When the Seattle Seahawks traded a 2020 seventh round pick to the New England Patriots for tight end Jacob Hollister, many believed the 25-year-old was nothing more than a roster filler who would find himself elsewhere by the start of the 2019 season.

However, the Seahawks have a history of making under-the-radar trades with New England – including the Justin Coleman deal from two years ago.

And while Hollister is joined by an impressive group of tight ends in Seattle – including Will Dissly, Ed Dickson, Nick Vannett and now George Fant – his performance has already impressed his new coach.

“We’re really fired up that we got Jacob,” coach Pete Carroll commented back in June. “He’s different. This is a different dimension receiver at the tight end spot. He’s feisty and aggressive and sticks his head in there.”

Hollister credits an old teammate – future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski – for that attitude and toughness.

“I learned a ton from Gronk,” Hollister said. “Not only him as a player, just how he approaches the game, how he is as a person. He just works his butt off every single day. He fought through a ton of injuries which I saw on a daily basis. Really tough guy. You just gotta fight for your teammates, and that’s what I’m trying to do out here.”

Hollister – a native of Bend, Oregon who went to college at Wyoming – is happy to be back in the Pacific Northwest after spending the 2017 and 2018 seasons on the East Coast.

He appeared in 23 games for the Patriots during that time, hauling in eight receptions for 94 yards while appearing quite a bit on the special teams.

“I think I add a lot in the passing game as an athlete,” Hollister said. “But I also want to be known to hold my own in the blocking game, be able to move guys. That’s how I want to be known.”

Hollister is unlikely to be a big, blocking tight end like Dissly, Dickson and Fant, but he does give the Seahawks an athletic pass-catcher, and he could end up being a quality target in the red zone.

Hollister and the rest of Seattle’s tight end group will continue to battle for playing time at Saturday’s scrimmage game at Pop Keeney stadium in Bothell, WA at 1:30 p.m. PT.