Seahawks position battle: Luke Willson versus Jacob Hollister

With Seahawks training camp just a bit over two weeks away, some position battles are worth watching. Such as Jacob Hollister versus Luke Willson at tight end.

The Seahawks will, of course, have a lot of position battles play out in training camp. Seattle currently has 18 offensive linemen, for instance, and that number will be cut down to likely eight or nine. But Seattle also has a glut of tight ends and either Luke Willson or Jacob Hollister could be cut.

The case for Jacob Hollister

Hollister was an offseason acquisition last year and was known as a guy who could catch passes but might not be a great blocker. In New England, Hollister never had a chance to prove how good of a receiver he could be. But after Seattle lost Will Dissly to another injury in 2019, Hollister was asked to play a bigger role.

Hollister ended up catching 41 passes and three touchdowns. He caught 69.5 percent of his targets. In six games Hollister caught four or more passes. He proved he can catch and Seattle needs all the options it can for Russell Wilson to use.

Why not Hollister?

Hollister isn’t a great blocker. No matter how good Russell Wilson might be, Seattle is still going to want to run the ball a lot so the tight ends need to be able to block and block well. Hollister also isn’t a huge tight end at 245 pounds.

As he proved by not being able to get into the end zone against the 49ers in the last minute of the last game of 2019, a play which could have made Seattle the number-one seed in the NFC, Hollister isn’t strong enough to bully his way for more yards.

The case for Luke Willson

Though it is not a tangible item, Luke Willson is simply a great teammate. He will do whatever he possibly can for the Seahawks to win games. Need him to play special teams? Willson will do it. Need him to mostly be a blocker with not many targets as a receiver? Willson will do that too.

Plus, Willson knows the Seahawks philosophy well and is an easy player to simply add to any formation. He is smart. And he is a pretty good blocker.

Why not Willson?

Willson is a jack of all trades but a master of none. He isn’t as talented as Dissly or Greg Olsen and he isn’t as big as rookie Colby Parkinson. Seattle likely will keep only four tight ends and if Seattle sticks with Hollister because he is a better receiver than Willson, Willson could be let go.

Who wins between Hollister and Willson?

There is a chance that Seattle keeps five tight ends and keep both Hollister and Willson. But with Olsen and Dissly at the top, the Seahawks can afford to keep only four. This might simply come down to money. Hollister is due $3.2 million. Willson just $887,500. Willson stays.