Injuries will cause the Seahawks to likely be without both Deion Branch and Bobby Engram for a good part of the 2008 season.  The 35-year old Engram will miss the next 6-8 weeks with a cracked bone in his shoulder.  Engram was the top receiver last season for the Seahawks and they will miss him big time.  Engram played in all 16 games last season for the Seahawks and he caught 94 passes for 1,147 yards (12.2 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  2007 was a career season for Engram and it would have been hard for him to duplicate it in 2008 even if he was healthy.  Engram has now played in 158 games in his NFL career and he has caught 598 passes for 7,201 yards (12.0 avg) with 35 TD grabs.

29-year old Deion Branch is the other standout receiver on the Seahawks but he will be missing part of the season too.  Branch played in 11 games for the Seahawks last season and he caught 49 passes for 661 yards (13.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  The Seahawks really need Branch to get healthy especially with Engram out.  Branch has now played in 78 games in his NFL career and he has caught 315 passes for 4,130 yards (13.1 avg) with 22 TD grabs.  He has also carried the football 7 times for 41 yards (5.9 ypc) in his career.

The Seahawks will need 26-year old Nate Burleson to really step up with the injuries they have at WR.  Burleson played in all 16 games for the Seahawks last season and he caught 50 passes for 694 yards (13.9 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Look for Burleson to improve on his 2007 numbers as he will likely be the go-to man early in the season for the Seahawks.  Burleson has now played in 76 games in his NFL career and he has caught 195 passes for 2,675 yards (13.7 avg) with 23 TD grabs.  He has also carried the football 10 times for 47 yards (4.7 ypc) in his career.

Courtney Taylor and Ben Obomanu will likely battle in the rest of training camp and the preseason for the right to start opposite Burleson early in the season.  Taylor did not have a rookie season in the NFL last year.  He played in 8 games and he caught only 5 passes for 38 yards (7.6 avg).  He does however appear to be the favorite in this competition.

24-year old Ben Obomanu projects to be more of a #3 or #4 WR as his upside isn’t as big as Taylor’s.  Obomanu played in 13 games for the Seahawks last season and he caught 12 passes for 180 yards (15.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for him to improve on those numbers in 2008.

6’4″, 219 pound Jordan Kent is still around but he didn’t do anything as a rookie last season for the Seahawks.  They still like him and he will have the opportunity to play this season so we’ll see what he can do.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-