The Russell Wilson trade was pretty bad however you slice it. It may be years until the Seattle Seahawks find a new franchise quarterback and perhaps even decades before they get another one on Wilson’s level. That said, the team has made much worse trades in recent years – especially the ones involving Jimmy Graham, Percy Harvin and Jamal Adams.
While Denver definitely got the best of the deal, Seattle at least got a bunch of draft capital and couple of solid starting pieces in the trade. To be fair, the jury will be out on quarterback Drew Lock until we get to see him perform during the preseason. For now, we’re not thrilled by what we’ve seen from him in the NFL so far. However, the other two players that came over from the Broncos are excellent pickups.
Shelby Harris may be the league’s most underrated defensive lineman. He disrupts the offense in multiple ways – mainly rushing the quarterback, stuffing the run and getting his hands up in passing lanes for deflections. Harris has a remarkable 25 PBUs in his career.
Meanwhile, 24-year old tight end Noah Fant flies even lower under the radar. Part of that is due to his quiet production for a first-round pick. Fant has caught just 10 touchdowns in three seasons. Truth is, if the Broncos had featured him more and in the right way their record over the last few years would have been better, even with mediocre-at-best QB play.
It seems Fant feels the same. Here’s what he had to say about how he was used, per the equally underrated and brilliant Will Petersen at Denver’s Fan 104.3.
“And over my time in Denver, I felt like that narrative kind of got muddled down a little bit. It was more of a focus of me catching flat balls or whatever it may be, and then trying to be a shifty guy and elusive guy and try to break as many tackles possible to get my yards. I view myself as a downfield threat, getting open space, then I can make things happen. It was a little frustrating being used in the short field.”
Fant has every right to be frustrated with how his time in the NFL has gone thus far. Hopefully offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is more aggressive in utilizing the surprisingly-athletic tight end.
As far as numbers go, Fant should probably expect a larger portion of the offense in Seattle. Recent history isn’t on his side, though. Seattle’s TE1 Gerald Everett only got 63 targets last season, while Fant got 90 with the Broncos. Everett has left for the Chargers, but the Seahawks have brought back TE2 Will Dissly, who will also eat from Fant’s plate.
