What a Seahawks trade for Falcons tight end Austin Hooper could look like
By Geoff Shull
It is no secret the Seahawks are in the market for a tight end before the trade deadline.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has said that the team is “working on stuff” to resolve their depth issues at the tight end position. The Atlanta Falcons thus far have relented from trading their star tight end Austin Hooper. If Seattle comes in strong, what could a trade look like? Possibly just this.
Who is Austin Hooper?
Austin Hooper was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the 3rd round of the 2016 NFL draft. During his time in college, Hooper’s play awarded him a place on the third team All-American squad, and as a Mackey award finalist. Hooper was known for having great hands, strong route running abilities, and as a willing blocker. Hooper also placed top 5 at the draft combine in the 40-yard dash, bench press and 3-cone drill amongst tight ends.
Hooper has continuously grown as a player year to year, including being named to the Pro-bowl in the 2018 season. As impressive as he was last year, he is blowing those stats out of the water in 2019. Hooper is just 150 yards shy of his previous high in yards and has already matched his previous high in touchdowns scored at 4. He is also 2nd in catches for tight ends only trailing Travis Kelce and is on pace to get 1,300 receiving yards.
Hooper is no one trick pony however, he has displayed consistently that he can block with the best of ’em. Through the first 7 weeks he has earned a PFF grade of 69.4 in pass blocking. A quality sorely lacking for the Seahawks with injuries to Will Dissly and Ed Dickson.