Ranking the Seahawks' 12 Most Important Moves to Reach Super Bowl LX

The Seattle Seahawks have already made history regardless of what happens Sunday versus the New England Patriots. Well, general manager John Schneider has. He became the first GM to lead an organization to two Super Bowls where neither the head coach nor one player was on both teams.

Clubs aren’t supposed to be able to replace the only Super Bowl champion head coach in franchise history, trade away its Pro Bowl quarterback, jettison two star(ting) wide receivers and run through the toughest division in the league and into the Super Bowl — but that's precisely what Seattle did, all within two years' time. 

How? Below, we rank the 12 biggest acquisitions Schneider — the recently anointed NFL Executive of the Year — and the Seahawks made to qualify for Super Bowl LX.

RELATED: Ranking the Patriots' 12 Most Important Moves to Reach Super Bowl LX

12. Trading for wide receiver/kick returner Rashid Shaheed (November 2025)

The Seahawks already had one of the league’s best rosters before its trade-deadline acquisition of Shaheed from the New Orleans Saints, but with three combined kick and punt returns for touchdowns in 11 games since the swap, the speedster’s impact has been undeniable. Look no further than his kickoff-return score on the opening play of Seattle's divisional-round blowout of the 49ers, a play that San Francisco never recovered from. 

Shaheed, a pending free agent who cost Seattle 2026 fourth- and fifth-round picks in the deal, has yet to score a touchdown as a receiver (or runner) for the Seahawks, so some might argue that fellow receiver Cooper Kupp’s addition is a more important one, especially after his performance against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. But with his explosive speed, Shaheed threatens any defense that considers doubling All-Pro wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba, tilting the field in much the same way playmaking rookie Tory Horton did for the Seahawks prior to being injured in Week 9. Schneider traded for Shaheed four days later. 

11. Trading for defensive lineman Leonard Williams (October 2023)

Trading for Shaheed served as Seattle’s exclamation point to this roster, but the deal two years earlier for Williams has played a longer and even more important role. The Seahawks sent a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-rounder to the New York Giants and have since seen Williams play arguably the best ball of his NFL career, especially in Mike Macdonald’s scheme. 

The 6-foot-5, 310 pound Williams has racked up 60-plus tackles in each of the past two seasons — something he'd only done in his first two years. Even more impressive, the 18 combined sacks and 25 total tackles for loss Williams has generated the past two years in Seattle are better than any other two-year span in his 11-year NFL career. Williams was voted an All-Pro this season for the first time. 

10. Trading for linebacker Ernest Jones (October 2024)

As good as Shaheed and Williams have been for the Seahawks, Schneider’s trade for Jones in October 2024 provided even more immediate impact as a centerpiece middle linebacker in head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense. Prior to then, the Seahawks had tried to fill the gaping hole at linebacker left by Bobby Wagner (and Jordyn Brooks) with free-agent signees Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker. Within a few weeks of Macdonald’s first year as head coach, however, it was clear that neither was a good fit. 

Pivoting to Jones provided Seattle with the green-dot dynamo Macdonald’s defense was lacking. A second-team All-Pro selection in 2025, Jones tied for the NFL lead in interceptions among linebackers and, more importantly, helped transform a porous run defense into one of the league’s stoutest. 

9. Drafting defensive tackle Byron Murphy No. 16 overall (April 2024)

There was a bit of a slow burn for Murphy as a rookie, as the celebrated first-round pick registered just 32 tackles, including four for loss, and 0.5 sacks in 2024. This year, however, he was one of the NFL’s most improved players, generating 62 stops overall, seven tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks. Murphy’s low center of gravity, great strength and shocking quickness have made him quite a stump in the middle of Macdonald’s defense, reminding me a bit of a young Casey Hampton, who played 12 seasons in the middle of some legendary defenses earlier this century for the Pittsburgh Steelers and earned five Pro Bowl nods.

8. Drafting offensive guard Grey Zabel No. 18 overall (April 2025)

Steve Hutchinson is the best interior offensive lineman in Seattle’s 50-year history, so he understandably serves as a consultant for the club. In Zabel, Hutchinson and the Seahawks may have drafted the best guard this team has employed since the Hall of Famer left for Minnesota 20 years ago. The Seahawks have at least three more years of club control (with a team option for a fourth) with Zabel, who looked like a future Pro Bowler this season, providing stellar pass protection and great mobility in Seattle’s wide-zone running game. 

