Five years ago, when the world was shut down by a pandemic and the NFL offseason was particularly quiet, we decided here at Seahawks.com to undertake the fun but rather unimportant task of choosing the best player in team history to wear every jersey number. And now, with the Seahawks celebrating their 50th season in franchise history, we've decided to refresh that list. Most of the numbers haven't changed, but several have with players like Devon Witherspoon, Jaxon Smith Njigba, DK Metcalf, Geno Smith and Quandre Diggs replacing Seahawks Legends who were on the list five years earlier.
Earlier this offseason, the Seahawks named the Top 50 Players in franchise history, and as one might expect, those players all made this list as well, with the exception of a couple of number that were worn by multiple Top 50 players like 72 (Joe Nash and Michael Bennett) and 89 (Doug Baldwin and Brian Blades).
So far we've covered numbers 1-20, 21-40, 41-60 and 61-80 on this far-from-definitive list, and today we wrap things up with numbers 81-99.
81: WR Golden Tate, 2010-2013
Koren Robinson had a good Seahawks career, including a 1,240-yard season in 2002, but Tate gets the nod at 81 for being the leading receiver on a Super Bowl-winning team. Tate was also a very good punt returner on top of his pass-catching duties, was responsible for one of the more memorable regular-season plays in franchise history, a game-winning catch against on the final play of the game against the Packers—yes, that was a catch—and played with about as much joy as anyone in the NFL.
82: WR Darrell Jackson, 2000-2006
One of the most productive receivers in franchise history, Jackson had three 1,000-yard seasons over a four-year stretch as one of Matt Hasselbeck's favorite targets in the 2000s. A Seahawks Top 50 Players selection, Jackson was a key part of the Mike Holmgren-coached teams that dominated the NFC West in the 2000s, culminating in a trip to Super Bowl XL. And yes, that should have been a touchdown in that Super Bowl, not offensive pass interference.
83: WR Steve Raible, 1976-1981
Yes, Deion Branch put up better numbers during his Seahawks career, but we're giving the nod to Raible, an original Seahawk. Raible, who self-deprecatingly refers to himself as the "other Steve" on those 70s and 80s teams, and while he has a respectable playing career, what makes him a true franchise legend is his longtime role as the Voice of the Seahawks, the man who has provided memorable calls of many of the greatest moments in franchise history.
84: WR Bobby Engram, 2001-2008
Like Tate, Engram's talents as a punt returner help break a tie with another very good receiver who wore the same number, Joey Galloway. Hasselbeck's go-to target on third down, Engram set a franchise record with 94 receptions in 2007, a mark that was later tied by Doug Baldwin and broken by Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. A Seahawks Top 50 Players selection, Engram finished his Seahawks career with 399 catches for 4,859 yards in eight seasons. Sam McCullum, who had 3,409 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns in six seasons, also deserves a mention.
85: WR Mike Pritchard, 1996-1999
Pritchard joined the Seahawks in 1996 after five seasons in Atlanta and Denver, and started 41 games over four seasons in Seattle, catching 169 passes for 2,288 yards and eight scores. Fun fact: Pritchard was a star of Colorado's 1990 win over Missouri, AKA, "The Fifth-Down Game," scoring touchdowns of 68 and 70 yards for the eventual national champions. Receiver/punt returner Paul Johns also deserves a mention here.
86: TE Zach Miller, 2011-2014
Miller is one of four tight ends in the running at No. 86 along with Jerramy Stevens, Christian Fauria and Mike Tice, but Miller gets the nod for playing a big role on a team that went to consecutive Super Bowls. Miller didn't put up big pass-catching numbers, but was a huge part of one of the NFL's best running games, helping pave the way for some of Marshawn Lynch's best seasons. Miller, one of the first big free-agent signings, along with receiver Sidney Rice, in the John Schneider and Pete Carroll era, was also an important veteran leader on those young teams.
87: TE Charle Young, 1983-1985
Young spent only three seasons in Seattle after a standout career in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco, but he finished his career strong, starting 43 games, including all 16 on for the 1983 team that reached the AFC Championship game after becoming the first playoff team in franchise history. With another strong season or two, fellow Noah Fant could be the pick here.
88: TE Jimmy Graham, 2015-2017
No, Graham never put up the same eye-popping number that he did New Orleans before he was traded to Seattle, but given the difference in offenses, that was never a realistic expectation. And in his three seasons, Graham was a two-time Pro Bowler who recorded the most receptions (170), receiving yards (2,048) and touchdowns (18) by a tight end in franchise history, doing that despite a serious knee injury 11 games into his first year in Seattle.
89: WR Doug Baldwin, 2011-2018
Like No. 72, No. 89 features two different players who were Seahawks Top 50 Players selections, making this a tough choice. And as great as Brian Blades was during his 11-year career with the Seahawks, we're going with Doug Baldwin by the slightest of margins for having the slightly better peak, some massive playoff performances, and for playing a big role during the most successful decade in team history. And as great as Baldwin was on the field, his legacy off of it was and continues to be even more impressive. The team's nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in 2013, Baldwin was recognized by King County with the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service in 2018 and was a finalist for ESPN's Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award that same year. In retirement, Baldwin helps operate the Family First Community Center in Renton, a project he spearheaded for years, using significant amounts of his own money to get off the ground.
