Draft History: Seahawks top picks have led to recent success
The Seattle Seahawks have been in existence since 1976. After one season in the NFC, they spent the next 25 years in the AFC West, making an appearance in the AFC Championship Game in 1983. Seattle found their greatest success after transferring back to the NFC West in 2002. The club made the playoffs 13 times in 18 seasons, including three trips to the league’s championship game and a win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. Half of the players on Seattle’s best draft pick list were major parts of the title victory.
BEST
10. (tie) Steve Hutchinson, G (Round 1, Pick 17 in 2001) and Kam Chancellor, S (Round 5, Pick 133 in 2010) - Hutchinson was a member of Michigan’s 1997 National Championship team as a freshman, was a two-time All-American and earned Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year honors in 2000. He spent the first five years of his NFL career in Seattle, earning three Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections. In 2005, he helped block for Shaun Alexander, who won the MVP Award and set a league record with 27 rushing touchdowns. The Seahawks also reached Super Bowl XL, but fell to the Steelers, 21-10. Hutchinson signed with Minnesota in 2006, and was selected to four Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams in seven seasons with the Vikings. He moved on to the Titans for one season in 2012 before retiring. Hutchinson has had a busy 2020 so far: he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February, and was named a consultant on the Seahawks’ coaching staff in March.
Chancellor moved from quarterback to cornerback to safety at Virginia Tech, and he was a key part of two Hokies’ ACC Championship teams in 2007 and 2008. With the Seahawks, he was a member of the “Legion of Boom” secondary that appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls. Chancellor had 10 tackles and an interception in a 43-8 win over Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII that gave the Seahawks their first championship. The four-time Pro Bowler amassed 607 tackles and 12 picks in his eight seasons in Seattle, but Chancellor’s playing career ended after he suffered a neck injury during the 2017 season.
9. Michael Sinclair, DE (Round 6, Pick 155 in 1991) - A product of little-known Eastern New Mexico, Sinclair made his mark in the Pacific Northwest. He is Seattle’s all-time leader with 25 forced fumbles and ranks second with 73½ sacks (which is the most of any player selected in the 1991 Draft). Sinclair was selected to three straight Pro Bowls (1996-98), and he posted 12 or more sacks in each of those seasons. He also led the league with 16½ sacks and six forced fumbles in 1998. Sinclair signed with the Eagles in 2002 and played four games before retiring. He began coaching in 2007 as the defensive line boss for NFL Europe’s Hamburg Sea Devils, which won World Bowl XV, the final championship game before the league disbanded. Sinclair also coached in the CFL and was the defensive line coach with the Bears in 2013. He was recently named head football coach at Sam Houston High School in Arlington, Texas.
8. Earl Thomas, S (Round 1, Pick 14 in 2010) - Thomas was an All-American in 2009, and he was a starter on the Mack Brown-led Texas squad that lost to Alabama in the National Championship Game. He spent nine years with Seattle, earning six Pro Bowl and three All-Pro selections. Thomas had 28 interceptions and 664 tackles, and he was an integral part of a Seahawks team that played in two Super Bowls. He posted seven tackles in Seattle’s title win in Super Bowl XLVIII, and had nine more the following year in a loss to the Patriots. Thomas signed with the Ravens in 2019 and made the Pro Bowl in his first season.
7. Bobby Wagner, LB (Round 2 Pick 47 in 2012) - Wagner was the WAC Defensive Player of the Year after posting 147 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions with Utah State in 2011. He continued to pile up tackles in the NFL, totaling a franchise record 1,075, including 100 or more in all eight seasons and leading the league twice. Since 2014, Wagner has been selected to six straight Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams. He posted 10 tackles in the Super Bowl XLVIII win over the Broncos and had 12 stops and an interception against the Patriots the following year. Wagner will be entering his ninth year as starting middle linebacker with Seattle in 2020.
6. Cortez Kennedy, DT (Round 1, Pick 3 in 1990) - “Tez” was an All-American in 1989 and was a member of two University of Miami National Championship teams in 1987 and 1989. Although he held out until two days before the regular season began in 1990, Kennedy soon became a star in Seattle. He went to eight Pro Bowls, including six straight from 1991-96, and earned three All-Pro selections. Kennedy ranks fourth in team history with 58 sacks, with a career-high 14 in 1992, which earned him Defensive Player of the Year honors. He is tied for third on the franchise list with 11 forced fumbles and also had 669 tackles. Kennedy played 11 seasons with Seattle before retiring in 2000. He worked as an advisor with the Saints for several years after his playing career and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012. Kennedy died from a combination of heart disease, pneumonia, and diabetes in 2017.
