How Draft Experts Graded Seahawks Selection of Colby Parkinson
On Saturday afternoon, the Seahawks made another somewhat surprising selection, picking Stanford tight end Colby Parkinson with the 133rd overall pick in the fourth round.
Seahawks brass is looking for him to make an impact quickly, according to Parkinson. He'll be joining a deep tight end group featuring veteran Greg Olsen as well as Will Dissly, Jacob Hollister, and Luke Willson.
“They said that they were very excited about this opportunity for me. Excited to have me come in and compete right away," said Parkinson. "They are going to get a player that is a hard worker, someone that’s going to be accountable and do everything they can to help the team win, no matter what that looks like.”
Parkinson was also asked about being the latest product coming from Stanford's pipeline of tight ends, as the school has earned a reputation for producing top players at the position.
“It was a huge deal, especially during the recruiting process. Obviously, Stanford sets itself apart with the academic side of things, but the tight end tradition was a huge deal for me as well. Going to a program that knows how to use the tight end and has had so much success," Parkinson said. "Because of that, I’ve actually been able to talk to a lot of the guys that have gone before me. During this process, I’ve talked to [Zach] Ertz, [Austin] Hooper, Dalt [Dalton Shultz], and K [Kaden Smith], guys that all have gone through it, and they’ve been pouring into my life, and giving me advice, which has been awesome. I am very thankful for that.”
How did the top media outlets grade Seattle's first fourth-round selection? Here's a look at two different opinions on Parkinson joining the Seahawks.
Grade: B+
Chris Trapasso: "Parkinson is a deceptive athlete with outstanding contested-catch skill and catch radius. Classic Seahawks type of TE. Just a very crowded position in Seattle."
Grade: B
Mike Tanier "Parkinson is a 6'7" slot receiver who also played some tight end for the Cardinal. He caught seven touchdown passes in 2018 and 48 passes for 589 yards (but only one touchdown) in 2019. He has soft hands, a vast catch radius, and runs well, but you can probably fill the rest of the scouting report out yourself: poor leverage when blocking, lots of jump balls, and mismatch production against shorter defenders, and so forth. Parkinson is built like a lanky, jump-shooting small forward, and players with his body type and playing style rarely develop into the type of mismatch nightmare in the NFL that they appeared to be in college. But we're at the point of the draft where it makes sense to draft a productive guy with some unique traits, and the Seahawks love a) Jimmy Graham types, and b) guys who cannot block at all (including Jimmy Graham)."
SI.com
Grade: B
Andy Benoit: "Investing at tight end was a little surprising considering the team is at least three-deep, if not four-deep at that position. But then again, starter Greg Olsen likely won’t be around for long."
