Seahawks star Leonard Williams gets well-earned near-elite ranking from Pro Football Focus

The Leonard Williams trade wasn't so great by Seattle - but Leonard Williams the player is more than making up for it.

Dec 15, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) celebrates after a defensive play against the Green Bay Packers during the second half at Lumen Field. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks probably shouldn't have pulled the trigger on the mid-season trade with the New York Giants that brought over Leonard Williams in 2023. As part of the deal Seattle surrendered a second-round draft pick in 2024 plus a fifth-round draft pick in 2025. At the time, the Seahawks were on a win streak and taking an all-in approach for the season.

That strategy aged like milk, as Seattle immediately began losing, including embarrassing blowouts against multiple Super Bowl contenders that proved this team still had a long way to go before really having a chance at a championship.

All that being said, you can't blame Leonard Williams at all for how things went down the stretch in 2023. In fact, there's a strong case to make that Williams has been the best and most consistent player on the Seahawks' entire roster over the last year and a half since the trade went down.

Disruptive since he entered the league back in 2015 with the Jets, Williams brought his game to another level last season, finishing the year with 11 sacks (half a sack shy of his career high), 28 quarterback hits and 16 tackles for a loss. Williams also managed to make one enormous splash play in coverage, pulling off a 92-yard pick-six against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.

For his efforts, Pro Football Focus has landed Williams just shy of the top five interior defensive linemen in the league. According to their latest rankings he's No. 6 in the NFL at this spot.

PFF on ranking Leonard Williams iDL6

"Williams had a fantastic 2024 season. He recorded the fifth-highest PFF overall grade among interior defenders (87.1) with 55 quarterback pressures. That 87.1 mark was the highest single-season PFF overall grade of his career."

Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58) and defensive end Leonard Williams (99) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The only interior linemen who were ranked ahead of Williams were all superstars, including Chris Jones, Dexter Lawrence, Cam Heyward, Quinnen Williams and Jalen Carter.

The Seahawks re-signed Williams prior to the 2024 season on a three-year, $64.5 million deal that was roundly panned as an overpay at the time. Now, it seems perfectly reasonable given the extremely high level of play Seattle has gotten from him.

History says Williams can't continue performing like this for too much longer, but Cam Heyward (who's six years older) proves that it is possible. The Seahawks should ride it as long as they can.

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