Seahawks' atypical run defense strategy the new goalpost for NFL
· Yahoo Sports
The Seattle Seahawks’ run defense strategy was just atypical enough to get ahead of the rest of the NFL in 2025, and it’s becoming a foundational system they’ll build their championship window on for the rest of the decade.
Last year’s edition of the team that became Super Bowl Champions had several unique players who became irreplaceable to their defense down the stretch. They had strength in depth, too- but the three players I would highlight are Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, and Nick Emmanwori. With these three players, Seattle is able to run a defensive scheme no other team in the NFL can copy with their own personnel.
Visit livefromquarantine.club for more information.
Leonard Williams was the first to arrive in Seattle, and since being acquired at the 2024 trade deadline, he’s been the best defensive tackle the franchise has seen in the 2000s, possibly since the late Cortez Kennedy. To say he’s well-rounded is an understatement when describing his run game ability. He’s big enough to take on double teams and eat up space while athletic enough to get off blocks, and sometimes make freakish plays. The once per game plays where he somehow chases a ballcarrier from hash-to-hash are some of the most jaw-dropping in the entire league. He immediately became the centerpiece of the grand plan to stop the run at all costs.
Macdonald also made sure to select Byron Murphy II with his first ever draft choice with the Seahawks, and he knew what pairing him with Williams meant. Murphy is a splendid complement to Williams’ size and athleticism, packing all the size into a uniquely wide, agile, and downright strong frame. He’s four inches shorter than Williams, but weighs about the same. He’s turned into one of the best run defenders in the entire NFL in just two years, showing techniques on tape that have never been tried before and are just crazy enough to work with a talent like his. While Williams is so big, Murphy is so low and flexible in his lower body for a 300-pound body that he can go down to one knee to hold the line of scrimmage against double teams.
With both of these two taking on double teams, Seattle can defend the run from 4-down lineman defensive looks, allowing them an extra linebacker or safety that can take advantage of the space and track the ballcarrier on his own. Nick Emmanwori came in as a rookie and fit that position like a glove. His speed and size are as good as any safety ever, and somehow he ends up playing linebacker for most of each game. In focusing on the run, Seattle also eliminated the biggest modern weaknesses against the pass- mismatches with skill players on slower linebackers and smaller nickel defenders. Emmanwori could do both jobs at an elite level.
With Williams, Murphy and Emmanwori, Seattle can run a pass-focused defensive look and defend the run well. That very ability is what other teams are desperate to try and give themselves in 2026, because in 2025, offenses just didn’t crack its code.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks' foundational run defense strategy led to a Super Bowl