How Percy Harvin and Rylie Mills ended up as members of the Seattle Seahawks was completely different. The team traded for Harvin, giving up far too much to the Minnesota Vikings to acquire him. Mills was a fifth-round draft pick in 2025.
Both players had a role in very few games in their iterations of the Super Bowl-winning Seahawks teams. Harvin played in just one game in the regular season, offered very little in terms of anything, and then had a splash play in a title game blowout. He ran the opening kickoff in the second half back for a touchdown, extending Seattle's lead to 29-0 over the Denver Broncos.
Mills played in only four regular season games as a rookie due to a knee injury he suffered in his final year of college. He played limited snaps and was in on three tackles. He didn't do much in terms of pass rush. Yet, in the Super Bowl, even in just a few reps, he made his presence felt, just as Harvin did 12 years earlier.
Rylie Mills and Percy Harvin share something in common with the Seattle Seahawks
Against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, the rookie played five snaps, had two quarterback pressures, including a sack, and a run stuff. His strength simply overwhelmed the interior of the New England offensive line.
His sack was exceedingly impressive as he pushed straight through offensive lineman Jared Wilson and gobbled him up at the same time he was doing the same to quarterback Drake Maye. The play was all the more shocking because Seahawks fans had not yet seen Mills be able to do that.
In fact, the sack was so impressive that it implied that a fully healthy Mills is going to be a difference-maker for the Seahawks for many years to come. This is important as fellow defensive linemen, like Jarran Reed, are past 30 years old, and Reed's replacement might already be on the roster in the person of Mills.
What happened with Percy Harvin after Super Bowl XLVIII and what happens with Ryle Mills after Super Bowl LX will almost certainly be different. Harvin got into tussles with teammates, couldn't stay healthy (and didn't seem to want to play), and was traded the following season. His career ended two years after that.
Mills doesn't seem to be a problem in the locker room, and doesn't even know how good he can be yet. If what he did against the Patriots is any indication, the defensive lineman has a very bright future with the Seattle Seahawks. He will almost certainly be more fondly remembered than Harvin is.