Seattle Seahawks 1st Quarter Report Card: Noah Fant, TEs Shine For Top-10 Offense
Normally, NFL players prefer having their bye week later in the season. But for the Seattle Seahawks, particularly for Geno Smith and a banged up offense, a week off could not have come at a better time following a 24-3 win over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
Over the course of the first four weeks, Seattle has only played one half with its expected starting offensive line, as tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas have missed the past three games and guards Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes have also been sidelined due to injuries. Adding insult to injury - literally - Smith exited for a few drives on Monday night with a knee injury as Drew Lock took over under center in his place.
Despite the numerous injuries and instability in the trenches, however, the Seahawks have still managed to remain prolific on offense. Heading into Week 5, with Smith efficiently leading the way orchestrating Shane Waldron's system and Ken Walker III finding traction behind an offensive line that continues to get the job done, the team ranks sixth in the NFL in points per game, which has paved the way for a 3-1 start.
With the bye week coming at an ideal time for a surging, yet wounded Seahawks squad, how have each of the team's offensive position groups performed thus far? Looking at film and statistical data, here's my annual first quarter report card:
Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant.
© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterback
First Quarter Grade: B
Playing behind an offensive line missing multiple starters in all four games, Smith has made the most of a difficult hand leading Seattle to a 3-1 start. While he ranks 12th in completion percentage, he has posted a 68.3 percent rate on par with his league-leading accuracy from last season. He also has done a better job of not forcing the football into tight windows, throwing just one interception so far. Statistically, he's barely averaging over a touchdown pass per game and ranks 19th in passing yards, so he hasn't been quite as productive overall as last season and a knee injury hampered him in a Week 4 win in New Jersey. With time to recover during the bye, his best football should still remain in front of him.
Thrust into action to replace Smith for a handful of drives against the Giants, Lock only completed two out of six pass attempts, but he made those completions count with a 51-yard hookup to tight end Noah Fant and zipping a first down throw to DK Metcalf. He also showed off his underrated athleticism with an 11-yard run on a scramble, demonstrating why the Seahawks have confidence in him as a backup if he has to play under center in meaningful regular season games.
Running Back
First Quarter Grade: B+
While his yards per carry average isn't quite on pace with his spectacular rookie season, Walker has taken a major leap forward in several areas of his game. More decisive with his reads in his second NFL season, he hasn't been as bounce-happy trying to out run defenders off tackle, leading to an improved success rate from 39.9 percent to 53.1 percent so far. Picking up where he left last year, per Pro Football Focus, he currently ranks fourth in 10-plus yard runs and seventh in breakaway percentage. The explosive runner has also been a handful for opposing tacklers to bring down, as he ranks third in yards after contact (213) and second in missed tackles forced among running backs through four games. Add in improved receiving and pass protection and he could make a push for All Pro consideration.
Away from Walker's strong start, Zach Charbonnet has already proven to be a worthy complementary battering ram out of Seattle's backfield. Though he has had roughly a third of the rushing workload with 21 carries so far, he has rushed for over 100 yards with a healthy five yards per carry average while racking up 68 yards after contact running behind his pads. He hasn't made much of an impact as a receiver to this point, but he has been better than advertised picking up blitzers in pass protection and has not given up a pressure on 11 pass pro reps in four games.
Receiver
First Quarter Grade: B-
Entering the season, the Seahawks expected to have one of the most prolific receiving units in the NFL pairing stars DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett with first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Up to this point, however, while there have been usual flashes of brilliance from Metcalf and Lockett, the group has not quite lived up to the lofty expectations. Aside from an excellent two touchdown outing in Detroit in Week 2, Lockett has been held under 40 yards in two of Seattle's other three games and has posted an unusually low 65 percent catch rate with a pair of drops. As for Metcalf, he's on pace for over 1,100 receiving yards and produced an impressive 81 percent catch rate, clearly standing out as the star of the group so far.
