and 182 pounds—but the Seahawks clearly coveted him for his game-breaking ability as a pass-catcher and returner. General manager John Schneider moved up 26 spots in the third round to get Lockett, sending four total picks to Washington to complete the aggressive advancement up the board.

Moving up in the draft hasn't been a common happenstance under Schneider and Carroll. Before trading up to get Lockett, the Seahawks had moved up just once (in 2013) since the two became team czars in January of 2010. 

Lockett was simply too good for Seattle to pass up. When he remained on the board into the third round, the Seahawks pounced. 

Carroll explained the thought process, via John Boyle of The Everett Herald:

"

We wanted a returner in this program so badly. John just needed to figure out where we were going to get him, and I am thrilled we got him. He is such a special return guy. He is going to be a terrific receiver, as well, but what I just thought was so unique, and I thought other people would want that, too.

"

Carroll's comments on Lockett aren't far off from what he once said about Tate back in 2010. 

“I love to get guys that have unique qualities and style to them that we can play to,” Carroll said, via Danny O'Neil of The Seattle Times. “He certainly has that.”

Unique is a little bit of a misnomer for Tate and Lockett. The two aren't carbon copies, but there's also no doubting the parallels. The two have nearly indistinguishable size, ability and versatility. 

Several draft analysts have noted the comparison on Twitter:

The Seahawks once drafted Tate—a similarly undersized but highly productive receiver and returner at Notre Dame—with the No. 60 overall pick in the 2010 draft. The 5'10, 195-pound Tate went on to catch 165 passes for 2,195 yards and 15 touchdowns (while also returning 72 combined kicks and punts) over four years in Seattle. He departed as a highly coveted free agent in March of 2014, signing a lucrative deal in Detroit. 

Seattle missed his versatile abilities. 

Tate went on to catch 99 passes for the Lions, while the Seahawks managed to produce just one receiver—veteran Doug Baldwin—with 40 or more catches. Baldwin led the offense with 66 receptions and 825 yards. Running back Marshawn Lynch paced the team with four receiving touchdowns.

Lockett may not be expected to put up gaudy numbers early on for Seattle, especially when considering the nature of Seattle's run-first offense and the addition of All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham this offseason. However, a dynamic receiver like Lockett, who dominated at Kansas State on the perimeter and in the slot, can make an instant impact in the passing game. There should be snaps to be won at receiver.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

	Lockett	Tate
Height	5'10"	5'10"
Weight	182 lbs	199 lbs
Arm Length	30.0"	30.5"
Hand Size	8 3/8"	9 1/4"
40 Yard Dash	4.40	4.42
Vertical Jump	35.5"	35.0"
Broad Jump	121.0"	120.0"
20-Yard Shuttle	4.07	4.34

Yet Lockett's biggest impact as a rookie will likely come on special teams, where the Seahawks expect him to win both the punt and kick return jobs. 

Seattle did not produce a return touchdown in 2014, and the team's return averages—7.0 yards per punt return and 21.0 yards on kick returns—ranked near the bottom of the NFL. Minus Tate and Percy Harvin, the Seahawks simply did not possess an electric return option. 

In Lockett, Seattle might have snagged the draft's best return man. 

Over four years at Kansas State, Lockett returned four kicks and two punts for scores. He averaged 28.5 yards per kick return and 15.3 yards per punt, while leading the NCAA in kick return average as a freshman (35.3). He was twice named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year. 

Eventually, teams got smart and just stopped kicking the football to Lockett. 

“It wasn’t just us, either,” Kansas coach Clint Bowen said, via Jayson Jenks of The Seattle Times. “Nobody kicked to him. Week after week, you had to have a plan to kick away from him.”

Lockett did not become Kansas State's No. 1 punt returner until his senior season. He took two of his 21 returns for scores and led the nation with over 19 yards per return. 

Not all players—especially players of Lockett's size—love contributing in the return aspect of special teams. Returning a kickoff is one of the more dangerous tasks in football; standing in and fielding a punt might be the most dangerous. Lockett has an affinity for both. 

"The most important thing about doing kick and punt return is his attitude," Carroll said. "He loves doing it. It's part of his makeup."

Tate also took a liking to returns. After he returned one punt for a score over his three seasons at Notre Dame, Seattle plugged him in as the primary punt returner in 2010 and again in 2013. 

The job is now Lockett's to lose. In fact, the Seahawks look ready to slide Lockett into the exact role vacated by Tate. 

The Seahawks clearly moved up to get Lockett with a plan in mind. Schneider green-lighted the trade of four picks—the 95th, 112th, 167th and 181st—to provide Carroll with a dynamo receiver-returner package. It's quite possible that Seattle identified the hole left by Tate and moved quickly to fill it with a player perfectly crafted for the task. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2