Seahawks TEs Camp Preview: Bold Predictions, Depth Chart

RENTON, Wash. - While Russell Wilson put up prolific passing numbers during his final three seasons quarterbacking the Seattle Seahawks, while the franchise made an effort to add talent at the position, tight ends gradually became a smaller part of their aerial success.

Dating back to 2019, according to Pro Football Reference, Wilson never exceeded 21 percent of his passing yards or targets to tight ends in a single season. While leaning heavily on star receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, sometimes to his detriment, Seattle's tight end group also accounted for less than 16 percent of the quarterback's 65 touchdown passes in 2020 and 2021.

But with the unhappy Wilson finally dealt away in March 2022 as part of a blockbuster trade with the Broncos, the Seahawks shifted their offensive approach with new starter Geno Smith taking the reins under center. With the veteran masterfully running coordinator Shane Waldron's offense, tight ends emerged as a far more important part of the puzzle right out of the gate, as Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson caught touchdowns in the team's season opening win over Wilson's new team.

While Metcalf and Lockett still received the lion's share of Smith's targets and each surpassed 1,000 yards in the same season for the second time in three years, Dissly, Parkinson, newcomer Noah Fant, and Tyler Mabry combined for 1,164 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, the most scored by the group since Jimmy Graham scored double digit touchdowns in his final season with the team in 2017. After raving about the group throughout the offseason program and training camp, they lived up to the hype dished out by coach Pete Carroll.

“They’re going to be a big part of what we’re doing,” Carroll said leading into training camp, later adding, "The position is really strong, and they’ve got some particular strengths, but yet they’re versatile too, so we’ve got a lot of flexibility with these guys."

None of Seattle's tight ends individually approached Graham's numbers from his three seasons with the franchise, but collectively, the trio of Dissly, Parkinson, and Fant were crucial to Smith and the team's unexpected success earning a playoff berth. Along with performing well as blockers to help Ken Walker III rush for over 1,000 yards as a rookie, the group accounted for 27.1 percent of the Seahawks receiving yardage and 30 percent of Smith's 30 touchdown passes.

Heading into a new season, the Seahawks will happily welcome back all three members of their outstanding tight end unit, as Fant and Parkinson will enter the final years of their respective deals with plenty to play for. Meanwhile, Dissly has fully recovered from a knee injury that cost him the final three games of the 2022 season and participated in full during the team's offseason program.

With Smith back under center on a new three-year contract and Waldron back in the saddle calling plays with frequent usage of 12 and 13 personnel groupings, one would figure tight ends will once again be a prominent part of Seattle's passing game and offense as a whole. But in reality, while multi-tight end sets should remain a fixture schematically, reaching the numbers they hit a year ago may not be an easy feat with upgraded personnel around them.

This spring, holding two first-round picks as a result of the Wilson trade in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seahawks added another dynamic receiver to the mix, selecting Ohio State standout Jaxon Smith-Njigba with the 20th overall selection. Before an injury derailed his final season in Columbus, he put up gaudy numbers for the Buckeyes as a sophomore, eclipsing 1,500 receiving yards and scoring nine touchdowns for a high-powered offense.

“Oh, man, he’s really, really natural," Carroll gushed about Smith-Njigba during Seattle's mandatory minicamp last month. "He’s really a natural athlete, gifted in his timing, in and out of breaks and things and his feel. He also has, which we saw this in the workout at school, he’s got great change of direction in him, and he’s got this marvelous ability to get in out of his turns."

Known for his crafty route running, strong hands in contested catch situations, and ability to create with the ball in his hands, Smith-Njigba projects to be a high volume target who lives in the middle of the field and excels moving the chains. Already competing for targets against Metcalf and Lockett, the arrival of another quality wideout with different strengths will likely make it tougher for tight ends to factor into the passing game with further diminished opportunities.

Additionally, the Seahawks invested a second round pick in UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet, who has excellent hands out of the backfield as a receiver and will join forces with Walker to form a dynamic one-two punch, which could mean more emphasis on running the ball than a year ago.

But as proven last year, Seattle's tight end group doesn't feature any selfish contributors concerned about individual statistics, and their overall value can't be accurately assessed based on statistics in a box score. While Dissly has always been a superb blocker as a former defensive lineman with experience battling in the trenches, Fant and Parkinson have made remarkable strides in that area of their respective games after coming into the NFL as glorified receivers, developing into far more well-rounded every down tight ends.

