Seahawks: 15 best defensive backs in franchise history

The Seattle Seahawks have had some very good defenses since the team’s inception in 1976. That includes some great defensive backs and one Hall of Famer. The 2022 team might actually have two rookie corners that make this list one day as well in Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant so stay tuned on them.

During the early 2010s, the Seahawks defenses were built from back to front. Meaning, the strength of the defense was really the secondary. If a quarterback had nowhere to throw, opposing offenses would be thwarted. No defense was better over a four-year span than the Seahawks from 2012 through 2015.

A massive reason for this is a few players that will be on this list. No spoilers on page one. But let’s not forget the other fantastic defensive backs who have played for Seattle over the decades. Here are the 15 best in Seattle history.

15 greatest defensive backs in Seattle Seahawks history

Number 15: Seahawks cornerback Willie Williams, 1997-2003

Willie Williams began and ended his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers but in between that he played 7 years for Seattle. He started 74 of the 105 games he played for the Seahawks and had 17 interceptions. Between 1999 and 2001, Williams had at least 4 picks in each of those seasons. He also returned 3 interceptions for touchdowns.

Williams’ 17 picks rank 11th all-time for Seattle. His 3 pick-sixes rank second all-time. He also forced 4 fumbles. He never made a Pro Bowl (though maybe he should have in 1995 with the Steelers when he had 7 interceptions, he was good in pass defense and solid against the run.

Number 14: Seahawks cornerback Dwayne Harper, 1988-1993

Harper played fewer seasons for Seattle than did Williams and didn’t have as many interceptions. So why does he rank a notch higher than Williams here? Simply because Harper was better in his individual seasons than Williams. On two bad Seattle teams in 1991 and 1992, Harper was one of the few bright spots and he was very good.

In those two years, Dwayne Harper had a combined 7 picks and 2 fumble recoveries and ran one of the fumble recoveries back for a touchdown. Harper, however, was a sure tackler and missed few. He wasn’t exactly Richard Sherman-esque when it comes to physicality, but once Harper got his hands on a runner the runner didn’t go far. Harper is 8th in solo tackles all-time among Seattle defensive backs (354).

In his 6 years with the Seahawks, Harper recovered 5 fumbles for Seattle. He seemed to have a knack for being around the ball when a turnover was about to happen. He never returned an interception for a touchdown as a Seahawk but is 15th in interceptions with 13.

Honestly, Harper deserved better. Seattle’s teams for most of the 1990s were terrible. Harper was good enough to earn quality reps on the teams of the 2010s and to have his name much more well-known than it might be otherwise.

Number 13: Seahawks safety Robert Blackmon, 1990-1996

Robert Blackmon basically has to deal with the same issue that Dwayne Harper did. He was on bad teams but played well enough that the failure of the team overall couldn’t be attributed specifically to Blackmon. He didn’t make the Pro Bowl in his career but in several seasons he should have.

Blackmon wasn’t a big player. He was 6′ and 210 pounds during his career. But he didn’t mind putting his nose in the middle of the action. This is one reason he played strong safety instead of free safety. Blackmon could be used on blitzes as he wasn’t afraid of getting hit. In 1992, for instance, Blackmon had 3.5 sacks.

But Blackmon could play the pass as well. In 1995, he had 5 interceptions and had seasons with multiple picks four times in seven seasons in Seattle. He also forced 6 fumbles including 4 in 1996. That amount of forced fumbles is Coby Bryant-like.

Blackmon also stayed healthy. Between 1990 and 1996, Blackmon missed just six games and three of those came in 1995 when he had the 5 picks. He finished his career by spending two seasons with the Colts. But showing he could still be a physical force, Blackmon had 3 sacks in 1997 for Indianapolis.

Blackmon was taken in the second round of the 1990 draft by Seattle. He made the 1990 NFL All-Rookie team.

Number 12: Seahawks cornerback Patrick Hunter, 1986-1994

It’s a bit crazy that between 1991 and 1994 the Seahawks didn’t have a winning record and actually lost 14 games in 1992. The secondary, with Hunter, Blackmon and Harper, was pretty good. But it’s also important to remember that even in 1992 the defense still only gave up the 10th-fewest yards in the league. Much of the reason for the quality was because of the secondary.

