Ranking the Seattle Seahawks top draft picks of all time
By Andy Excell
Seahawks 10-4
10. Kam Chancellor – safety – Round 5 – Pick 133 – 2010
Another member of that 2010 draft class to feature in this list. Chancellor was a member of the legendary legion of boom and had eight seasons with the Seahawks, appearing in 109 games. To get even moderate production over that period of time from a fifth round draft pick would be good, but to get 574 tackles and 12 interceptions is exceptional.
Chancellor was rewarded with three pro bowl appearances and Super Bowl ring as a reward for these superb returns from a fifth round pick.
9. Shaun Alexander – running back – Round 1 – pick 19 – 2000
When you draft a skill position player in the first round, you want to see a high level of performance from that pick and over a number of seasons.
8 seasons, 119 games, just shy of 11, 000 scrimmage yards, 112 TD’s and a player that wins an NFL MVP award, 3-time Pro Bowler and member of the 2000s All-Decade NFL team is oh-so-much more than that. Where would the Seahawks have been in the 2000s without Alexander?
8. Kenny Easley – safety – round 1 – pick 4 – 1981
Warren, Hutchinson, Chancellor, Alexander and now Easley. We really are into Seahawk and NFL royalty now.
Easley more than justified his selection at pick 4 in the 1981 draft in his 7 years Seattle and NFL career. Another Seahawk that made his NFL All-Decade team, won a defensive player of the year award and appeared in 5 Pro Bowls. No wonder he is on the Seahawks Ring of Honor.
32 interceptions in 89 games is just incredible and throw in the 8 sacks and 11 fumble recoveries and it easy to see why Easley has earned all these plaudits. He was just a fantastic player.
7. Earl Thomas – safety – round 1 – pick 14 – 2010
Talking royalty, here is the Earl. and the final member of that 2010 draft class that included Thomas, Russell Okung, Golden Tate, Walter Thurmond and Kam Chancellor.
9 years, 125 games, 664 tackles and 3 touchdowns earned Thomas 7 pro bowl nods, an All-Decade NFL team slot and a Super Bowl ring. Just rewards for another excellent Seahawks draft pick.
6. Bobby Wagner – linebacker – round 2 – pick 47 – 2012
The 2012 draft class was pretty special too, and Wagner is the second member on this list, with one notable one to come.
Wagner will enter his tenth season in 2021, and remains one of the very best linebackers in the game. In that time he has racked up a truly astounding 1213 tackles, 22.5 sacks, 10 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries and 3 touchdowns over the course of 135 games.
The all-time leader in tackles for the Seahawks shows no sign of slowing down, twice NFL tackles leader, 7-time Pro Bowler and that one Super Bowl ring demonstrate what a truly great Wagner is. Drafting an all-time great in the second round has served the Seahawks oh so well over the years.
5. Richard Sherman – defensive back – round 5 – pick 154 – 2011
Having lauded the 2010 and 2012 Seahawk draft, Sherman is the first of two members of the 2011 draft class in this list. Before joining the 49ers Sherman spent 7 seasons in Seattle. He produced 370 tackles, 32 interceptions, 6 fumble recoveries during that time, which led to him making 5 pro bowls and winning a Super Bowl.
Tough deciding where he fit in this top ten, but those interceptions and the fact that he was drafted in the fifth round have got him the fifth-placed ranking in this list.
4. K.J.Wright – linebacker – round 4 – pick 99 – 2011
And here is the other 2011 draft class member in the list. Wright has spent all ten years of his NFL career to date as a Seahawk, in that time he has recorded 941 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 9 fumble recoveries and 6 interceptions.
He can consider himself really hard done by not to have more than one Pro Bowl appearance in that time and has that all-important Super Bowl ring for his efforts. For the record, the picks for the Seahawks before Wright and Sherman in the 2011 draft, were offensive tackle James Carpenter and guard John Moffitt, talk about rescuing your draft in the mid-rounds.