The Seahawks have had one of the NFL's best defensive players on their roster for almost a decade in All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner. They added another over the weekend by trading for All-Pro safety Jamal Adams.
Both players were again selected by their peers as two of the best players in the league, being named to the NFL Network's Top 100 Players of 2020 list, with Wagner at No. 13 and Adams at No. 27.
Wagner cracks the Top 100 for the fifth time in eight years and for the fourth year in a row, and No. 13 is his highest ranking on the list, two spots ahead of where he was listed a year ago. Wagner led the NFL in tackles last season with 159, and moved into first place on the franchise all-time tackles list, and he also became the first player in Seahawks history to earn Associated Press first-team All-Pro honors four straight years and five times overall.
"He has played sensational football," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said last year. "He has done everything we've asked him to do. He's consistent as anyone could ever be. He's been tough throughout and he's leading the whole crew."
It's the second straight selection for Adams, a 2017 first-round pick by the New York Jets, who last year was No. 37 on the 2019 Top 100. Adams, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade on Saturday, earned first-team All-Pro and Pro-Bowl honors in 2019 as a member of the Jets when he had 75 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 13 quarterback hits and two touchdowns, one on an interception return and one after his own sack/forced fumble. Adams is the second-highest rated safety in the NFL over the past two seasons by the analytic site, Pro Football Focus, and as last year's sack total demonstrated, he is capable of making plays all over the field and not just in the defensive backfield. Since Adams came into the league in 2017, he leads NFL defensive backs in sacks, quarterback hits, hurries and total pressures, according to PFF.
Already named to the Top 100 before Wagner and Adams were running back Chris Carson (96), receiver DK Metcalf (81), receiver Tyler Lockett (65) and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (41), a 2019 member of the Seahawks who is currently a free agent.
Quarterback Russell Wilson, who was No. 25 on last year's list, either cracked the Top 10 for the first time, or will be a massive nub on this year's list. Tune in to the NFL Network Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT to see where Wilson ranks or to be outraged by his omission from the list.
