Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar will write about the game’s Secret Superstars — those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment,
it’s time to get into why fifth-round rookie receiver and returner Tory Horton has become a key part of the Seattle Seahawks’ offense and special teams… in ways that nobody really saw coming.
The Seattle Seahawks came into the 2025 season with two sure answers at receiver: Third-year man Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and former Seahawks killer Cooper Kupp, signed to a three-year, $45 million contract this past offseason with $26.5 million guaranteed. Beyond that, after the trade that sent D.K. Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers, everything else was up in the air.
We knew that new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was going to run a ton of condensed formations, because that’s his history, and in fact, the Seahawks lead the NFL through the first three weeks of the 2025 season with a 59% condensed formation rate. When you have inside/outside hybrid receivers like JSN and Kupp, condensed formations allow an offense to test a defense without the need for a true X-Iso receiver like Metcalf was in previous Seahawks offenses.
But there are still times when you need someone to win outside, and the guy for the Seahawks this season has been fifth-round rookie Tory Horton. The Colorado State alum went as low as he did in the draft for two reasons: concerns about strength of competition, and the knee injury that cost him half the season in 2024 for the Rams. Horton had been productive both with Nevada and Colorado State after a 2022 transfer, but few really knew how he’d hold up to the rigors of the NFL.
Horton wasn’t even an original pick — the Seahawks got the 166th overall selection they used for Horton in a trade with the Cleveland Browns that gave Cleveland the 144th pick overall, and the right to select Shedeur Sanders. So, there’s that.
Right now, it’s obvious that the Seahawks got the more pivotal player in that deal. Horton has lined up outside on 82% of his snaps this season so far, and the 6’3, 185-pound rookie doesn’t seem to have any issues with NFL competition. In Sunday’s 44-13 bombing of the New Orleans Saints, Horton caught three passes on four targets for 32 yards and a touchdown; he also had a 95-yard punt return which is the longest in franchise history, and the first punt return for a touchdown the Seahawks have had since Tyler Lockett had one in Week 1 of the 2015 season.
“Shoot, green grass,” Horton said, when asked what he saw when he caught the punt. “I just made the most out of the opportunity. The core guys, the hold-up team, the corners, they did a great job on that play. That’s something we repped, and they went out there and put all 10 toes down on that play, and just made the best of it. So I celebrated that punt return with those guys because it wouldn’t have got started without them.”
As for the Chazz Surratt block, Horton was pretty happy about that.
“Shoot, I already knew he was going to take him out for me. I just had a two-way go. So I kind of slowed down a little bit, let him make that block. And after that, it was the promised land. So, a hell of a job to him. He’s been working hard every day. And seeing him on the field and that being the last block, I kind of needed it. I kind of knew it was a touchdown from the jump.”
As a receiver, Horton really started annoying opposing defensive coordinators in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, when he caught this 21-yard touchdown pass on a deep crosser with Smith-Njigba. The Steelers were in Cover-1, and Jalen Ramsey was a second late to the party as the rest of the secondary followed Smith-Njigba.
Then, against the Saints, Horton showed his grasp of the nuances of the receiver position on this 14-yard touchdown with 11:22 left in the first half. Here, he established outside leverage against cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry and stayed there, putting himself in perfect position for Sam Darnold’s fade ball.
“Yeah, you know, Sam is a hell of a quarterback,” Horton said of the touchdown. “He put that ball on the money. That’s something that we kind of worked on a little bit here and there. He’s on top of his game. He sees a little crease, and he’s going to put it where it needs to be. And that’s something that you want from a quarterback.
“Just that awareness and smart mindset on the field that takes place. And it was a great ball. Shout out to Sam. Shout out to that O-line for holding up. They don’t get started without the O-line. So shout out to those boys.“
As head coach Mike Macdonald said post-game, it’s possible that the Seahawks didn’t quite expect what Horton is bringing to the field as a receiver back when they drafted him — the focus was on his return abilities.
“I mean, just how he’s attacked the whole process since he got here. We had ambitions for him to be our punt returner. We’re talking about countless, countless reps and hours of preparation. And he’s playing really decisive right now.”
But Horton seemed to know from his draft day that more could be in store.
“My awareness on the field, my route-running ability to find the open holes and the soft coverages in zones, and my versatility to make the first man miss and make something out of nothing,” he said right after the Seahawks took a chance on him about his attributes. “Just always having the capability to take those little yards, or just those mid-hit gainers and having that whole complete set.
“My vertical threat, and my run after catch. I feel like I can make a lot of people miss when I have the ball in my hands. I take pride in that. I try to catch every single ball thrown my way.”
Well, at this rate, he’s going to have more opportunities than most people expected.
