Four Seattle Seahawks make ESPN’s All-Pro team with one week left in the season

One of the great honors for NFL players is the Associated Press All-Pro team, a very difficult roster to crack, with only the best of the best making it. Unlike the Pro Bowl, where there are far more spots and raw popularity can carry you part of the way, All-Pro is (theoretically) all about your ability to be a dominant player, at the peak of your position.

To give you an idea of how hard it is to make All-Pro, not a single Seattle Seahawk made the first or second team in 2024 despite the team winning ten games. Perhaps a reflection of east coast bias, but definitely a reflection of the difficulty of making the team. But now that the team has thirteen wins (with a chance at fourteen this week), will things be any different?

According to ESPN’s All-Pro picks, the answer is an emphatic yes. They have several Seahawks on their All-Pro team, including three on the first team. Let’s take a look under the hood at their picks.

Wide Receiver: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (1st Team)

113 Receptions - 1,709 Receiving Yards - 10 Touchdowns

The first Wide Receiver listed, this one seems to be a slam dunk. JSN has shattered franchise records for receptions and yards, is in pole position to lead the league in receiving yards, and has accomplished it all on a team that barely throws the ball. He has a chance to break the single-season receiving yards record on Saturday, although it would take quite the game.

Also top three in WR receptions and touchdowns, this is an easy one. When taken in tandem with his evolving use case in 2025, like playing most of his snaps as an outside receiver instead of in the slot like in 2024, his value is undeniable. It’s a rare case where you can argue that a team with a good offense has someone other than the quarterback as the MVP.

Defensive Tackle: Leonard Williams (2nd Team)

62 Tackles - 7 Sacks - 29 Pressures

Jeffrey Simmons and Zach Allen took home first-team honors here. After an incredible 2024 season that failed to earn an All-Pro nod or a serious Defensive Player of the Year push, Williams has been nearly as good in 2025, and perhaps more importantly has been part of a much better defense that has given him a bigger spotlight.

The degree of difficulty for Williams doing what he does, helping wipe out opposing run games despite being supported by light boxes a majority of the time, can not be overstated. Add in his contributions as a pass rusher and there’s no questioning his immense value. Although you could spark a bit of a compelling debate over who has more of a case between him and Murphy.

Time for this guy to get some more attention. — Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) against the Arizona Cardinals. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Linebacker: Ernest Jones IV (1st Team)

121 Tackles - 7 Passes Defensed - 5 Interceptions

After getting largely ignored in the Pro Bowl selection process, Jones making the All-Pro team would be a big surprise, but one that has my full support. More than just his individual stats, which are still quite good, Jones has been a big part of the motor that keeps the elite Seattle defense running, and is a huge piece of the league’s best run defense.

The Seahawks defensive Rush EPA sits at -0.204, close to double the second place team, despite Seattle living in nickel defense in most situations. There are many reasons why they can pull this off (Williams and Murphy occupying blockers, Lawrence dominating the edge, Witherspoon and Emmanwori being deadly run defenders), but Jones is at the forefront of it.

Punter: Michael Dickson (1st Team)

51 Punts - 49.3 Yards Per Punt - 19 Inside 20

ESPN goes with some advanced metrics here to make this selection, as his straightforward raw numbers are actually fairly pedestrian. Digging deeper, however, provides evidence of an elite player deserving of All-Pro. He leads the league in the Puntalytics EPA-based model on a per-punt basis.

Per ESPN, barely over a third of his punts (35.3%) have been returnable in 2025, an elite number only a couple other punters can top. Furthermore, only 13.7% of his punts have gone to the middle of the field. I doubt Dickson makes the actual team with the thirteenth highest net yards per punt, but this is an interesting case.

Put it all together, and it’s a lot better than how Seattle was treated in 2024. I’d still make a case for Byron Murphy and Jason Myers, but this would represent a big step in the right direction for a team that’s been ignored here in recent years. And in a world where All-Pro nods go a long way in determining who gets remembered as the best players, that’s certainly valuable.

The best punter in the league, and we didn't even notice? — Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4). | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images