I have some interest in Noah Fant. He’s been lightly used the last two years, but I think the Seahawks will be looking to do more with him this season.
Fant has been productive in the past. He averaged 4.2 catches for 43 yards in his last 31 starts for Denver, with 7 TDs. While those aren’t earth-shattering numbers, he was one of the top dozen tight ends in his last two seasons there (that’s using per-game stats and PPR scoring).
Also note that the Seahawks re-signed Fant to a surprisingly decent contract in the offseason ($21 million for two years). With Fant not being a great blocker, I take that as an indication the new coaching staff is intending to do more with him.
Seattle’s two other notable tight ends from last year are now playing for the LA teams. Colby Parkinson signed with the Rams, while Will Dissly (after being released) signed with the Chargers.
Fant thus far hasn’t been a big factor with the Seahawks. He averaged fewer than 2 catches per game last year, and with no touchdowns. But he was at least effective with his limited opportunities. He averaged 9.6 yards per target (3rd-best among tight ends), and he averaged 12.9 yards per catch (3rd-best at the position). He’s dropped only 2 passes in the last two years, with the 2nd-best drop rate at the position.
I’m not suggesting he’s a sneaky league-winner kind of guy (I wish he played for a better team) but I like the idea of rostering him as a second tight end. In a current, ongoing Fanex draft, Andy and I are sharing a team. We added Fant with a late-round pick, adding depth behind Evan Engram and Dallas Goedert.
In chart below, you’re looking at tight ends who’ve started at least 30 games in the last four years. With Fant, I’ve double listed him, separating his stats with Denver and his stats with Seattle.
| TIGHT ENDS, PER-GAME STATS (last 4 yrs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | TD | PPR |
| Travis Kelce | 63 | 6.3 | 77.3 | .61 | 17.8 |
| Mark Andrews | 56 | 5.1 | 61.8 | .51 | 14.3 |
| George Kittle | 53 | 4.6 | 63.5 | .47 | 13.8 |
| Darren Waller | 48 | 5.0 | 58.4 | .32 | 12.8 |
| T.J. Hockenson | 60 | 5.2 | 53.0 | .37 | 12.7 |
| Dallas Goedert | 52 | 4.2 | 50.9 | .26 | 10.8 |
| Dalton Schultz | 62 | 4.1 | 42.3 | .36 | 10.5 |
| Evan Engram | 65 | 4.6 | 43.5 | .21 | 10.1 |
| Noah Fant (Den.) | 31 | 4.2 | 43.3 | .24 | 9.9 |
| Zach Ertz | 45 | 4.1 | 37.7 | .27 | 9.5 |
| Kyle Pitts | 44 | 3.4 | 46.5 | .14 | 8.9 |
| Tyler Higbee | 62 | 3.6 | 35.4 | .25 | 8.6 |
| David Njoku | 59 | 3.3 | 37.1 | .27 | 8.6 |
| Pat Freiermuth | 44 | 3.5 | 34.9 | .27 | 8.6 |
| Hunter Henry | 62 | 3.1 | 34.6 | .34 | 8.6 |
| Logan Thomas | 52 | 3.5 | 32.5 | .28 | 8.4 |
| Cole Kmet | 59 | 3.5 | 35.0 | .24 | 8.4 |
| Jared Cook | 31 | 2.7 | 34.5 | .38 | 8.4 |
| Dawson Knox | 54 | 2.6 | 29.3 | .38 | 7.8 |
| Mike Gesicki | 60 | 3.0 | 33.3 | .24 | 7.7 |
| Tyler Conklin | 58 | 3.4 | 33.8 | .12 | 7.5 |
| Gerald Everett | 62 | 3.2 | 30.5 | .22 | 7.5 |
| Hayden Hurst | 51 | 3.0 | 27.3 | .24 | 7.1 |
| Cade Otton | 33 | 2.7 | 25.6 | .19 | 6.4 |
| Austin Hooper | 52 | 2.6 | 25.8 | .18 | 6.3 |
| Robert Tonyan | 58 | 2.3 | 23.7 | .26 | 6.2 |
| Jonnu Smith | 62 | 2.4 | 26.1 | .21 | 6.2 |
| Jordan Akins | 35 | 2.5 | 27.4 | .15 | 6.1 |
| Irv Smith | 32 | 2.2 | 20.3 | .26 | 5.8 |
| Noah Fant (Sea.) | 34 | 2.4 | 26.5 | .12 | 5.8 |
| C.J. Uzomah | 42 | 2.0 | 20.7 | .21 | 5.4 |
| Jimmy Graham | 44 | 1.6 | 15.0 | .35 | 5.2 |
| Anthony Firkser | 31 | 2.4 | 21.9 | .10 | 5.1 |
| Cameron Brate | 39 | 2.0 | 17.9 | .15 | 4.7 |
| Jack Doyle | 31 | 1.7 | 17.8 | .20 | 4.7 |
| Foster Moreau | 50 | 1.6 | 19.9 | .12 | 4.3 |
| Noah Gray | 34 | 1.6 | 17.8 | .12 | 4.1 |
| Mo Alie-Cox | 66 | 1.3 | 16.1 | .19 | 4.0 |
| Colby Parkinson | 34 | 1.5 | 16.7 | .12 | 3.9 |
| Will Dissly | 62 | 1.5 | 16.2 | .11 | 3.8 |
| Durham Smythe | 64 | 1.7 | 16.6 | .06 | 3.8 |
| MyCole Pruitt | 33 | 1.0 | 10.0 | .28 | 3.7 |
| Harrison Bryant | 60 | 1.4 | 12.7 | .17 | 3.6 |
| Adam Trautman | 41 | 1.4 | 15.2 | .10 | 3.5 |
| Tommy Tremble | 49 | 1.3 | 11.4 | .17 | 3.4 |
| Drew Sample | 48 | 1.4 | 11.3 | .06 | 2.9 |
| John Bates | 42 | 1.2 | 11.8 | .05 | 2.7 |
| Marcedes Lewis | 32 | 1.0 | 10.0 | .09 | 2.6 |
| Ian Thomas | 50 | 1.2 | 10.6 | .02 | 2.4 |
—Ian Allan