Former Stanford tight end Colby Parkinson heard his name called on Day 3 of this year’s virtual NFL Draft. After starting in 12 games for the Cardinal last season, Parkinson will take his talents to the Seattle Seahawks, who selected him at No. 133 overall with the 27th pick in the fourth round of the draft. 

The 6’7”, 257-pound former five-star high school recruit was named to the All-Pac-12 second team this past season after racking up 48 receptions for 589 yards and one touchdown; according to Pro Football Focus, the sure-handed receiver didn’t drop a single pass thrown his way this past season.

Fans beyond the Cardinal faithful will likely best remember Parkinson for his dominant performance against Oregon State in 2018; he shredded the Beavers’ secondary, putting up 166 receiving yards and reeling in four touchdown grabs on the day.

He was projected to be a fourth- or fifth-round pick in the draft by NFL analyst Lance Zierlein, who wrote that Parkinson “may be a little polarizing, but appears to be a field-stretching flex tight end with above-average playmaking ability down the field and near the goal line.” 

Parkinson is the seventh Stanford tight end selected in the draft since 2012; the list includes NFL standouts in Coby Fleener (2012), Zach Ertz (2013) and Austin Hooper (2016). 

Parkinson joins a very crowded tight end group in Seattle; after bringing back Jacob Hollister and Luke Willson this offseason, the Seahawks also signed on All-Pro Greg Olsen to the group. Parkinson will have a chance to learn from veterans in hopes of developing into a dangerous red-zone weapon in the NFC West in the years to come.

Contact Shan Reddy at rsreddy ‘at’ stanford.edu.