Elijah Arroyo is a huge potential receiving threat as a tight end. How will his rookie season look?
The Seattle Seahawks rolled the dice with their second pick of the second round in the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo at No. 50. Arroyo oozes with talent, but also comes with major durability concerns, playing in only 11 games between 2022-2023.
Athletic Profile/Comps
Relative Athletic Score (RAS)
Mockdraftable
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, Elijah Arroyo has a pretty significant injury record. While he was healthy during the 2024 season, he was recovering from an injury during the offseason and did not participate in any testing besides the bench press. As such, the athletic profile and comps don’t tell us much except that he has pretty good size and did well in the bench press.
It’s sad that Arroyo wasn’t able to test because I think he would’ve done pretty damn well.
Elijah Arroyo’s top speed last season was 21.8 MPH — only 6 NFL ballcarriers had a higher max speed in 2024 ️
For reference, Xavier Worthy’s top speed was 21.46 MPH, per @NextGenStats
Arroyo is 6’4 1/2” and 251 pounds
pic.twitter.com/JThDEcfu0B https://t.co/G9uLDwrOFc
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) April 28, 2025
Gut reaction to the pick
Seattle’s new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is known for utilizing TEs in his offense. Noah Fant has not lived up to his contract so far and there were reports during the draft that he was on the trade block. AJ Barner outperformed expectations last season as a rookie. Brady Russell has been moved to fullback. There is definitely room for a talented player like Arroyo to make an immediate impact.
If not for the injury history, Arroyo might have been off the board far before No. 50.
Some Seahawks coaches questioned if TE Elijah Arroyo could be an X-Receiver
“If he didn’t miss time (in college), his talent is like a Top 15 pick” pic.twitter.com/IkyY3PnIf1
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) April 28, 2025
He’s bigger than DBs and faster than LBs, with silky smooth receiving skills – a matchup nightmare waiting to happen.
.@CanesFootball TE Elijah Arroyo with an early look at why he’s one of the best receiving tight ends in this draft class
It’s just a 1-on-1 rep, of course, but he moves like a true athlete at 6-4.5, 251 lbs. pic.twitter.com/SY563HCveM
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 28, 2025
Arroyo is more of a receiving threat at this point but takes pride in the improvement he’s made in terms of blocking the last few seasons. As long as he’s not a complete liability in that area, there’s no reason why he can’t be effective in Kubiak’s offense.
I was a bit lower on Elijah Arroyo, but it’s hard to argue with the upside. He’s got incredible linear speed and flexibility in the hips in a legit frame. He developed a ton in his feel for space.
As a blocker, he needs a ton of work and I worry about the strength, but if he… pic.twitter.com/gkKNytNlMN
— Max Toscano (@maxtoscano1) April 26, 2025
Rookie season prediction
I’m still not entirely convinced that Noah Fant will be on the roster come Week 1, considering his production compared with his current salary. If that’s the case Arroyo automatically becomes the best seam-stretching option at the TE position, which he may already be. Kubiak likes to use his TEs which bodes well for Arroyo. Add in the fact that Seattle needs to replace production from both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett in the passing offense.
I’m not going to get too crazy since Arroyo is only a rookie and does come with a lengthy injury history. Assuming that Fant is still on the team, Arroyo will be limited to around 25 catches for 350 yards and 3 TDs, not too dissimilar to Barner’s rookie year. If Fant is gone, bump that up to 40 catches for 500 yards and 4 TDs.
Miami does have a pretty damn good history of producing NFL TEs after all.