What Mike Macdonald said about Seahawks rookie TE Elijah Arroyo

There's no denying that the Seattle Seahawks lost a big weapon when they traded DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, to hear the average national media analyst tell it, you'd think they hadn't bothered to add any since. Whether they're aware of it or not, Seattle has brought in some very talented pass-catching weapons since the DK deal, beginning with a highly-respected and capable No. 2 guy in Cooper Kupp to play Tyler Lockett to Jaxon Smith-Njigba's Metcalf, so to speak.

That was just the start, though. Seattle also brought in several other new faces at wide receiver, including Marquez Valdez-Scantling and Steven Sims in free agency, Tory Horton and RIcky White III in the draft and a trio of undrafted free agents.

The overall effect should be to improve Sam Darnold's wide receiver group from the ground up, in theory offering more depth than Geno Smith enjoyed.

Another signfiicant move along these lines that's flown under the radar is the Seahawks picking Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo in the draft, using the 50th overall pick. Arroyo gives Seattle's passing game something it hasn't had in years: a genuine receiving threat at tight end.

Wherever Arroyo lands on the depth chart at tight end, it shouldn't take long for him to climb to the top of it. Here's what head coach Mike Macdonald had to say about his game, according to Brady Henderson at ESPN.

Seahaws coach Mike Macdonald on Elijah Arroyo

"This guy can run an extensive route tree,... To have to account for a tight end body on the field and him also to be able to split out wide, do X receiver type of things, bigger body than we probably have right now on our roster, just provides a ton of value. And then he's going to throw it in there as an actual tight end in line and be able to kind of create some of those bigger personnel formations is the vision that we have for him. So it's really exciting."

If that all sounds familiar it's because that's what the Seahawks were supposed to be getting from Noah Fant when he came over from the Denver Broncos as part of the Russell Wilson trade. While the rest of that deal worked out pretty great for the Seahawks, the results from Fant have been bitterly disappointing.

Over the last three seasons, Fant has only managed to total 1,400 yards and five touchdowns.

That's the kind of production you can expect from just about any tight end who gets a reasonable number of targets - but the Seahawks made Fant one of the league's highest paid players at this position going into 2023. Since then he's only scored once.

Fant getting cut would not only free up around $9 million in salary cap room, it would clear space for Arroyo and AJ Barner to grow.