Seahawks add tight end Elijah Arroyo in second round of NFL draft

Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times on Apr 25, 2025

Published in Football

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SEATTLE — With their third selection in the 2025 NFL draft the Seahawks turned back to their offense, taking tight end Elijah Arroyo of Miami on Friday.

Arroyo joins guard Grey Zabel of North Dakota State, who was taken at 18 on Thursday, and safety Nick Emmanwori of South Carolina, taken at 35 earlier Friday.

The Seahawks are scheduled for one more pick on Friday, at 92 in the third round.

Arroyo, a 6-foot-5, 254-pounder, caught 35 passes for 590 yards and seven touchdowns last year playing with QB Cam Ward, the former Washington State star who was the first overall pick of the draft on Thursday.

Arroyo battled injuries in 2022 and 2023 when he had just six receptions for 77 yards in eight games played before breaking out last season. Those injuries included a torn ACL that ended his 2022 season after four games. That injury lingered through the 2023 season.

Wrote Pro Football Focus in its scouting report of Arroyo: “Arroyo is a receiving tight end through and through who can line up as a wingback and in the slot. An NFL team hoping for a consistent blocker will be disappointed, though. If given a chance to show off his all-around athleticism, he can be a contributor as a big slot type.”

The Seahawks have three other tight ends on their roster in Noah Fant, AJ Barner and Eric Saubert, an eight-year vet who signed last month as a free agent after spending last season with the 49ers. Brady Russell, who played tight end last season, was recently moved to fullback.

Fant is entering the final season of his contract, and Saubert is also on a one-year deal, while Barner is entering his second season after going in the fourth round last season.

Arroyo will join that mix and comes to Seattle with an intriguing back story.

He was born in Orlando but moved to Cancún when he was 7 as his father got a job selling time shares, he said. Arroyo said he played American football while in Mexico. He lived there until he was 12 when the family moved back to Frisco, Texas, he said.

He signed with Miami out of high school and spent four seasons there.

Arroyo said he hadn’t had much contact with the Seahawks during the pre-draft process saying he’d had a meeting with the team at the scouting combine “and that’s about it.”

Arroyo said he views himself as a tight end who can play inside and out and can run any route.

“I feel like that’s where I thrive, just being able to spread out and create mismatches,” he said.

According to Pro Football Focus, Arroyo lined up in the slot on 216 snaps last season with 165 in-line and 35 split out.

Added PFF in its scouting report: “He is not a reliable blocker. He lacks the strength to stay engaged with linebackers and even when throwing his full body into defensive ends, it doesn’t move them much. He also has some bad technique, dipping his head before big contact and lacking leverage when engaging drive blocks. His competitive toughness and effort are big pluses, even in blocking situations where he is outmatched. He truly plays with a chip on his shoulder with good urgency in his movements.”

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