Seattle Seahawks: 15 best first-round draft picks of all-time
By Lee Vowell
![Cortez Kennedy, Seattle Seahawks. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport Cortez Kennedy, Seattle Seahawks. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2F12thmanrising-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F07-2F719068-1-850x560-fc3954fdf2d92ef72f65ac4fbff8b70936beddbf49b5af3c6514e34c84b0841f.jpg)
36. . Safety. 1981-87. Kenny Easley. 3. player
Kenny Easley was chosen as the No. 4 overall choice in the 1981 NFL Draft. He was a big safety at 6-foot-3, but he was quick, too. Easley was the forerunner of Kam Chancellor. Like Chancellor, Easley was known as the enforcer. However, Easley was greater even than Chancellor because Easley was really a hybrid of Chancellor and Earl Thomas when you really think about it.
The only reason Easley may not be considered the greatest safety to ever play is that his career was cut short by injury. Easley played just seven seasons. That being said, Easley made the Pro Bowl in five of those years.
His 1983 and 1984 seasons are nearly incomparable by another defensive back. Still, one cannot help but wonder what Easley would have accomplished had he not been injured in the midst of his prime as an NFL player.
“Kenny Easley was a GAME. CHANGER.” #PFHOF17 #TheEnforcer https://t.co/WDq7zfI1pv
— NFL (@NFL) August 5, 2017
Let me put aside the negative, though, and honor the Pro Football Hall of Fame career of a Seahawks safety that would have fit perfectly in the Legion of Boom of this current decade.
In 89 games, Easley had 32 interceptions. Think about that for a second. The percentage of interceptions to games is ridiculous. In 1983 and 1984 combined, Easley had 17 interceptions , returned two for touchdowns and had four fumble recoveries.
Easley was a three-time Associated Press First-Team All-Pro and was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.