There are several reasons why Seattle catapulted from 30th in 2024 to fourth in 2025 in sacks allowed (from 54 to 27). Excellent coaching and a healthy Abe Lucas at right tackle certainly helped, but Zabel has played like a veteran as a rookie, helping turn a longtime weakness for the Seahawks — the offensive line – into a strength, prompting the Seahawks to run the ball an NFC-leading 507 times this season while scoring at least one rushing touchdown in 16 of 19 games thus far.  

7. Signing edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence to a three-year, $32.5M deal (March 2025)

While free-agent additions on offense — such as Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp — dominated the offseason headlines in Seattle, the 33-year-old Lawrence earned a Pro Bowl nod in his first season wth the Seahawks. Lawrence started 16 games and registered 53 tackles, including 11 for loss and six sacks. The veteran is a brawler with brains, physically defeating opponents with power and great football instincts. He forced three fumbles this season, even taking two of them back for touchdowns against Arizona. 

Star cornerback Devon Witherspoon understandably gets a lot of credit for his red-zone heroics in the NFC Championship Game. Don’t forget about Lawrence, who smartly peeled off to help double Rams running back Kyren Williams — Matthew Stafford’s first read on the fateful fourth-down attempt that was L.A.'s last, best opportunity to beat the Seahawks. 

6. Drafting cornerback Devon Witherspoon No. 5 overall (April 2023)

Speaking of Witherspoon, perhaps no one embodies the Seahawks’ tenacity, physicality and passion more than the 2025 All-Pro. With three Pro Bowl nods in as many NFL seasons, one might assume that Witherspoon has emerged as one of the league’s better ballhawks; he actually has relatively pedestrian interception (two) and forced fumble (two) tallies in his young NFL career. But he’s much more than the sum of his production. Witherspoon is quick and combative, attacking the run with every bit the passion that he does covering receivers. 

He’s proven this season that he can handle outside coverage duties as well as nickel, teaming with the lanky and explosive Tariq Woolen and savvy technician Josh Jobe to give Seattle a lot of flexibility to match opposing receivers. Losing his feet a couple of times, Witherspoon struggled early against the Rams, but his consecutive pass breakups in the end zone late in the fourth quarter showed off the route recognition and competitiveness that has earned him league-wide respect. 

5. Drafting safety Nick Emmanwori No. 35 overall (April 2025)

As good as Witherspoon — and the rest of Seattle’s veteran defenders — have been in the team's surge to the Super Bowl, its prized rookie safety has perhaps played the biggest role. Emmanwori has been a virtual eraser for the Seahawks, eliminating opponents whether he’s lining up at nickel, outside linebacker or safety. It was with this vision that Schneider traded up with the titans to take Emmanwori early on Day 2 of last year's draft, giving up the Nos. 52 and 82 overall picks for him. 

Stats don’t always paint the proper picture, but they illustrate Emmanwori’s versatility. Despite missing a month of the season with injury, Emmanwori registered 81 tackles, including nine for loss and 2.5 sacks, as well as 11 pass breakups, an interception and a blocked kick. He’s arguably been the best player on a defense that led the NFL in points allowed (17.2) this season. He was seemingly everywhere in the NFC Championship Game, registering five tackles and a game-high three pass breakups while taking away the Rams' quick throws to the flats. 

With all due respect to Carson Schwesinger of the Cleveland Browns, Emmanwori was the most impactful rookie defender in the league this season. 

4. Hiring offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak (January 2025)

The Seahawks have long prided themselves on defense with the iconic Legion of Boom powering the club to its first (and only) championship 12 years ago. It’s the offense that has often struggled to keep up, which is why it is difficult to overstate the impact of hiring Kubiak (and the many assistant coaches he convinced to join him in Seattle). Like his father Gary and brother Klay (currently San Francisco’s offensive coordinator), Kubiak is a disciple of the West Coast Offense that has consistently enjoyed success in the NFL, dating back to the late, great Bill Walsh. 

