2020 Summer Sleeper: Seattle Seahawks
In our annual 32-part Summer Sleeper series, DLF scribes identify a lightly-touted player on each NFL roster who may be worthy of your consideration. Our subjects all have varying levels of “sleeperness,” but each merits a bit of in-depth discussion here in the Premium Content section.
To help everybody along, we are going to be categorizing our sleepers under one of three headings:
Super Deep Sleepers – Players who aren’t roster-worthy in 12-team leagues, but are still worth keeping an eye on.
Deep Sleepers – An end of the roster player who is more often than not on the waiver wire in 12-team leagues.
Sleeper – A likely rostered player who makes for a good trade target. Their startup ADP puts them out of the top-175 or so.
Because we aren’t going to give you the likes of mainstream sleepers, most of these players will undoubtedly fizzle. All we are asking is for you to keep an open mind and perhaps be willing to make room for one of these players on your bench. You never know when the next Adam Thielen is going to spring up. Feel free to add your own thoughts about our choice for the designated sleeper, or nominate one of your own in the comments below.
The tight end position has been a vacant hole for Seattle since Jimmy Graham walked in free agency. Will Dissly has tortured fans with brief bursts of stardom for the past two years, before being placed on the Injured Reserve. The team made the position a priority this off-season, hammering it and trying to mine production to benefit Russell Wilson. It appears the team has nabbed a possible goal-line prospect to pair up with Wilson for years to come.
Seattle brought in Greg Olsen from Carolina in their first attempt to shore up the position during free agency. He was signed on a one year deal that includes $5.5 million guaranteed. Olsen hasn’t played a full 16 games since 2016 so the team is casting a wide net in hopes of production.
Dissly has been one of the best on a per-game basis at the position since his rookie season in 2018. However, those have been little more than meteors in the Seattle skyline as their brief flashes of brilliance have left the fan base dreaming of more. A torn patellar tendon in 2018 limited him to four games, and in 2019 a torn Achilles ended his season at six games played. The team currently believes that Dissly is on track to be ready for the season opener.
Jacob Hollister filled in amicably for the team, but the lasting image of the 240-pound tight end is him being stuffed just inches short of the end zone against San Francisco. Seattle lost their shot at home-field advantage in the playoffs while the 49ers rode that momentum to the Super Bowl.
But there is one other tight end on the roster worth knowing…
Colby Parkinson, TE
Category: Super Deep Sleeper
Seattle targeted Parkinson with the 133rd overall pick in the fourth round. The team even went as far as grabbing Stephen Sullivan out of LSU in the seventh round, trading back into the draft to select him. Fixing the position was a priority.
Courtesy of DLF’s College Market Share App.
A big part of the team’s offense, Stanford head coach David Shaw got the towering receiving option on the field immediately as a freshman. Recruited out of California, he weighed in around 228 pounds as an incoming collegiate prospect. He broke out as a 19-year-old sophomore and continued from there.
Parkinson’s rather pedestrian combine did not boost his draft stock. Measuring in at 6-7 and 252-pounds, he gives the team size at the position they haven’t seen since Graham. Parkinson is lean though and would do well with an extended session in the team’s weight facility.
Courtesy of DLF’s Player Combine Performance App.
Parkinson, as a sophomore, posted a stellar 16.7 yards-per-reception average. On film, he struggles at times off the line with edge defenders and could have some issues as an inline tight end for the time being. Working on technique and strength training should fix these deficiencies.
He has plenty of room to grow on his frame and the size sticks out. Utilized with jump balls around the end zone, he scored four touchdowns as a freshman and seven in his breakout sophomore campaign. He also didn’t drop a single pass in 2019.
Seahawks TE Colby Parkinson didn’t drop a single pass in 2019 at Stanford pic.twitter.com/sbl8oAJ6l0
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 25, 2020
The team would work best in two tight end formations with a healthy Dissly or Olsen playing inline and Parkinson utilized as a big slot. On film, you can see he has good strong hands and maximizes his frame and 33” arms to win jump balls in the end zone.
Parkinson’s “speed” doesn’t so much show up on tape, but anyone of his size chews up ground with his long strides. Able to vertically stretch the seam playing offline and in the slot. He’s an advantage in the Seahawks offense that aims to hit the defense over the top with explosive plays off play actions when the safeties start to creep up to stop the run.
Unfortunately, a broken foot and the current COVID-affected off-season are likely to limit Parkinson early in the season. He suffered a Jones fracture in June that is likely to limit his season out the gate. He was placed on the Non-Football Injury list and is a candidate to start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
Attrition is where he could get his chance to shine in 2020. With Olsen and Dissly’s injury history and their inability to finish out a full schedule their past few seasons, it’s possible that Parkinson could step in at an opportune time to help fantasy owners as a touchdown-dependent option.
Defenses will be forced to deal with DK Metcalf and Parkinson at the goal line – two big-bodied receivers who should open throwing windows for Wilson in the passing game.
Parkinson is likely best seen as a very deep league stash. In fantasy, I would target Olsen in later rounds if looking for production. But, Parkinson is a great stash in rookie drafts and startup dynasty drafts
According to DLF’s ADP, he’s going undrafted in startups. After the foot injury, he is all but an afterthought. Tight ends typically do not “breakout” in year one. It takes time to learn the position. Parkinson a Hail Mary, but that is why he is a super deep sleeper.
Pete is a Western Washington University (Go Vikings! Undefeated at Football since 2009!) History grad with a doctorate in dynasty football, from a certificate he bought online. He prefers stats and analytics but realizes film grinding is an important part of the process. Dabbles in "Mild Takes" and believes in the process.
