Everybody is getting to know just how good the Seahawks rookies are in 2022. Of course, 12s know about the rookies. And the rest of the NFL has either found out how good this rookie class is (by their team getting beat by Seattle) or likely will know.
But Seattle isn’t just exceeding expectations so far this year because the rookies are good. The Seahawks are playing really well as a team overall and many veterans are contributing to the team’s success. In fact, some veteran players playing at a high level for Seattle have not yet made a Pro Bowl in their careers but if the season were to end right now, they should be named as a Pro Bowler for this year.
It will be interesting, though, to see which Seahawks rookies get a nod for being on the Pro Bowl team. Tariq Woolen? Possibly. Ken Walker III? If he keeps playing the way he currently is, maybe. Many of the rookies will probably one day be Pro Bowlers.
Several Seahawks veterans should be named as Pro Bowlers this year
But this article is about the veterans. I am not even going to get into the vets playing well who are unlikely to get a Pro Bowl nod. Left guard Damien Lewis and center Austin Blythe are making the interior of the offensive line formidable. Poona Ford has been a beast lately on the interior of the defensive line. Kicker Jason Myers and punter Michael Dickson are doing great things on special teams but probably won’t get the popularity votes to make them Pro Bowlers.
But the three players that follow should get awarded. And maybe not even this year. The next three players are still young enough to help the Seahawks win a bunch of games in the future.
Seahawks linebacker Jordyn Brooks
To be honest, I thought Brooks got off to a bad start this year but then the whole defense was atrocious as the season got underway. There were only a handful of players who appeared to be doing decently, like Woolen and Al Woods. Brooks was still making tackles but having zero impact plays and was horrible in coverage.
Flash forward to now. Brooks was first in tackles in the NFL entering Week 10 (Falcons linebacker Rashaan Evans was second but passed Brooks for now due to Atlanta playing on Thursday) with 90. He leads the league in solo tackles with 64. His missed tackle rate has dropped to 6.3 percent which is still very good for a linebacker. Brooks rarely missed tackles his first two years so his 2022 percentage will probably keep dropping.
Since Week 5, Brooks has 2 quarterback hits, defended two passes and forced a fumble. Those raw numbers aren’t huge but the Seahawks don’t use Brooks as a pass rusher often. He won’t ever get a ton of tackles for loss or sacks. But before Week 5, Brooks had zero in all the previous categories.
The overall defense is getting much better. A huge reason for that is Brooks is playing better and he is getting more comfortable calling out the defensive plays. Brooks deserved to be named to the Pro Bowler last year and definitely needs to be an all-star this season.
Seahawks edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu
Nwosu is new this year to the Seahawks but this is his fifth year in the NFL. He is having a career season so far in 2022. Prior to 2022, Nwosu’s career-high in sacks was 5. His career-high in tackles-for-loss was 17 and his career-high in quarterback hits was 17. All of these came with the Chargers last year. So the player Seattle signed this offseason as a free agent was on an upward trajectory.
Nwosu hasn’t disappointed. He has already set a new career-high in sacks with 7 (but in about half the games – 9 in 2022 versus 17 in 2021), tied his career-high in tackles-for-loss, and is just two away from tying his career-high in quarterback hits. Nwosu has also forced 2 fumbles and defended 3 passes. He has been everywhere for Seattle this year.
League-wide, Nwosu is 7th in sacks. Nwosu is also 7th in quarterback hits. And he is 12th in tackles for loss. So Nwosu isn’t only having a great year compared to the rest of his teammates, he is having a great year compared to anyone else.
Uchenna Nwosu is also just 25 years old so should have many seasons left to play impactful football. He is making $11,045,000 this year and just $8,010,000 in 2023 after which he is a free agent. But Seattle needs to approach Nwosu about working out an extension now and not wait until next year. In 2024, Nwosu will be just 27 years old. He has missed only three games in 4-plus years so he stays healthy. Seattle needs to extend Nwosu through 2026 at least.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith
I mean, Smith deserves to be named to the Pro Bowl, right? He isn’t going to be named the MVP of the league, though he should at least be considered if he keeps playing as he is. He would be named All-Pro, though again, he deserves some votes. But Pro Bowl? That should be a no-brainer.
Let me give you the raw statistics through Week 9. Smith is currently third in passer rating (107.2). He has the highest completion percentage in the league at 73.1 and no one else is even that close right now. He is fifth in touchdown passes with 15. In QBR (which factors in the entire play of a quarterback, running and so on, instead of just tossing the football around), he is fourth (68.1). He is ahead of guys like Lamar Jackson (5th), Tom Brady (17th), Justin Herbert (10th) and Russell Wilson (29th).
Is the playing of Geno Smith surprising? “Yes” would be the answer to most people. But not to Smith himself or to Pete Carroll. Carroll believed enough in Smith to basically give him the job this offseason as in training camp Smith was getting the vast majority of the first-team reps. We thought Carroll was a little crazy then. Now we know that we were the crazy ones.
We 12s have to hope for two things for the rest of the season. One is that Smith stays healthy. Two is that he keeps playing at his current level. If both things happen, Seattle could make the playoffs. And also, the future quarterback for many seasons in Seattle might just be Geno Smith.