Seattle, WA
Seattle Seahawks GM believes new TE combo are 'a great fit'
The Seattle Seahawks are going a bit of a different direction at the tight end position in 2024.
What GM Schneider says plan is for Seahawks’ returning OL Fant
Seattle has a new combo at tight end, and while half of the equation is a returning player, the other half isn’t. There’s also the fact that the Seahawks have seen Colby Parkinson leave for the Los Angeles Rams and Will Dissly go to the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency, creating the opportunity to change the dynamic.
So about this duo – it starts with Noah Fant, a 2019 first-round NFL Draft pick by the Denver Broncos who has spent the past two seasons with Seattle. Then there’s the addition, Pharaoh Brown, who has joined the Seahawks in free agency after maybe his best season as a pro in 2023 with New England.
Seahawks general manager/president of football operations John Schneider spoke about the pairing during his weekly appearance last Thursday with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, and he’s bullish on what the two tight ends could do together.
“Those two guys’ skill sets are going to be really nice, and I think those two guys working together is gonna be a great fit,” Schneider said.
Why is that? New offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who had a good amount of success the past two seasons as the OC for the UW Huskies, now has a duo that features a great blocker in Brown and a strong pass catcher in Fant. The latter had over 670 receiving yards in both 2020 and 2021 with Denver, though his production has dipped the last two years as he was targeted less in Seattle’s offense under previous coach Pete Carroll and coordinator Shane Waldron.
“He’s improved as a blocker, but he can be a special threat as a tight end in the passing game,” Schneider said of Fant. “So pairing him with with Pharaoh Brown – you know, Pharaoh in our opinion is (one of the) top two, three blocking tight ends in the National Football League. He brings a nastiness to us.”
Draft analyst says Georgia TE ‘makes perfect sense’ for Seahawks
Schneider believes that the 6-foot-5, 246-pound Brown’s gritty style will help set the tone in Seattle.
“He’s a guy that can take care of the ‘C’ gap, he can really block down, he’s nasty. He’s gonna bring a toughness to our to our offense. He’s a tempo setter,” Schneider said. “He’s a little bit of an old soul that way. He’s going to fight you and not back down, and I think that’s going to rub off on our offensive identity. I think you’ll see that in the run game, for sure.”
You can hear The John Schneider Show every Thursday afternoon during Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob leading up to the first day of the NFL Draft on April 25. Listen to the most recent edition in the podcast near the top of this or at this link, and find every episode after it airs here.
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West Seattle pickleball players rallied this week as they ramp up opposition to Seattle Parks‘ Draft Outdoor Racquet-Sports Strategy, which would – among other things – change dual-striped courts at High Point and Alki to tennis-only. Next milepost along the way: Tomorrow night (Thursday, April 23), the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners – a city-convened advisory group – gets briefed on the “strategy.” Though board meetings usually have a public-comment period, the department is directing comments to the three feedback meetings (none in West Seattle, though some local advocates are trying to get one set up). The advocate who contacted us says they’re trying to “show their support to save these vital community resources. These courts are used by hundreds of people every week to stay active and connect with neighbors. We have no idea why the city would seek to do away with such highly used and inclusive gathering places.” They’re describing what they’re doing as a “WS-specific effort … aimed at saving pickleball at Walt Hundley and Alki. We are planning another larger rally on a weekend in Mid/Late May where we hope to turn out the entire West Seattle pickleball community and invite our local elected leaders and city officials to see how many lives are touched by pickleball in West Seattle.” In the meantime, they’re continuing to collect petition signatures here. Tomorrow night’s Parks Board meeting is being held in person downtown and via Zoom at 6 pm – attendance info is here.
over at Bleeding Green Nation. During the off-season, he’s been writing his mock
draft blog and just wrote up–a rather lengthy–mock pick for the Seahawks at
#32.
Personally, not enamored with the pick, but he does a VERY deep dive into the
offensive and defensive makeup of the Hawks, trying…
After months of build up, the Seattle Seahawks are less than 48 hours from being on the clock for their first pick of the NFL Draft, as long as they hold on to pick No. 32 in the first round.
Seahawks Draft: A mid-round edge rusher with elite length
While the offensive line has long been a need for the Seahawks in drafts, this year running back, edge rusher and cornerback are among their top positions of need.
Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard highlighted a pair of players who could help bolster the Seahawks’ edge group as he continued his draft profile series Tuesday during Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
In this edition of Huard’s draft profiles, he looked at Michigan edge rushers Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham, who also played on the same team together in high school at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
Huard pointed to the connection head coach Mike Macdonald, a former Michigan defensive coordinator, and many members of his coaching staff have to the Michigan program.
“They know these guys, they know them inside and out,” Huard said. “They typically like they’re Michigan men, and these are two physical guys that have all the attributes you’re looking for on the edge.”
The high-floor pick
Moore is coming off a decorated four-year career at Michigan where he piled up 24.5 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, eight passes defended and three forced fumbles in 53 games.
This past season, the 6-foot-3, 255-pound Moore totaled 10.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles while earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.
“I think this is a pretty fair quote about him: ‘Unselfish, well-rounded, high floor.’ Is he a high-ceiling guy? Not as much as Barham, but he’s a very high-floor guy,” Huard said.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has Moore ranked as the No. 65 prospect in this years draft. ESPN has him ranked 60th.
“He is just your fierce, tough, edgy, productive (player),” Huard said. “He played in space a little bit more. They are field-boundary scheme at Michigan at times. He’s been more of the field rusher, more against your left tackle. And (he’s) just got more in the tool bag… He’s been a defensive end. He’s pretty well versed in it. He’s going to have a bigger tool bag, I think, than both Boye (Mafe) and Derrick Hall had, and he’s going to be a second, late-second-round (pick). Rugged, tough Michigan guy.”
The high-ceiling pick
Barham spent his first two college seasons at Maryland, which included earning Freshman All-American honors in 2022, and transferred to Michigan in 2024. He played linebacker at Maryland and in his first season at Michigan before making the move to edge for his final college season.
In 12 games at a new position in 2025, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Barham amassed 10 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
“Jaishawn Barham is a little bit more of a wild card, and one of the scouts that was quoted in some of the prep for this said he may bloom with the right coaching,” Huard said.
Huard recalled seeing Barham as a freshman at Maryland while he was doing color commentary for FOX and being in awe of how physically mature he already looked.
“I remember being on the field, as a freshman, looking at him going, ‘There’s just no way. There’s no way humanly possible that that guy played high school football the year before,’” Huard said.
Jeremiah has Barham ranked as the No. 77 prospect in the draft. ESPN has him ranked 88th.
“He is a higher ceiling guy you’re going to have to coach up,” Huard said. “He doesn’t come with years and years and years of experience on the edge.”
Seattle Seahawks NFL Draft coverage
• An under-the-radar Seattle Seahawks need Brock Huard sees
• NFL Draft: What – and who – Seahawks could get by trading back
• Why Hasselbeck says Seahawks are in great spot to trade back
• Seattle Seahawks open to trading top pick for bigger draft class
• A player Seahawks could trade for another draft pick
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