Seattle is planning to get more than one year from one of the key parts of its blockbuster offseason trade.
The Seahawks have picked up the fifth-year option on tight end Noah Fant's rookie contract, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported. With the option, Seattle has Fant under contract through the 2023 season. Fant is the first player in Seahawks history to have his fifth-year option picked up by Seattle.
A 2019 first-round pick out of Iowa, Fant has consistently produced in his first three NFL seasons. The tight end has caught 40 or more passes and at least three touchdowns in all of his campaigns and stands less than 100 yards shy of the 2,000-yard receiving mark in his career. Though he's been forced to battle through physical ailments, Fant remains a promising playmaker at a position that continues to evolve in the modern game.
Fant set a career-high mark for receptions with 68 in 2021 while running routes for both Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock. His production is additionally impressive when considering Denver's continuous turnover under since Fant's rookie season, which has seen six different quarterbacks start at least one game.
Even with a lack of rapport, Fant has proven to be a difference-maker. He'll aim to be that and more in his new home he shares once again with Lock, who followed him in the same trade that delivered Russell Wilson to the Broncos and sent Fant to the Pacific Northwest.
