Seahawks Mount Rushmore: 2018 version, Russell Wilson and company

Mount Rushmore’s are fun to argue, right? The Seahawks have historical greatness, of course. But every year about four or five players truly determine how a season goes. These are the members of the Seahawks that will have the greatest importance.

There were several now-former Seahawks that left this offseason. A few of them – Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett and Richard Sherman – could have been faces on the Mount Rushmores of past years. Seattle now needs younger players to become great. Still, veterans will have the biggest impact of whether the 2018 team makes the playoffs or not.

These are the four faces that should be on Seattle’s 2018 Mount Rushmore.

Pete Carroll

So, clearly I am aware that this is a bit of a cheat. Carroll is the head coach and not a player. But Carroll has just two years left on his current contract. He could easily retire at the end of those years. And maybe he will.

But Carroll cares about legacy. He will not want to start his Seahawks career by building a contender and then a champion and then watching it all fade. Seattle has made moves to get younger with players who should feel a bit less privileged this coming year. Carroll wants to get this team back to understanding how he thinks a team should win: Run and play defense.

In 2018, this team will be Pete Carroll’s team. We shouldn’t overlook that.

Russell Wilson

I am really shocking, right? Wilson on the Mount Rushmore of 2018? Clearly, that is obvious. But while Wilson in the first three-quarters of 2017 was great, he wasn’t the last four games. Seattle’s offensive points and yards plummeted in that last stretch. For Seattle to have any shot at making the playoffs, Wilson has to be nearly better than he was through 12 games last year but for the entire 2018 schedule.

And this for a player who scored every one of Seattle’s offensive touchdowns but one in 2017…Get Wilson some help this coming year and he will be even better.

Bobby Wagner

If anything happens to Wagner, the defense is unbelievably changed. Seattle could play without Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman, as they did in 2017, and still be ok. But if Wagner is even a bit hurt, like he was in the Los Angeles Rams game near the end of 2017, Seattle will lose.

Almost as much as Wilson, the difference between the Seahawks winning and losing games is whether Bobby Wagner is healthy and playing or not.

Frank Clark

So I don’t have Earl Thomas or Doug Baldwin on this list. First, Baldwin is a very good football player and an important member of the team, but if he were injured he would be more easily replaceable than say Thomas. Secondly, Seattle probably simply needs to learn to win without Thomas as he might not be with the team past this year.

The reason I have Clark here is because he is the one young pass rusher who needs to have a consistently great season from first game to last but that has already shown he has the potential to do so. Seattle will not have Avril or Bennett. Carroll needs and loves pass rushers. If Clark isn’t great this year, Seattle’s defense will not be successful.

Clark needs to have 12 sacks at least in 2018.

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