Seattle Seahawks: 15 best first-round draft picks of all-time
By Lee Vowell
1986-93. John L. Williams. 12. player. 36. . Running Back
John Williams‘ numbers will not blow you away. But pure statistics are not the reason Williams was so valuable in Seattle. He simply was what any team would want out of its players. Williams did anything the team asked him to do and he did whatever was asked of him with maximum effort. He was the No. 15 overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft.
If the Seahawks wanted Williams to run the ball, he could. During his eight years with Seattle, Williams had 4,579 yards rushing, including 877 yards in 1986.
It is easy to overlook those numbers, though, because Williams was a fullback and not a running back. He was never meant to be the featured back, but his talent and versatility made him the featured back at times.
Between 1989 and 1992, Williams had 284 receptions, an average of 71 catches a season for those four years. In his career, he actually had one more receiving touchdown than rushing. Again, this guy was a fullback. In 1989, he had 76 catches and six touchdowns receiving. Williams made the Pro Bowl in 1989 and 1990.
Williams still has the fifth-most rushing yards in Seahawks history. He has the fourth-most receptions in franchise history with 471. So while people looking at his raw numbers may not be overly impressed at first, there was no mistake that Williams was one of the first-round picks in Seattle draft annals.