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!
Seahawks score with Fant and Parkinson
Let’s look at our beloved Seahawks. Overall, Seattle’s group has 28 catches on 30 targets. Well, that’s pretty efficient, isn’t it? They’ve racked up 287 yards and five touchdowns. KC’s group has Seattle by a mile in yardage – okay, technically just over five percent of a mile, but it’s a big difference. But the touchdowns are the same; according to the wisdom of the ancients, “scoreboard”.
What’s truly surprising is who’s making it happen for the Seahawks. Noah Fant was widely regarded as the best of the three players Seattle got from Denver in the Wilson trade. He hasn’t disappointed, but he hasn’t starred, either. So far he has 10 catches on 11 targets, resulting in 56 yards and a touchdown.
Those aren’t exactly Kelce or Mark Andrews numbers. But compared to his seasons in Denver, he isn’t that far off his career pace. He averaged 3.62 catches per game with the Broncos. Until Sunday in Detroit, he’d seen 10 targets and caught nine balls. He made the most of his one target vs the Lions as he scored his first points for the Seahawks.
While Fant has contributed less than expected, a big reason for that – seriously big – is the emergence of 6’7″ 252-pound Colby Parkinson. Granted, six catches on seven targets aren’t going to remind anyone of Jimmy Graham. Frankly, that’s a good thing, but also a different topic. This is Parkinson’s third year with the Hawks and the first in which he is making a major contribution.
His career numbers coming into 2022: ten targets, seven catches, 49 yards, and no touchdowns. In just four games this year he already has six catches for 115 yards and a TD. That’s all on just seven targets. He’s also picked up a first down with every catch, other than that spiffy 25-yard scoring play.
Now we come to the real surprise. Will Dissly was shockingly good as a rookie back in 2018. He caught eight passes for a phenomenal 156 yards and scored twice in his first four games. A knee injury ended his season, though. He came back even better in 2019. While his yardage dropped a lot – 11.4 yards per catch to 19.5 in 2018 – his catch rate skyrocketed, from 57 percent as a rookie to 85 percent in his sophomore outing.
After six games, the injury bug bit hard again, this time tearing an Achilles tendon. He ended 2019 with 23 catches for 262 yards, 14 first downs, and four scores. Again, injuries derailed what had clearly looked like the career of a budding superstar.
Over the next two seasons, Dissly stayed healthy but took a back seat in the Seahawks offense. Like, way back. Despite 26 starts over 2020 and 2021, Uncle Will only saw 55 targets. Right, that’s barely over two looks per game. Despite the limited opportunities, Dissly pulled in 45 passes for 482 yards, 23 first downs, and three touchdowns. That’s decent, but far from the pace of his first two years.
Seahawks welcome Uncle Will back to the end zone
Enter starter Geno Smith. Compared to the guy who was here before, Geno likes his tight ends. In fact, compared to the guy he was last year, Smith likes his tight ends. In 2021, the Seahawks threw to the tight ends 20.4 percent of the time.
Geno only looked for the tight ends 13 times on 88 targets. That’s a percentage of just 14.8. This year, he’s looked for the big boys on 30 of his 130 targets. That’s 23.1 percent, the highest since Dissly’s debut. In 2019, the Hawks looked for their tight ends 20.9 percent of the time, and that was the high mark.
Thanks to Geno Smith, Will Dissly is back, baby. Geno’s looked for him 12 times, and Dissly has come through with 12 catches. Those 116 yards resulted in four first downs and, most important of all, three touchdowns.
At that rate, Will Dissly would have 48 catches for 464 yards and a dozen scores. Yes, I cheated and just multiplied by four; I’m not gonna deal with the NFL’s stupid 17-game schedule for every article. Now, I don’t think he’ll actually wind up with those stats, but you have to admit, it’s an interesting pace.
Okay, maybe it’s too much to say the tight ends are playing starring roles. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are certainly the stars of the aerial show, as Rashaad Penny rules the ground game. And yes, Geno Smith is the guy making it all go. But after four weeks, the tight ends have outscored the wide receivers five to one. Coming into this season, no one expected the tight end room to do this well. Sounds like a starring role to me, even if it’s collectively.