Seahawks Position Preview: Tight Ends

During the early stages of the 2019 season, the Seahawks looked to have a rising star emerging in second-year tight end Will Dissly.

Fully recovered from a torn patellar tendon injury that prematurely ended his rookie year after just four games, Dissly didn't miss a beat in his return to the field and played at an All-Pro level in the first month of action. He scored two touchdowns in Seattle's Week 2 road win over Pittsburgh , followed up with touchdowns in each of the next two games, then recorded an 81-yard performance against the Rams in Week 5.

Unfortunately, after a red-hot start through five games, bad luck struck Dissly once again, as a torn Achilles tendon brought yet another season to an abrupt conclusion. With Ed Dickson unable to return from a knee injury, Seattle was forced to turn to Jacob Hollister and Luke Willson as the main tight ends for the remainder of the season.

While both of those players performed admirably with Dissly out - Hollister in particular finished third on the team in receiving yards - the Seahawks opted to take a volume-based approach at tight end this offseason. Along with re-signing Hollister and Willson, three-time Pro Bowler Greg Olsen was recruited by quarterback Russell Wilson and the team also used a fourth-round pick on Stanford's Colby Parkinson, giving the team an intriguing blend of experience and youth at the position.

How will the Seahawks deep and talented tight end group perform in 2020? Let's take a look at the expected group for the regular season, a potential wild card to watch, best/worst case scenarios, and projections.

Expected Group

Due to Parkinson's inclusion on the Non-Football injury list after undergoing foot surgery in June, the Seahawks will likely roll into the regular season with seasoned group of veteran tight ends featuring Olsen, Dissly, Hollister, and Luke Willson. Incoming seventh-round pick Stephen Sullivan could also be an emergency tight end if needed after playing there sparingly at LSU.

Wild Card

Before suffering a Jones fracture in his foot while running routes earlier in the offseason during a workout, Parkinson would have been the desired dark horse candidate for Seattle at the tight end position. A plus-athlete at 6-foot-7, 251 pounds, the former Stanford standout displayed soft hands throughout his college career and his rare size would have immediately made him a red zone weapon for Wilson. But with there being a chance he opens the regular season on the NFI list, Hollister may actually be the biggest wild card. His ability to line up in the slot coupled with route running savvy allowed him to thrive throughout his first season in Seattle and he could be a much bigger factor in the passing game than anticipated.

Best-Case Scenario

Finding the fountain of youth with Wilson throwing him passes, Olsen turns back the clock to 2016, giving the Seahawks another dangerous receiving target alongside Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Finally avoiding injury, Dissly plays in all 16 games for the first time in his career and helps open up running lanes for Chris Carson, Carlos Hyde, and company, earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Seeing action out of the slot as well as occasionally moon-lighting as a hybrid fullback, Hollister builds off where he left off by surprisingly finishing in the top five on the team in receptions. Returning to action quicker than expected from surgery, Parkinson finds his niche as a situational red zone threat, hauling in a handful of touchdowns to help propel the Seahawks to an NFC West title.

Worst-Case Scenario

Showing his age, Olsen struggles through injuries and fails to come close his 2019 production in Carolina before announcing his retirement shortly after the year concludes. Continuing to battle durability issues, Dissly again misses extended time and looks like a shell of his former self coming off a significant injury for the second straight season. Forced into significant snaps once again, Hollister shows his performance from a year ago was a fluke and deals with a severe case of the drops heading towards unrestricted free agency. With Parkinson opening the season on the PUP list, he doesn't return until after Week 8 and fails to make an impact after being activated to the active roster.

Projections

There's no question the Seahawks have one of the deepest tight end groups in the entire NFL - if everyone can stay healthy. And that's a very big if considering Olsen has missed 17 games over the past three seasons and Dissly has played in just 10 out of 32 games in his first two seasons. Expecting either player to stay healthy throughout the course of the season may be asking too much, but if they can each play at least 12-13 games, both players are capable of 400-plus receiving yards and will be in a prime position to feast in the red zone with five or more touchdowns. Hollister should also see the field plenty in three tight end sets as well as playing the slot, though he may be hard pressed to replicate his production from a year ago. Assuming the aforementioned three players stay fairly healthy, any additional contributions from Willson or Parkinson would be icing on the cake.