John Schneider just proved the value of a great roster over great QB model

Argue yes or no, but this Seattle Seahawks team that just won the Super Bowl is better than the team that went to back-to-back championship games in 2014 and 2015. Because of the quarterback? No, because Russell Wilson at that time was a far better quarterback than Sam Darnold is today. 

In those two seasons, the Seahawks had a great quarterback, but they also had a great defense — they had a complete team. In 2026, the Seahawks had only a good quarterback, but an even greater defense that might rival the "Legion of Boom."

Despite not having a great quarterback, the Seahawks still won because their roster was virtually flawless from offense to defense to special teams to coaching. Flawless, because Seattle was the most complete team in the NFL this year, which goes to show that GM John Schneider mastered the responsibility of building a great roster, without over-focusing on a great quarterback. 

John Schneider deserves more credit for the Seattle Seahawks' roster over signing Sam Darnold

Don't get it wrong, Darnold was overall great for the Seahawks this season. He did not revert to his old self after that stellar year with the Minnesota Vikings, which recently had Justin Jefferson wishing things were different today. No, Darnold, despite some real struggles down the stretch of the regular season, was everything the Seahawks needed him to be: a winner, over anything else. 

Darnold was one of Schneider's best off decisions in years, that is obvious now, but taking the chance on Darnold was not Schneider's best in recent memory. What Schneider has done to build the Seahawks' roster is his crowning achievement, and he proved that not all Super Bowl-winning teams need a great quarterback as long as they have a great roster. 

The 2000 and 2012 Baltimore Ravens are a perfect example of this. Trent Dilfer was never considered elite, great, or even that good of a quarterback, yet he helped the Ravens win a championship. The same can be said for Joe Flacco, who, while he was almost perfect in the playoffs that led to the Ravens' 2012 championship, was never elite or considered a great quarterback. 

The Ravens won because of their roster. So did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, with Brad Johnson as their quarterback. Again, not a great QB, but a great roster. Now, the Seahawks have just won with a great roster, and that's because Schneider built the perfect roster that could win with good to sometimes great quarterback play, but not necessarily a great quarterback. 

While Darnold was the most talked about offseason addition in 2025, Schneider hit a massive home run in DeMarcus Lawrence, took a chance on an aging Cooper Kupp, and built the Seahawks defense over the years via the draft (Byron Murphy II, Nick Emmanwori) and smart trades (Ernest Jones IV, Leonard Williams), not to mention, trusting in Jaxon Smith-Njigba over DK Metcalf.

Schneider has smartly and correctly signed, drafted, and acquired the right type of players, turning the team into the league's most complete team, with one of, if not the, best defenses in the league. Schneider deserves all the credit for what he’s built — a masterful job with this Seahawks team — and they just won a Super Bowl because of it.