No Noah Fant, no problem. The Seattle Seahawks discarded the underperforming tight end the day before training camp began. The move saved the team nearly $9 million. More importantly, it opened up a roster spot should the team need it.
Plus, Seattle took Fant's replacement in the 2025 NFL draft in the person of Elijah Arroyo. Fant was an iffy blocker, had good hands, but could never get past 500 yards receiving in a season with the Seahawks. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's offense will require more production.
Arroyo could be just the player for that. Second-year pro AJ Barner is a good blocker and better than expected receiver, but he doesn't have Arroyo's speed. The rookie is big enough to be a tight end at 6'5" and 255 pounds, but he runs like a wide receiver. He will also probably be a better professional than he was a college player.
Elijah Arroyo is making sensational plays in Seattle Seahawks training camp
The Seahawks' tight end didn't get much of a chance to show what he could do at the University of Miami. He didn't catch more than five passes in a season until last year, when he caught 35 for 590 yards and seven touchdowns. But most college offenses aren't designed to make TEs stars. Kubiak's offense is.
And make no mistake that Seattle is not yet showing its full hand about how they will use Arroyo, but the rookie is proving in training camp what he should be capable of. In practice this week, the tight end made a one-handed catch that flashed his athleticism and implied he will be immediately impactful.
And make no mistake, Elijah Arroyo is going to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. For one thing, Klint Kubiak is going to move him around in alignments, so defenses cannot be sure where the tight end will be. As gifted as he is as a receiver, once he begins causing damage in the regular season, defenses are going to be forced to account for him.
Using Arroyo in different ways means defenses will need to change their pre-snap alignments, and this should open more holes for the running backs to exploit. Kenneth Walker III, if healthy, should have more opportunities for splash plays. He had three runs of 60-plus yards as a rookie, but none in the last two years.
Zach Charbonnet is more of a grinder, but can break off a long run at times, too. If a defense is spread too wide depending on where Arroyo is lined up or motions, the Seattle Seahawks offense should be able to create chaos.
But the focus for opposing defenses will be on stopping Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, and then the running game. Elijah Arroyo, seeing a lot of one-on-one coverage, will be a boon to the Seahawks, and the tight end could be a sneaky pick to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
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