Ranking the Seattle Seahawks top draft picks of all time

Top three Seahawks

Before I go on to the top three, some honorable mentions for some undrafted players the Seahawks picked up that went on to be great Seahawks

• Dave Krieg (QB) in 1980
• Joe Nash (nose tackle) in 1982
• Norm Johnson (kicker) in 1982
• Rufus Porter (linebacker) in 1988
• Mack Strong (full back) in 1994
• Doug Baldwin (wide receiver) in 2011

Add Baldwin to Sherman and Wright and that 2011 group of inductees looks even better.

So to the best three Seahawks draft picks of all time

3. Cortez Kennedy – defensive tackle – round 1 – pick 3 – 1990

To be this high in the list when you selected third overall is a massive testament to a true legend of the game. Eight pro bowl appearances, an all-decade team member, one-time defensive player of the year and Hall of Fame member.

Kennedy played eleven seasons as a Seahawk, his entire NFL career, and had 668 tackles, 58 sacks and 3 interceptions to show for his incredible efforts.

Rightly on the ring of honor and with his number retired, Kennedy has to be one of the very best draft picks the franchise has ever made. Indeed SI.com named Kennedy the best athlete ever to wear the number 96 in 2007.

A sad loss to the world in 2017 at the way too young age of 48, Kennedy will be remembered for all time as one of the true all-time greats.

2. Walter Jones – offensive tackle – round 1 – pick 6 – 1997

How do you get above Cortez Kennedy in any list? Jones had 9 pro bowl appearances, was in the all-decade team and like Kennedy is on the ring of honor and has had his number retired.

So one more pro bowl appearance and he also played one more season than Kenndy, spending the entirety of his twelve-season NFL career in Seattle. Again to be the second-best overall draft pick when you were selected sixth in your particular draft shows just how legendary Walter Jones is.

1. Russell Wilson- quarterback – round 3 – pick 75 – 2012

Having worked our way up through Seahawks royalty, so to the king. If Wilson had been a first round pick, he would still be the best draft pick of all time by the Seahawks, but to get him in round 3 and 75th overall in 2012 has made the Seahawks a perennial contender throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s.

To draft any position well is terrific, to do so with a QB makes a franchise go from good to excellent or excellent to exceptional.

I have stated in a previous piece that Wilson is currently the tenth best QB of all time, so to get him in the third round was just magnificent for the ‘hawks and has made life so much easier for the nine seasons he has spent as the face of the franchise to date.

Wilson has started in all 144 regular season and all 16 playoff games since he was drafted, which is a magnificent achievement of durability. He now has over 37,000 yards passing his career, has thrown for 292 touchdowns, rushed for a further 4,506 yards with an additional 24 rushing TD’s.

Eight Pro Bowls in nine seasons is also a testament to his quality and consistency.

Somehow, Wilson has never received a vote for NFL MVP of the season but he currently sits 35th on the all time passing list and is on target to be in the mid-20s by the end of 2021, into the top 20 by the end of 2022 and pushing for top 15 by the end of 2023 when his current Seahawks contract expires.