GM Schneider believes Seahawks have ‘great fit’ in new TE combo

Mar 18, 2024, 12:16 AM | Updated: 3:42 pm

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks are going a bit of a different direction at the tight end position in 2024.

What GM Schneider says plan is for Seahawks’ returning OL Fant

Seattle has a new combo at tight end, and while half of the equation is a returning player, the other half isn’t. There’s also the fact that the Seahawks have seen Colby Parkinson leave for the Los Angeles Rams and Will Dissly go to the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency, creating the opportunity to change the dynamic.

So about this duo – it starts with Noah Fant, a 2019 first-round NFL Draft pick by the Denver Broncos who has spent the past two seasons with Seattle. Then there’s the addition, Pharaoh Brown, who has joined the Seahawks in free agency after maybe his best season as a pro in 2023 with New England.

Seahawks general manager/president of football operations John Schneider spoke about the pairing during his weekly appearance last Thursday with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, and he’s bullish on what the two tight ends could do together.

“Those two guys’ skill sets are going to be really nice, and I think those two guys working together is gonna be a great fit,” Schneider said.

Why is that? New offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who had a good amount of success the past two seasons as the OC for the UW Huskies, now has a duo that features a great blocker in Brown and a strong pass catcher in Fant. The latter had over 670 receiving yards in both 2020 and 2021 with Denver, though his production has dipped the last two years as he was targeted less in Seattle’s offense under previous coach Pete Carroll and coordinator Shane Waldron.

“He’s improved as a blocker, but he can be a special threat as a tight end in the passing game,” Schneider said of Fant. “So pairing him with with Pharaoh Brown – you know, Pharaoh in our opinion is (one of the) top two, three blocking tight ends in the National Football League. He brings a nastiness to us.”

Schneider believes that the 6-foot-5, 246-pound Brown’s gritty style will help set the tone in Seattle.

“He’s a guy that can take care of the ‘C’ gap, he can really block down, he’s nasty. He’s gonna bring a toughness to our to our offense. He’s a tempo setter,” Schneider said. “He’s a little bit of an old soul that way. He’s going to fight you and not back down, and I think that’s going to rub off on our offensive identity. I think you’ll see that in the run game, for sure.”

You can hear The John Schneider Show every Thursday afternoon during Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob leading up to the first day of the NFL Draft on April 25. Listen to the most recent edition in the podcast near the top of this or at this link, and find every episode after it airs here.