Through the first five decades of the franchise's history, the Seahawks have had three distinct eras that stand out as the team's most successful to date.

In the 1980s, Chuck Knox led the Seahawks to the playoffs for the first time in 1983, with Seattle making a surprise run to the AFC championship game, the first four playoff berths in six seasons, a stretch that also included a 10-6 record in which Seattle fell just short of the playoffs. Two decades later, Mike Holmgren's teams won five division titles and earned six playoff berths, reaching the Super Bowl for the first time following a 13-3 2005 season. And finally, the teams led by Pete Carroll and John Schneider raised the bar yet again, with the Seahawks reaching the playoffs 10 times in 13 seasons, winning five division titles and two NFC championships, as well as the first Super Bowl title in team history.

And while all of those teams were unique in their own way, one thing they all had in common was the presence of an elite running back who helped power the offense. So it comes as no surprise that Curt Warner, Shaun Alexander and Marshawn Lynch are among the players selected to the Seahawks Top 50 Players. They are joined on that list by fellow running back Chris Warren and fullbacks Mack Strong and John L. Williams.

Warner, who burst onto the scene with a Pro-Bowl season as a rookie in 1983, was a three-time Pro Bowler while powering the "Ground Chuck" offenses that defined the Knox era. Under Holmgren, Alexander rewrote the Seahawks record books, became the first MVP in franchise history, and was a three-time Pro-Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro. And under Carroll, Lynch helped set the tone for an entire team that thrived on physicality, hyper-competitiveness and swagger, punishing defenders while creating iconic moments on and off the field on his way to four consecutive Pro-Bowl seasons in which he rushed for at least 1,200 yards and double-digit touchdown totals.

Warner, Alexander, Lynch, Warren, Strong and Williams are among the top 50 players in franchise history, a group selected in honor of the Seahawks' upcoming 50^th season. The Top 50 Players were voted on by fans, media members and internal stakeholders. The voting process took place toward the end of the 2024 season, with more than 160 players eligible based on the following criteria:

• Started at least 45 games
• Voted to an AP All-Pro or NFL Pro Bowl team roster
• Won Seahawks Man of the Year or the Steve Largent Award
• Currently leads a career major statistical category, such as most receiving yards in a career
• Part of an iconic moment in Seahawks history

For more information on the six running backs/fullbacks selected to the Seahawks Top 50 Players, see the links below to read their full bios:

Shaun Alexander: A three-time Pro-Bowler, Alexander was named league MVP in 2005, the only player in franchise history to earn that honor. Holds numerous franchise rushing records, including career rushing yards (9,429), single-season rushing yards (1,880), career touchdowns, rushing (100) and total (112), and single-season touchdowns (28). Alexander was inducted into the Seahawks Ring of Honor in 2022.

Marshawn Lynch: 2010-2015, 2019 After joining the Seahawks in a midseason trade in 2010, Lynch went on to help set the tone for the most successful era in franchise history, combining bruising physicality and elusiveness to rush for 1,200 or more yards and 11 or more touchdowns in four straight seasons from 2011-2014. In addition to helping the Seahawks win their first Super Bowl title, the man known as Beast Mode was also responsible for some of the most memorable plays in franchise history.

Mack Strong, 1994-2007 Over the course 14 seasons, all with the Seahawks, Strong provided toughness and leadership for Seattle's offenses, paving the way for big rushing seasons for two players on this list, Alexander and Warren, as well as one of the top backs who didn't make the cut, Ricky Watters. Strong was a Pro Bowl selection in 2005 and 2006, as well a first-team All-Pro in 2005, and his 201 career games played are the second most in franchise history. He was also a three-time winner of the team's prestigious Steve Largent Award, as well as Seattle's nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2004.

Curt Warner, 1983-1990 The No. 3 overall pick in 1983, Warner burst onto the scene as a rookie, rushing for 1,449 yards and 13 touchdowns to earn Pro-Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors. That big season helped the Seahawks secure their first playoff berth in team history, a run that ended in a trip to the AFC Championship game. Warner suffered a torn ACL in the first game of his second season, but bounced back from that injury to rush for more than 1,000 yards in three of the next four seasons, including a 1,481-yard, 13-touchdown season in 1986, his second of three Pro-Bowl seasons. Warner became the fifth member of the Seahawks Ring of Honor in 1994.

Chris Warren, 1990-1997 Warren's accomplishments as a Seahawk are perhaps a bit overlooked due to the era he played in—the Seahawks didn't enjoy a lot of success in the 1990s—but his career stands out as one of the best by a running back in team history. From 1992 to 1995, Warner eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark four straight times and was named a Pro Bowler three times, setting a since-broken franchise record with 1,545 rushing yards in 1994. Warren's 6,706 career yards as a Seahawk ranks second in franchise history.

John L. Williams, 1986-1993 A versatile threat out of the backfield, Williams was the type of backfield weapon that would have fit in just as well in today's era as he did in his own time. A first-round pick in 1986, Williams rushed for 500 or more yards five times, and eclipsed 400 receiving yards seven times. He totaled more than 1,100 scrimmage yards for four consecutive years from 1988-1991, including a career-high 1,528 total yards in 1988, and he was a Pro-Bowl selection in 1990 and 1991. Williams ranks sixth in franchise history in rushing yards (4,579), fifth in receptions (471), and ninth in receiving yards (4,151), making him the only non-receiver to crack the top 10 in either of those receiving categories. He was twice named team MVP, and was voted a team captain two times as well.