Ex-Husky tight end Dissly could remain in Seattle as a Seahawk

Messing around at practice may prove to be the best thing Will Dissly's ever done.

Dissly was a sophomore defensive end for Washington late in 2015. He was messing around at a practice before UW's appearance in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, playfully catching passes from a teammate.

UW coach Chris Petersen walked past and noticed Dissly was catching the ball with more skill than a defensive linemen should have.

"Hey, you want to have a package (of plays on offense)?" Petersen asked Dissly.

That's how Will Dissly became a top tight end prospect in next week's NFL draft.

"I had a couple of plays (in that bowl game), did well," Dissly said last month. "Then kind of in the offseason (before Dissly's junior year in 2016), coach Pete approached me and was like, 'Hey, would you like to try this full time in spring ball?'"

Dissly was all ears. And all in.

"I was trying to get on the field a little bit more, trying to help the team win. So I said, 'Yeah, let's try it,'" Dissly said. "And here we are."

After 10 starts last season for a Huskies team that finished 10-3 and played Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, Dissly is a name to watch in next week's NFL draft.

NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock says Dissly is the best blocking tight end in this draft class, and its fifth-best tight end overall.

"I was humbled,” Dissly said of Mayock's praise at last month's NFL combine, where he received the podium treatment of a top prospect for media interviews at the Indiana Convention Center. “There are a lot of talented guys here, so I really appreciate his recognition.

"I think one thing is I think he sees a lot of potential. I’ve only been playing tight end for two years. A lot of these guys are four or five years in and are kind of at their peak as far as their play goes. I have so much room to grow."

At the combine the 6-foot-4, 267-pound Dissly again showed the athleticism and deft hands he honed growing up as a multi-sport athlete, including basketball, in Bozeman, Mont. His time of 12.12 seconds in the 60-yard shuttle was fifth-best among tight ends and showed he can change directions quickly. He ran a 4.87 40-yard dash at the combine, 12th among tight ends.

Next week, Dissly is likely to become the 19th Washington Huskies tight end drafted into the NFL in the last half century. Three Huskies tight ends have been first-round picks: Dave Williams (1967), Mark Bruener ('95) and Jerramy Stevens (by the Seahawks in 2002).

Tacoma-based NFL draft expert Rob Rang, from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and NFLdraftscout.com, predicts Dissly could go in the fourth or fifth round. That's right in the Seahawks' wheelhouse.

Seattle currently has eight picks: one in the first round, at 18th overall, then not another until round four, on the draft's second day. Four of the Seahawks' eight selections are in the fifth round.

They met with Dissly at the combine in Indianapolis and they were at his Pro Day at UW a couple weeks ago.

The Seahawks have a need for Dissly, or guys like him.

Coach Pete Carroll has set getting back to a run-based offense as his top Seahawks priority in 2018. Seattle let its top two tight ends leave in free agency last month: Jimmy Graham (to Green Bay) and Luke Willson (to Detroit). Graham and Willson are pass catchers, almost more wide receivers.

The Seahawks signed free agent Ed Dickson from Carolina for up to $14 million over three years because he is a blocking tight end.

But Dickson is 31 years old. And the Seahawks can get out of the final two years of his team-friendly deal at a cost of only $1.7 million in 2019.

So it's not unfathomable that the Seahawks, who have selected only one tight end in the last seven drafts (Nick Vannett in 2016), would use one of its scheduled eight draft picks next weekend on a younger blocker at the position.

It's not that Dissly can't catch. Or that he's not athletic.

As a senior at Bozeman High in 2013 he was Montana's Gatorade player of the year while winning a state title. He was a Class AA all-state selection as a tight end and defensive end. He caught 55 passes for 917 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

A two-star recruit, Dissly committed to Petersen at Boise State, then followed the coach to UW.  He played 19 games in his first two seasons for the Huskies on defense.

Then came the fateful bowl practice, followed by his college debut at tight end in that bowl win over Southern Mississippi.

Dissly's first college reception was a touchdown from Jake Browning during a September 2016 win over Portland State. As a senior he had two touchdown catches in UW's win over Dissly's home-state Montana Grizzlies. He had a key catch late for 28 yards to set up the tying score during the Huskies' rally past Utah in November.

"I'm not trying to be something that I'm not," he said at the NFL combine. "I know my skill set is as a blocking tight end, first and foremost. But kind of why I am here is to show people that I can catch the ball. I am confident in my abilities to do that."

He's a better — and far more unique — tight end for having played the positions he is often blocking.

"As a tight end, the biggest thing is understanding how defensive linemen think, their tendencies, how to pick up their (rush) games," he said. "Understanding defenses and where the 'backers are; if the 'backer's outside, that defensive end is probably going to crash in. That kind of stuff came a little more natural to me."

Dissly has already mastered the intellectual part of blocking. The Seahawks' recent offensive linemen have sometimes struggled to do that. Dissly knows how to read the way a defensive linemen line up for clues just before the snap.

"You can tell a lot by their stance," he said. "If there are in a balanced stance they are maybe more prone to change direction on you and slant a little more. If they are leaning one way or not, if they are in their rush stance, obviously they are going to get up field (immediately). Maybe if they are leaning back in their two-point stance I can tell maybe they are going out (to drop back to cover) a pass.

"Just those things I learned as a defensive lineman I can see in their stance and their posture."