Two Seahawks state obvious with Super Bowl hopes compared to last teams' achievements

The Seattle Seahawks (14-3) have been complimented on their ability to draft young stars and utilize most of their talents. That effect also applies to the front office’s ability to build a reliable and efficient team through free agency or trades.

An example is the free agency addition of quarterback Sam Darnold hours after trading away Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders. There have been other impactful additions through the last few seasons that helped turn the Seahawks’ defense into one of the most elite units in recent years.

General manager John Schneider really cooked when he added safety Julian Love in March of 2023 through free agency. Seven months later, in October, the Seahawks traded a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft for a defensive tackle named Leonard Williams.

Both Love and Williams have been crucial in helping develop the Seahawks into a high-volume, explosive, aggressive, and reliable defense on all fronts. The Seahawks finished the regular season this year with the top-ranked scoring defense in the league, allowing an average of 17.2 points per game.

Williams is one of the tenacious defensive tackles who can rush the quarterback and make huge stops in the running game. Love is a lockdown deep passing game defender and makes solid open-field tackles.

Before joining the Seahawks, both Love and Williams were reliable defenders for the New York Giants from 2019 to 2022. During this span, the Giants have accumulated an overall record of 23-42-1 with only one playoff appearance in 2022. That 2022 season, the Giants (9-7) made it as far as the divisional round with Love, Williams, quarterback Daniel Jones, and running back Saquon Barkley on the roster.

All four players have had their careers revitalized in some way, but for Love and Williams, they have a chance to make a huge mark in their careers with a Super Bowl title. Both players acknowledge their time with a dysfunctional team in the Giants, especially after the Seahawks defeated the San Francisco 49ers 13-3 in Week 18 on the road to not only clinch the NFC West Divisional Title, but also the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

While celebrating in the locker room after the win over the 49ers, Love and Williams recalled their times as Giants vs. how they are now as Super Bowl contenders and said, ‘we made it,’ according to News Tribune’s Gregg Bell. It was then that Schneider, who was walking by, said to them, ‘You’re welcome.’

There is a real belief in the locker room that this Seahawks team is capable of winning the NFC Conference Championship and the Super Bowl at the end of the postseason. The best the Giants could have done with these two and an elite running back, who likely should’ve won league MVP, is a 9-7 record and a trip to the divisional round in the playoffs.

With Seattle, there is hope for Love and Williams to help bring the team’s second-ever Super Bowl title.

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