D’Wayne Eskridge is a receiver for the Seattle Seahawks and was drafted in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Born in Winona, Mississippi, Eskridge and his family eventually moved to Bluffton, Indiana where he would attend Bluffton High School. Eskridge played football and ran track at Bluffton and was Indiana’s Mr. Track and Field his senior year. Eskridge received just two FBS offers during his recruiting process and chose to enroll at Western Michigan over Ball State. While at Western Michigan, Eskridge would catch 121 passes for 2,244 yards and 15 touchdowns in five seasons. During his final season in 2020 Eskridge’s college stats were 33-768-8, and was named second-team All-American, first-team All-MAC and the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year after returning 17 kickoffs for 467 yards and one touchdown.
At his 2021 Pro Day, Eskridge posted a 4.45 40 time (80th-percentile), but was a below average performer in his other workout metrics. Eskridge does bring an elite college dominator rating of 44.6% (90th-percentile), college YPR of 23.3 (99th-percentile) and college target share of 33.1% (96th-percentile), but was a late breakout at Western Michigan with a breakout age of 20.5 (50th-percentile).
Eskridge was one of the oldest rookies of the 2021 NFL Draft, and will already be entering his age 25 season by the time Week 1 of the 2022 season kicks off. He appeared in 10 games for the Seahawks last season and totaled 10 receptions for 64 yards and one touchdown on 20 targets. In his limited action, he saw 261 air yards and averaged a 13.1 average depth of target, but had just 29 completed air yards on the year. With injuries plaguing his rookie season, Eskridge saw limited snaps and posted just 102 routes run. He saw six total deep balls on the year and didn’t post any drops on his 20 targets. With his 4.45 speed, Eskridge could prove to be a YAC guy with a bit more opportunity.
Hopes of a breakout season for Eskridge became all the more tricky the second news broke that Russell Wilson was sent to Denver. On top of that, Eskridge will also have to find a way to overcome top receivers D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, in an offense that already loves running the ball far too much. His ADP will be nothing more than that of a deep sleeper this season.
