Doug Baldwin

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin grew up in sunny Florida and played football and ran track. He was a well known track star in high school who had a high of 1.94 meters in the high jump and 6.65 meters in the long jump. His football career is where he really took off, as he had 42 receptions for 682 yards and six touchdowns. He was heavily recruited and ended up choosing Stanford and made an immediate impact.

College

Baldwin started his college career at Stanford. He was a well-respected wide receiver who played in 12 games. He wasn't a heavy target his rookie freshman year. That said, he still caught 11 throws for 93 yards. He averaged 8.5 yards that season, but scored no touchdowns. He rushed on five attempts for six yards, leaving him just shy of 100 with 99 total yards for the season.

His sophomore year was his breakout season. On just 23 receptions, he went 332 yards for four touchdowns. His rushing improved steadily as he ran four times for 81 yards to average 20 yards per rush and 14.4 yards per reception. He even had a rushing touchdown for a total of 413 yards.

Playing only four games his junior year due to injury, he still made the most of it with four catches for 78 yards or an average of 19.5 yards. He more than made up for it in his senior year in which played 13 games, had 58 receptions, 857 yards, and nine touchdowns. He averaged 14.8 yards that season and even rushed for 39 yards. Career totals stand at 96 catches, 1,350 yards, an average of just over 14 yards and 13 total touchdowns. His college highlights are here.

NFL Draft

Baldwin came into the 2011 NFL draft as a 5'10” and 189 pound wide receiver. He was rated 71 out of 292 wide receivers and in the top 600 for total prospects. His NFL draft combine numbers were reasonable. He had a 2.53 in the 20-yard dash, a 4.48 for his 40 time, could do six 225-pound bench reps, had a vertical jump of 37-inches, a broad jump of 10'03”, a 20-yard shuffle of 4.26, and a three-cone drill of 6.56.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about his career is that he went undrafted, in spite of his promise. The Seattle Seahawks signed him as a free agent later that year to a three-year contract worth $1.4 million salary. This is a risk the Seahawks were happy to make.

NFL Career

Baldwin's rookie season with Seattle in 2001 saw him fitting right into the Seahawks pass-heavy system. He caught 51 receptions for 788 yards, averaging 15.5 yards. His longest was a 55-yard touchdown bomb, one of his four touchdowns. Rushing wasn't strong, as he only rushed once for a loss.

In 2012, his numbers dropped to 366 yards on 29 receptions, thought he still had three touchdowns. 2013 was a big season as he started in nine games, caught 50 for 778 yards and three touchdowns. In fact, he was the leader in reception yards that Super Bowl XLVIII win, catching five for 66-yards and a touchdown.

His 2014 season was another improvement, as he started every game and had 825 yards on 66 receptions for three touchdowns. He finally broke the 1,000 yard club in 2015 and 2016. In the former year he caught 78 passes for 1,069 yards and had a career-high 14 touchdowns and his best catch, an 80-yard touchdown bomb. While scoring just seven touchdowns in 2016, he had a career-high 94 receptions and 1,128 yards. You can watch his NFL highlights here.

Personal Life

Baldwin is known as a hardworking player who is infamous for his comments to former wide receiver Cris Carter just before his Super Bowl win, taking him to task for comments about his abilities. Though known as a fiery competitor, he is also deeply spiritual. His Twitter account is filled with Bible verses and posts about his faith. He also hosts his own video series called “Fresh Files” in which he talks to fans and answers their questions.