Patrick Hunter was a full-time starter from 1989 through 1993 for Seattle. He was consistently very good from 1990 through 1992. But even in 1993, Hunter had 4 interceptions and recovered 3 fumbles. In the other years opposing quarterbacks weren’t a huge fan of throwing in his direction so his overall numbers were diminished.

Sometimes with a cornerback, you cannot judge them by their raw statistics. If no one throws their way, with respect to the other side of the field, they are going to have fewer opportunities for picks and this is the case with Hunter. Heck, even though Hunter was limited to five games in 1994 due to injury, he had 3 interceptions.

Hunter was taken in the third round of the 1986 draft by the Seahawks. Hunter has the 12th-most picks all-time for Seattle with 12. He played in 120 games.

Number 11: Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin, 2017-2000

Number 11 is a player who I still wish was with Seattle. Shaquill Griffin now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars but can you imagine a cornerback group for the Seahawks that includes Griffin, Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant? That would be good in 2022 but good in 2025 too. Griffin wasn’t perfect in his time with Seattle, but he did make a Pro Bowl in 2019.

One of the issues with Griffin is he didn’t create turnovers. Of the players on this list, Griffin is likely to have the first interceptions per snaps played. In his first three seasons for Seattle, he had a total of 3 picks. But just looking at that number does a disservice to Griffin.

Griffin has always played bigger than his size. He isn’t small at 6 feet tall but he plays with a physicality that is closer to Richard Sherman than most other cornerbacks. He’s always been a solid tackler (one reason that Seattle could use him this year is that the tackling has been atrocious). In his final year with the Seahawks in 2020, Griffin missed just 6 percent of his attempted tackles. That’s good for a CB.

Griffin was taken in the third round by Seattle in 2017. At the time it was the highest that Seattle had chosen a CB since Pete Carroll and John Schneider came to Seattle in 2010. Who knows? Maybe one day he will work his way back to Seattle.

Number 10: Seahawks cornerback Shawn Springs, 1997-2003

Now we start getting to the real stars of the Seahawks all-time secondary. The final 10 players aren’t only good because they played for Seattle, they would have been good for any team. Shawn Springs‘ arrival came near the end of the worst full decade for Seattle and helped transform the team. In the 2000s, the Seahawks had one of their most successful decades.

Springs made an almost immediate impact on Seattle’s defense. In his second season, he made the Pro Bowl after picking off 7 passes and returning 2 of them for touchdowns. He also recovered 2 fumbles and returned one of them for a touchdown.

In Springs’ third season, he intercepted 5 more passes. And Springs had 88 tackles in his fourth year. He was a very good player for most of the 7 years he played for Seattle.

A former first-round draft pick in 1997 (he was the third pick overall), Springs currently stands 8th all-time for Seattle in interceptions with 20. He is also 17th all-time in tackles which is quite a lot for a cornerback. After leaving Seattle in 2003, Springs played 5 years for Washington and was good there too with 12 picks.

Number 9: Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant, 2003-2012

If the Seahawks didn’t know about Marcus Trufant before they chose him in the draft, that would have completely been their fault. Trufant was from Tacoma, Washington and played at Washington State. But in 2003, Seattle chose him in the first round and 11th overall.

It is a bit of a crime Trufant made only one Pro Bowl in his career. He played on some excellent teams, including Seattle’s first Super Bowl team of 2005, and helped bridge the eras between Mike Holmgren and Pete Carroll. Injuries marred his career a bit near the end, but in Trufant’s first six seasons, he only missed three games.

In Trufant’s second season, he had 5 picks but had 141 return yards. Once he intercepted a pass, he knew what to do with it. But in his first two seasons, he had 20 passes defended in each year. Then opposing quarterbacks stopped throwing the ball his way as much. In 2007, Trufant’s Pro Bowl season, he had 7 interceptions and returned one 84 yards for a touchdown.

