Fantasy Reaction: Seattle Seahawks Pick Up Noah Fant’s 5th Year Option (Fantasy Football)
Earlier this week, the Seattle Seahawks picked up Noah Fant‘s fifth-year option, making him the first player from the 2019 draft class to have his option extended. Per Field Yates, Noah Fant also becomes the first player the Seahawks have ever picked up their 5th-year option on. Fant, who was selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, is now set to make $6.85 million in fully guaranteed money in 2023. It’s an interesting investment for Seattle, especially after the team decided to give fellow TE Will Dissly a 3-year extension worth $24 million in free agency this offseason. After trading for Fant as part of the Russell Wilson deal, these two moves collectively suggest the team plans to move forward with both as a focal point of the game plan, with Dissly likely operating as the blocking TE with Fant used as the team’s move TE. According to Sports Info Solutions, the league average use of 2TE sets in the NFL last year was 21%. Seattle ran 2TE formations 26% of the time. Given Pete Carroll’s conservative play-calling and downgrade at QB from Wilson, we can likely expect more of the same from the ‘Hawks in 2022.
From a fantasy perspective, Noah Fant enters his fourth year in the NFL. In three years in Denver, Fant finished as the TE16, TE12, and TE12 while failing to catch more than four TDs in any season. Now, Fant finds himself on a low-volume passing offense with serious question marks at the QB position. Fant will also be competing with top-tier talent at the WR position in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett suggesting it might be difficult for Fant to crack into the top-8 at the position. However, Fant is still an interesting name for dynasty formats. He’s still just 24 years old, has 1st round NFL Draft capital, and he pops from an athleticism standpoint, which we know matters at the TE position. A season ago, Fant ran a route on nearly 90% of Denver’s passing plays (9th most at the position) and logged 1.52 yards per route run, good for 8th among all TEs.