5. Shaun Alexander, RB (Round 1, Pick 19 in 2000) - Alexander was an All-American both in high school (1994) and college (1999), and he left Alabama as the school’s all-time leader with 3,565 rushing yards (a record broken by Derrick Henry in 2015) and 41 touchdowns (topped by both Henry and Mark Ingram). After one season backing up Ricky Watters, Alexander took over the starting role in 2001. That season, he led the NFL with 14 touchdowns, and posted his first of five straight years with at least 1,000 yards and double-digit scores. Alexander was selected to three Pro Bowls, the last one coming in 2005, which was his best season. He also earned MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and All-Pro honors after leading the NFL with 1,880 yards and tied a league record with 27 scores (LaDainian Tomlinson topped the mark with 28 the following year). Coming off that performance, Alexander signed an eight-year contract, but played just two more seasons in Seattle with declining production. He holds franchise records with 9,429 yards and 100 touchdowns in eight seasons. Alexander signed with the Redskins in 2008 and played four games before he was released and retired after the season. He now owns a farm in northern Virginia and talks about faith and football through public speaking engagement and his own podcast.
4. Russell Wilson, QB (Round 3, Pick 75 in 2012) - Wilson played football at North Carolina State, but he transferred to Wisconsin in 2011 after the Wolfpack coaching staff questioned his decision to pursue baseball (he was drafted in the fourth round by the Rockies in 2010). With the Badgers, he earned All-Big Ten honors in his senior season. The Seahawks were criticized for their selection of Wilson due to his height (5-foot-11) and the fact that they had just signed former Packers backup Matt Flynn to a big contract. He jumped over Flynn on the depth chart during his first training camp and has started all 128 games since. The six-time Pro Bowler has topped at least 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in all eight seasons, and his totals of 29,734 yards and 227 scores are both franchise bests. He also has 3,993 rushing yards, seventh-best in team history, and his dual-threat capabilities earned him the nickname “DangeRuss.” The Seahawks have won at least nine games in each of Wilson’s eight years, and he posted 206 yards and two touchdowns in a dominant Seattle win over Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII. Wilson and his wife, R&B singer Ciara, are expecting their second child together.
3. Kenny Easley, S (Round 1, Pick 4 in 1981) - Easley was a star at UCLA, earning three straight All-American selections from 1978-80. In Seattle, he became one of the NFL’s best strong safeties, earning five Pro Bowl and three All-Pro nods. Easley started in the 1983 AFC Championship Game loss to the Raiders and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors the following season after leading the league with 10 interceptions. Overall, he is tied for fourth in team history with 32 picks. After speaking out in favor of the players’ strike in 1987, Easley was traded to the Cardinals the next year. During his physical, he was diagnosed with idiopathic nephritic syndrome, a severe kidney disease which voided the trade and led to his retirement. He received a kidney transplant two years later, and spent his post-playing days owning a car dealership and an arena football team. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
2. Richard Sherman, CB (Round 5, Pick 154 in 2011) - Sherman converted from wide receiver to cornerback while he was at Stanford, and that has proven to be the correct decision. After initially coming off the bench, Sherman started 10 games as a rookie and soon became the leader of the “Legion of Boom.” He tied Easley with 32 interceptions, including a league-leading eight in 2013. “Optimus Prime” (a nickname he gave himself during his matchup with Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who was called “Megatron,” another Transformers character) was a four-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro and a two-time Super Bowl participant. He signed with the 49ers in 2018 and also runs a charity that helps children from low-income communities.
1. Walter Jones, T (Round 1, Pick 6 in 1997) - Jones earned second-team All-American honors at Florida State in 1996 and made the All-Rookie team the following year with Seattle. He soon became one of the most dominant left tackles in the NFL, earning nine Pro Bowl and four All-Pro selections in 12 seasons, all with the Seahawks. Jones started 10 playoff games, including a Super Bowl XL loss to the Steelers. He suffered a knee injury during the Thanksgiving Day game against the Cowboys in 2008 and missed the rest of the season. He retired in 2010 after being unable to return from microfracture surgery. The 2014 Hall of Fame inductee was Seattle’s honorary captain for their Super Bowl XLVIII against Denver. He has taken up photography and developed his own clothing line.
WORST
10. (tie) Owen Gill, RB (Round 2, Pick 53 in 1985) and Lawrence Jackson, DE (Round 1, Pick 28 in 2008) - Gill graduated as Iowa’s all-time leading rusher with 2,391 yards (he now ranks ninth). He was waived by the Seahawks in training camp during his rookie season and was picked up by the Colts, rushing for 490 yards and three touchdowns in two years. He spent one game with the Rams in 1987 before he retired.
Jackson was a four-year starter at USC, amassing 24½ sacks and earning two first-team All-Pac-10 selections. He had two disappointing seasons in Seattle and was traded to Detroit in 2009. He had 13½ sacks in three years with the Lions before retiring in 2012. Jackson has focused on helping others after football and works with a group that helps improve youth literacy.
9. Koren Robinson, WR (Round 1, Pick 9 in 2001) - Robinson was on his way to a good career before he was derailed by substance abuse. The North Carolina State product had 1,240 yards and five touchdowns in 2002, but a four-game suspension two years later led to his release. He earned his lone Pro Bowl selection as a kick returner after signing with the Vikings in 2005. Robinson signed with Green Bay, but his two-year stint with the team was interrupted with a year-long substance-abuse suspension after a DWI. He returned to Seattle as a free agent in 2008 and played with the United Football League’s New York Sentinels the following season before retiring in 2009. Robinson hosts an annual youth football camp in his home state of North Carolina.