Trufant played all 10 of his seasons for Seattle. He finished with 21 interceptions, 7th all-time for Seattle. He also finished with 112 passes defended which is 13 more than any other Seattle player has ever had.

Number 8: Seahawks cornerback Keith Simpson, 1978-1985

It might be easy to forget just how good Keith Simpson was in the early years of Seahawks football. Like Springs and Trufant, Simpson was also a first-round pick. He was taken 9th overall in 1978 out of Memphis State (now the University of Memphis). And he played his entire career in Seattle.

Simpson’s versatility and his ability to be a high-quality player at multiple positions are why he is number 8 on this list. He began as a safety and finished as a cornerback. But Simpson had multiple seasons with multiple interceptions at both spots. In his second season (1979), Simpson played strong safety and had 4 interceptions. In 1983 and 1984, while playing cornerback, Simpson had 4 interceptions each year.

But Simpson didn’t just pick off passes. He could also rush the quarterback. Simpson finished with 10 for his career and had a combined 5 in his final two seasons. He would have certainly come in handy on the 2022 team that has issues getting to opposing quarterbacks consistently.

In 8 years, Simpson had 19 interceptions (10th all-time for Seattle) while his 10 sacks are the most ever for a Seahawks defensive back. Simpson retired in 1985. He worked for FedEx for years after his career and currently lives in Houston, Texas.

Number 7: Seahawks safety John Harris, 1978-1985

Talk about a 7th-round steal, that is exactly what John Harris was when the Seahawks took him in that round of the 1978 NFL draft. Harris was the first great free safety in Seattle history and with another Seattle safety (hint: the other safety comes later on this list) may have formed arguably one of the ten-best safety duos in NFL history.

Harris played from 1978 through 1988. In the final three seasons, he played for the Vikings. In each of his final three years, he had 3 interceptions in each season. That is how good Harris was. Because 3 interceptions in a season? Heck, that was nothing for Harris.

In 6 of Harris’ 8 years with the Seahawks he had at least 4 picks. And in four of those years, Harris had at least 6 interceptions. Harris wasn’t great simply because of one or two years. He was consistently good for many years.

Perhaps Harris’s best year was in 1981 when he had 10 interceptions (second in the NFL) and returned 2 of them for touchdowns. Those would be the only 2 picks that Harris returned for touchdowns in his career. But overall, he finished with 50 interceptions and 41 came in Seattle. Harris is third all-time in interceptions for the Seahawks.

Number 6: Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor, 2010-2017

Kam Chancellor’s raw statistics aren’t going to jump off the page at you. Did he produce? Yes. In his injury-shortened career, Chancellor finished with 12 interceptions (4 of which came in 2011), 9 forced fumbles, 2 sacks and just 3 quarterback hits. All of these numbers would be fine by even a lesser player. But Chancellor’s true value was different.

This plays out in the fact that while he played just 8 seasons, four times he was voted to the Pro Bowl. And Chancellor put the boom in the Legion of Boom. Chancellor was an enforcer in the middle of the field who put fear in opposing ballcarriers who wanted to avoid him. But Chancellor also had the ridiculous athletic ability to chase down fast running backs from behind or leap offensive lines in attempts to block kicks.

Chancellor also was one of the more vocal members of the LOB but he did almost all his talking on the field. Off the field, Chancellor was a real gentleman who acted with class and the air of a true leader. That is what he was with the LOB. He was a calming voice but also one of extreme violence toward opposing players.

Without Chancellor, there is no LOB. And with no LOB, there probably isn’t a Super Bowl win for the Seahawks. That’s how important he was.

Number 5: Seahawks cornerback Dave Brown, 1976-1985

Dave Brown made one Pro Bowl. One. Now keep that in mind as I go through his career and then write your congressperson later. Someone – or many – need to complain about Brown being so overlooked. Maybe it was that Brown played in the PNW for most of his career. If he had played in Dallas or New York, Brown would probably be a Hall of Famer.

