Seahawks tight end picture could change with Hollister

Hollister could be just what the Seahawks need

Now here comes Hollister, who has a very different skill set than any of the three main tight ends on the roster. Dissly and Dickson are both renowned for their blocking skill, called the best blocking tight ends in college and the NFL, respectively. Vannett isn’t in their class as a blocker, but he’s certainly not Coby Fleenor or, you know, Jimmy Graham.

Hollister is not a blocking tight end, as you might guess from his move to wide receiver by the Patriots last year. What he can do is run routes, run them fast, and catch. In his senior season at Wyoming, he caught 32 passes for 515 yards and seven scores. That’s roughly what Vannett did in four years at Ohio State, and about double what Dissly accomplished at U-Dub. Not a knock on them; Hollister is just a different type of player.

Which is why I think his arrival means Dickson is the odd man out. Does it make sense to keep three tight ends on the roster that all have basically the same skill set? Especially when tackle George Fant can slide outside and play a goliath version of the same role? No, it doesn’t. It especially doesn’t make sense to keep Dickson’s cap hit of $4.4 million on the roster. Not when he’s not even the backup, and not when Hollister will cost almost $4 million less.