Seahawks Final Report Card: TE Trio Catalysts in Seattle's Aerial Attack
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With the 2022 season officially in the books, the Seattle Seahawks will head into the offseason with plenty of momentum after a surprising 9-8 season that resulted in an unexpected return to the playoffs.
After several seasons falling short of lofty expectations due to numerous factors, including injuries and scheme-related issues, newcomer Noah Fant and a versatile tight end group emerged as a crucial part of Seattle's top-10 scoring offense on the way to a postseason trip. Looking back on a strong season by the unit in all phases, how did tight ends fare in 2022?
What Went Right
Immediately out of the gate, quarterback Geno Smith and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron made getting tight ends involved in the Seahawks passing game a top priority. Beating Denver in the regular season opener, Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson each caught touchdown passes and tied for the team lead with 43 receiving yards apiece as Seattle's tight ends racked up 102 receiving yards in the victory. Two weeks later, the trio posted 105 receiving yards and a touchdown in a loss to Atlanta at Lumen Field. By the end of the season, led by Fant with 486 receiving yards and four touchdowns, the group combined for over 1,100 yards and 10 scores.
Away from the passing game, the Seahawks benefited from impressive growth from Parkinson and Fant as blockers. Both players entered the league viewed as glorified receivers with limited blocking background, but after hitting the weight room hard in his first two seasons while dealing with foot injuries, Parkinson earned the seventh best run blocking grade (65.8) among tight ends with at least 215 run blocking snaps. Though Fant didn't have near as good of a grade, he got after it in the trenches and made several key blocks to spring running backs over the course of the season, making major strides of his own addressing the biggest flaw in his game.
With Dissly, Fant, and Parkinson all performing at a high level as receivers and blockers, Waldron utilized 13 personnel with all three on the field together with great frequency, creating matchup problems for opposing defenses in both the passing and ground game. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, only the Titans and Saints used more three tight end personnel groupings than the Seahawks did during the 2022 season.
What Went Wrong
Collectively as a group, the Seahawks received stellar production from their tight ends. But if there's an area that was somewhat disappointing in the passing game, it's that they didn't manufacture yardage after the catch as effectively as hoped. Fant finished the season ranked 18th among tight ends in YAC yardage, but he averaged under five yards after the catch per reception and his overall yard total was heavily skewed by a 51-yard reception against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9. Nearly a quarter of his YAC total for the season came on that single play.
As for Dissly and Parkinson, the two players ranked 25th and 28th in yards after the catch among tight ends respectively. Neither was overly effective creating yardage with the football in their hands, as Dissly was deployed as a chain moving possession tight end and Parkinson did most of his damage as a vertical threat with significant air yardage totals. Per Pro Football Focus, the trio only forced a combined five missed tackles all season long.
While injuries weren't as big of a problem as they have been in the past for Seattle at the tight end position, Dissly landed on injured reserve for the third time in his career with a fracture in his upper ankle and missed the final three games, including a wild card loss to San Francisco. Though he played in every game, Fant also battled through a nagging knee injury for a large chunk of the second half.
Grade: B+
On an individual level, none of Seattle's tight ends put up gaudy numbers and the franchise still hasn't had a player eclipse 500 receiving yards at the position since Jimmy Graham in 2017. But the group was as reliable and effective as any tight end unit in the entire NFL, combining to snag 113 passes on 142 targets with only two drops the entire season. With Dissly remaining a rock as a blocker and Fant and Parkinson making significant jumps in that department, few tight end corps were more vital to their team's success.
In the big picture, the Seahawks should remain in great shape at tight end in the short term with all three players under contract in 2023. However, with Fant and Parkinson set to become unrestricted free agents in March 2024 and Dissly rebounding from another significant injury, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see the organization pursue a tight end in a deep, talented draft class with an eye towards the future.
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