Don’t Forget Him: Jake Bobo Staking Claim to Significant Role in Seahawks New Offense

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Seattle Seahawks receiver Jake Bobo listens to instructions prior to a special teams drill during the team's sixth OTA practice. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]

RENTON, Wash. - Closing in on the conclusion of the Seattle Seahawks final OTA practice open to media, Jake Bobo ran a tight corner route to the back right pylon in the end zone, appearing to come open and drawing a target from quarterback Drew Lock.

However, the throw didn’t have quite enough juice on it and veteran cornerback Josh Jobe extended his right arm upward to knock the pass away, resulting in a bit of playful trash talk from the defensive sideline.

A player could be heard delightfully shouting, “No catch for you, Bobo!”

Hopefully, that defender and the rest of his teammates enjoyed that brief moment of success, because it presented one of the few times over the three open practices last week where they found a way to contain Bobo, who has continued to make life quite difficult on Seattle’s cornerbacks and safeties between the lines at the VMAC and looks more than comfortable in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s offense.

Moments later, Bobo got his slice of redemption, hauling in a phenomenal one-handed catch on a skinny post between three converging defenders from Lock and turning upfield for a 40-yard touchdown. Leading to chants of “More Bobo” from his offensive peers, this wasn’t the first time the former undrafted signee out of UCLA made a ridiculous catch on the practice field, as he has put his super glue hands on display numerous times during two-plus seasons with the organization, including making an eye-popping diving touchdown grab in training camp last August.

With so many changes coming on the offensive side of the ball this spring, including signing moving on from long-time star receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett as well as hiring Kubiak to take over play calling duties from Ryan Grubb, it would have been easy to dismiss Bobo as a viable option to pick up the slack in the passing game. After all, Jaxon Smith-Njigba eclipsed 1,000 yards for the first time last season and appears to be on the road to stardom, former triple crown winner Cooper Kupp and speedy Marquez Valdes-Scantling arrived in free agency, and Tory Horton and Ricky White III further supplemented the depth chart as day three draft picks, leaving a crowded receiving corps to vie for five, maybe six roster spots at most.

But Bobo isn’t a stranger when it comes to being doubted. In fact, he seems to relish the chance to make skeptics eat their own words while always having a big smile on his face. He’s inevitable.

Bobo infamously ran a slow 4.99 40-yard dash at UCLA’s pro day in March 2022, all but ensuring he wouldn’t get drafted despite being highly productive in his lone season in Westwood after beginning his collegiate career at Duke. Given his speed and quickness - or lack thereof - few expected him to push for a roster spot when the Seahawks signed him as a priority free agent.

Bobo quickly endeared himself to coaches and teammates alike with both his performance and his engaging personality, emerging as one of the standouts of Seattle’s offseason program and earning the trust of former starting quarterback Geno Smith and former coach Pete Carroll. Following an impressive training camp and preseason, he earned a spot as a reserve receiver on the 53-man and managed to give the team a jolt in the passing game in limited action as a rookie, catching 19 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, including a spectacular scoring reception in a home win over Arizona where he somehow managed to sneak both feet inbounds as the pass carried him towards the sideline.

Coming off that surprising rookie campaign, Bobo had to re-prove himself with a brand new coaching staff coming to town last season, including Grubb taking over as offensive coordinator on Mike Macdonald’s first staff. All he did was consistently flash on the practice field, making big catches seemingly by day during training camp and doing the dirty work on special teams to once again earn a roster spot, though it didn’t result in the same contributions in the regular season with 13 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.

Rolling into his third season, Bobo once again faced the prospects of starting from scratch with a third coordinator in as many seasons and a bunch of new competitors to beat out. Since Kubiak has been known to use more multi-back and multi-tight end personnel in the past, the margin for error may be even thinner with the possibility of fewer receivers being kept than in the past two seasons with Shane Waldron and Grubb.

So far, however, just as he did the past two offseasons, Bobo hasn’t done anything but help his cause for retaining a roster spot thus far. A sharp route runner with a high football IQ and soft hands who uses his size to his advantage against smaller defenders in coverage, he has started to develop a rapport with new starter Sam Darnold, who threw a pair of touchdown passes to him during team drills this week. Having previously played with Lock two years ago, he hasn’t skipped a beat catching passes from the veteran backup either, evidenced by his one-handed highlight-reel haul on Thursday afternoon.

Depth-wise, Bobo has plenty of competition to fend off over the next few months for snaps as a third or fourth receiver, including rookies Horton and White as well as fellow returning veterans Dareke Young and Cody White and free agent signing Steven Sims, who will be battling for kick and punt return jobs on special teams that could vault him onto the roster. As has been the case since his first rookie minicamp two years ago, he will have to deliver day in and day out to maintain any roster security.

But thinking big picture, the Seahawks haven’t been quiet about their intentions to re-commit to the run game under Kubiak, with Darnold and tackle Abraham Lucas being the latest to stress the importance of running the football speaking with media earlier in the week. Once the pads come out in August, that should only further boost Bobo’s chances of carving out a key role on offense behind Smith-Njigba and Kupp compared to his peers, as he has been an excellent run blocker since breaking into the league, including receiving PFF’s second-best run blocking grade (77.6) among receivers in 2023.

Coupling his willingness to scrap as a physical blocker with his 6-4, 206-pound frame presenting potential matchup issues for defenses as a bigger slot, after his skill set seemed like a round peg trying to fit in a square hole at times in Grubb’s system a year ago, Bobo’s strengths will undoubtedly play better in Kubiak’s offense. If this week showed anything, those who decided to cast him off as an afterthought in a post-Metcalf, post-Lockett world would be wise to reinvest their proverbial fantasy money into the third-year veteran’s stock, as he has been anything but a forgotten man this spring.