Following a strong first season under new head coach Mike Macdonald that saw them finish with a 10-7 record and in second place in the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks have made massive changes this offseason.
After replacing offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb with Klint Kubiak, the Seahawks made two huge trades, sending quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders and wide receiver DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and signed Sam Darnold, the top quarterback on the free-agent market.
Seattle also upgraded their tight end room in the 2025 NFL draft, snagging Miami's Elijah Arroyo, who caught 35 passes for 590 yards and seven touchdowns for the Hurricanes last year, in the second round (No. 50 overall).
With Arroyo joining Mack Brown's position group, many, including ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, have speculated about Noah Fant's future in Seattle.
"Multiple scouts considered Arroyo a top 20-25 overall talent in the draft who fell because of injury history," Fowler wrote earlier this week. "Seattle now has a good tight end nucleus with Arroyo and AJ Barner. Noah Fant is one year from free agency and could have trade value if Seattle explores it."
Fant, 27, played his college ball at Iowa from 2016-18, earning All-Big Ten honors in his final two seasons with the Hawkeyes.
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The Denver Broncos selected Fant in the first round (No. 20 overall) of the 2019 NFL draft. In three years with the Broncos, he appeared in 47 games and caught 170 passes for 1,905 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Denver sent Fant to Seattle in the Russell Wilson trade in 2022, and he's caught 130 passes for, 1400 yards and five scores in 48 games for the Seahawks over the last three seasons.
Keeping Fant on the roster for the 2025 season would probably be more beneficial for Darnold because it gives the quarterback another dependable, athletic weapon for him to target. However, if the tight end isn't in their plans for the future, trading him now could net them a draft pick next year instead of having him count toward the compensatory pick formula in two years.
Barner caught 30 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns last year, so if he and Arroyo are healthy, they could be a solid duo for Darnold in 2025, and they're both young, so they can learn and grow together for the next few years.
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