Seahawks: 15 best defensive backs in franchise history
By Lee Vowell
Number 3: Seahawks safety Earl Thomas, 2010-2018
Earl Thomas was the part of the LOB in the 2010s that played centerfield and dared any quarterback to throw deep. While the Seahawks played press coverage with very good cornerbacks, if a receiver was able to break free in the middle of the field, Thomas was there to save the team. No one in Seattle history played deep safety as well as Thomas did.
Thomas played 9 years for Seattle. In three of those seasons, he was a First-Team All-Pro. Six times he made the Pro Bowl. But Thomas was much more than a safety that defended the deep pass. He also has the athletic ability and speed and tenacity to be a force against the run. While only 5’10” and 200 pounds, he has the ferocity to punish bigger players if they dared come his way. Just ask Rob Gronkowski when Gronk played for the Patriots.
With Rob Gronkowski retiring, the first thing that popped in my head was the "thud" of #Seahawks Earl Thomas nailing him over the center of the field haha.
— Samuel Gold (@SamuelRGold) March 25, 2019
Gronk was such a good player. Very few players will ever be like him!pic.twitter.com/Nrb98TpmEX
With Seattle, Thomas picked off 28 passes (it would have been more but quarterbacks simply stopped throwing deep against the Seahawks for the most part), 2 of which he returned for touchdowns, and he forced 11 fumbles. Thomas also has three seasons with at least 97 tackles.
Thomas played one more NFL season (with the Ravens) after he left Seattle. However, Thomas’s time in Seattle was marred when he was injured in Week 4 of the 2018 season and while being carted off flipped his middle finger to the Seattle sideline.