Now consider some of these statistics: Kubiak inherited an offense that allowed the third-most sacks in 2024 (54) and literally cut that number in half in one season (27), which tied for the fifth-least in the NFL. The Seahawks finished the season ranked ninth in passing, 10th in rushing and seventh in scoring, they did it with a quarterback playing for his fourth team in four seasons. Part of the reason Sam Darnold came to Seattle, in fact, was his familiarity with Kubiak, the two spending the 2023 season with the 49ers. 

Kubiak, justly, is one of five finalists for Assistant Coach of the Year. All of it made him one of the most coveted candidates in this year's head coaching cycle, and why he'll be on the Raiders' sideline next season. 

3. Drafting Jaxon Smith-Njigba No. 20 overall (April 2023)

Speaking of easy decisions, Schneider and the Seahawks look brilliant now for their selection three years of the 2025 All-Pro wideout affectionately known as JSN. At the time, however, Smith-Njigba was part of a hotly debated receiver class. When Seattle selected him in the first round, it set off a run of four consecutive receivers drafted, including Quentin Johnston to the Chargers, Zay Flowers to the Ravens and Jordan Addison to the Vikings. Add in Rashee Rice (Chiefs), Puka Nacua (Rams) and Kayshon Boutte (Patriots) coming off the board in later rounds, and the 2023 draft has proven to be loaded at the position. But the Seahawks feel like they got the class' crown jewel in Smith-Njigba, who just shattered the franchise record for receptions in a season (119) while leading the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards. 

A silky-smooth athlete who shifts gears like a NASCAR driver, Smith-Njigba is already among the league’s most difficult wideouts to cover, and he possesses pillow-soft hands and remarkable body control to make difficult receptions look easy. There were plenty of questions as to how he would handle the void left when the Seahawks released franchise favorite Tyler Lockett and traded DK Metcalf in the offseason — and JSN has answered in resounding fashion.  

2. Signing quarterback Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5M deal (March 2025)

Few decisions across the league (and none among Seattle's most passionate fans) drew more scrutiny last offseason than the Seahawks' switch from Geno Smith to Darnold. Smith, after all, had resurrected his career in Seattle, earning consecutive Pro Bowl nods after winning the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award in 2022, after replacing franchise legend Russell Wilson. Darnold looked like an MVP candidate for much of the 2024 season with the Vikings, only to falter in their two biggest games of the season. That raised serious doubts about whether he could replicate his newfound success without Minnesota's elite pass-catchers and head coach/playcaller Kevin O'Connell. 

Darnold has again proven all his skeptics wrong, flourishing in Klint Kubiak’s system while giving the Seahawks a degree of poise and leadership they had not seen at quarterback in years. It's manifested in late-game heroics throughout the season, including a historic performance in the NFC Championship Game. Still just 28 years old and signed through the next two seasons at a relatively low cap number, Darnold's contract is already a winning ticket in what was one of the biggest gambles in franchise history.     

1. Hiring head coach Mike Macdonald (January 2024)

Whatever consternation Schneider and the Seahawks might have felt in cutting ties with players like Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, it had to be even more nerve-wracking to move on from the wildly popular Pete Carroll, the only coach in franchise history to deliver a Lombardi Trophy to Seattle. Schneider was bold in his choice, going from the oldest coach in the NFL to the youngest, luring Macdonald away from Baltimore when he was just 36 years old with no previous head coaching experience at any level. He showed his chops by quickly moving off rookie offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and rookie offensive line coach Scott Hamilton after both struggled in 2024, and then upgrading to OC Klint Kubiak, OL coach John Benton and run game coordinator Rick Dennison, who have a combined 81 years of NFL coaching experience. 

While the polar opposite of the fun-loving and free-spirited Carroll in personality, Macdonald has similarly built this team on the foundation of accountability and brotherhood — and defense. The last one is his specialty, and the Seahawks arguably boast the NFL's best unit this season. Hired to slow the offensive juggernauts in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Macdonald is a combined 10-4 against NFC West divisional opponents over the past two years, including the playoffs. And while the 12s have returned to Lumen Field to again make it one of the most formidable home-field advantages in sports, Macdonald has proven even more successful on the road, carrying a remarkable 15-2 record as the visiting team. 

For what it’s worth, the Seahawks are the designated visitor Sunday in Santa Clara.