The Seahawks are finally seeing the Elijah Arroyo they drafted
Can Arroyo turn potential into production?
Five years ago, the difference between tight ends Elijah Arroyo and Brock Bowers was practically nil*. That gap has only widened since, but if Arroyo keeps trending upward as he has throughout Seahawks training camp, Seattle’s receiving tight end could do what he does best: close ground in a hurry.
*not to be confused with NIL
With so little space to mention camp standouts in a “5 observations” article, Arroyo’s name getting dropped on both Friday and Saturday is cause for excitement. Friday:
Elijah Arroyo, a second-year player out of Miami, has a chance to step into a bigger role this season, and in Friday’s practice, he showed off the athleticism and pass-catching ability that helped make him a second-round pick in last year’s draft.
Arroyo’s day included several catches, many of which included nice run-after-catch yardage, then he capped his day with a great leaping grab to haul in a contested deep ball on a throw from Jalen Milroe.
On Friday, second-year tight end Elijah Arroyo was one of the standouts in the practice, making several impressive catches. A day later, Arroyo might have been even better, making several catches for big gains, including a 35-yard touchdown from Sam Darnold.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson went a step further, calling Arroyo’s Saturday practice the best he’s seen by any player in Seahawks camp thus far.
Arguably no Seahawks player has stood out in any of the first seven practices of camp as much as Elijah Arroyo did Saturday. The second-year tight end was the clear star on a good day for the offense.
It started in a red zone one-on-one period, when he caught touchdown passes on a high-point fade and a toe-tapper in the back of the end zone. In the subsequent team period, Sam Darnold hit a wide-open Arroyo down the field for another score.
It would be one thing if the player being highlighted was Rashid Shaheed or A.J. Barner, offensive weapons who the community right here (including me) have voted on as the first and second-most likely Seahawks to finish second on the team in yards.
But Arroyo only got a single vote.
And it’s still more surprising that Arroyo even got one vote than it is that he didn’t finish in the top-three. That’s also what makes it so intriguing that Seattle’s fourth, fifth, possibly sixth receiving option could emerge as the premier tight end that John Schneider believed he could be in the draft last year.
Not only do the Seahawks already have enough weapons as to make fans overlook Arroyo, but also if last year’s second-round pick is merely healthy he should move up Sam Darnold and Brian Fleury’s priorities quickly.
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