Nick Vannett more than just a blocker at TE
By Dan Viens
The Seattle Seahawks selected Ohio State tight end Nick Vannett in the 3rd round of this year’s NFL draft, and he’s proving to be better than advertised in the team’s offseason program.
Here’s the thing about labels, they’re much easier to acquire than they are to shed.
Consider the case of Nick Vannett, tight end, Ohio State.
When the Seattle Seahawks took him with the 94th pick in the draft the accolades began pouring in. Best blocking tight end in the draft, the analysts said. He’ll help them immediately as an extra blocker while the offensive line develops.
Boom! Just like that he became Nick Vannett: Blocking Tight End.
There was even some backlash among Seahawks Draft Twitter and in other social media from fans who thought the Hawks wasted a draft pick on a guy who was so one-dimensional.
But a funny thing happened this week as the Seahawks held their first full-squad off season practices. Vannett drew raves for his…….. *gasp* pass catching skills!
He’s got unbelievable hands
“He’s got unbelievable hands, smooth hands. His timing, he gets his head around right on time, understands the route concepts,” said his new quarterback Russell Wilson. And he wasn’t done. “He made a lot of great plays today and he’s made great plays the past three OTAs. He’s going to be a talented star for us I think. You guys are going to look forward to him and the plays that he makes.”
How did this happen? How does a guy from such a big program, taken so high in the draft, fly under the radar and get mislabeled by so many?
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Simple. It’s all about how he was used in college. We’ll let Vannett explain it himself:
“I think, especially in this draft, I’m one of the best three-down tight ends who can do both,” Vannett said. “I’ve always felt that I was a great receiver, and that’s something I did a lot of at Ohio State when Jeff Heuerman was there. Then once he moved on (to the NFL), I really had to step up my blocking game. That’s an area where I made tremendous strides in, so I think that allowed me to be a really good blocking and receiving tight end. But I think I’m just your typical three-down tight end who can do it both.”
Ohio State had so many dynamic weapons at every position, they didn’t ask Vannett to do much as a receiver. Instead, they used him primarily as an extra blocker in pass protection against some of the nation’s best pass rushers residing in the Big Ten. He also spent a lot of time helping opening holes for RB Ezekiel Elliott, even lining up as an “H Back” or fullback on a regular basis.
Even Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer has said he regrets not using Vannett more as a receiver. But let’s be glad he didn’t, or Vannett may have been long gone before the Seahawks eventually selected him.
The first time I saw Vannett play last season (and indeed he caught a couple nice balls in that game in addition to his blocking assignments) I thought to myself THAT looks like a Seahawks tight end. I wrote about him in advance of the draft as a guy we should take even though the consensus seemed to be the team didn’t “need” another TE. What attracted me to him was that he could do it all as a more traditional in-line tight end, and that would allow Seattle to use Jimmy Graham more as a receiver in much the same manner as New Orleans did.
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But more than that, in the bigger picture, I saw Vannett as a guy who could be a long-term starter at the position for the Seahawks. And so far, he’s been everything the team expected, and more.