Grading Seahawks’ best, worst moves to start free agency

To say last season was a disappointment for the Seattle Seahawks would be putting it mildly. Though their record remained static from 2022 to 2023, their point differential dipped from +6 to -38 last season and they ended up missing the playoffs. That result had big ramifications. Long-time head coach Pete Carroll stepped down and Seattle hired Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike MacDonald to replace him.

Seattle will look to make sure they don’t miss out on the playoffs again in 2024. As a result, the Seahawks have been very active in NFL free agency. Some of the moves they’ve made, like re-signing tight end Noah Fant, look quite prudent. But others, like trading for Sam Howell, had many asking questions. These decisions add up to the best and worst moves Seattle has made so far to start NFL free agency.

Best move: Re-signing Noah Fant

Noah Fant entered the NFL with plenty of hype coming out of the tight-end factory that is the University of Iowa. He began his professional career by making good on that hype, too.

As a rookie, Fant brought in 40 of the 66 targets thrown his direction for 562 yards and three scores. He averaged 14.1 yards per reception, which ranked second among all tight ends that season according to playerprofiler.com. Fant also ranked inside the top 16 in yards per route run in each of his three seasons in Denver.

The move to Seattle was an adjustment for the Iowa product. In two seasons in the Pacific Northwest, Fant has produced his lowest yards per route run averages to date in his career. He’s also posted the two fewest yardage totals in a season in his two seasons as a Seahawk. So why would re-signing Fant constitute the best move Seattle has made this offseason?

Perhaps that is because the Seahawks have left meat on the bone with Fant and his usage over his time there. He played at least 50% of Seattle’s offensive snaps in a game just 11 times out of 17 games played last season. That was because of how crowded the tight end room was in Seattle. Not only was Fant there, but the team also frequently deployed Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson because of their prowess as blockers, even though Fant is no slouch as a blocker himself.

Dissly and Parkinson are both gone, however. Both went to Los Angeles during the offseason, with Dissly off to the Chargers and Parkinson signing with the division-rival Rams. Seattle did sign Pharoah Brown as a backup tight end, but only to a modest one-year $3.2 million deal.

Fant is one of the most athletic tight ends in the NFL and has already shown he can be an explosive weapon in the passing game. It makes sense to feature Fant more in the offense. Getting him on a two-year $21 million deal could end up as a very prudent signing by the Seahawks’ brass.

GRADE: A

Worst move: Trading for Sam Howell