For Super Bowl Opening Night, Sam Darnold, Leonard Williams, Brady Russell, Julian Love, Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba stood backstage, listening to the event planner explain the timing of them being announced to the stage, where they would go, and what they would do once they got to the stage. Everyone stood attentive, listening to the directions they were given, nodding in understanding with a few "OKs" scattered in between. And then there was Witherspoon, boisterous and animated like always, telling the event planner he wanted to take the microphone to get the crowd that awaited them hype. This isn't out of the ordinary for Witherspoon, who can usually be heard from the third floor of the Virginia Mason Athletic Center as he's walking to meetings all the way on the first floor. Next to him stood Smith-Njigba, quiet, not really saying anything but smiling as he watched Witherspoon's interaction.

This exchange perfectly displayed the differences between Witherspoon and Smith-Njigba. One, a very spirited and energetic individual, another, calm and quiet. Opposites attract is the saying for a pair like Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon. Neither of them trying to mold themselves to fit each other, but both embracing one another for who they are.

"If I'm a player in the locker room, I just want guys to be themselves," Macdonald said. "That sets the environment for the rest of our team. Really our coaches, too, where you don't have to walk around acting like, 'How am I supposed to act; am I supposed to be like this or am I supposed to be like that?' No, the principle of the matter, the thing that we really care about is the decisions that we're making and are we putting the team first and are we abiding by our team principles, and all the rest of the stuff really tends to come more to life because they take the pressure off guys. But again, those are two leaders on our team (Witherspoon and Smith-Njigba), more of our high-profile players, and they act that way, it's easy to fall in line."

And the duo, although very different people, is a story of two players who created a strong bond over a huge, but shared goal.

"We're gonna get this team here (the Super Bowl) one day." Witherspoon recalled telling Smith-Njigba in one of his first conversations with his new teammate. The two rookies sat on a boat ride across Lake Washington when they arrived to Seattle for the first time after being drafted in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Witherspoon went No. 5 overall and Smith-Njigba went 20^th overall.

"I kind of felt like [we would be friends forever] the moment we got on the boat, right after the plane ride, we got to Seattle. Just kind of felt the connection there, but we're gonna be the reason we change this program around."

Smith-Njigba remembers being in agreeance with Witherspoon.

"It feels like yesterday," he said.

"Getting the grasp of why we were brought here, and what we wanted to do, and how we wanted it to look."

The then rookies knew they wanted to help get Seattle to a Super Bowl one day.

The goal, while it was clearly attainable, given the position Seattle is in right now, sounded like a lofty goal for just two rookies. Since that conversation though, Witherspoon and Smith-Njigba have gone on to leave no doubt about the impact they can make on a team.

His rookie year, after missing three games with injury, he was still named one of five finalists for the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was also the only rookie defensive player named to the Pro Bowl that season. He recorded 79 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 16 passes defensed and one interception that was returned 97 yards his rookie year. Teammates and coaches alike cite his energy and confidence as being "one-of-one." In his second season, Witherspoon made his second-consecutive Pro Bowl after finishing the season with 98 tackles, six tackles for loss, one sack and nine passes defensed.

"I mean, he's a big, great, fun-loving personality," Macdonald said. "But at the end of the day, he expects us to play great football, and his actions back that up. That's contagious in how he plays. You can't turn our tape on and watch 21 (Devon Witherspoon) play and have any inkling or any idea that it's not okay to play with your hair on fire at 1,000 miles an hour every play. And he's incredibly smart, too. He gets it. He sees things. He's reactive. He's inquisitive. He cares about it. He wants to learn. Sounds like a guy you want to coach."

And this season, in his third year, Witherspoon was named a Top 50 Seahawk in franchise history, was named to his third Pro Bowl and named Second-Team All-Pro, making him just the fourth player in team history to be named a Pro Bowler in each of his first three seasons along with quarterback Russell Wilson (2012-2015), linebacker Lofa Tatupu (2005-2007) and linebacker/special teamer Fredd Young (1984-1987).

"He's part of the engine that makes the whole thing go," Macdonald said. "He's probably the sparkplug behind the whole thing."

Smith-Njigba said, "He's a big-time leader for this team and a huge personality that a team would want and need to really push each other to get to where we want to go."

Even though Smith-Njigba didn't have a huge rookie year, numbers-wise, it was clear by watching a game that he would flourish into something great.

Last season, Smith-Njigba was named to his first Pro Bowl for a season where he finished with 1,130 receiving yards on 100 receptions.

This season, Smith-Njigba is a finalist for Offensive Player of the Year after leading the NFL in receiving yards (1,793). He also helped Seattle's offense become one of the best offense's this season, ranking as the No. 3 scoring offense this season (483 total points, 29.2 points per game). He was named to his second Pro Bowl and named a First-Team All-Pro. He also set multiple franchise and NFL records. He became the first player in NFL history with at least 75 receiving yards in each of his first 11 games of a season. He had nine 100+ yard games this season, with a season best of 167 yards in Week 12. He had nine 100-yard games this season, the most in the NFL, and the most in a single season in franchise history. And he became the third player in NFL history 23 years old or younger with at least 1,700 receiving yards in a single season and set the franchise record for most receptions in a single season with a career-high 119.

"I think he can do things at all three levels," Macdonald said. "There's a lot of great receivers in this league who don't have as diverse of a skill set as he does. Anywhere from an intermediate route tree, catch-and-run stuff at the line of scrimmage, and then we've seen his ability to track the ball at the third level and keep his body position, all that kind of stuff."

All season long, Smith-Njigba has looked pretty much unstoppable, getting open when he needs to, making catches that look uncatchable and being consistent.

On the Tuesday prior to the Super Bowl, Macdonald was asked how to stop Smith-Njigba, he joked, "Can you put three guys on him?"

Witherspoon and Smith-Njigba's accolades makes five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro recognitions amongst two players in just their first three seasons.

The two, who couldn't be more different personality-wise are similar in their competitive spirit, and it just worked out the two could line up across from each other every day in practice.

"We've been going at it for a very long time, and I give credit to his brain," Smith-Njigba said about Witherspoon's contribution to his development. "He's just a smart player and having so many reps against them, it's a true battle out there when I go show up against him and we just sharpen each other, and we just get each other better and I just appreciate him more than he knows."

Now, the pair that lines up against each other each day in practice will get to take on the biggest goal they set out for themselves together a little less than three years ago.

"We were drafted together," Witherspoon said. "We came in together. The first day I was able to see them pick him. I was already excited when they picked me. We looked at each other and I said, "We're gonna get this team here (the Super Bowl) one day and we did."