Bumpus: Seahawks OC Waldron has never had a TE like Noah Fant

It’s unclear whether Drew Lock or another quarterback will be Russell Wilson’s successor with the Seahawks. What is clear, though, is that whoever is under center should have some special weapons to throw to.

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The wide receiver duo of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett is well known as they are two of the best and most explosive pass catchers in football. The Seahawks also added a player this offseason that could make that dangerous duo a dangerous trio.

Tight end Noah Fant, a 2019 first-round pick of the Denver Broncos who came to Seattle in the Wilson trade, has 1,906 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 41 career games, averaging over 630 yards a season. The Seahawks are clearly high on Fant, too. General manager John Schneider told reporters that Seattle wanted to draft him back in 2019, and the Seahawks affirmed their infatuation this week with Fant by picking up his fifth-year option to keep him in Seattle through the 2023 season.

Noah Fant FLATTENED him on the way to a 75-yard HOUSE CALL!

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/m287H0likM

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 3, 2019

Fant has had three good years to start his career, but could the 24-year-old tight end have an even bigger showing during his first season with the Seahawks? That’s the question former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus answered Wednesday on Seattle Sports 710 AM’s Jake and Stacy.

“Career year? I’m going to say yes,” Bumpus said. “And I’m going to say yes because Shane Waldron is gonna be able to do exactly what he wants to do.”

Waldron is entering his second year as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator, and Bumpus said Waldron’s time in Los Angeles coaching the Rams signals that Fant should have a sizeable role in Seattle’s offense in 2022. Waldron coached tight ends and later was the Rams’ offensive passing game coordinator.

“(Waldron) had two tight ends in L.A. – he had Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee at the same time – and both those guys had over 400 yards and four to five touchdowns (a year),” Bumpus said. “(Waldron) knows how to use the tight end, and I don’t think he’s ever had a tight end like this.”

Bumpus said that Everett, who played for the Seahawks last year, was “like a glimpse” of what Fant can do with the Seahawks.

“Noah Fant is a special type of player,” Bumpus said. “He’s good in the running game, he has great hands and can run after catch.”

Plus, the Seahawks’ lack of a veteran quarterback may make Fant even more important, Bumpus said.

“You’re going to lean on the short passes with a young quarterback. Whoever you have (at quarterback), he ain’t gonna be established in this league,” he said. “You’re going to lean on these tight ends to make big plays. I’m going to say Noah Fant has a career year with the Hawks.”

Hear Bumpus’ full thoughts on Fant in the Four-Down Territory segment of Jake and Stacy when the second hour podcast is published at this link at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

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