Mike Macdonald shares powerful praise for Seattle Seahawks star Leonard Williams

Seattle's second-year head coach thinks Big Cat is playing as well as any defensive lineman in the NFL right now.

Sep 25, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) celebrates after the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

On his way out the door, former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll laid one last golden egg at his final trade deadline with roster control. At first the deal to land Leonard Williams from the New York Giants didn't seem like a great idea - and in a vacuum giving up two draft picks for a defender about to turn 30 years old usually doesn't work out.

However, Williams has been Seattle's best defender since the trade went down - and that's with some very serious competition for the honor. Some would argue that Williams is playing as well as any defensive linemen in the NFL right now, including Carroll's successor, Mike Macdonald.

Mike Macdonald on Leonard Williams

"I have a hard time thinking there's a another defensive lineman playing better than him."#Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald details the game-wrecking presence Leonard Williams has been on defense this season on with @BrockHuard & @TheMikeSalk pic.twitter.com/5taMy7QgFu

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) September 26, 2025

The problem is that it's inherently difficult to quantify how well an interior defensive lineman is performing compared to his peers - especially in the absence of a galaxy-destroyer like Aaron Donald.

At the moment Pro Football Focus has Ed Oliver graded out as the top iDL in the league, while Leonard Williams is all the way down at No. 19, just a shade behind former Seahawk Poona Ford. There are certainly some deserving candidates in-between, such as Calais Campbell, Derrick Brown, Jordan Davis and Quinnen Williams.

However, Williams isn't even the highest-graded interior lineman on his own team. That honor goes to backup Mike Morris, who's a full five points higher.

The lesson is that you have to take these grades with a grain of salt - including Sam Darnold being ranked QB1 right now.

What really matters is that Williams is making a tremendous impact for the Seahaws defense every week, even if a lot of people still cant see that he's performing at an All-Pro level.

More Seahawks on SI stories

Seahawks studs & duds from thrilling TNF win over Cardinals

Takeaways from Seahawks’ nail-biter win over the Cardinals

Russell Wilson shares defiant statement after GIants bench him

Seattle Seahawks lose critical run-blocker for at least four games