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The Legion of Boom had become synonymous with the Seattle Seahawks, and the names of the members of the LoB were known by fans across the country. From the group’s formation in the early years of the Pete Carroll era in Seattle, through Super Bowl XLVIII and the team’s first Lombardi trophy and up until 2017 the unit was a force to be reckoned with.
Everything has changed in the past couple of seasons, however.
And by everything, I really mean everyone.
When the 2013 version of the team took the field for Super Bowl XLVIII, the defensive backs for the team were:
- Cornerback Richard Sherman
- Cornerback Byron Maxwell
- Cornerback Jeremy Lane
- Cornerback Walter Thurmond
- Free safety Earl Thomas
- Free safety Chris Maragos
- Strong safety Kam Chancellor
- Strong safety DeShawn Shead
And of course cornerback Brandon Browner, who had been suspended by the league for failing a drug test. Thus, the release of Chancellor brings to completion the complete and total overhaul of the Seattle defensive backfield, and leaves the team with the following defensive backs on the roster.
- Cornerback Davante Davis
- Cornerback Tre Flowers
- Cornerback Shaquill Griffin
- Cornerback Akeem King
- Cornerback Kalan Reed
- Cornerback Jamar Taylor
- Cornerback Derrek Thomas
- Cornerback Simeon Thomas
- Cornerback Neiko Thorpe
- Free safety Ugo Amadi
- Free safety Bradley McDougald
- Free safety Tedric Thompson
- Strong safety Marquise Blair
- Strong safety Delano Hill
- Strong safety Marwin Evans
- Strong safety Jalen Harvey
- Strong safety Shalom Luani
There is not a single player in that group that played in Super Bowl XLVIII, or Super Bowl XLIX for that matter. Further, not a single member of that group was on the roster in 2015 for the Hawks victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the freezer game won for the Seahawks by a combination of a Chancellor strip of Adrian Peterson and a Blair Walsh missed field goal.
In fact, only a single member of that group was even on the roster in 2016 when the Seahawks defeated the Detroit Lions 26-6 in the most recent playoff victory in franchise history. That lone member didn’t even set foot on the field for the defense that day, as Neiko Thorpe played sixteen special teams snaps, but was not otherwise on the field.
In short, Thursday I noted how young the Seahawks defense had become over the past two seasons, and the defensive backfield takes this to the extreme. Thorpe is the longest tenured Seahawk of the group, and he’s only been with the team since 2016. In addition, he’s the oldest of the bunch and he’s been playing professionally longer than any of the others, having entered the NFL in 2012. To summarize, the jobs that are up for grabs and the competitions for those jobs that will take place are exemplified by the defensive backfield, where it might be harder to project the starters than at any other position on the team.