SEATTLE – There was no hesitation from Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams when he was asked this week where the defense ranks among those he’s been a part of during his 11 years in the NFL.
“It’s the best defense I’ve played on,” said Williams, who began his career in 2015 with the Jets, was traded to the Giants in 2019 and to the Seahawks in 2023. “And I’ve played on some talented defenses.”
The stats back that up – they are third in the NFL in fewest points allowed (18.1 per game), second in rushing yards allowed (88.8 per game) and sixth in total yards allowed (289.4).
There is no shortage of those who deserve credit.
At the top of the list is coach Mike Macdonald, whose ability to scheme and adapt his personnel each week has more than lived up to the reputation as a defensive mastermind.
There’s a back seven full of playmakers, notably middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who is tied for second in the league with five interceptions and leads the league with 150 return yards, do-everything rookie Nick Emmanwori and cornerback Devon Witherspoon.
Asked recently about how the Seahawks have stood among the NFL leaders all season in tackles for a loss – fourth with 69 – Macdonald offered an explanation that covers the success of the defense as a whole.
“Our front is just playing at an incredibly high level,” Macdonald said. “And so it starts with them and how they play.”
It’s a unit that starts inside with Williams playing at an All-Pro level, ranked fifth of 129 interior D-linemen this week by Pro Football Focus. Second-year tackle Byron Murphy II made a significant leap in production from his rookie year and is ranked 19th this week by PFF. The two are tied for the team lead in sacks with seven.
Tackle Jarran Reed was having a solid year before going on injured reserve, and his return – possibly as early as Sunday at Atlanta – will make the front that much better.
It includes a handful of productive rushers led by a revived DeMarcus Lawrence, who at age 33 and coming back from a foot injury that caused him to miss all but four games last season has given the Seahawks a player capable of wrecking a game for an opponent at any moment.
Ends Boye Mafe (fifth) and Uchenna Nwosu (20th) rank among the top 20 in the NFL in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate, while Derick Hall ranks 29th out of 114 edge rushers by PFF.
The front has played so well that Macdonald has been more selective in calling blitzes.
The Seahawks are fourth in the NFL in sacks with 40 and second in pressure percentage at 28.6%, defined by Pro Football Reference as plays in which there is a sack, quarterback knockdown or hurry.
That’s despite having one of the lowest blitz rates in the NFL, meaning rushing five or more defenders. Their blitz rate is just 19.9%, eighth-lowest in the league.
Macdonald said recently he planned to blitz more this season, but that it hasn’t been necessary because of how well the front is playing.
“In terms of us not pressuring as much, I’d say the effectiveness of our four-man rush probably does drive our blitz percentage numbers,” Macdonald said.
Which has led some to wonder where this line may rank among the best in the Seahawks’ 50-year history.
Former Seahawks QB and current Seattle Sports 710 radio host Brock Huard took to the social media platform X during last Sunday’s game to say it may be the best.
“Getting really close to calling this the best Seahawk defensive front in franchise history,” Huard wrote. “Nothing they cannot do collectively.”
That got us thinking what would be the competition for the title of best defensive front in Seahawks history?
Since the point of a defense is to limit yards and points, an easy cutoff is other teams that ranked with or ahead of this year’s squad in those categories.
At the moment, only four Seahawks teams finished higher in fewest points allowed for a season than the current team at third – all of the teams from 2012-15, which all finished first.
The only teams to finish higher for a season in fewest yards allowed than the current team’s sixth are those four plus the 2016 team (all were top five with the 2013-14 teams finishing first).
The 1984 squad finished sixth in fewest yards allowed, tied with this year’s team.
So we’ll consider those two groups, plus throw in two others – the 1992 team, led by Hall of Fame tackle Cortez Kennedy in his greatest year as a Seahawk, and the 2005 team that was the first in franchise history to reach the Super Bowl.
Here’s a quick look at each:
2012-16
Key players on the line during this era were tackles Brandon Mebane, Tony McDaniel and Clinton McDonald and ends Red Bryant, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Chris Clemons, Frank Clark and Bruce Irvin. Mebane, Avril and Bennett were all named to the franchise’s Top 50 players of all-time list.
No player on that list was ever named an All-Pro while with the Seahawks. Bennett was the most decorated of that group, earning three Pro Bowl nods during his time in Seattle. It was a group more known for its depth than star power, with most of the focus on those defenses going to the Legion of Boom in the back end and the LB duo of Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.
1984
This defense, in terms of statistics and success – the team finished 12-4 – was probably the best in team history until the LOB era. The line was led by nose tackle Joe Nash – a first-team All-Pro in 1984 – and ends Jacob Green and Jeff Bryant. All three were named to the Top 50 team earlier this year. Green is first in team history in sacks at 116, and Bryant is third at 63.0. The 1984 defense forced 63 turnovers, still a team record and most of any NFL team in the Super Bowl era.
1992
The most star-crossed defense in team history. The defense was considered among the best in the league but fell under the weight of the worst offense in team history – last in points scored and yards gained, held to seven points or fewer eight times. The primary starters were stalwarts Nash and Bryant along with Kennedy – who was named Defensive Player of the Year after making 14 sacks – and Tony Woods, as well as Rufus Porter on the edge.
2005
The Seahawks’ first Super Bowl team was led by an offense that was first in points and second in yards, while the defense was seventh in points allowed and 16th in yards. The primary starters were ends Grant Wistrom and Bryce Fisher and tackles Marcus Tubbs and Chartric Darby. A case could be made the 2007 team had the best D-line of the Mike Holmgren era, featuring Patrick Kerney in the season he had 14.5 sacks and was a first team All-Pro, a rookie Mebane and end Darryl Tapp in his best season with seven sacks.
Playoff success such as the LOB era had will be the ultimate determiner of the legacy of this year’s defense.
For now, it’s safe to say the defense as a whole – and the line in particular – is firmly placing itself in the conversation for any “best in team history” accolades anyone wants to give it.