Since the Seattle Seahawks were pretty good for most of the 2010s, they have a different kind of recent first-round draft history than most teams. Plus, couple that with general manager John Schneider's tendency to trade back and sometimes completely out of the first round, and since 2010 Seattle has only had 11 first-round selections. Some have been very good, though others have been horrible.
One player I am leaving out of this list was the first pick Seattle had in 2010 which was Russell Okung who the team chose with the number six overall pick. Okung was not a bad player and even made the Pro Bowl in 2012. But he never quite met expectations. He would have been Seattle's first-round choice 11 picks ago and would have ranked in the middle of the players that follow.
A couple of players on the list likely would move up in the ranking if I re-wrote this in a few years. It may also say something about the Seahawks' decision with first-round selections in that of the 10 players listed, only three remain on the current roster, and all of those from the previous two drafts. Hopefully, whoever is chosen in the first round in 2024 will work out better than most.
Ranking the last 10 first-round selections for the Seattle Seahawks
No. 10 - L.J. Collier, defensive lineman (2019, pick 29)
Why spend much time on Collier? He somehow started all 16 games in 2020 and in his entire five-year career he has started a total of 17. He proved incapable of rushing the passer, was not good against the run, went from full-time starter to outcast, and was finally signed by some other poor sap of a team (the Arizona Cardinals). Thankfully, Seattle traded back to get Collier instead of thinking he was worthy of a really high pick.
No. 9 - James Carpenter, guard (2011, pick 25)
Carpenter turned out to not be a bad player in the NFL, but he just wasn't overly good with Seattle. For whatever reason, he truly became quite good after he left Seattle in 2015 and joined the New York Jets. By far his best years were his first two in New York. Otherwise, it's almost as if someone else - someone much less efficient as a blocker - was wearing Carpenter's uniform during the rest of his career.
The left guard was oft-injured or simply a backup with Seattle. Only one season (2013) did he play the entire year but he only started 10 games. His progress might have been slowed by starting at right tackle and then flipping to the other side of the line to play guard. That seems to be a weird experiment, but sadly, then-offensive line coach Tom Cable did strange things like that.
No. 8 - Rashaad Penny, running back (2018, pick 27)
Had Penny stayed healthy, he probably would have ranked much higher on this list. He led the league in yards per carry in 2021 at 6.3 but he only played in 10 games. After his rookie season when played 14, Penny never passed 10 games in a season again with the Seahawks and twice only played three. But there was little doubt about his ability if he was healthy as he has seven games with 100-plus yards rushing though he only appeared in 42 for Seattle.
Penny seemed to want to play as well. He became emotional in 2022 after yet another leg injury ended his season. He also seemed like a good guy to have on the team. But he could never be counted on to be healthy and he is currently a free agent who might never play in the league again.
No. 7 - Jaxon Smith-Njigba, wide receiver (2023, pick 20)
I had to put Smith-Njigba somewhere on this list, of course. My guess is that if I was writing this same kind of article in eight years (and who knows?; I might) then the receiver would rank near the top of it. While he is potentially a fantastic player who is well-liked by 12s, he hasn't yet done enough (and yes, I will be hypocritical later in this article) to rank in the top five. He should have a much better 2024, however, as he began to play a much more important part in the second half of 2023.
Smith-Njigba is also just 22 years old and should have a lot more seasons in which to perform at a very high level. In his rookie year, however, he had 63 catches for 628 yards and 4 touchdowns. Not bad statistics, but not exactly an explosive first year in the league.
No. 6 - Germain Ifedi, offensive tackle (2016, pick 31)
Ifedi was also a victim of Tom Cable's toying with the offensive line. The offensive lineman started at right guard as a rookie and then moved to right tackle in his second season. Cable wasn't a terrible coach but he also meddled much more than he should have. Offensive lines need time to build cohesion and Cable moved parts around so much that cohesion simply could not occur. Ifedi also wasn't a waste of a draft pick either.