"All three guys can catch, and all three guys are blocking," Carroll said of his tight end corps last season. "It's a marvelous position group for us… We really feel comfortable and know that we have a variety of them. We are not going to stick them in roles where this guy only does this, and this guy does that. We don't want that to happen, we want to be versatile with these guys because they can, and just to make it difficult for the opponent too."

From that standpoint, the trifecta of Dissly, Fant, and Parkinson will continue to be vital to the Seahawks' offensive success, even if it doesn't necessarily show up as tangible stats in the passing game in the same way it did a year ago. With only one football to pass around and an abundance of talented skill players across the board at Smith's disposal, targets likely will take a small dive for the group as a whole, but after only dropping two combined passes a year ago, they should be reliable weapons when called upon.

And, if there's another potential silver lining to consider, Smith-Njigba's arrival should help improve upon Seattle's dreadful 20th ranked third down efficiency rate, creating more sustained drives and a jump in red zone opportunities for Dissly, Fant, and Parkinson that could lead to an uptick in touchdowns from the group inside the opposing 20-yard line.

Projected Depth Chart

Competition to Watch

Fant vs. Parkinson: After both players surpassed 300 receiving yards a year ago and made significant improvements as blockers, Fant and Parkinson will both have significant roles for the Seahawks once again in 2023. But with Dissly likely cemented as a starter, the two veterans will be directly competing against each other for snaps as the team's second tight end throughout camp.

Last season, Fant started all but one game for Seattle, playing more than 50 percent of the team's snaps in every single game. Parkinson, meanwhile, only started twice at the end of the season after Dissly suffered a year-ending knee injury, but he played significantly more snaps than Fant in victories over the New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams to lock up a wild card berth. Interestingly, he also played nine more snaps than Fant in the team's playoff loss in San Francisco.

What does that mean heading into a new season? With Dissly's return, those snap discrepancies may not indicate anything at all for the future based on personnel groupings and preferences, but the Seahawks clearly felt better about Parkinson's blocking than Fant based on workload in those three games. With both being quality receivers capable of stretching the field vertically, performance as an inline blocker may be the difference that determines which player sees the field more often in 2023.

Wild Card

Mabry: Since joining the Seahawks as an undrafted rookie out of Maryland in 2020, Mabry has made the most of his limited chances. After not seeing any game action in his first year on the practice squad, he dressed in six games in 2021, playing 81 snaps on special teams. Last season, with Dissly, Parkinson, and Fant all ahead of him, he once again resided on the practice squad for most of the season. But when Dissly went down in December, he capitalized by scoring a touchdown on his first career NFL catch to help beat the Jets in Week 17.

Though he's still just 26 years old, Mabry faces an uphill climb to make Seattle's roster with all three veteran tight ends returning. However, if he's able to factor on special teams and make plays as a receiver in the preseason, it's possible he could sneak onto the roster to steal one of the final spots, especially since Fant and Parkinson will both be unrestricted free agents in March. From a long-term perspective, continuing to develop him should be a priority for the franchise.

Bold Predictions

1. None of Seattle's tight ends will finish with more than 40 receptions.

Last season, Fant led the Seahawks tight end group with 50 catches, which was the second-fewest he had registered in four NFL seasons, while Dissly and Parkinson caught 34 and 25 respectively. As previously mentioned, Smith-Njigba is expected to immediately step into a key role in the passing game as a rookie and if he is going to be a regular target for Smith alongside Metcalf and Lockett, that will undoubtedly cut into chances for all three tight ends to make an impact.

Looking towards the new season, assuming Smith-Njigba receives at least 60 targets, no receiver not named Metcalf or Lockett had more than 42 a year ago. Even if the team runs more plays overall due to improved third down play, it would be a reasonable expectation that Fant, Parkinson, and Dissly will all see a slight dip in targets as a result, meaning fewer receptions and likely less yardage.

2. Creating matchup issues, Parkinson will lead the pack with half a dozen touchdowns.

While he may have a tough time approaching his raw reception and receiving yardage numbers from a year ago, Parkinson stands out compared to his tight end peers as a potential beneficiary of more red zone opportunities. At 6-7, 265 pounds, his size presents a major challenge for linebackers and safeties alike in coverage, and yet, the Seahawks haven't utilized him much inside the 20s in his first three seasons.

With opponents having to worry about Metcalf, Lockett, and now Smith-Njigba, Parkinson consistently will have ideal one-on-one matchups, even in the crowded space of the red zone. His ability to high point the football and soft hands should make him a preferred target of choice for Smith in such situations and with more opportunities, expect him to triple his career touchdown total.

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