Brown played 11 years in Seattle and played in every game except for one season (there was another season he didn’t play a full 16-game schedule but that was due to the player’s strike in 1982). Every year except for those two shortened years, Brown has at least 3 interceptions. In six of his Seattle years, Brown had at least 5 interceptions.

5 of Brown’s picks he returned for touchdowns. He did that twice in his Pro Bowl season of 1984 when he had 8 interceptions and a total of 179 return yards on those picks. Brown had a total of 62 interceptions in his career which is tied for tenth in NFL history. His 50 picks as a Seahawk rank first all-time for the franchise.

After his playing career was over, Brown coached for a bit including being the Seahawks defensive backs coach from 1992 through 1996. He was also the DBs coach for Texas Tech from 2001 through 2006. Brown passed away at age 53 in 2006.

Number 4: Seahawks safety Eugene Robinson, 1985-1995

Eugene Robinson became the Seahawks second great free safety after the team signed him as an undrafted free agent before the 1985 season. The issue wasn’t that Robinson wasn’t a great college player; He was. But Robinson played at Colgate which isn’t exactly well-known for producing great NFL players. Robinson was basically unnoticed.

But in 11 seasons with Seattle, Robinson missed just two games. He made as many Pro Bowls as he missed games. And between 1990 and 1993, there was arguably no better free safety in the NFL. The reasons for this are numerous.

With Seattle, Robinson intercepted 42 passes and forced 10 fumbles. Four times he had more than 100 tackles. Robinson was actually an excellent tackler and he rarely whiffed. He was a complete player who could cover well, be great in run support and cover lots of ground. Robinson’s 42 picks rank second all-time for Seattle. He is 7th in number of games played at 170. But Robinson is far and away the leader in tackles for Seattle with 942. Bobby Wagner is second with 819.

Robinson played 16 seasons in the NFL and finished with 57 interceptions and made three Pro Bowls. He played in the 1998 Super Bowl for the Falcons. But those two games Robinson missed in 1994 for Seattle? Those were the only games he missed in 16 years.

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 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.

Number 2: Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, 2011-2017

The voice of the Legion of Boom was Richard Sherman. But he didn’t just talk to talk, he could also back it up. Seattle hasn’t had a ton of Hall of Famers yet but Sherman should be one. So should Thomas probably. But generally speaking, Sherman is probably the better respected of the two.

Sherman was a fifth-round draft pick who converted to cornerback in college. He was unusually tall for a corner and didn’t test with blazing speed. But NFL teams underestimated Sherman for three reasons. One, his playing speed was faster than his testing speed. Two, he was extremely physical and aggressive for a corner. And three, he was probably the smartest person on the field most of the time.

With the Seahawks, Sherman was a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro. He had 8 interceptions in each of his second and third seasons. In 2012, he led the NFL in passes defended with 24. In five of his seven seasons in Seattle, he had at least 4 interceptions.

But while the LOB overall was one of the best, if not the best, secondary in the history of the league, the one player it likely could not have gone without was its shutdown corner, Sherman. Sherman left Seattle after 2017 and played four more seasons in the NFL and made another Pro Bowl.

Number 1: Seahawks safety Kenny Easley, 1981-1987

How can Kenny Easley not be number one? He is a Hall of Famer. He was AFC Defensive Player of the Year in his third season and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in his fourth. He is the player that people compare Kam Chancellor to but Easly was really a mixture of Chancellor and Thomas. Easley could hit hard but he could cover in the passing game as well.

In 1984, Easley had 10 interceptions and returned 2 of them for touchdowns. While Easley had an injury-shortened career (he only played seven seasons and all of them with Seattle), he still managed to pick off 32 passes and have 8 sacks. In total, he returned 3 interceptions for touchdowns.

But besides being a fantastic player on the field, Easley was also a leader off of it. In 1982, he was part of a group of players who led a strike against owners. Fans missed games, sure. But Easley’s action helped lead the way for players of today to be a lot more wealthy while also allowing the league to be so successful financially.

There simply isn’t any other defensive back in Seahawks history or maybe even in NFL history quite like Easley. He could scare opposing players into not coming over the middle of the field but if they did, he could pick off the pass and run it back for a touchdown.