5 individual awards for the Seahawks after 4 games…

5 individual awards for the Seahawks after 4 games played

Football is the ultimate team sport, but at the end of the day you need individual players to stand out. Good news: the 2023 Seattle Seahawks have a plethora of ballers on their roster if their first four games of the season are any indication. Going into the bye week the team is 3-1 and has gotten strong performances on both sides of the ball from a combination of a large number of veterans as well as first and second-year players.

Here are five who deserve recognition so far.

Offensive MVP: Geno Smith

In an ideal world, your QB1 is always your team’s best offensive player. The Seahawks continue to be blessed here, as Geno Smith has proven that his 2022 performance was no one-hit wonder. Through four games he’s thrown for 846 yards, completed 68.3% of his passes, totaled five touchdowns and only one interception. That has improven his INT rate from 1.9% last year down to 0.8% so far this season. Smith isn’t leading the league in any one category like he did with completion rate last year but he’s in the top 10 in several important ones. As long as Smith stays healthy this offense should continue to perform at a fringe top-five rate.

Defensive MVP: Bobby Wagner

The recent retirement of Jamie Collins underscores the ongoing awesomeness of Bobby Wagner’s career. Drafted one year later than Wagner, Collins played the position at a high level for a decade, which is almost unheard of these days. Wagner is now in year 12 and he still looks like one of, if not the best linebacker in the business. Last year with the Rams PFF graded him out as the NFL’s top off-ball linebacker. This year the eight-time Pro Bowler is in second place, trailing only Baltimore’s Roquan Smith. Wagner also ranks third in the league in tackles. That has helped radically transform what was one of the NFL’s worst run defenses into one of the best. Seattle has gone from allowing 150.2 rushing yards per game last year to just 87.5 yards per game in 2023.

Best rookie: Devon Witherspoon

Last year there was plenty of competition for this award. However, this time around it was the easiest pick of the bunch. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon missed Week 1 against the Rams but he’s since exploded onto the scene and established himself as one of the league’s best young defensive backs.

Operating more like a game-wrecking, do-it-all safety like Troy Polamalu or Kam Chancellor than a traditional boundary cornerback, Witherspoon has made his presence felt all over the field the last three weeks, totaling 23 tackles and making several highly-impressive plays on the ball. Right now PFF has him graded out as the second-best player on the team behind Wagner. While three games is a small sample size, it’s already clear that Witherspoon has All-Pro potential.

Most improved: Boye Mafe

If you’ve been watching the trenches – or even just the pocket over the first four games you’ve probably seen No. 53 alot. Second-year outside linebacker Boye Mafe has been one of the NFL’s most-active pass rushers this season. In fact, he currently ranks second in the league in ESPN’s pass rush win rate metric, behind only the likely Defensive Player of the Year Micah Parsons. Mafe only has two sacks but according to PFF he also has nine hurries and 12 total pressures, which feels low given how often he’s been in the backfield.

Inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks deserves at least an honorable mention in this category. He has been sharp against the run, disruptive as a pass rusher and has even made huge strides in coverage. Thanks mostly to that huge leap forward in coverage, PFF has Brooks at a career-high 72.5 overall, which is about 14 points higher than his previous best.

Best free agent: Jarran Reed

When the Seahawks re-signed Jarran Reed we naturally assumed that he’d be playing defensive end next to whoever the team wound up choosing to replace Al Woods at nose tackle. As it turned out that responsibility went to Reed, and so far it’s been Pete Carroll’s most-inspired choice this season. Like Brooks he’s having a career-best year in 2023. In fact, Reed has been one of the most-impactful nose tackles in the entire league – especially as a pass rusher. Reed has 15 total pressures and ranks No. 32 among all interior defensive linemen according to PFF, just behind Jordan Davis.