Seattle Seahawks: 15 greatest players in franchise history

Seahawks S Kenny Easley played for Seattle from 1981 through 1987

Several of the guys previously mentioned here are probably going to be Pro Football Hall of Famers one day. Sherman and Wagner should almost be locks. Russell Wilson probably will make it one day, though that depends a bit more on how his career with the Denver Broncos continues (again, this sentence might not age that well so check back early and often and feel free to chastise). But Kenny Easley is one of the best safeties in the history of the league, and that is true even though his career was cut short by injury.

Easley only played seven seasons, all with the Seahawks. He was first-team All-Pro each year between 1983 and 1985. He was AFC (Seattle used to play in the AFC, you see) Defensive Player of the Year in 1983, his third year in the league. In his fourth season (1984), he was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. That season, Easley had 10 interceptions and returned 2 of them for touchdowns.

But much more than just a coverage safety, Easley could have played either free safety or strong safety with ease. He had excellent coverage skills, but he was really a thumper. Opposing receivers feared knowing Easley - the original Enforcer - was coming close to them with ever-increasing speed after they caught the ball.

Because Easley only played for a short time, the Pro Football Hall of Fame took far too long to induct him into Canton. He finally made it into the Hall of Fame in 2017.