Some GM will give Seahawks George Fant starter money in free agency

On Wednesday Field Gulls own Alistair Corp took us through a discussion of whether Green Bay Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga could be an option for the Seattle Seahawks in free agency. Some fans loved the idea, while others hated it, and of course, the discussion turned to the Hawks own free agent offensive linemen in George Fant and Germain Ifedi.

During the discussion the question was asked whether or not any team will be willing to give Fant an opportunity to start at left tackle in 2020, given that he hadn’t cracked the starting lineup in Seattle. Just as was the case with Chris Hubbard during the 2018 offseason, some general manager will likely be willing to give Fant a contract to be a starter level contract based on their respective metrics at the time of hitting free agency.

George Fant versus Chris Hubbard free agency comps

Event Fant Hubbard Event Fant Hubbard Height 6047 6034 Weight 296 286 40 Time 4.84 4.95 Bench Reps 22 21 Vertical 37 28.5 Broad 119 108 Shuttle 4.54 4.69 3-cone 7.2 7.52 Games 46 40 Starts 16 14 Snaps Played 1507 1145 Age in first year of contract 27 27 PFF Grade in Season prior to free agency 62.2 67.5 APY ??? $7.5M

And, if the numbers are enough for fans, here are some highlights for Fant that are of the type his agent might use to sell his upside and potential to general managers across the league. Jumping right into it, here are some clips of what Fant has done, on the field, against NFL players.

Obviously, at over 320 pounds, he’s much heavier than a linebacker, so I’ll focus on what he can do against defensive linemen from here on out.

That’s Fant embarrassing a first round pick, and here he is putting another first round pick, Nick Bosa, on the ground.

Not convinced? Okay.

How about looking at yet another former first round pick, Marcus Davenport.

And another win for Fant against Davenport.

Continuing on, we can find highlights of him recognizing the stunt.

And we can keep grinding film to find clips of him winning against the likes of Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon.

To make a long story short, Fant has the physical and athletic profiles that scouts look for from upper echelon tackles, and over the past four years he’s gone from a completely raw lineman with just a single season of playing tight end in college under his belt to a starter at left tackle in the NFL Playoffs. While he logged just four starts on the offensive line in 2019, those four starts came against the following teams:

All four of those teams finished in the top half of the NFL in generating pressure in 2019. The players he faced off in those starts include the likes of Matthew Judon, Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon, Nick Bosa, Derek Barnett and a host of other pass rushers who general managers will be able to watch Fant face off against on film. They certainly won’t see him win every rep against every defender, but at least a handful of GMs will see enough wins and enough potential in the tape that will be given a contract to start at left tackle next season.

There are likely to be a half dozen teams looking for a new starting left tackle this offseason, including the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, just to name a few. All it takes is one GM seeing Fant as a starting left tackle, and with the lack of quality starting left tackles under 30 years of age that are set to be free agents in March, some GM will pay Fant based on his potential.

Also, while I’m on the subject, Fant has specifically stated that he is looking to start at left tackle.

His exact words on wanting to play left tackle were:

“I got to show my confidence at left tackle this year,” Fant said. “I got to show I’m a left tackle in this league. I feel like I’m a starting in this league. I got to showcase that in a couple games.”

I keep seeing the idea that the team can bring Fant back as the right tackle for 2020 and then move him to 2021, but from Fant’s perspective there’s no guarantee the left tackle spot is open for the Seahawks in 2021. Duane Brown is under contract through 2021, so barring an announcement that 2020 is Brown’s last season, Fant would be coming back with no guarantee of the role he is expressly stating he wants. What it all boils down to is that Fant has likely played his final game in a Seahawks uniform because the position he wants to play is filled for the foreseeable future.