Tight ends the Seahawks could target in the 2020 NFL Draft
By Geoff Shull
The Seahawks use its tight ends as a safety net for Russell Wilson when the play breaks down and he needs the get the ball out quick. The problem is, there was only one tight end on the roster to make it all the way through the season. Seattle should utilize the draft to add much needed depth.
Will Dissly has proven to be about as dynamic a player as the Seahawks could have hoped for when they drafted him in the 4th round of the 2018 draft. He has shown great inline blocking ability, with very solid hand placement and precise footwork. He also has remarkably soft hands; he has only registered one drop through 10 NFL games and 41 targets. Pretty impressive for a big man who was simply known as a blocking tight end coming out of college.
The biggest issue with our tight end group as a whole is durability. Dissly has gone down in back to back seasons, with serious injuries. Veteran Ed Dickson did not play a single snap this year due to lingering injuries. He also missed 6 games last year due to injuries, and is on the wrong side of 30. Luke Willson will be a free agent and is proving to have his own injury concerns. The only silver lining during the 2019 season would be Jacob Hollister. He proved to be a great receiving tight end, but needs a lot of work to improve his blocking fundamentals and needs to gain weight. Unfortunately for Seattle, he’s the the only healthy tight end on the 2019 roster and is slated to hit free agency this year.
The Seahawks would be wise to let Willson walk in free agency. They should release Dickson and regain the nearly $3 million toward the 2020 cap. I would hope they would consider bringing Jacob Hollister back on a short 2-3 year, $4-6 million contract and hope he can continue developing. This would leave the tight end room with just a recovering Dissly and an emerging Hollister. It would be wise of the Seahawks to look to the draft. This would get another cost-effective young player to enter the mix, and give the team much needed depth.