12th Man Rising
FanSided

Seahawks 2020 draft: 5 questions about tight end Colby Parkinson

By Lee Vowell

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 07: Tempers flair between tight end Colby Parkinson #84 of the Stanford Cardinal and cornerback Olaijah Griffin #2 and safety Isaiah Pola-Mao #21 of the USC Trojans in the first half of the game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 7, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 07: Tempers flair between tight end Colby Parkinson #84 of the Stanford Cardinal and cornerback Olaijah Griffin #2 and safety Isaiah Pola-Mao #21 of the USC Trojans in the first half of the game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 7, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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The Seahawks, for whatever reason, felt like they needed more tight ends for the 2020 season via the NFL Draft. One of those was Stanford’s Colby Parkinson.

The Seahawks might be following the Patriots pattern of getting tight ends heavily involved in the offense. Will Dissly has been scary good in a scary short amount of time in Seattle. Dissly has played 10 games in two seasons but in that short amount of game availability he has shown enough promise to be a very good tight end, both blocking and receiving.

But maybe Seattle thinks that won’t happen and that is one reason they chose Stanford’s Colby Parkinson in the 2020 NFL Draft. Or maybe the Seahawks don’t see Parkinson as a tight end at all but more as a big receiver. Either way, to get more information on Parkinson I asked FanSided’s Patrick Schmidt, Senior Editor of college sports for FanSided, five questions about Parkinson.

12th Man Rising: What are some of the best moments from Colby Parkinson in college, the moments that stand out to you?

Patrick Schmidt: When he scored four touchdowns in the first half in the win vs. Oregon State in 2018. He and K.J. Costello were dialed in that game.

12th Man Rising: What kind of teammate do you think he was and how do you think he will transition off the field to the pros?

Patrick Schmidt: He’ll be a great teammate. Stanford has a pretty good track record of developing tight ends and seeing them fare well in the NFL. He’ll be the latest model off the assembly line.

12th Man Rising: What are some of the strengths that should help him help with the Seahawks?

Patrick Schmidt: He’s going to be a mismatch nightmare in the red zone. At 6-foot-7, he’s got incredible reach and can box out defenders and wall them off with his body. He never had great quarterback play at Stanford so he should see a higher percentage of catchable passes from Russell Wilson to ease his transition to the NFL.

12th Man Rising: What would be some of your biggest concerns about him on the field in the NFL?

Patrick Schmidt: He’s listed as a tight end, but he’s really just a jumbo receiver. He’s not going to be an asset in the run blocking game, but that’s not why he was drafted. He does need to do a better job with his get-off in the red zone. He can’t rely solely on his size to get by and will have to be more physical and attack the ball and not let smaller safeties body him.

Next. 5 questions about Seahawks new edge rusher Darrell Taylor. dark

12th Man Rising: What are some of the things, on the field or off the field or both, 12s might not know about Colby Parkinson but should know?

Patrick Schmidt: Was the No. 1 tight end recruit in the class of 2017. He plays the guitar and the ukelele.

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