Seattle Seahawks: The Next Antonio Gates?

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Sep 5, 2021

Seattle Seahawks have not had an elite tight end in a while. Last year Greg Olsen was thought to change that issue. It did not go as planned. Now, Seattle may have the next converted basketball player phenom.

The Seattle Seahawks have wanted an elite tight end for a while now. However, they’ve not been able to get one. Will Dissly showed some promise, but two knee injuries had other plans for him. Recently, Seattle drafted Colby Parkinson. To this point he’s shown flashes. There might be something there with him. This offseason, GM John Schneider signed Gerald Everett from LA.

New offensive coordinator Shane Waldron helped in getting Everett to the Emerald City. There is an expectation that Everett may be what everyone thought Greg Olsen would be. He already has some familiarity with Waldron. No, longer must compete with Tyler Higbee for snaps at tight end. Even Russell Wilson is giving high remarks to Everett.

Don’t give up on Everett if he gets off to a slow start this year. His Week 1 will be challenging, and the three games aren’t easy matchups for tight ends. Most recently, the Seattle Seahawks signed 2021 NCAA champion Mark Vital. If you’re unaware of him, it’s probably because Vital played basketball in college at Baylor. So don’t dismiss him or the rest of this article because of that.

Other Examples of Success

The best tight end to play the position is a converted basketball player, Tony Gonzalez. Former Charger and Saint Antonio Gates, and Jimmy Graham are other highly successful converted basketball players who play tight end. A current example is Mo Alie-Cox of the Indianapolis Colts. While Cox isn’t at the same level as previously mentioned, he is successful at the transition.

Vital is 6’5″ and 250 pounds. So, physically he fits the tight end criteria. However, early reports on him are that he is raw. Subsequently, that is not surprising at all, considering he hasn’t played football since middle school. He is a project, so don’t expect him to contribute this year and possibly next year. For comparison, Cox just started producing last year (his third year).

The Seattle Seahawks already have success in converting basketball players to successful NFL players. Former Seahawks George Fant was converted to offensive line back in 2016. Now he plays in New York. Vital has the athleticism to be successful at tight ends. He just needs to be able to take the punishment. Football punishment is vastly different than basketball punishment.

Share with us your thoughts on Mark Vital.

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