Our NFL Thursday journey through the 10 best players for each current franchise, as measured by sabermetric Approximate Value (AV), crosses the country today … from the Southeast to the Northwest. It’s Seattle Seahawks time! We just saw the team play against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, so the timing here is interesting, although we doubt any current players on the team would make this list. Read on; enjoy!

No. 10: Richard Sherman, CB—93 AV (2011-2017)

In just 7 seasons with the team, Sherman established a serious legacy which we’re certain will put him in the NFL Hall of Fame someday. Selected to 4 Pro Bowls while with the Seahawks, he also topped the NFL in AV twice (2012, 2013), while leading the league in interceptions once (2013) and passes defended once as well (2012). He was far from mediocre, obviously, although salary disputes eventually sent him on his way.

No. 9: Matt Hasselbeck, QB—93 AV (2001-2010)

The leader of the team as it rose to eventual staying prominence, he got Seattle to its first Super Bowl. He also made 3 Pro Bowls while posting 5 playoff victories in 11 games for the Seahawks. Yes, Hasselbeck also had this famous flop, but without him, the organization might have stayed irrelevant for much longer. He was 69-62 as a starter for a team that was terrible before he got there, and he made it better in the end.

No. 8: Dave Krieg, QB—97 AV (1980-1991)

He led the first wave of success in Seattle, posting a 70-49 record as the Seahawks’ primary quarterback through the 1980s. He was 3-4 in the postseason, as the team reached the AFC Championship Game in 1983 after 4-win seasons in 1980 and 1982. Krieg made 3 Pro Bowls as a Seahawk, and he led the NFL in touchdown percentage thrice (1983, 1987, 1988) and completion percentage once (1991) as well. He was gutsy.

No. 7: Joe Nash, DT—98 AV (1982-1996)

Perhaps most famous for his efforts to slow down the opponent’s high-octane offense in the 1988 playoffs, Nash also was amazing at blocking kicks. He made only 1 Pro Bowl (1984—his best season with 19 AV), but Nash was a mainstay on the Seattle defensive line for a generation. With 47.5 sacks in his career, plus those 10 blocked kicks, you just never knew how Nash was going to stand out. He also scored two TDs as well.

No. 6: Jacob Green, DE—104 AV (1980-1991)

Definitely the most unknown player on this list, Green made 2 Pro Bowls (1986, 1987) in his 12 years with Seattle. During that period, he also posted 115.5 sacks, 4 defensive TDs, and 3 interceptions. His best season was 1986 (12 AV), but he also had four additional years with double-digit AV marks. Still, unless you are a diehard Seahawks fan, you probably do not know who he is. That’s okay, because he lives on in team lore.

No. 5: Cortez Kennedy, DT—119 AV (1990-2000)

Pretty rare to see two DTs on a team’s Top 10 list, eh? But in his 11 seasons, Kennedy reached double-digit AV in 8 different years, including 6 in a row at one point (1991-1996). He made the Pro Bowl those 6 straight seasons, too, and also twice more in 1998 and 1999. With 58 career sacks, Kennedy was a force up the middle of the defense, also notching 11 forced fumbles and 3 INTs. His best season was 1992 with 19 AV overall.

No. 4: Walter Jones, T—127 AV (1997-2008)

It’s impressive to see an offensive lineman so high on this list, especially when he only played 12 seasons. But his Hall of Fame career featured 9 Pro Bowls and 8 seasons in double-digit AV—including 7 straight from 2001-2007. A member of the first Seattle Super Bowl team, Jones played in 5 additional postseasons for the Seahawks. He was the No. 6 overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft, and the choice paid off handsomely.

No. 3: Bobby Wagner, LB—137 AV (2012-2021, 2023)

Well, here’s our shocker, as we saw him play on Sunday in person: Wagner should pass No. 2 on this list by the end of this season, perhaps, or maybe earlier next year, on his way to the Hall. He made 8 straight Pro Bowls from 2014-2021 while helping the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl championship in 2013. With 26 sacks, 11 INTs, and 6 FFs in his Seattle career, Wagner has been a tackling machine, leading the NFL twice.

No. 2: Steve Largent, WR—140 AV (1976-1989)

The first face of the franchise, Largent retired as the most productive NFL receiver ever up to that point. He made 7 Pro Bowls in his Hall of Fame career, often playing for some very bad teams early on. He led the NFL in receiving yardage twice (1979, 1985) and yards per game once (1979). Largent caught exactly 100 TDs in his career, and he posted double-digit AV marks in 9 of his 14 seasons in the NFL—not bad for a fourth rounder.

No. 1: Russell Wilson, QB—158 AV (2012-2021)

We picked him twice for NFL MVP (2018, 2019), and he led the team to the 2013 and 2014 Super Bowls. Wilson was a third-round pick who made the Pro Bowl in his first 4 NFL seasons—and then made it 5 times more before leaving Seattle via trade before the 2022 season. He topped the NFL in QB rating once (2015) and TD passes once (2017), too. His 104 wins as a Seahawks QB is a record that will not be broken soon.