Top 5 most underrated Seattle Seahawks players of the last 10 years

Seattle Seahawks safety Bradley McDougald

Bradley McDougald signed with Seattle in 2017, and although he had started the previous two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in Seattle he was only really expected to be a backup to Earl Thomas or Kam Chancellor. But that was the part of McDougald's game that excited the Seahawks coaching staff; McDougald had the versatility to be a solid backup at either free safety or strong safety.

But in McDougald's first season with the Seahawks, injuries began hitting Thomas and Chancellor. After playing free safety for Thomas in two games, Chancellor was lost for the year and McDougald just shifted over to Chancellor's spot. McDougald proved he could cover and play against the run. He did this so well that beginning in 2018, he became a full-time starter for Seattle in 2018 and 2019.

McDougald, in fact, was surprisingly fantastic in coverage. In 2018, McDougald had 3 interceptions and 9 passes defended. IN 2019, McDougald picked off 2 more, but he allowed only a 58.8 passer rating when targeted. Only 54.4 percent of the 57 passes thrown his way were completed, and he allowed just 6.2 yards per target.

Unfortunately for the current version of the Seahawks, McDougald might best be remembered for being a part of the trade that brought Jamal Adams to Seattle in 2020. McDougald was shipped to the New York Jets in the trade. Adams was good in 2020 but hasn't played as well or very much since. Adams might still come back to play at a high level, but there's also a good chance that he doesn't and sending McDougald to New York for Adams was a mistake.