Seahawks Leaning Heavily on Tight Ends in Early Training Camp

I have no idea if Brian Fleury will end up being the right guy for the job here in Seattle. There’s always an intrinsic risk when you hire someone to do a job that they’ve never done before. While Fleury does have a robust resume of experience coaching football, he’s never called plays before. But there’s one thing that it seems like we can already count on.

Dialing Tight Ends Up to Eleven

Fleury’s most recent experience in football was with the San Francisco 49ers as the Tight Ends Coach. His role was expanded to include Run Game Coordinator in 2025, but for the last four seasons, he’s been the guy handling business as the position coach of perhaps the best tight end in football, George Kittle. George was certainly good before Fleury, but it still stands out.

AJ Barner is already a really good player, but can Fleury make him even better? — Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Kittle has 260 catches for 3,519 yards and 32 touchdowns over 57 games during that four-year span. In 2025, with Kittle missing significant time to injury, we saw respectable play from backup Jake Tonges, chipping in 34 catches for 293 yards and 5 touchdowns. It’s a good run for Fleury that helped get him this position in Seattle. The man likes tight ends, and he has them here.

Early Returns

One recurring theme over the last couple days of training camp for the Seahawks has been the usage of tight ends. According to Corbin Smith, six different tight ends and fullbacks had at least one catch of 20 or more yards during scrimmage during the July 31st practice alone. And now, the August 1st session reportedly included a three-touchdown day from Elijah Arroyo.

Six different #Seahawks tight ends/fullbacks - yes, six - had a 20-plus yard reception in scrimmage play during today's practice.

First time that this felt like an offense coordinated by a former tight end coach.
— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) July 31, 2026

So it’s certainly starting to look like a Brian Fleury offense. Keep in mind that the Seahawks were already a tight-end heavy team, ranking eighth in the NFL in 12 personnel looks at 29.85% and 22 personnel at 6.8%, as well as twelfth in 13 personnel at 5.42%. Should the Seahawks kick it up a notch from even that, they’ll be among the highest rates in the entire league.

Molding Arroyo

The positive buzz around Elijah Arroyo in particular catches my attention, as he’s one of the players that stands to benefit the most from Fleury’s hiring. A second round pick entering his second NFL season, Arroyo’s rookie campaign was a few nice plays sandwiched between an ultimately forgettable season and a derailing injury. Can he take it to the next level?

#Seahawks wrap up camp practice No. 7. Big days for Elijah Arroyo and Tory Horton, who scored a trio of touchdowns in scrimmage periods.

Sam Darnold with touchdown passes to Rashid Shaheed and Arroyo.
— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) August 1, 2026

There’s certainly some talent here. Schneider has claimed that the only reason why Arroyo wasn’t a top fifteen player in his draft was injury. While that claim isn’t provable, it does suggest that there’s a very skilled playmaker in here, who just needs additional reps and targets to realize it. And if Fleury can’t bring it out, then I wouldn’t think anyone could.

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