Seahawks free agent target: Dalton Schultz would fix tight end issue

The Seattle Seahawks likely will need to revamp their tight end unit this offseason. Free agent Dalton Schultz would be a great fit in Seattle.

Seattle’s tight end room for 2022 currently only has one tight end with any real experience and that is Colby Parkinson who barely has any himself. The Seahawks could very easily re-sign Will Dissly and Gerald Everett but both players are unrestricted free agents and free to sign, if they wish, to the highest bidder.

The good thing for Seattle this offseason is they have around $38 million in cap space. That number could grow a bit if Bobby Wagner is released or restructures or if Seattle makes some cap space another way. Some of that cap room will need to go towards signing the Seahawks own free agents, too, of course, like Dissly and/or Everett. But adding Schultz would be a brilliant move as well.

Schultz is still just 25 years old and has a ton of years left to play. He is a fantastic receiver and catches basically anything thrown his way. With the Cowboys in 2021, Schultz was targeted 101 times and had just 3 drops. He caught 78 of the targets for 808 yards and had 8 touchdown catches.

Seahawks should chase tight end Dalton Schultz in free agency

Dallas would probably love to keep Schultz on the team but Dallas has also put themselves in a negative position cap-wise. The Cowboys are third-worst in the NFL in cap space (negative $21 million) and decided not to franchise tag Schultz because they couldn’t afford to. While this is bad for the Cowboys, it could be great for the Seahawks.

Schultz also wasn’t over-utilized after being a fourth-round draft pick in 2018. In his rookie year he played just 40 percent of offensive snaps and in 2019, just 10 percent. But in 2020, Dallas decided to try to use Schultz and he developed into an excellent receiver but also a good blocker. Schultz was targeted 89 times in 2020 and had just 3 drops. Combined in 2020 and 2021, Schultz was targeted 190 times and had just 6 drops, so just 3.2 percent of his targets were dropped.

Schultz played at Stanford which is much more of a running offense than a passing one. Schultz didn’t learn how to block at the NFL level but in college. Blocking in the Seahawks wide-zone scheme isn’t going to be an issue and is just another reason Seattle should try to sign Schultz.

Even if Seattle does re-sign Dissly or Everett, pairing them with Schultz would help improve the 2022 offense. Russell Wilson should like Schultz as well because he isn’t just the kind of tight end that blocks well or catches well; Schultz does both. Singing Schultz gives Wilson another great option to throw to.