When you discuss the Seattle Seahawks and their defense, you often look at how they built it. They put together their defense from the back end and then worked their way to the defensive line and because of that, teams have followed the same exact trend and stocked up the secondary first and then added what was needed to the front end of the defense and it has worked wonders for the Seahawks who have been one of the best defense in the NFL over a four or five year span. Their secondary has been the heartbeat of the unit and their three stars were all drafted on the second and third days of the NFL Draft, but have emerged as some of the best at their respected positions. Richard Sherman has established himself as a top five corner, Earl Thomas at one time was considered underrated and he’s one of the best safeties in the league then you also have Kam Chancellor and the Seahawks have rewarded him with a three-year/$36 Million extension and $25 Million guaranteed.
Around this time two years ago, Kam decided to put himself before the team and skip training camp and his holdout eventually carried into the regular season and the Seahawks lost their first two games. As a defense, they looked confused, they lacked communication and they were lost. Every defense has that guy that they call their “enforcer”. An enforcer is a guy that literally makes you think twice about running in his direction and for years, that’s been Kam Chancellor who has become one of the best all-around safeties in the NFL today. He’s 6’3, 232 pounds and has the build of a linebacker that’s playing in the secondary. He plays with a natural instinct and he’s all over the field. He can defend tight ends, he can play in the box and no matter who’s coming in his direction, he’s hitting you and I’ve literally seen people slide down just so they don’t get hit by him. He has the quickness to shed blockers and get to the ball-carrier and has the speed to bring guys down in open space. His presence is extremely imposing. He also keeps his eyes on the quarterback and can lure him into passing it sooner rather than later and get you an interception when you need it.
I was asked at one time who I thought was the most important piece to the Seahawks defense and after seeing how they looked without Kam in 2015, I immediately said him, but seeing how they looked when Earl Thomas went down with his injury, it’s safe to say that they’re both key pieces to that Seattle defense
