5 Seattle Seahawks whose stock soared after 2024 roster revamp
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks in many ways are going to look like a new team in 2024. There will be a new head coach and new starters at many spots. The hope, of course, is that the roster is upgraded and the direction more simplified and concise.
Gone are the fun basketball games that former head coach Pete Carroll liked. New head coach Mike Macdonald wants to focus more on what the players are there to do: Play football. One hopes the changes are for the good.
With all the changes made this offseason, some players who were already on the team should be happy with their current spots. One might finally get his chance to start, two could have explosive seasons, and two others are proven vets potentially set up for special seasons. The five Seahawks should smile after seeing Seattle's offseason moves.
Noah Fant - Seattle Seahawks tight end
Fant should feel pretty comfortable about how much the Seahawks like having him around. Not only was he the only tight end from 2023 that got any sort of real reps to be retained, but Seattle gave him a pretty good raise as well. Fant was re-signed for two years and $21 million of which $11.49 million is guaranteed. Seattle doesn't make that move if they don't plan on using Fant and heck of a lot more than he has been the last two seasons.
Former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron basically just wasted the talents of the 6'5" and 245-pound tight end who can catch and run extremely well. Acquired as part of the trade that sent Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos in 2022, Fant likely hoped he would see more efficient targets and his raw numbers would increase. Instead, Fant saw his numbers decrease each of his Seattle seasons.
That he re-signed in Seattle should also indicate his belief that new OC Ryan Grubb is going to get him the ball more than 43 times. That was the horrendous number of targets that Fant saw in 2023. He caught 32 of those for 414 yards but zero touchdowns. His receptions and receiving yards might double under Grubb (with his touchdowns could be closer to 8) and that is only going to make the overall offense better.