Seahawks tight ends are playing surprising starring roles in 2022

Through four games of the 2022 season, the Seahawks tight ends have played a bigger role in the team’s success than ever. It’s less surprising why than who’s making it happen.

The 2022 edition of the Seahawks was supposed to feature a strong defense and an offense that did just enough to win close games. We’ve seen a much different team than expected so far. The defense has been…oh, let’s be charitable and say they’ve been inadequate, at best.

They rank 31st in both yards and points allowed. The offense, though, is tenth in yardage and 11th in scoring. Yes, we can attribute a large chunk of that to the Hawks explosion vs the Lions. Regardless, the offense is clearly outperforming the defense.

A key factor in that output has been the unexpectedly outstanding play of Geno Smith. Well, unexpected by everyone except for him and his teammates. Still, Smith has to have somebody to throw it to. We knew Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf were going to get their share, of course. It isn’t much of a surprise that the tight ends are contributing as well. What is surprising is how much they’re contributing, and exactly who’s doing it.

Tight ends putting up big numbers for the Seahawks

Now I’m not claiming that the Hawks have the best tight end in the league. That guy Travis Kelce plays back east somewhere. But if we’re talking about the tight end room, we can have a discussion. Let’s use the Chiefs tight end group as the standard. I think that’s fair, as seven-time Pro Bowler Kelce is one of the most dangerous weapons in the league.

As a unit, Kansas City’s tight ends have 32 catches on 45 targets. They’ve piled up 381 yards and scored five touchdowns. That’s a pretty impressive output, driven largely by Kelce’s 26 catches, 322 yards, and three TDs. Jody Fortson – you all know him, right – has the unit’s other two scores on his only two catches. Now that’s efficient!