The Seahawks signed tight end Gerald Everett earlier this offseason, a player they believe will help upgrade the offense, and a player who himself believes his best football is still ahead of him. In addition to his considerable football talents, here are six things to know about the Seahawks' new offensive weapon:
1. He had hoop dreams before turning to football late in high school.
Everett played youth football as a kid, but stopped playing when he was middle-school aged, and instead decided to focus on basketball and track and field in high school.
While he eventually hit a growth spurt, Everett says he was only 5-foot-6 or so heading into high school, so he figured he wouldn't make the varsity football team. So instead he played basketball and did track and field, participating in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, as well as the high jump and triple jump. The growth spurt eventually came, but Everett realized that got him more to football size than bigtime college hoops size, so before his senior year he decided to give football another shot, realizing it was his best path to a college scholarship.
"Honestly, I kind of fell out of touch with the game of football," he said. "I was kind of undersized—I was about 5-6, 5-7 going into the 9th grade, so I really didn't think I'd have a chance to play varsity… I was never the 6-8, 6-9 you see today in Power 5 (conference) basketball, so I went back to football my senior year to try to get that scholarship before I graduated."
2. He's also pretty new to playing tight end.
In that one year of high school, Everett says he was mostly a receiver, and while he was listed as a tight end at South Alabama, he was mostly just a big pass-catcher. That pass-catching ability and versatility has served him well in the NFL, but when it comes to actually blocking as a tight end, that's something he only really started doing at the NFL level.
"The Rams essentially turned me into a tight end. My rookie year was the first year I really had blocked a tight end," he said. "I'm still growing into it, in a sense."
3. He took a long, winding road to the NFL.
Everett's path from his senior year of high school to the NFL was anything but a straight road. After that one year of high school football, he initially signed with Bethune-Cookman, an Division I FCS school, but ended up at Hutchinson Community College. After that he finally got his chance at playing for an FBS school when he enrolled at UAB, but after one season the Blazers folded their football program. That led to another transfer, this time to South Alabama, where Everett was able to establish himself as an NFL prospect who would eventually become a second-round pick.
Everett credits that bumpy path through college with helping teach him about adversity, but admits, "It was tough, definitely. Going through so many transitions and making it to the FBS level, it was tough, to say the least."
4. He was a Seahawks fan as a teenager.
While Everett's last four years have been spent playing for a division rival, he actually was a Seahawks fan despite growing up in Georgia, and listed the Seahawks as his favorite NFL team on his South Alabama bio. The reason, however, had more to do with fashion than the team itself.
"I've always been infatuated with the color scheme," he said. "I love the lime green, and their uniforms how they took them and revamped them over the years. It was really the color scheme. And they had Marshawn and other good players over the years. That was my favorite team at that point."
5. He loves to travel.
One of Everett's favorite offseason activities is travel, and one perk of joining the Seahawks, he said, will be getting a chance to eventually visit Vancouver, BC.
"I like to travel, I like to go see a city, I like different views, whether it be mountainside or a city view," he said.
Among his favorite places he's visited so far are Mexico and London, and among the places he wants to visit in the future, in addition to Vancouver, are Switzerland and Aspen, Colorado.
6. He loves movies and books.
As a kid, Everett says he used to stay up way too late watching movies when he wasn't supposed to, and hat passion for film has stuck with him.
"I'm a fan of film," he said. "I like to see movies, I like to study movies… I like war movies, crime movies. One of my go tos has been "Black Mass" or "One Night in Miami," "The Town." I like movies you really have to watch and observe to really catch the true plot or hidden twists. I've been a big film guy since growing up. I'd be staying up in the wee hours of the morning watching movies I wasn't supposed to watch. I've been a movie lover since I was a kid."
And when he's not watching movies, Everett likes to pick up a good book.
"I like to read too from time to time," he said. "I like war books. Barnes & Noble special is something I turn to when I'm looking for a piece to read."
A look back at tight end Gerald Everett's first four seasons in the NFL, spent with the Los Angeles Rams. Everett signed with the Seahawks on March 21, 2021. Read more: https://shwks.com/llh6u6
Former Los Angeles Rams player Jack Youngblood, left, announces South Alabama's Gerald Everett as the Rams' selection in the second round of the 2017 NFL football draft, Friday, April 28, 2017, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett is interviewed following the NFL football rookie minicamp at the team's practice facility in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Friday, May 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett, left, and Dallas Cowboys defensive back Nolan Carroll (24) pose for a picture after a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett can't keep his feet in, for an incomplete pass during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) catches a pass during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)
Los Angeles Rams' Gerald Everett (81) catches a pass in front of New York Giants' Landon Collins (21) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett runs against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, left, and Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett exchanges jerseys after an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (18), tight end Gerald Everett (81), and center Austin Blythe (66) celebrate during an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Jacob Gonzalez via AP)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) runs with the ball during an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Ben Liebenberg via AP)
Gerald Everett, de los Rams de Los Ángeles, se quita la marca de Daniel Sorensen, de los Chiefs de Kansas City, para anotar en el último cuarto del encuentro del lunes 19 de noviembre de 2018 (AP Foto/Marcio José Sánchez)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) catches the ball for a touchdown during an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles.(Ben Liebenberg via AP)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett watches against the Detroit Lions during an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (right) celebrates with defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman (23) following the NFL NFC Championship football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019 in New Orleans. (NFL Photos via AP)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) poses for a portrait on Media Day, Monday, June 10, 2019, in Thousand Oaks, CA. (Ben Liebenberg via AP)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) runs against Atlanta Falcons defensive back Jamal Carter (35) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) scores against the New York Giants during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) runs with the ball during a NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020 in Inglewood, Calif. The Rams defeated the Giants 17-9. (John McGillen via AP)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett, right, runs into the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) gets hit by Tampa Bay Buccaneers strong safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (31) during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark LoMoglio)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) during an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) runs onto the field prior to an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Nov. 29, 2020 in Inglewood, Calif. (Ben Liebenberg via AP)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) stands with teammates before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Scott Eklund)
Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett (81) stretches for the ball during a NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Jan. 03, 2021 in Inglewood, Calif. The Rams defeated the Cardinals 18-7. (John McGillen via AP)
