Why Pete Carroll’s prediction that TE Gerald Everett will be Seahawks’ breakout player is big news

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said a lot of nice things about a lot of his players during the team’s minicamp this week, but there’s one instance of praise worth digging into.

Carroll: What stands out in Shane Waldron’s new Seahawks offense

That would be what he said about new tight end Gerald Everett, an offseason addition through free agency, because of the way Everett’s name came up.

When Carroll joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant on Thursday morning, guest host Mike Salk asked Carroll who was going to be the Seahawks’ breakout player this year. Carroll didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“Oh, I think you’re going to be really excited to see Gerald Everett,” Carroll said. ” … This is I think the fanciest, sweetest-looking receiver/tight end mix that we’ve had. He’s like a wide receiver, he’s got terrific after-the-catch run ability, really aggressive and he’s a good blocker, too.”

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll gave @dannyoneil & @TheMikeSalk a breakout candidate for the 2021 season when he joined @710ESPNSeattle this morning.

Full podcast here…https://t.co/9R4jkmVcvD pic.twitter.com/Z4FxlE2bi9

— Maura Dooley (@Maura_Dool) June 17, 2021

As 710 ESPN Seattle’s Stacy Rost pointed out later that day on Jake and Stacy, calling Everett the “fanciest, sweetest-looking receiver/tight end mix that we’ve had” really jumps out when you consider Jimmy Graham, the prototypical receiver/tight end hybrid, spent three seasons with Carroll’s Seahawks.

Everett, a 2017 second-round pick, spent his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, and that’s notable because he comes to Seattle with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who was Rams tight end coach during Everett’s rookie season and their passing game coordinator from 2018-20. Because of that, Carroll mentioned that Everett knows the offense Waldron is installing “inside and out,” which is only going to make him more valuable during the season.

“What Gerald brings us is a real threat in the throwing game. Should be a big factor on third down,” Carroll continued. “Our tight end spot is a good position already with Will (Dissly) and you’re going to see Colby Parkinson coming up – he’s been really impressive. But Gerald is a really unique player and he should catch a lot of balls and be right in the middle of the action this year.”

What Carroll said about Everett, who had a career-high 41 receptions and 417 receiving yards last season, translates to big things, according to 710 ESPN Seattle host and former Seahawks quarterback Jake Heaps. That’s because while everyone is trying to figure out who will take over the No. 3 wide receiver role left vacant by David Moore’s departure in free agency, Carroll might be hinting that the answer could be Seattle’s newest tight end.

“This should be extremely positive news,” Heaps said of Carroll’s comments about Everett. “It’s not just about the lack of production from the tight end group (in 2020), but finding a legitimate third receiver – not just somebody like David Moore last year who could make big plays down the field. Finding somebody that can be a legitimate third piece to this offense that you can use in a variety of different ways is critical to this offense’s success.”

Click here to listen to Carroll’s full interview with Danny and Gallant (it begins around the final 11 minutes of the podcast). And for Heaps’ thoughts, listen to the opening segment of Thursday’s Jake and Stacy in the podcast at this link or in the player below.

Follow Brent Stecker on Twitter.

Rost: Honesty the best policy for to fixing Seahawks’ offense

Follow @BrentStecker