How the Russell Wilson Trade Jump-Started Seahawks' Second Super Bowl Win

Trading Russell Wilson turned the Seahawks into Super Bowl champions again.

Trading Russell Wilson helped ignite the Seahawks’ latest Super Bowl run. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Less than four years after trading away franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, the Seahawks have hoisted the Lombardi trophy again.

In March 2022, the Seahawks decided to trade Wilson to the Broncos in exchange for two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive tackle Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant.

Prior to the trade, Wilson was responsible for leading the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl championship and consistently brought the team to the playoffs. The Seahawks fell short of a playoff berth in his final season with the team and decided to move on after that 2021 campaign.

Here’s a look back at the lasting impact the Wilson trade has had, including on the Seahawks’ return to the Super Bowl.

Seahawks capitalize on picks from trade

Neither Harris or Fant remains with the Seahawks and Lock has primarily been a backup quarterback for Seattle since leaving Denver. The trade, however, remains a massive success thanks to the players the Seahawks selected with the draft picks they received.

With the picks, the Seahawks ended up drafting four pivotal players to the franchise’s success:

• OT Charles Cross (2022 No. 9 pick)
• LB Boye Mafe (2022 No. 40 pick)
• CB Devon Witherspoon (2023 No. 5 pick)
• LB Derick Hall (2023 No. 37 pick)

Cross and Witherspoon have each become foundational pieces over their time in Seattle while Mafe and Hall are solid role players. Offensive line was the Seahawks’ perennial weakness during Wilson’s time with the team, and Cross has helped solidify the line, ranking 13th in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric this season.

Meanwhile, PFF rates Witherspoon as a top-five cover corner. Witherspoon is a key part of the Seahawks’ defense emerging into one of the best units in the league, with his abilities as a cover corner and to blitz the quarterback giving Seattle even more versatility on that side of the ball. This shined in the 29-13 Super Bowl victory over the Patriots as Witherspoon recorded three pressures, one sack and forced the pick-six which Uchenna Nwosu nabbed and returned for a touchdown.

Uchenna Nwosu pick-six! His first career TD extends the @Seahawks lead! 😱

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Along with Witherspoon, Hall also put together a standout performance in the Super Bowl as he strip-sacked Drake Maye and notched two total sacks on the evening. While Mafe didn’t put up huge stats in the Super Bowl, he did consistently get pressure on the quarterback when he was on the field throughout the season, ranking seventh in ESPN’s pass rush win rate.

Wilson trade begins needed “rebuild” in Seattle

Beyond the impact of these players, trading Wilson also set the tone for general manager John Schneider’s masterful rebuild.

Over the two years following that move, Schneider also moved on from long-time head coach Pete Carroll, traded bridge quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver DK Metcalf.

He then hired defensive guru Mike Macdonald and helped build the roster to maximize his coach’s defensive genius, from drafting Nick Emmanwori to signing DeMarcus Lawrence this past offseason. These moves are far from easy for any franchise to pull off, yet Schneider has executed in near flawless fashion to get Seattle back to the mountain top.

Meanwhile in Denver...

Though the Broncos were on the wrong end of a historically lopsided trade, they have impressively mitigated the damage. The Broncos lost significant draft capital from acquiring Wilson, who did not pan out in Denver. Instead of choosing to stay put after two failed seasons with Wilson, they decided to move on from him and take on the massive dead cap hit. Since, they’ve drafted Bo Nix while assembling a ferocious defense to lead them back to the postseason in consecutive seasons. The Broncos have not made it back to the Super Bowl yet, but they are finally done paying Wilson’s contract, which should only help them as they contend in the seasons to come.

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