Seahawks Mount Rushmore: 2019 edition

Who are the most important people in the Seahawks organization in 2019? The answers may not surprise you.

Before I wrote this 2019 version of the Seahawks Mount Rushmore, I took a peek back at last year’s version. I realized after what I wrote in that article I might need to change things up for this season, but it is difficult. In a way, the same four people are just as important in 2019 as they were in 2018. This is a good thing.

If Frank Clark comes back as expected either via being franchise tagged or re-signing with Seattle, the Seahawks will have the same four core individuals back that made 2018 a success. Sure, the team didn’t win the Super Bowl but they made it back to the playoffs and a lot of people did not expect that.

So who would make up Seattle’s Mount Rushmore for this year? Here is my best (and likely wrong) guesses.

Russell Wilson

I am not always an idiot. Not having Wilson on this kind of list would make it seem like I was trying to be cute or that I was simply stupid. Before last year, I ranked Seattle’s best players and did not have Wilson number one. Bobby Wagner was number one. But Wilson is without a doubt Seattle’s most important player.

He is also a very good quarterback who had a very good season in 2018. He set career highs for touchdowns thrown (35) and quarterback rating (110.9). And he could be even better in 2019 with a better start to the season.

Bobby Wagner

Wagner is Seattle’s most consistent highly effective player. Once again he was rated as the highest graded linebacker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. The defense simply is not near the same quality without Wagner and 12s should hope that the linebacker stays a Seahawk for the rest of his career.

After that, Wagner needs to either be on the coaching staff or in Seattle’s front office. He is a more soft-spoken leader that Richard Sherman and that is a good thing.

Michael Dickson

Maybe it is odd for a punter to be on this list, but Dickson made the defense better in 2018. In fact, had the defense performed at a higher level, Dickson’s constant pinning of opposing teams would have allowed Seattle to win more games. Dickson was chosen in the fifth round and he proved to be worth that choice and maybe even one worthy of a higher round choice.

The rookie was named First-Team All-Pro by the AP and could remain that way for the next 10 seasons. Seattle will not have any changes at punter for the next decade at least. If the young defense gets better, Dickson’s greatness will be a big reason why.

Chris Carson

What? No Frank Clark? The reason I do not have Clark on this list is that he simply isn’t an official part of the team in 2019 (yet). He should be and will be but isn’t as of February 17th, 2019.

And Carson earns this spot anyway. Seattle still doesn’t know what it will get from Rashaad Penny in his future and he was a first-round pick in 2018. Carson was better, though. He might continue to be. Carson ran for 1,151 yards and 9 touchdowns this past season and was a huge reason Seattle led the NFL in rushing and was able to get to 10 wins. With no Carson, Seattle doesn’t get to the playoffs.

Other thoughts

I could, maybe should, have Pete Carroll on this list too. This year, I wanted to stick to players. To be honest, the Seahawks are not who they are without Carroll or general manager John Schneider. Both could be half of any Seattle Mount Rushmore.

Clark should also be on this list. But again, he is not an official member of the team for 2019 yet.

My hopes for the future are that Clark is part of the Mount Rushmore for the next five seasons and that defensive tackle Jarran Reed joins him. Having both of those players on Seattle’s defensive line means the Seahawks should have a good defense for a long time. And as we saw from this year’s Super Bowl, at the end of the day defense wins championships.