8. Jerramy Stevens, TE (Round 1, Pick 28 in 2002) - Stevens converted from quarterback to tight end while at the University of Washington. He stayed in the same state to start his professional career, totaling 1,458 yards and 15 touchdowns in five years with the Seahawks. He caught a 16-yard scoring pass from Matt Hasselbeck in Super Bowl XL, which was the first touchdown Seattle scored in the “big game.” He signed with Tampa Bay in 2007 and was suspended twice for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. The Buccaneers waived him in 2010 after he was arrested for marijuana possession and he did not play in the NFL again. In addition to his drug issues, Stevens’ litany of violations including sexual assault, several traffic violations and assault of his wife, U. S. Women’s Soccer team goalkeeper Hope Solo.
7. Marcus Tubbs, DT (Round 1, Pick 23 in 2004) - Another player who changed positions while in college, Tubbs converted from tight end to defensive line while at Texas. He was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2003 but played just 29 games over three seasons with the Seahawks, amassing seven sacks. In 2006, Tubbs suffered a knee injury that required microfracture surgery. He could not make it back to the field and retired in 2008. He has been the Assistant Athletics Director for Football Operations at the University of Houston since 2016.
6. Lamar King, DE (Round 1, Pick 22 in 1999) - A product of Division II school Saginaw Valley State in Michigan, King was Mike Holmgren’s first selection after he was named Seahawks coach and general manager in 1999. Injuries cost him 23 games in five seasons, all spent with Seattle, and he finished with 12 sacks and 129 tackles when he was released after the 2003 season. He signed with Tampa Bay, but could not recover from the torn calf he suffered the year before and retired in 2004. Future Pro Bowl defensive ends Patrick Kerney, Mike Rucker and Aaron Smith were available at this spot in the draft.
5. Steve Niehaus, DT (Round 1, Pick 2 in 1976) - The Seahawks took Niehaus, a 1975 All-American at Notre Dame, with the first draft pick in franchise history. He posted an “unofficial” 9½ sacks as a rookie (the state would not be recognized by the NFL until 1982). Niehaus’ career was shortened by knee and shoulder injuries, which limited him to 36 games over three years in Seattle. He spent the 1979 season with the Vikings before retiring. He spent time working with PepsiCo. before moving to Cincinnati in 1990 to be closer to his family.
4. Chris McIntosh, T (Round 1, Pick 22 in 2000) - McIntosh was an All-American and the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year at Wisconsin in 1999. He was expected to block for Shaun Alexander, who was taken by the Seahawks three picks earlier, but he suffered a neck injury in 2001 that led to his retirement the following year. McIntosh currently serves as the Deputy Athletic Director at his alma mater.
3. Aaron Curry, LB (Round 1, Pick 4 in 2009) - A graduate of Wake Forest, Curry was an All-American and won the Butkus Award as college football’s best linebacker in his senior season in 2008. He failed to live up to the expectations of a top five pick, producing 134 tackles and 5 ½ sacks in 30 games with Seattle before he was traded to the Raiders in 2011. He played just 13 games in two seasons with Oakland, as injuries to both knees wore him down. After Curry was unable to latch on with the Giants, he retired in 2013. He is now the Defensive Line coach with UNC Charlotte.
2. Dan McGwire, QB (Round 1, Pick 16 in 1991) - McGwire seemed to be the perfect fit for the NFL. He had size (6-foot-8) and arm strength, throwing for 7,484 yards in two seasons with San Diego State after transferring from Iowa. The 1990 All-WAC selection totaled just 745 yards in four seasons with Seattle. He was a backup to veteran Dave Krieg as a rookie, but could not supplant Stan Gelbaugh, Kelly Stouffer or Rick Mirer over the next three seasons. He signed with the Dolphins and played one game in 1995 before he retired. McGwire will always be in the shadow of his brother, baseball star Mark McGwire, as well as Brett Favre, who was taken by the Falcons with pick 33 in this draft and became a Hall of Famer after he was traded to the Packers.
1. Rick Mirer, QB (Round 1, Pick 2 in 1993) - Mirer was a high school All-American, and drew comparisons to fellow Notre Dame alumnus Joe Montana after setting the school record with 41 touchdown passes (he is now tied for seventh in school history). He started all 16 games with the Seahawks and made the All-Rookie team along with Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, his former college teammate with the Fighting Irish. Although he was under center for most of his first four seasons, he amassed a 20-31 record and Seattle traded him to Chicago in 1997. Mirer started just 17 more games over his final eight seasons, which were split among six teams. He retired in 2004 after spending the year as a backup with the Lions. Now, Mirer owns a winery and runs a foundation to help children in the areas of health and education.
All NFL statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ and college football statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/
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