Elijah Arroyo on what he brings to the table for the Seattle Seahawks

The "big-bodied" wide reciever type the Seahawks were looking for going into the draft turned out to be a tight end.

Oct 5, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; Miami Hurricanes tight end Elijah Arroyo (8) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the California Golden Bears during the fourth quarter at California Memorial Stadium. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Heading into the 2025 NFL draft the Seattle Seahawks were reported to be looking for a "big-bodied" type of wide receiver by ESPN. That's exactly what they lost when they traded DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In the end, the Seahawks wound up drafting two wide receivers on Day 3. However, while they're not exactly Tavon Austin-sized, neither Tory Horton (6-foot-2, 196 pounds) nor Ricky White III (6-foot-1, 184 pounds) really qualifies as that big-framed, wide catch radius kind of pass-catcher that Seattle was reportedly looking for.

The Seahawks did get what they wanted, though. In the second round they used the No. 50 overall pick on Miami's Elijah Arroyo (6-foot-5, 250 pounds), one of the top-five tight ends in a deep draft class the position.

Arroyo wasted little time showing off what he can do with that wide frame at rookie minicamp. After making a big leaping catch at yesterday's rookie minicamp practice, Arroyo eloquently summed up what he brings to the table for Seattle.

Eijah Arroyo on his jersey number, big frame

Elijah Arroyo is wearing No. 18 because it’s the closest to 8 (which Coby Bryant has). Also, when asked about leaping and catching a pass today, Elijah says he takes pride in his wide catch radius.

“I’m a big target.” pic.twitter.com/BE9XwYBB25

— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) May 2, 2025

Technically Noah Fant and AJ Barner are probably ahead of Arroyo on the team's unofficial depth chart for the offseason. However, there's good reason to believe that Arroyo could rise fast - especially if the Seahawks wind up cutting Fant and pocketing the near-$9 million in salary cap room that they would save as a result.

Arroyo has the chops and the size to be a legit red zone weapon for Sam Darnold as a rookie. How much playing time he actually sees in 2025 will depend on how well he picks up the little things and learns Klint Kubiak's scheme. Once he's up to speed though Arroyo should in theory become the team's long-term number one tight end.

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