The Seattle Seahawks have managed to stay the course after being so good in the middle of the 2010s. The team hasn't been championship-caliber, but except for an injury-riddled 2021, it has at least achieved a winning record, good enough to not be bad but bad enough not to be great.
That was different a decade ago, though. If not for a horrible play-call (or was it the execution?) near the end of Super XLIX that destroyed team chemistry, the team might have kept competing for championships for several more years. Many excellent players were still around, though something seemed to be missing.
Still, those players were special. Quarterback Russell Wilson was working his way to becoming the best QB in franchise history, and Marshawn Lynch was already a legend as a running back. The team won because of the defense, which likely featured at least three Hall of Famers.
One former Seahawks player named to All-Pro Football Focus team for the last 25 years
This brings us to the recently announced All-Pro Football Focus (subscription required) team over the last 25 years. The team is based on PFF's grading system, and it should be. One can argue with players who would truly make up a quarter-century team, but a website basing its all-star units on its own grades is logical.
The Seahawks had one player named to the team. The safe assumption might have been that linebacker Bobby Wagner was that player. He has been consistently excellent throughout his career; the only area he has struggled with is coverage. However, while Wagner gets an honorable mention, he is not part of the team.
Instead, the former Seahawks player named to the All-PFF unit and leading his position group in overall grade was cornerback Richard Sherman. Sherman also had the highest coverage grade. PFF points out that Sherman never finished in the top 50 in terms of being targeted.
Teams were afraid to throw Sherman's way. In former head coach Pete Carroll's system, Sherman was not tasked with following certain receivers around on each down, but he effectively cut off one half of the field for opposing offenses. While his very high-end was relatively short-lived (between 2012 and 2016), he was so good that it was historical.
Besides Bobby Wagner, who was named an honorable mention, Marshawn Lynch was the only other former Seahawks player listed. As there was only one tailback on the team, Lynch's second-place finish is fairly impressive.
Other players to make the team were quarterback Tom Brady and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Both were banes of Seattle's existence at different times.