What has been disappointing to this point has been Smith-Njigba's slow start after a strong training camp. While he has caught 12 passes, those receptions have netted just 62 yards and barely over a five yards per reception average with no touchdowns. He also has surprisingly struggled as a pass catcher, dropping two out of his 18 targets from Smith as the two continue to try to develop chemistry. As for the rest of the receiving corps, Jake Bobo did score a touchdown against Carolina, but he and Cody Thompson have three combined catches in four games.
Tight End
First Quarter Grade: A
With the arrival of Smith-Njigba, some questioned whether or not Seattle's tight ends would be able to have the same impact in the passing game as they did eclipsing 1,000 yards and scoring nine touchdowns in 2022. So far, while the trio of Will Dissly, Noah Fant, and Colby Parkinson have only caught 21 total receptions and have yet to find the end zone, they have produced 299 receiving yards and are on pace for over 1,200 in a 17-game season. Doing damage with the ball in their hands, with Fant leading the way, they have amassed 172 yards after the catch. Fant and Parkinson currently rank second and third among qualified tight ends in yards after the catch per reception, proving themselves to be playmaking security blankets once again.
In combination with their receiving contributions, the Seahawks have been able to stay afloat with numerous starting offensive linemen sidelined by injuries in part due to support from tight ends in the blocking game. As he has done throughout his career, Dissly continues to excel as a pseudo sixth lineman, while Parkinson and Fant have taken another step forward becoming quality blockers in their own right to help open up running lanes for Walker and chip in to protect Smith. Per PFF, Dissly and Fant each rank in the top 10 among qualified tight ends in overall blocking grades, while Parkinson ranks second in pass protection.
Tackle
First Quarter Grade: B-
When Cross and Lucas went down with injuries in Seattle's season-opening loss, Stone Forsythe and Jake Curhan struggled mightily in a second half meltdown that created major concerns moving forward. But skeptics have been silenced to an extent by the two third-year tackles as the team has gone 3-0 with them in the starting lineup. While offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, Smith, and the tight ends all deserve some credit for providing support for the reserves, the duo has exceeded expectations playing against tough competition such as Panthers star Brian Burns and Giants standout Kayvon Thibodeaux in recent weeks.
Though far from perfect, including Curhan giving up five pressures and two sacks against the Giants, the Seahawks have been able to keep their offense humming despite Cross and Lucas being sidelined for most of the season so far. Even with Forsythe and Curhan each being in the top 10 for pressures allowed per PFF, both have only surrendered two sacks and they have been effective enough in the run game, allowing for Walker and Charbonnet to combine for over 100 rushing yards in each of the previous two victories.
Guard/Center
First Quarter Grade: B
Injuries haven't just hampered Seattle at the tackle spots, as Lewis and Haynes have each missed extensive snaps with various injuries in the first four weeks of the season, forcing rookies Anthony Bradford and Olu Oluwatimi into early action. Luckily for the Seahawks, the bright lights haven't been too much for the two day three draft choices. More than ready after logging over 3,500 college snaps at Michigan and Virginia, Oluwatimi hasn't allowed a pressure on 19 pass pro snaps and made a key block on one of Walker's short yardage touchdowns in Week 2. Bradford has also been effective, displaying plenty of punch at the line of scrimmage as a run blocker and yielding just three pressures on 63 pass pro snaps.
When Seattle has had projected starters in the lineup, the interior has been rock solid. Replacing retired Austin Blythe, Evan Brown has been a clear upgrade, allowing just four pressures and no sacks in pass protection while adding much-needed physicality in the run blocking department. In his first season as a full-time starter, Haynes got off to a good start before suffering a calf strain, yielding just one pressure on 76 pass blocking reps. Even while battling ankle and hand injuries, Lewis remains the anchor of the team's rushing attack up front and currently ranks 13th among 61 qualified guards in run blocking grade via PFF.
