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ESPN released its All-Decade teams for each NFL division, as voted on by the beat reporters of those respective divisions. As expected, the Seattle Seahawks were well represented across the board.
Russell Wilson was the Seahawks’ top player of the decade and that’s not really up for debate. Eight years ago, Matt Flynn was the presumptive starter, then a third-round rookie swooped in and won the job, quickly won the hearts of Seahawks fans, and won the Super Bowl. Brady Henderson listed Bobby Wagner as the honorable mention, which was a minor surprise but can make quite a bit of sense when you read his write-up:
Honorable mention: Bobby Wagner, LB, 2012-present. If your knee-jerk pick was Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas or Marshawn Lynch, consider: Wagner’s six Pro Bowls as a Seahawk are tied with Thomas for the most among the four, and his five first-team All-Pro selections with Seattle are two more than any of the others. Sherman’s tip in the NFC title game and Lynch’s Beast Quake run are signature plays, but Wagner’s overall body of work gives him the nod as runner-up to Wilson.
Of course, Wagner is still on the Seahawks roster, something that cannot be said for Sherman, Thomas, or Lynch. There’s still time for Wagner to add to his legacy as one of Seattle’s greatest ever players.
In addition to Russ, Marshawn Lynch, Doug Baldwin, Max Unger, and Russell Okung cracked the All-Decade offense. If you want to stretch this out further, current Seahawk Mike Iupati is also in at guard, but his best years were with the San Francisco 49ers. Okung is listed as right tackle because Joe Staley is the other tackle, but I’d just ignore the designation.
The defense features the main Legion of Boom trio of Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas, as well as Wagner as one of the three linebackers. While I would’ve loved to see Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett have some recognition on this All-Decade team, it’s hard to deny Chandler Jones and Calais Campbell their spots.
Lastly, special teams has Tyler Lockett as returnman — this feels more like “by default” because Lockett really has only had two quality seasons as a returner — Stephen Hauschka as kicker, and Johnny Hekker as punter/Rams’ best quarterback.
In total, 11 of the 25 player selections came from longtime Seahawks, with current Seahawk Iupati making it a fitting 12. Your NFC West coach of the 2010s is Pete Carroll, because... I mean do you really want to argue otherwise?
Here’s the full NFC West All-Decade team:
OFFENSE
QB: Russell Wilson, Seahawks, 2012-present
RB: Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks, 2010-2015, 2019
RB: Todd Gurley, Rams, 2015-2019
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals, 2004-present
WR: Doug Baldwin, Seahawks, 2011-2018
LT: Joe Staley, 49ers, 2007-2019
LG: Mike Iupati, 49ers, 2010-2014; Cardinals, 2015-2018; Seahawks, 2019
C: Max Unger, Seahawks, 2009-2014
RG: Rodger Saffold, Rams, 2010-2018
RT: Russell Okung, Seahawks, 2010-2015
TE: George Kittle, 49ers, 2017-present
DEFENSE
DE: Chandler Jones, Cardinals, 2016-present
DT: Aaron Donald, Rams, 2014-present
DT: Justin Smith, 49ers, 2008-2014
DE: Calais Campbell, Cardinals, 2008-2016
LB: Bobby Wagner, Seahawks, 2012-present
LB: Patrick Willis, 49ers, 2007-2014
LB: NaVorro Bowman, 49ers, 2010-2017
CB: Richard Sherman, Seahawks, 2011-2017; 49ers, 2018-present
CB: Patrick Peterson, Cardinals, 2011-present
FS: Earl Thomas, Seahawks, 2010-2018
SS: Kam Chancellor, Seahawks, 2010-2017
SPECIAL TEAMS
KR/PR: Tyler Lockett, Seahawks, 2015-present
K: Stephen Hauschka, Seahawks, 2011-2016
P: Johnny Hekker, Rams, 2012-present