Ranking the 15 best Seattle Seahawks rookie seasons ever
By Andy Excell
As we all recover from 2021 NFL draft fever, it occurred to me to look back over the years at previous draft inductees and rank the top 15 Seahawks rookie seasons of all time.
My top fifteen contains:
- A quarterback
- Two wide receivers
- A guard
- Four linebackers
- A cornerback
- A safety
- A tight end
- Two running backs
- A punter
- A kick returner
It also contains four current Seahawks, but reaches back as far as 1983, so plenty for all generations in this piece.
Best Seahawks rookie seasons ever
15. Michael Dickson – Punter
The first of the four current Seahawks, Michael Dickson was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 draft. Come on, who got excited about a punter getting drafted in round 5?
But Dickson showed the worth of that pick by becoming the first rookie punter to make the Pro Bowl since 1985. He ranked second among punters in his rookie season, was in the top ten in 2019 and was second-ranked again last season.
14. K.J.Wright – Linebacker
Wright has been with the Seahawks for ten years and may yet return for an eleventh season in Seattle. Back in 2011, Wright recorded 65 tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery in what was just a taste of the superb career that was to follow in the next decade.
13. Richard Sherman – Cornerback
Sherman was the other 2011 inductee to make this list, and like Wright has enjoyed a stellar NFL career since showing what he could do in 2011. In that rookie campaign, Sherman recorded 55 tackles and 4 interceptions.
12. John Carlson – Tight end
Back to 2008 now and the 38th overall pick in that draft, in the first of four seasons in Seattle, Carlson totaled 627 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. In subsequent seasons he never topped that yardage number and only had one season with more than the five TDs he had in his rookie year.
An injury in his fourth year as a Seahawk saw him move on, he was never quite the same player after the injury though.
11. Brian Blades – Wide receiver
A second round draft pick in 1988, Blades had 706 receiving yards and a superb 8 touchdowns as a rookie. He went on to spend eleven years a Seahawk, four of those seasons he went over 1,000 yards for the season, but never bettered his eight TD tally of that outstanding rookie season.