Seahawks' little receiver Deon Butler wants to make a big impact

RENTON — Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry wore a Mariners jersey with his No. 59 and threw out the first pitch at Safeco Field last Sunday before Seattle played Minnesota.

Wide receiver Deon Butler was there, too, but he was the Seahawks "other" rookie that day. No introduction and not much recognition in the shadow of Curry, the 252-pound linebacker chosen No. 4 overall.

That's OK. Butler has grown accustomed to it these past few months as Seattle's two rookies have spent so much time together.

"People think I'm like his homeboy from Fayetteville that he brought from home," Butler said. "They're like, 'You play football?' "

Yes, he does. Pretty darn well, in fact. He went to Penn State as a cornerback, walking on without a scholarship, and left as a wide receiver who set the school record for career receptions.

The Seahawks chose him in the third round, trading away three picks to acquire the chance to choose him. Seattle gave up its fifth and seventh-round picks of this year's draft and its third-round pick next year.

And while Butler may be only 5 feet 10, the rookie receiver stood out on Thursday during the first of two practices during a mandatory minicamp. First, he turned on the jets and blew by cornerback Josh Wilson, one of the very fastest Seahawks, during a passing drill. Then, Butler made a diving catch behind cornerback Kevin Hobbs.

This is a June minicamp, no pads, minimal contact and lots of room for imagining a wide range of possibilities for Seattle's new receivers.

Seattle added T.J. Houshmandzadeh in free agency and drafted Butler to improve a position racked by injuries last year. Receiver Deion Branch practiced this week, coming back from arthroscopic knee surgery this offseason, but Nate Burleson watched Thursday's workouts. He's recovering from knee surgery after a season-ending injury he suffered in September.

Butler brings the kind of breakaway speed Seattle has not had at that position the past four years.

"There's the ability to stretch the field with him," offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said. "That gives us an attribute to help soften things up elsewhere on the field."

There are some recent precedents of finding big receiving numbers in smaller packages. Denver's Eddie Royal is the same height as Butler and last year he led all NFL rookies in receptions. Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson caught 62 passes as a rookie in 2008, and he's listed at all of 175 pounds, which might be true if he was soaking wet and wearing combat boots.

The challenge for Butler will come when contact begins.

"He's going to have to work on handling the bump in press coverage," Knapp said, "because that's one thing that bigger corners would like to do."

But size isn't everything, and if Butler keeps performing the way he did in Thursday's practice, he won't be lost in Curry's shadow once the football season begins.

Note

• The Seahawks will hold training-camp practices that will be open to the public from Aug. 3 to Aug. 20. Those wishing to attend the practices will have to register on the team's official Web site, www.seahawks.com, beginning July 16. The times of the open practices will be announced in July.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com