Seahawks midseason awards: Most Valuable Player

The Seahawks reached the halfway point of the season with a 6-2 mark. These are our staff’s votes for the one player most responsible for that record.

I’d say the Seahawks have performed pretty well so far this season. They’ve played a couple of bad games, and played others closer than one might think, but it’s hard to complain about six wins at midseason. The staff here at 12thManRising thought it was a great time to select the best of the Hawks season so far. Up first, the Most Valuable Player of 2019 – so far.

Contributor Blake Waldron: The Seahawks 6-2 start is the second best of the Pete Carroll era and all of Seattle has Russell Wilson to thank for it. Wilson has taken his game to another level and far exceeds the impact of any other player. The amount of plays that he’s created that no other quarterback would be able to replicate is absurd. This team would be near the bottom of the league without him. Not only is Wilson the clear choice for Seahawks MVP but he is also the clear choice for MVP of the league. For the Seahawks, it’s Wilson and no one else comes close.

Contributor Colby Patnode: For me, this is pretty simple, because not only is Russell Wilson the MVP of the Seattle Seahawks, he should be the MVP of the entire league. 20 total TDs to 1 interception. That is insane. And he is doing it with far fewer attempts than other candidates. Wilson currently sits ninth in passing yards but 13th in attempts. He’s tied with Pat Mahomes for fewest interceptions and leads the NFL with 17 passing touchdowns. He is fourth in yards per attempts and tied for first in fourth quarter comebacks. All this while throwing to Tyler Lockett and a group of rookies or WR4s. He has led the Seahawks, with all their problems, to a 6-2 mark. Say it with me guys: M-V-P.

Contributor Geoff Shull: This is an easy pick: Russell Wilson. Wilson has been nothing short of phenomenal this season with the highest quarterback rating (115.5) and touchdown to interception ratio (17 TD’s to 1 Int) in the NFL. He also has the second highest touchdown percentage (6.8% of throws are TD’s), and game winning drives total this year (3). Wilson is the key to the team’s success and is the heart and soul of the locker room. Jadeveon Clowney said one of the main reasons he wanted to play for the Seahawks was because of Wilson and his locker room presence. The guy just never gives up. As long as the game still has time left there’s a chance.

Often when a player gets paid a market resetting contract, the player loses their edge as there simply is nothing left to prove. Russell is one of the few players to buck this trend and continue on with a career year after securing the bag. Russell is not just the Seahawks MVP but likely the MVP of the NFL this year.

Co-expert Todd Vandenberg: I’m going to go out on a limb and select little-used –  okay, make that never-used –  backup QB Geno Smith. Bear with me on this. My theory is that Russell Wilson is jealous of him, as Smith has a game with a perfect passer rating under his belt and Wilson doesn’t. Driven by jealousy, DangeRuss is playing the best football of his career, even calling brilliant plays when needed. My theory could be wrong. Maybe Wilson is just a fantastic competitor and deserves the MVP himself. Hmmm…

Co-Expert Lee Vowell: The Seahawks MVP has been little known Russell Wilson. Coming into this season, the career backup was only supposed to play sparingly behind future Hall of Famer Matt Flynn. Oh, wait. I made all that up. Wilson, of course, is on a Hall of Fame track and has 17 touchdown passes and just one pick. He is by far the biggest reason Seattle is 6-2 halfway through 2019.

Considering that Wilson is the front-runner for the league MVP, it would be impossible to even consider anyone but the Seahawks QB for the team MVP. For most teams the MVP will usually be the QB. In Seattle’s case, it’s hard to imagine them winning more than one of the games so far this year without Wilson.