Fantasy football impact: Did the Seahawks peak in 2013?

And when I say “improved at least a little every year,” it’s not a figure of speech. By points scored, by points allowed, by record, the Seahawks have at worst maintained their level of production each season, and in general they have improved.

Here, look:

So can the Seahawks make yet another leap forward this year? Let’s look:

From an NFL standpoint, maybe the best thing about Russell Wilson is his contract. In a league where the top quarterbacks make eight figures (and not the low eight figures), Wilson is still hanging around making six, the product of being a young quarterback drafted in the third round and winning the starting job in a hurry. As such, Wilson’s contract has enabled the Seahawks to spring for more expensive players elsewhere on the field.

Interestingly, for a quarterback the Seahawks had enough faith in to make him the starter straight away, they haven’t rewarded that faith by allowing Wilson to throw many passes. In his two seasons in the NFL, Seattle has ranked 32nd and 31st in pass attempts. One reason is that the Seahawks have a lead in almost every game, allowing them to lean on the running attack. But it’s also because they are a self-proclaimed run-first team, and even if they don’t take early leads, they aren’t going to throw the ball as often as most teams.

That hasn’t stopped Wilson from being a productive fantasy quarterback, though -- he finished eighth at the position in fantasy points last year, and 10th the season before. He has been a quality running quarterback -- more than 1,000 yards combined over his two seasons, and five total touchdowns -- and he has thrown for 26 touchdowns each season.

If you were starting a real NFL team, Russell Wilson and his contract would be right at the top of the list of “wants.” For a fantasy quarterback, however, he’s less exciting. And this year, without old reliables Tate and Rice, and with eternal injury risk Harvin as his primary option, Wilson’s pass options for 2014 might be diminished.

I rank Wilson as my No. 12 quarterback. He’s still a low-end fantasy starter -- every quarterback between, say, nine and 14 are potential starters. I just don’t see Wilson having the upside of some of the quarterbacks listed ahead of him. That said, he has one of the highest floors of any quarterback. There is no way, injuries aside, he falls below 14th or 15th.

Part of that is he spent the first part of his career on really bad teams, and part is because Lynch is a top-tier running back who is barely involved with his team’s passing game, which naturally limits his overall touches a bit.

Michael, Seattle’s second-round pick a year ago, is an intriguing dynasty play. Best bet is that the team cuts Lynch after the coming season to save money, and Michael inherits the role.

But that’s for 2015. For 2014, here’s what the Seahawks have: a talented running back, Lynch, who they likely don’t expect to be on their roster a year from now. That sort of resource is one an NFL team has no incentive to keep healthy -- i.e., Seattle has every incentive to run him into the ground. Because of that, Michael has been climbing rankings lists, but he doesn’t even crack my top 50. I still have Lynch as my No. 6 running back, and No. 8 overall player. If I owned Lynch, though, I would have a very specific strategy for him: I would run him out there happily for the first half of the season, when I expect big production, then look to deal him in the second half. A career high in carries for Lynch wouldn’t surprise me at all, and that could mean deterioration down the stretch.

Baldwin is the prize of that group, and he only has one career 100-yard regular season game, and that came in Week 5 of 2011. He showed flashes last season, particularly in the playoffs, but he’s just not a receiver capable of carrying a top-flight team’s receiving load.

So Seattle is clearly hoping at least one of Richardson and Norwood will pop. Richardson is on the small side, and Norwood doesn’t profile as a frontline receiver, but the team is throwing a lot of pieces together and hoping something works.

The Seahawks’ best path to wide receiver success, of course, is Harvin. He showed flashes of MVP-caliber play in Minnesota, particularly in 2012, when he was already had 773 yards combined receiving and rushing and five total touchdowns when he got hurt after nine games.

I rank Harvin 21st among receivers, and in the mid-40s overall. I tend to be more favorable on injury-risk guys than some, because guys who are productive when healthy are at least known quantities. I’d rather a talented but brittle player than one who goes out every week but has semi-regular downer outings -- the hurt guy at least allows you to replace him in the lineup.

Behind that, Baldwin is the next man up among Seahawks receivers, but I have him in the mid-50s at the position. There are just too many question marks around him.

No one has ever been excited about Miller as their starting tight end in fantasy. But every year, he gets started as someone’s bye-week/injury fill-in. That’s who he is this year, too. He’s undraftable, unrankable, but he’ll end up on a roster for a week or two, and if he scores a touchdown that week, good times abound.