Yes, he was atrocious as a right guard in terms of pass blocking, but after flipping to tackle he was quite good in that aspect. He was never the best run-blocker in his career, but his ability to handle edge rushers kept him employed until 2023. He is still only 29 years old but he had an injury issue in 2021 that teams don't seem to be able to overlook now.
No. 5 - Charles Cross, left tackle (2022, pick 9)
Cross is about to enter his third season in the NFL but he is clearly going to be a solid tackle for many years, barring some kind of injury. He graded at number 38 among tackles in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), but that was an improvement over his rookie year in 2022 when he was not that bad either. Likely, Cross, with a new offensive line coach, Scott Huff, will be even better in 2024.
He might not ever be a Pro Bowler, though that should not be ruled out, but he already is a solid left tackle who should become a very good one. His pass-block ability is among the better tackles in the NFC, and he just needs to become better at blocking when the Seahawks run the ball.
No. 4 - Bruce Irvin, linebacker (2012, pick 15)
Irvin's time during his first stint in Seattle will be overshadowed by two things. One is that the overall defense from 2012 through 2015 was probably the best defense in the history of the NFL and Irvin had to share any attention with his excellent teammates. The second reason Irvin might be overshadowed is the next two players Seattle chose in the 2012 draft, Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson. Wagner is arguably among the top five Seahawks ever and Wilson is the best quarterback in franchise history.
Irvin was good in his own right, though. He had 8 sacks in his rookie season and at least 5.5 in both 2014 and 2015. He was also surprisingly good in coverage and excelled as a run defender from 2013 through 2015. He was a well-rounded linebacker who simply will be mostly forgotten because of players such as Wagner, Richard Sherman, and another player on this list that is still to follow.
No. 3 - Devon Witherspoon, cornerback (2023, pick 5)
Remember when I was discussing Jaxon Smith-Njigba and I said I was going to be hypocritical? Here it is. Witherspoon has only played one season and ranking him higher than Irvin, for instance, seems wrong, right? But at least Witherspoon made the Pro Bowl in his first season and Irvin did not do that in any of his first four seasons with Seattle. The fact is that had Witherspoon had better defensive coaching and more talent around him, he might have made an All-Pro team as well.
The 2023 rookie had one interception, but he returned 97 yards for a touchdown. He also had 3 sacks and 4 quarterback hits even though he was mostly just a slot corner. He was the only player in the history of the NFL to have an interception return and 2 sacks in the same game, which he did in Week 4 against the New York Giants. He is a special player who will only get better with age.
No. 2 - Jordyn Brooks, linebacker (2020, pick 27)
One day soon Witherspoon (and possibly Smith-Njigba) will surpass Brooks on this list, but there is no reason to disrespect Brooks who was clearly chosen because the team had a plan to replace K.J. Wright eventually and position Brooks next to Bobby Wagner. The shame is that while Brooks was productive - he had 184 and 161 combined tackles in 2021 and 2022, respectively - he probably would have been even better had he re-signed with the team this offseason and played under Mike Macdonald.
Still, the linebacker led the league in solo tackles in 2021 (109) and proved to be somewhat of a superman when he came back from a serious knee injury at the end of 2022 to be ready to go in Week 1 of 2023. And he did not just show up last year; he was very good, including returning an interception for a touchdown. Brooks also had a career-high 4.5 sacks this past season.
No. 1 - Earl Thomas, safety (2010, pick 14)
12s can rightfully have a love-hate relationship with Earl Thomas. Forget his off-field issues for a minute, which aren't great either, of course, but the way he left Seattle just weeks before the death of owner Paul Allen was atrocious. Thomas did not get the contract extension he wanted, was injured in Week 4 of 2018, and then flipped off the Seahawks sideline as he was being carted off the field. But there was much more to Thomas than that.
He was arguably the greatest free safety in the NFL from 2011 through 2015. Between 2012 through 2014, he was named First-Team All-Pro. Over the course of nine years for Seattle, he had 28 interceptions and 11 forced fumbles and was six times named to the Pro Bowl. He also put fear in opposing receivers as he would crunch them even though Thomas was just 5'10 and 200 pounds. He was the speed the Legion of Boom needed to be elite and Seattle simply would not have been as good without Thomas.