‘Shocked’ at Wilson trade, Noah Fant says Drew Lock could be The Man for Seahawks
Noah Fant was like you, me and everyone else who will always wonder why the Seahawks would ever trade Russell Wilson.
“I was a little shocked. I’m not gonna lie,” Fant, Denver’s first-round draft choice in 2019, said Tuesday on an online Zoom call with Seattle-area reporters.
The 24-year-old tight end had 130 receptions for 1,343 yards with the Broncos the last two seasons. Some of those catches were passes from Drew Lock, whom the Seahawks also acquired along with defensive tackle Shelby Harris and five draft picks last month for Wilson in the trade that shook the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, the NFL — and Fant.
“Things went down how they went down. I can’t be mad at Denver. They got a shot at Russell, and they took it,” he said. “I’m happy to be in a spot that truly seems like Seattle, the front office and the coaches want me here.
“And it feels good to be wanted.”
Do the Seahawks want Fant for beyond 2022?
This is the final year of Fant’s rookie contract. Seattle inherited that and Fant’s $2.2 million salary for this coming season.
The Seahawks have until May 2 to decide whether to pick up Fant’s fifth-year contract option for 2023, which would guarantee Fant $6.85 million for next year.
He said Tuesday he hasn’t heard from his new team on the Seahawks’ thinking about his fifth-year option.
“For me, it’s kind of letting that fall where it may,” he said.
He entered the league as the 20th-overall pick in 2019’s draft out of Iowa. He’s 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds. That’s down in weight from last offseason, when he said he got too heavy, thinking that was the way to be a more effective run blocker.
Fant is known as an elite, wide receiver-like receiving tight end. The Seahawks have been seeking one of those since before they traded Pro Bowl center Max Unger for Jimmy Graham in 2015.
The Seahawks’ perennially leaky offensive line hasn’t been the same since that Graham trade.
Fant joins a Seattle offense in its biggest flux since 2012. That was Wilson’s rookie season. He seized the starting quarterback job his first preseason. He kept it for 10 seasons and two Super Bowls.
The 2022 Seahawks will have Lock, it appears, leading a run-first offense with Rashaad Penny re-signed and fellow running back Chris Carson coming off neck surgery. Fant will be with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett — Fant called them “elite” Tuesday — as Seattle’s top receiving targets.
“Drew’s biggest attribute is his arm, man. He’s made some insane throws, us playing together,” Fant said his three seasons with Lock in Denver.
Lock was 8-13 as a starting QB with 25 touchdowns and 20 interceptions while enduring injuries and eventually getting benched by the Broncos.
“He has all the talent in the world,” Fant said. “He can run with the ball. He can do it all. He’s been through some things (in) Denver and he’s been working through that.
“I think he has all the opportunity and all the talent in the world to get it done and be that franchise guy.
“Drew’s a great candidate and a great leader. He’s a young guy. Will be able to relate to young guys very well. I think he holds himself well in the locker room. Constantly wants to work. Constantly wants to get better. And he’s just got that fire in him. He’s ready to take the bull by the horns and get to it.
“You can expect a guy that’s going to work and be excited to have him and have him bring that. He has a good opportunity to do just that.”
Fant has his own goals for improvement, outside of all that’s different with the Seahawks’ post-Wilson offense. He had 62 and 68 catches with 673 and 670 yards for Denver in 2020 and ‘21. His catches were seventh among league tight ends in each of the last two seasons.
That’s not enough for him.
“To be honest with you, I haven’t been happy, from my perspective, with my production the last two years,” Fant said.
“Granted, it’s been decent production compared to other tight ends in the NFL. But I am definitely striving for me, and better,” he said. “But I think essentially the biggest I’ve grown in my game is just kind of understanding defenses and understanding where I can slide into certain zones and how to run my routes and get different coverage, different press, different ways the defense is playing me and just kind of overall knowledge gaining of the game.
“Goals for year four is to take that leap, right? I’m kind of stuck at that high 600(-yard) ceiling, and I got to break through that.
“I think I have every opportunity to do that in Seattle, and I’m excited to get to work to do that.”
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 1:42 PM.
