Seahawks vet Noah Fant does not belong on PFF list of the NFL's top 32 tight ends

Whether it's classic east coast bias or simple laziness, the Seattle Seahawks tend to get underrated and overlooked by most national NFL analysts. That's especially true when it comes to evaluating individual talents, who often fly under the radar compared to the competition at their respective positions.

The ongoing list of rankings for the top 32 players at every position by Pro Football Focus provides a few good examples of this. Ken Walker certainly belongs higher than 11th on their list of the league's best running backs. JSN should be higher than 27th at wide receiver and Sam Darnold definitely deserves better than 26th in their QB rankings.

It speaks to just how disappointing tight end Noah Fant has been that the opposite of this dynamic is true in his case. PFF has Fant on their list of the league's top-32 tight ends, coming in at No. 25.

PFF on Seahawks TE Noah Fant

"Fant has consistently generated yards throughout his six-year career, but his touchdown production has dropped off over the past two years. He earned a 70.2 PFF receiving grade in 2024 but could see a dip in his production if rookie Elijah Arroyo, Seattle’s second-round pick, is able to hit the ground running."

This is a pretty big insult to the seven guys ranked below Fant, beginning with Tyler Higbee and ending with former Seahawks/Huskies fan favorite Will Dissly.

Fant's performance since coming over to Seattle as part of the Russell Wilson trade is particularly frustrating because we know he's capable of so much more. During his time with the Denver Broncos, Fant was one of the league's most dynamic pass-catching tight ends.

We now have a near-perfectly matched sample size to compare Fant with the Seahawks and Fant with the Broncos. In 47 games with Denver, he posted 170 catches, 1,905 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. In 48 games with Seattle, Fant has totaled just 130 catches, 1,400 yards and only five touchdowns.

Those aren't terrible traditional numbers for a tight end, but considering the number of targets he's seen there's really nothing special about that production.

Meanwhile, Fant is also a poor blocker, earning a 34.5 pass blocking grade from PFF in 2024 (third-lowest on the team) and 42.3 in run blocking, which was the worst mark on the roster for Seattle.

Fant may have a comeback type year with a change of scenery, but he's had plenty of chances over the last two seasons to make an impact for the Seahawks offense and hasn't been able to get it done. Seattle won't find a trade partner, so it's time to cut Fant (saving almost $9 million) and give all of his summer snaps to Elijah Arroyo and AJ Barner.