90: DT Jarran Reed, 2016-2020, 2023-present
2020 pick: LB Terry Wooden
A second-round pick in 2016, Reed had a solid five-year run in Seattle before joining Kansas City in 2021, a stretch that included a 10.5 sack season in 2018, making him the third interior lineman in franchise history with a double-digit sack season along with Hall of Famers Cortez Kennedy and John Randle. Reed then returned to Seattle in 2023 and has played some of the best football of his career over the past two seasons, serving as a veteran leader who helped bridge the transition between Pete Carroll and Mike Macdonald while also producing at a high level, including 11.5 sacks, 99 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback hits and four passes defensed in 33 games.
91: DE Chris Clemons, 2010-2013
The Seahawks acquired Clemons in a 2010 trade with the Eagles that didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but it turned out to be one of best trades of the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era. Clemons recorded 33.5 sacks from 2010-2012. For Seahawks fans, it's hard not to wonder if the 2012 playoff loss in Atlanta might have gone differently if Clemons hadn't torn his ACL on a subpar playing surface the week before.
92: DT Brandon Mebane, 2007-2014
A force on Seattle's interior line for nearly a decade, Mebane started 125 games in nine seasons with the Seahawks, providing production, leadership and an all-time great "belly roll" sack dance. Mebane, along with Red Bryant, provided crucial leadership for a young defense that established itself as one of the best in NFL history early in the Pete Carroll and John Schneider era. All of those traits helped make Mebane a Seahawks Top 50 Players selection. Also deserving of mention here is linebacker Dave Wyman, who started 56 games over six seasons in Seattle, eclipsing the 100-tackle mark twice in his first three seasons.
93: DT John Randle, 2001-2003
Randle built his Hall of Fame resume in Minnesota, where he was a six-time first-team All-Pro, but he was still very productive in his final three seasons in Seattle. Randle earned Pro-Bowl honors in 2001 when he recorded 11 sacks, making him, at the time, one of only Seahawks defensive tackles in franchise history to record double-digit sacks in a season along with fellow Hall of Famer Cortez Kennedy, and he added 12.5 more sacks over the next two seasons, finishing out his career by helping the Seahawks reach the postseason in 2003, kicking off a stretch of five consecutive playoff seasons.
94: LB Chad Brown, 1997-2004
After starting his career in Pittsburgh, Brown joined the Seahawks in 1997 as one of the team's biggest free-agent signings to date, and he would prove to be a great signing. Brown, a Seahawks Top 50 Players selection, earned Pro-Bowl honors twice for Seattle, as well as first-team All-Pro honors in 1998 when he had 149 tackles and 7.5 sacks. Brown had more than 100 tackles in four of his first five seasons, and recorded 48 sacks over eight seasons.
95: LB Dean Wells, 1993-1998
Wells, a fourth-round pick in 1993, didn't start until his third season in Seattle, but was a highly productive linebacker once he got a chance, recording 330 tackles, including 107 in 1996 and 92 the following year.
96: DT Cortez Kennedy, 1990-2000
Kennedy was an absolute force and an all-time great Seahawks who unfortunately did not get to enjoy much team success during his Hall of Fame career. Despite playing on only one playoff team, Kennedy made people notice his play, earning Pro-Bowl honors eight times and first-team All-Pro honors three times. Perhaps nothing illustrated Tez's dominance more than the fact that he earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1992 despite the Seahawks finishing with a 2-14 record, making him one of only two players in team history to earn that honor along with Kenny Easley, a fellow Hall of Famer, Seahawks Ring of Honor member and Seahawks Top 50 Players selection.
97: LB Rufus Porter, 1988-1994
Porter went undrafted in 1988, but that didn't stop him from being an instant-impact player in the NFL, earning Pro-Bowl honors each of his first two seasons, first as a special teams standout, then for a 1989 season in which he recorded 10.5 sacks. Porter, a Seahawks Top 50 Players selection, went on to appear in 98 games over seven seasons with the Seahawks, recording 37.5 sacks, 35 of which came over a four-year stretch from 1989-1992. Patrick Kerney, who was a first-team All-Pro in his first season with the Seahawks, recording 14.5 sacks, also merits a mention at No. 97.
98: DT Sam Adams, 1994-1999
A first-round pick in 1994, Adams started 66 games over six seasons with the Seahawks, recording 23 sacks. Adams went on to earn Pro-Bowl honors three times after leaving Seattle, including in Baltimore's Super Bowl-winning 2000 season.
99: DT Rocky Bernard, 2002-2007
Cortez Kennedy could almost be the choice here for his one season in No. 99, his Defensive Player of the Year campaign in which he recorded 14 sacks, 92 tackles and four forced fumbles, but Kennedy had a big and generous heart, so he probably wouldn't have wanted to take up two spots on this list. Besides, Bernard is more than deserving for his seven-year Seahawks career in which he recorded 29 sacks, including 8.5 on Seattle's NFC Championship-winning 2005 squad. Bernard was part of five playoff seasons in Seattle, including four straight NFC West title-winning campaigns. Leonard Williams, fresh off a dominant 2024 season, could be in the conversation at No. 99 if this list is revisited in the future.
