Seattle Seahawks: Ranking the top 5 players from 2018 regular season
By Samuel Teets
1. Bobby Wagner
Wagner is hands down the best healthy player on the Seahawks right now. Earl Thomas seemed poised to challenge for the title early on in the season, but he ended up on IR after Week 4. Wagner is the definition of a do-it-all player. He makes plays all over the field and was even in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation last year.
Wagner continued his top tier play this season. In 2018 he recorded 138 combined tackles, a sack, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, 11 passes defensed and one interception that he ran back 98 yards for a touchdown. I mentioned how important Clark and Reed were to the defense earlier, but they don’t even compare to the importance of Wagner. The Seahawks need Wagner, their defense is nonexistent without him.
That might sound a little dramatic, but Seahawks fans know what I’m talking about. Wagner is the core of the defense. Things weren’t the same when Wagner was injured earlier this year. He sat out Week 2 and the team gave up 24 points. When he returned in Week 3 the defense held the Dallas Cowboys to just 13 points.
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It’s hard to describe the brilliance of Wagner’s play in words, but he’s a pro’s pro on the field. After yet another great season, he’ll be in the running for a third straight First Team All-Pro selection. I think you could make arguments for other Seahawks having better regular seasons than Wagner this year, but I’m sticking with him as the best performing player on the team.