Nick Vannett impressing at Seahawks OTAs

Jimmy Graham get all the attention at tight end for the Seattle Seahawks, but it is rookie Nick Vannett that is impressing coaches with his talent and versatility.

The Seattle Seahawks made this writer very happy when they drafted tight end Nick Vannett out of Ohio State. He was one of my favorite prospect in the 2016 draft, and was a perfect match for the Seahawks in terms of scheme, talent, and value.

After the draft, there was some disagreement on Vannett’s skill set. Pete Carroll and the Seahawks called Vannett the best blocking TE the to come through the draft in years. He was repeatedly compared to former Seahawk Zach Miller, who was essentially an offensive tackle.

Vannett’s college coaches had a completely different view of Vannett’s skills. Urban Meyer raved about his receiving skills and route running. Even though they often used him in-line as a blocker, they described him as a move TE that could line up anywhere.

It turns out that both were correct. Vannett’s blocking skills are obvious from his college tape, and he surprised the Seahawks with his receiving skills during OTAs. He looks like he could be the most complete TE the Seahawks have had in a very long time.

After the most recent workout, ESPN’s John Clayton called Vannett the steal of the draft:

"The steal of the draft was tight end Nick Vannett, the team’s third-round pick.Coming out of Ohio State, everyone knew he could block. That was his strength. But he’s a much better pass-catcher than anyone would have guessed. The Seahawks are three-deep at tight end."

Calling anyone other than Jarran Reed the steal of Seattle’s draft seems significant. Reed was a guy that many thought would go in the top 15, and Seattle got him in the middle of the second round.

As for Vannett, he appears to be exactly what the Seahawks needed at the position. Having Jimmy Graham block in the running game didn’t exactly work the way that it was intended. Using a sixth offensive lineman telegraphed that the Seahawks were going to run the football.

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With Vannett, Seattle has the type of versatile TE that this offense needs. He is a much better fit for Seattle’s offensive scheme than Jimmy Graham and Luke Willson will ever be.