7 Arizona Cardinals that must bounce-back in 2019
By Avery Duncan
Ricky Seals-Jones – TE
After the Cardinals added two veteran tight ends in Charles Clay and Maxx Williams and drafted Caleb Wilson, Ricky Seals-Jones has some real competition at the position. And that’s the way it should be; Seals-Jones is promising, but he’s a frustrating player that is still learning the tight end position.
After going undrafted in 2017, Seals-Jones surprised many when he caught 12 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie year. Naturally, his ability to stretch the field with speed and a past as a wide receiver made him an exciting player to watch heading into 2018. But he failed to live up to his (limited) hype.
Seals-Jones backed up his rookie year with 34 receptions for 343 yards and a touchdown. Not bad numbers to the naked eye, but pretty bad when you consider his career 47.4% catch rate and 52.8 Pro Football Focus grade. To go along with his lowly catch rate, Seals-Jones hasn’t offered much as a blocker.
Tight ends are often called the safety valve of the offense. They are supposed to be consistent as both a pass catcher and a blocker. Seals-Jones has proved that he’s neither, which could mean the Cardinals pull the plug on the project as a whole.
Currently, I have both Clay and Williams as the sure-fire tight ends to make the roster, meaning Seals-Jones will be competing with Wilson and Darrell Daniels for the third spot. Though he was once a teammate of Kyler Murray, Seals-Jones will need to step it up to get a spot on an offense that tends not to favor tight ends that can’t block.