10 most valuable Seahawks draft selections of the last decade

2nd best Seahawks draft selection of the 2010s: Richard Sherman, CB

This was a close call; I was truly going back and forth between Bobby Wagner and Richard Sherman for the second slot.

They both are and have been amongst the truly elite at their position. What edged this is Sherman’s favor was his lack of draft pedigree and the ability to redefine what teams look for in a cornerback through the draft process.

Sherman was selected in the 5th round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He was considered more of a camp body than a starter, or even a backup. The belief was that he lacked the athleticism, speed and agility to win the job. Boy, oh boy, were they wrong.

Here were his combine grades:

Size: 79/100

Speed: 61/100

Agility: 46/100

Quickness: 49/100

Strength: 76/100

The test results read more like a safety than a prototypical cornerback. However, I have a fun fact for you. Since 1998, every cornerback to be named an All-Pro has had 32-inch arms or longer. Yet, somehow other teams did not pick up on this.

Fortunately, the Seahawks did. They even included this in their blueprint for what to look for in cornerback prospects. After Sherman’s success other teams took notice. Many in the NFL now use the Seahawks blueprints to target cornerbacks in the draft.

The blueprints include:

32-inch arms

4.5 40-yard dash

35 inch vertical

4.3 short shuttle

What these tests come out to; the player is just fast enough to keep up, just quick enough to make the adjustments, while having the size, reach and jumping ability to deflect the passes.

Sherman is quite literally the poster boy for this new philosophy. It’s no wonder either. He found success very early on in his career. During his 7 years in Seattle, he was named as a Pro-Bowler in all but 2 seasons. During that same span, he made it to the All-Pro Squad 3 times.

In 2012, Sherman led the NFL in passes defended at 24. It wasn’t a one-year fluke either. From 2011-2019 he has the 6th most passes defended at 97. During this, he actually leads the NFL in interceptions at 31. He was the most feared man in the Legion of Boom.

He didn’t bring fear through massive hits like Kam Chancellor. He didn’t bring fear through incredible feats like punching the ball out at the one-yard line like Thomas. No, opposing teams simply knew if they were going to complete a pass, they needed to throw away from Sherman.

Teams avoided his side of the field like the plague. Sherman’s receiver was considered to be in a dead zone. The QB would have to be desperate to throw his way. I can’t sum it up better than Sherman himself, I mean the guy is a talker after all. This is his quote after sealing the NFC Championship with an interception.

"“When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you’re going to get.”"

Sherman is truly one of the rare few who can back up his mouth, with his on the field play. He beat people with his football IQ rather than athleticism. He let the opponents make a mistake in their route, then he would expose it.

The easiest way I can describe his game, he is out there playing chess, while everyone else is playing checkers. He just understands how to succeed in this game like no one else. Seattle truly got a steal when they selected this lowly graded cornerback out of Stanford in the 5th round of the 2011 NFL draft.