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The Ten Best Seattle Seahawks First Round Draft Picks of All Time

By Ben Renner

Jan 10, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Seattle Seahawks players including Earl Thomas (29) and Richard Sherman (25) and Kelcie McCray (33) celebrate after Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh (not pictured) missed a field goal in the fourth quarter in a NFC Wild Card playoff football game at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Seattle Seahawks players including Earl Thomas (29) and Richard Sherman (25) and Kelcie McCray (33) celebrate after Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh (not pictured) missed a field goal in the fourth quarter in a NFC Wild Card playoff football game at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 31, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Seattle Seahawks former coach Chuck Knox (right) and former safety Kenny Easley shake hands at the Seattle Seahawks 12Fest fan rally in the Desert at Chase Field prior to Super Bowl XLIX. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Kenny Easley

Taken with the fourth pick in the 1981 draft, Kenny Easley went down as one of the best NFL safeties ever. He intercepted three passes and returned one of them for a touchdown while racking up 155 interception return yards during his rookie season, earning AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. In 1983, the Seattle Seahawks hired former Buffalo Bills coach Chuck Knox and Easley quickly became the Earl Thomas of Knox’s defense. As the backbone of the Seahawks defense, Easley recorded seven interceptions in 1983 and won the AFC Defensive Player of the Year award.

Easley was the definition of a ball hawk. He set a franchise record with 10 interceptions in 1984, leading the NFL that year. He returned two of those 10 interceptions for touchdowns and became the first safety to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award since Dick Anderson in 1973. He earned four consecutive Pro Bowl selections, with his honors in 1985, a franchise record that stood until Cortez Kennedy earned his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl in 1995.

Easley had an interesting career as a player representative as well. He was a key figure in the 1987 NFL players’ strike. The head of the NFL Players Association Gene Upshaw tapped Easley to help him lead the strike in pursuit of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with free agency.

In 2017, Easley was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, finally enshrining one of the greatest safeties ever.

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