The Seattle Seahawks have mostly built their teams out of free-agent signings and draft picks but three trades have made a huge impact on the team’s success over the decades.
It is easy to nit-pick bad trades. Of course, Seattle recently traded for safety Jamal Adams and that is already being talked about as one of the worst trades in franchise history. Is it? Who knows? It might be.
But unlike all the good trades that I have on this list in the case of Adams there simply hasn’t been enough time to fully review how much the trade will affect the future. Adams is still just 25 years, has only played a little less than two years in Seattle and is under contract for three more after this season. The Adams trade might still work out well for the Seahawks.
The three best trades in Seattle Seahawks history
The 2010s have been Seattle’s best decade in franchise history. While the success was mostly due to really good draft in the early part of the decade and some nice free agents signings more in the middle of it, there was one trade that Pete Carroll and John Schneider made that changed the face of the offense.
And in the dace prior, Seattle made a trade at the beginning of it that would also change the fortunes of the offense.
The point is that a franchise can make only a few moves with other teams but those moves can make huge impacts. The best three trades in Seahawks history? They are as follows.
Number 3: Matt Hasselbeck from the Green Bay Packers, 2001
Trade from the Green Bay Packers for a 2001 3rd round pick
Before Matt Hasselbeck came to the Seahawks the franchise had either been mediocre or bad since 1988. After finishing first in the AFC West in 1988 (albeit with just 9 wins), Seattle went 14 straight seasons without winning more than 9 games and made the playoffs just once.
While adding Hasselbeck didn’t immediately change things in and of itself, he helped solidify the team and his position for the better part of 10 years. From 2001 to 2010, Hasselbeck led the Seahawks to three different seasons of 10-plus wins, a Super Bowl appearance (they got robbed by the officiating and lost to the Steelers in 2005) and made three Pro Bowls.
Hasselbeck also had become the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards (29,434) and was second all-time in touchdown passes (174) and wins (69). Hasselbeck led the offense to what was (before the 2010s) Seattle’s best offensive performance over the span of a decade.
And Seattle only gave up a third round choice to the Packers in 2001. Green Bay had two choices in 2001 in the third round and combined those two players started 13 games. Like all the trades on this list, this was one-sided in favor of the Seahawks. Did Green Bay need a quarterback at the time? No. But Seattle did and got the better of the deal.
Number 2: Marshawn Lynch from the Buffalo Bills, 2010
Traded from the Bills for a 2011 fourth-round pick and a 2012 fifth-rounder
Bringing Marshawn Lynch to Seattle changed the make-up of the entire franchise. The Seahawks would no longer be a finesse team but one who wasn’t afraid to grind out games. Over the course of Lynch’s four-and-a-half seasons in Seattle, he embodied what the team was as a whole: Tough, didn’t care what you thought and would beat you down physically.
Yes, the Legion of Boom and building the defense from back to front was a key to the defensive domination of Seattle’s early 2010s. But this married with Lynch’s punishing running style. Seattle’s defense was partly great because of the way Lynch could help control a game offensively.
Think of it like this. This 2021 offense can’t stay on the field long enough to give the defense a break. In 2014, for example, Seattle held the ball 52.4 percent of a game. This season it is 41.75 percent. And for people who think Pete Carroll is dumb for wanting to run more, in 2014 Seattle ran 525 times and threw 454 times. Why? Because they had a decent – not great – offensive line and a running back like Lynch who wanted to run the ball and invoke pain of opposing defenders.
Lynch currently stands at fourth all-time on the Seahawks rushing list with 6,381 yards. He is second in yards-per-game at 76.9. And he is second all-time in rushing touchdowns with 58. Neither of the Bills picks they got for Lynch amounted to much production in the NFL. This was nearly as close to a pure one-sided trade as a team can get. Except for maybe who is number one on this list.
Number 1: Steve Largent from the Houston Oilers, 1976
Traded from the Oilers for an 8th round pick
You remember Steve Largent, right? He was the best receiver in Seahawks history until Tyler Lockett came along. I joke. Largent is not only the best receiver in Seattle history (and it isn’t close) but he is among at least the top five who ever played for the Seahawks.
Think about it this way. Lockett just passed 1,000 yards receiving for the third straight year. He is only the second Seattle player to do so. The first? Largent, of course. But Largent had three straight years of 1,000 yards or more receiving twice. In fact, he had four straight years of 1,000-plus yards. Twice.
Lockett is a great receiver. He is fifth all-time for Seattle with 5,915 yards receiving. Lockett will probably easily finish second on the list and could be second by the end of 2023. Currently, Brian Blades is in second with 7,620 yards. But Largent is first with 13,089 yards. This ranked first all-time in the NFL when he retired in 1989.
Largent also ranks first for Seattle with 100 touchdown catches. Next best is Doug Baldwin with 49. Lockett is fourth with 42. (By the way, DK Metcalf is 8th with 25.) Largent still ranks 9th all-time among all NFL receivers in touchdown catches.
But Largent played in a time when teams threw a lot less. Largent averaged just 59 catches a season. His career-high was 79 catches. This would have ranked third on the Seahawks in 2020. While Metcalf averaged 15.7 yards a reception in 2020 to lead the team, Largent passed that mark 9 times in his career. And who did the Oilers take in the 8th round of the 1976 NFL draft? Bob Simon. He never played a full season.