Throughout the month of July, the Last Word on Sports NFL department has been taking a look at the three most recognizable faces for each NFL team. For this series, we’re only considering active players. Today, we will be focusing on the 2019 Seattle Seahawks.
Faces of the 2019 Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson
The highest-paid NFL player is going to be the biggest focus of the Seattle Seahawks this season. The Seahawks went all-in with Russell Wilson who had a career year in 2018. Wilson had a 65 percent completion percentage and racked up 3,448 yards while throwing 35 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. This stellar year equated out to an impressive 110 passer rating. Wilson is known for escaping from sacks and turning nothing into something. He seems to look like a younger and smaller version of Aaron Rodgers in the Mike McCarthy era.
Wilson forced Seattle to realize what he has done for the franchise by demanding a new deal by April 15th or he would not report for camp. Seattle has now changed their mindset from “Legion of Boom” and “12th Man” to “The Russell Wilson Show”. As they should. Wilson was second or third fiddle for far too long and finally commanded the respect he deserves in a four-year, $140 million dollar contract with $107 million in guaranteed money. With a new deal in place, the franchise can build a formidable offense around Wilson and return to contention for the Lombardi Trophy.
Bobby Wagner
The last impact player from the Legion of Boom days, Bobby Wagner has become the new leader on defense. One of four players in the Madden 99 rating club, Wagner is a one-man war machine on defense having totaled 138 combined tackles last season. He put up 84 solo tackles along with eight quarterback hits. The man is consistent and can be a presence on his own. However, his career-best year was 2016 so he hasn’t gotten back up to his peak.
Wagner is now the most beloved defensive man in Seattle, which is saying something because most teams and fan bases tend to focus on offense. Wagner has a chance to be the leader on defense and to make the Seahawks one of the best teams on both sides of the ball. However, Wagner needs to step up and lead these younger linebackers and safeties and teach them the system. If he gets the rest of the defense to buy into the system, then Wagner will for sure be one of the best linebackers in the NFL this year and in the past decade.
D.K. Metcalf
Tyler Lockett has proved he is the number one wide receiver in Seattle. But all the hype is currently aimed at second-round draft pick D.K. Metcalf. Metcalf gained national media coverage before the draft because of his physique and very low body fat percentage. Images swept across social media and before anybody knew it, he became a viral sensation. Once people looked past the social media attention, Metcalf gained media coverage on how great of a wide receiver he was in college. He totaled 569 yards in his last season at Ole Miss while only playing seven games.
Metcalf was projected to be a first-round pick but fell into the second round and the Seahawks nabbed him off the board. The media was fixated on him from the start. Especially Metcalf’s emotional draft phone call with general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll. Once he arrived in Seattle, nobody was looking at Rashad Penny having a possible breakout sophomore season. All eyes were on Metcalf and his unwavering potential. Videos have already surfaced of Metcalf and Wilson working to build a connection early in the off-season. If Metcalf can produce good numbers as a rookie along with Lockett, then the Seahawks could potentially be a Super Bowl contender.
