Seahawks add to crowded TE room with Colby Parkinson in 4th round

The Seahawks were already busy this offseason in the tight end room, re-signing Luke Willson, giving a tender to Jacob Hollister and also signing veteran tight end Greg Olsen. That room got even more filled out as Seattle drafted Stanford tight end Colby Parkinson in the fourth round at 133rd overall.

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Stanford has regularly put out NFL talent at the tight end positions in recent years and Parkinson joins that group. He is tall, standing 6 foot 7 and weighing in at 252 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.77 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2019.

Our newest addition to the team, @StanfordFball TE @CJ51! #GoHawks x #SeahawksDraft pic.twitter.com/t05NFvau6l

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 25, 2020

During his time with the Cardinal, Parkinson was used primarily as a blocking tight end, but he did play a role in the passing game. During his sophomore season, Parkinson caught 29 passes for 485 yards and seven touchdowns. During his final year at Stanford as a junior, he caught 48 passes for 589 yards and one touchdown.

The Farm ➡️ @NFL@CJ51 is the newest member of the @Seahawks‼️#StanfordNFL | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/kdvQakhlxn

— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 25, 2020

Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant called Parkinson “very physically solid” and someone who should be able to add a lot in the run game as a blocker, like Seahawks starting tight end Will Dissly, who also was used mostly in blocking situations in college.

“He was almost used as a sixth offensive lineman, that was the way that Stanford primarily used him,” O’Neil said. “…It’s puzzling from a positional standpoint because you have Will Dissly, you have Greg Olsen, you have Jacob Hollister and Luke Willson and you get another guy. From this standpoint, though, this is someone who is very much in line with stick his face in the fan and block at the line of scrimmage.”

Jake Heaps of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Tom, Jake and Stacy said though Parkinson is a polished blocker, he was more of a factor in the passing game than you’d think. He didn’t drop a pass in 2019, according to Pro Football Focus.

“They had him on the outside catching go balls and running all of that, so this is a guy that I look at and think he has unique ball skills and traits, and I think the comparison to Will Dissly is pretty accurate,” he said. “…Really what comes into play, guys, is who does this effect?”

Dissly and Olsen seem like locks to make the Seahawks’ roster, but if either Willson or Hollister were to move on, who would it be?

“I would assume that it would unfortunately affect Luke Willson, but hear me out on this: I think Jacob Hollister did enough last year where you could eventually trade him for some capital,” Heaps said.

Hollister came to Seattle for a seventh-round pick last offseason and after Dissly’s injury and the trade of Nick Vannett, he became the starting tight end and finished the season third on the team with 349 yards and was fourth in touchdown receptions with three.

Parkinson figures to be a new, big red zone threat for the Seahawks and quarterback Russell Wilson.

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