The Seattle Seahawks may still be overlooked when you analyze the NFL lines, but they have shown huge growth this season and that has pleasantly surprised fans.
Their defensive strategy has grown more aggressive by the week, and their rookies have been outstanding.
The rebuild after Russell Wilson isn’t nearly as painful as many predicted, so let’s look through the amazing players of the Seahawks past.
Walter Jones – Offensive Tackle
Jones joined the Seahawks in 1997 and retired in 2009. During that time he was picked for the All-Pro first team 4 times, the All-Pro second team 2 times, and the 2000 All-Decade Team.
Even in college, Jones was dominant and left school early to enter the NFL Draft.
Although the Seahawks lost the 2005 Super Bowl, Jones was a huge reason why they got there. The elite season from Shaun Alexander on the ground was made possible by the offensive line.
He was picked 6th overall in the Draft and was a shining star.
Steve Largent – Wide Receiver
Largent was picked 117th overall, as very few GMs recognized his talent at an early age. Although Largent spent his career with the Seahawks, his first taste of the NFL was actually with the Houston Oilers.
Talk about a huge miss. He played for the Oilers in the preseason of 1976 before heading to Seattle.
During his time on the field, Largent was nicknamed “Yoda” for being able to catch anything thrown at him. He retired as the all-time leader in almost every receiving category. He was the Man of the Year, went to 5 Pro Bowls, and grabbed a Bart Starr Award.
Largent was the first Seahawk player to have his number retired and was a first-ballot Pro Football HOFer.
Cortez Kennedy – Defensive Tackle
Kennedy was lightning fast for an interior lineman. Kennedy dominated the line of scrimmage and became a force. He won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year abd was invited to the Pro Bowl 8 times, named to the Ring of Honor by the Seahawks, and won two National Championships in college.
The number 96 was retired when Kennedy left, an honor that few Seahawk players receive.
Kenny Easley – Strong Safety
During his career Easley was considered the best defensive back in the NFL by some, while he is without a doubt one of the best in Seahawks history.
Easley was a defensive leader and a phenomenal player throughout the 80s. He only played for 9 years before retiring, but each of those years was filled with outstanding play.
Unfortunately, Easley developed severe kidney disease which led to his early retirement, but before that Easley was named the Defensive Player of the Year and invited to the All-Pro team 5 times.
The number 45 was retired in his honor, as those precious 6 years made Easley an integral part of the Seahawk history.
Carl Eller – Defensive End
Eller only played for the Seahawks for one year. The rest of his career was spent with the Minnesota Vikings. However, that one year was one that changed his career achievements.
His final season with the Seahawks allowed him to play in a career total of 225 games. He only missed 3 games in his whole career and in that time Eller was the NFL Sacks Leader, and played in multiple Super Bowls with the Vikings “Purple People Eaters.”
Shaun Alexander – Running Back
Alexander was one of the best players to ever grace the Seahawks. Alexander has a plethora of awards to his name including the Bert Bell award, the NFL MVP, the Rushing Yard Leader, the Seahawks Ring of Honor, and the Offensive Player of the Year award.
The list doesn’t stop there as Alexander was named All-Pro twice in his career too.
Alexander played for 8 years before retiring.
Matt Hasselbeck – Quarterback
Hasselback started his career with the Green Bay Packers and then became the starter in Seattle under Mike Holmgren. He spent 9 years with the Seahawks.
Hasselbeck helped make Seattle a perennial playoff team and ultimately guided them to their first Super Bowl in ’05
Summary
The 7 players above were either Hall of Famers or Seahawks Ring of Honor holders. The young rookies that have performed so well for the team this year will be the next players everyone has their eyes on.
