The Seattle Seahawks are one game away from the Super Bowl. They had the best record in the NFC this season. Two of their players were just announced as finalists for elite year-end awards, as were coach Mike Macdonald and GM John Schneider. Schneider and Jaxon Smith-Njigba have already taken the PFWA prizes for general manager and offensive player of the year.
And the honors keep rolling in. Though not as prestigious as official awards from the AP, NFL, or PFWA, a recent ESPN.com article spelled out just how clearly dominant the 2025 Seattle Seahawks have been.
Writer Seth Walder recently ranked the top 100 candidates for the league-wide MVP award. Obviously, only a few have a legitimate chance of claiming the title, but Walker’s exercise does offer a look at non-quarterbacks – and players aside from front-runners Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye – who have had a major influence on their team’s success this season.
Eight Seattle Seahawks appear on a recent list of the league's 100 most impactful players
The Seahawks, as they have done all year, turned out in numbers
Eight Seahawks populate Walder’s list. The highest comes in at number eight. The final honoree grabs the 100th spot. For the most part, Seattle players fill up the middle of the list.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle’s one truly elite performer this year, is ranked eighth. He is the first non-quarterback to appear. That seems fitting for the wide receiver who was just awarded the PFWA offensive player of the year title.
Toward the back end of the list is Sam Darnold. He is ranked 95th, 16th among quarterbacks, which perhaps seems low for a playoff QB who ranks in the top league’s top ten in yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, and success rate.
But four playoff quarterbacks – Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Jalen Hurts, and Aaron Rodgers – didn’t make the list at all, so apparently leading a successful team isn’t a major part of Walder’s analysis.
I would have had Darnold ranked higher, but in Walder’s defense, the relatively modest assessment of Seattle’s signal caller probably has more to do with how good the rest of the team is. That might make the QB’s individual value a bit less, compared to, say, Dak Prescott, who Walder puts in second place, ahead of presumptive MVP Matthew Stafford.
It’s that “rest of the team” idea that really stands out in Walder’s rankings. Seattle places six defensive players in the top 100. That’s more than half the defense. Most remarkably, the Seahawks have a ranked player at every single defensive position. It is hard to imagine more definitive proof of just how complete this defense is.
Need an edge rusher? DeMarcus Lawrence comes in at number 70, the tenth-highest-rated edge rusher on the list. (After QB, edge rusher is the most competitive category.)
Linebacker? Ernest Jones IV is the fifth-ranked second-level defender, in the 70th overall.
Corner? Devon Witherspoon at 57 – a little low for my liking, but still 6th best among all corners.
And despite missing 2023 Pro Bowl safety Julian Love for half the year, the back end of the defense still shows up with rookie Nick Emmanwori, who snagged the 100th spot. That makes him the sixth-highest-rated safety in the league.
I’ve saved the best for last. Leonard Williams (36) and Byron Murphy II (62) are both on the tackles' list, finishing fourth and sixth amongst all interior linemen. With such undeniable strength in the middle of the line and elite performers all around, it is no wonder Seattle’s defense has been the best in the league.
They may not have the top-rated player at any defensive position – as they do on offense with JSN – but they just throw wave after wave of plus talent at opposing offenses – all orchestrated by Mike Macdonald and Aden Durde.
None of this includes Jarran Reed, Drake Thomas, Boye Mafe, and Ty Okada. It doesn’t include Derick Hall or Tyrese Knight. I mean, it shouldn’t include them. Other than Thomas, they are all rotational players. But they all rank in the upper half of Pro Football Focus’s (subscription required) positional rankings.
Julian Love, who is now healthy, finished 4th overall in the safety rankings and he isn’t mentioned.
The bottom line, as Walder’s rankings bear out, is that Seattle has more great defensive players than any team in the league, and a lot more very good players as well. Throw in some blue chippers on offense, and it’s easy to see why Mike Macdonald’s team finished 14-3.
Oh, and if you want to know why John Schneider just won GM of the Year, consider this: three of those eight top-100 players were acquired this past year, while two others were brought to town in 2024. That’s five league-wide elite players added in just two seasons. That’s a pretty impressive performance from a talent evaluator.