Seattle Seahawks 90-Man Roundup: Will Noah Fant Assume Larger Role in Passing Game?

Awarded a new two-year contract this offseason, Seahawks tight end Noah Fant has high expectations to meet. Will he be a force in Ryan Grubb's offense?

Connor Benintendi | Jul 10, 2024

Oct 23, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant (87) runs the ball against Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. (3) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

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Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC in less than a month, officially ushering in the first season under new coach Mike Macdonald.

In preparation for the new incoming season, we’ll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, diving into scheme fits, exploring best and worst case scenarios and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2024 campaign.

After being awarded a new two-year contract this offseason, will tight end Noah Fant finally find his footing as a legitimate receiving threat in Seattle’s offense?

Background

Rated a three-star prospect out of high school by 247Sports, Fant opted to sign with Iowa — widely known as a tight end factory in the Big Ten conference — as part of the 2016 recruiting class. Over his sophomore and junior seasons, Fant caught 69 passes for 1,013 yards and 18 touchdowns, pulling in six points on more than 26 percent of his receptions. That production, coupled with his size and athleticism, vaulted Fant up draft boards, leading to him being selected by Denver with the 20th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Fant was productive with the Broncos (170 catches, 1,905 yards in three seasons) but never became a true red zone threat, totaling 10 touchdowns while wearing orange and blue. Fant was traded to Seattle following the 2021 season as part of the Russell Wilson deal, and he has since accumulated 106 receptions for 900 yards and four touchdowns in two seasons with the Seahawks. Seattle gave Fant a two-year, $21 million contract this offseason with $11.49 million guaranteed, per Over The Cap.

Scheme Fit

Fant stands out among Seattle’s tight end personnel purely by being the only true receiving threat at the position. The Seahawks’ likely immediate backups are Pharaoh Brown — a veteran free-agent signing in March — and rookie fourth-round pick AJ Barner, who have mostly served as blocking tight ends in their careers. Listed at 6-4, 249 pounds, Fant has 4.50 speed and good hands with just nine total drops in his five-year career.

Best Case Scenario

Despite tight ends not being a focal point of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s scheme at Washington, Fant receives north of 75 targets in a legitimate vertical passing offense and returns to similar production he had with Denver from 2020–21. While racking up more than 600 receiving yards, Fant is also heavily utilized in the red zone and pulls in a career-high five touchdowns.

Worst Case Scenario

With a plethora of receiving talent on Seattle’s roster, Fant remains a sporadic contributor in the passing game. Additionally, Seattle’s coaching staff keeps rookie undrafted free agent Jack Westover around on the practice squad, and he is eventually elevated to the 53-man roster and carves out an H-back role that more adequately suits Grubb’s scheme — eating into Fant’s targets. As a result, Fant finishes with under 400 yards receiving and his new contract draws further criticism.

What to Expect in 2024

In each season of his NFL career, Fant has flashed the ability to be a top-end receiving tight end. However, especially in his tenure with Seattle, he simply has not seen a target share that would allow him to get there. In his best season with the Broncos in 2020, Fant was targeted 93 times (62 catches) and had 673 yards and three touchdowns. He still averaged just under 45 yards per game that season. From 2021–22, he was below 10 yards per reception, requiring huge volume to be anywhere near the upper echelon of pass catchers at the position.

However, in Pete Carroll’s 14-season tenure, Seattle only had a tight end pile up more than 500 yards three times, and that was when he was funneling targets to Jimmy Graham from 2015–17. With Mike Macdonald now the Seahawks’ head coach and Grubb taking over the team’s offensive scheme, there could be a shift in getting Fant the ball more frequently — within the confines of the offense’s intended function, of course. He has the route-running ability and size to be a red zone threat, as well, if given the chance to be productive in that area like he was in college. There should be room in the offense for Fant to have 500-plus yards and five touchdowns, especially if Tyler Lockett takes a true No. 3 wide receiver role behind DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Previous 90-Man Roundups

Published Jul 10, 2024|Modified Jul 10, 2024

CONNOR BENINTENDI