The Seattle Seahawks have always had good luck with undrafted free agents (UDFAs). One of the franchise’s greatest quarterbacks, Dave Krieg, arrived via the UDFA route from Milton College in 1980. Joe Nash, Rufus Porter, and Michael Bennett – all in the franchise’s top ten sack leaders – were UDFAs.
Bennett came in 2009, though he didn’t make his mark until he returned several years later. He was brought back to the club by John Schneider after establishing himself in Tampa.
Schneider, who joined Seattle in 2010, was not around when Bennett was initially inked to a deal, but he would prove himself to be an outstanding judge of those players on the margins. Especially in the early years, Schneider had an excellent track record with UDFAs.
Ranking the Seahawks' best UDFAs in the John Schneider era
Here's a quick look at the ten best UDFA acquisitions in the John Schneider era.
10. Jake Bobo: Wide receiver, UCLA (2023)
Spoiler alert: Every other player on this list entered the league in 2018 or earlier. Is that a sign that Schneider has lost his touch? Maybe. But at least he found Bobo, a big receiver who is way too slow to be in the league. Nonetheless, he is here.
As a rookie, he caught 19 balls and scored two touchdowns in spot duty. Nine of those catches resulted in first downs. Bobo won’t make many plays, but when he does, he makes them count. Last year, although his usage went down, his efficiency increased. Seventy percent of his 13 catches resulted in a first down or touchdown. He is also a willing special-teams player. Not bad for a UDFA.
Ricardo Lockette: Wide receiver, Fort Valley State (2011)
Spoiler alert: Wide receivers will be over-represented on this list. As will the year 2011.
Here’s a bizarre bit of trivia for you. In Super Bowl XLIX, four Seahawks wide receivers caught passes. All of them were UDFAs. Chris Matthews is not on this list because Seattle did not originally sign him, but the other three, including Lockette, are.
He may have only caught 22 balls in his entire Seahawks career, but he managed an extraordinary 20.5 yards-per-catch and reached the end zone four times on those receptions. Unfortunately, he'll be most remembered for the one touchdown grab he was not able to make at the end of ... you know what - I don't even want to type it.
8. Jeron Johnson: Safety, Boise State (2011)
Spoiler alert: There will be no more spoiler alerts.
Johnson didn’t get a lot of chances to play defense behind Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, but he was always a steady, sure tackler when called upon. His workmanlike approach and quality special teams play over four years and 46 games earned him a four-million-dollar deal with Washington, where he served in a similar reserve role. Johnson returned to Seattle at the end of the 2016 season to provide depth.
7. DeShawn Shead: Cornerback, Portland State (2012)
Like Johnson, Shead found himself stuck in a backup role with the Legion of Doom. Unlike Johnson, he proved he could step into a starting role after Byron Maxwell departed through free agency. In 2016, Shead started 15 games, recording 81 tackles and 14 passes defended. Sadly, a torn ACL in the playoffs effectively ended his career as a starter.
In all, he appeared in 54 games for the Seahawks over five seasons, starting 22 of them.
6. George Fant: Offensive tackle, Western Kentucky (2016)
Fant’s return to Seattle last year didn’t go as planned. Expected to provide veteran insurance while right tackle Abe Lucas was recovering from injury, Fant himself was injured and only appeared in two games.
However, in his first stint with the Hawks, Fant came out of nowhere to provide a versatile presence along the line. Despite having almost no experience at tackle, Fant made the roster and eventually took over as a starter.
An injury in his sophomore season slowed his progress, but when he returned, Fant played both traditional tackle and a jumbo tight end. He played well enough to earn a $30 million contract from the Jets in 2020.
5. Garry Gilliam: Offensive tackle, Penn State (2014)
Gilliam and Fant are closely linked. Both entered the league with minimal experience at tackle. Gilliam had been a tight end for most of his college career. After serving as a backup during his rookie season, Gilliam took over as a starter in his second season and ended up starting 29 games at right tackle over the next two years.
Gilliam gets ranked ahead of Fant because of one play. In the NFC Championship at the end of the 2014 season, Seattle trailed Green Bay 16-0 at halftime. Seattle lined up for a field goal attempt early in the third quarter. Gilliam, the college tight end, ran past A.J. Hawk and caught holder Jon Ryan’s pass for a 19-yard touchdown that began Seattle’s unlikely comeback.
4. Thomas Rawls: Running back, Central Michigan (2015)
Rawls was never able to build on his spectacular rookie season, when injuries and trades essentially forced him into a starting role. He responded big time, piling up 830 yards on just 147 carries. It works out to an average of 5.6 yards, and it led the entire league.
Injuries would hamper his subsequent seasons, but Rawls still ended his career in Seattle with more than 1,300 yards in 34 games. His 209 rushing yards against San Francisco in his rookie season ranks second to Shaun Alexander for most single-game rushing yards in franchise history.
3. Jermaine Kearse: Wide receiver, Washington (2011)
Kearse, who grew up in nearby Lakewood, Washington, and was a Husky in college, got to play five years and win a Super Bowl with his hometown team. He started 45 games over his final three seasons in Seattle and, for his career, caught more than 150 passes for over 2,000 yards.
Kearse scored a touchdown in Seattle's Super Bowl win over Denver and made a spectacular catch late in Super Bowl XLIX, which should have led to the Seahawks’ second Lombardi Trophy. But it didn’t. Do I need to remind you why?
2. Poona Ford: Defensive tackle, Texas (2018)
In the 2018 draft, nobody wanted an interior lineman who stood under 6 feet tall and weighed more than 300 pounds. But over the next five years, Poona Ford started 64 games for Seattle, doing a lot of the dirty work on the inside – tying up blockers and pushing the pocket while allowing linebackers and edges to make plays.
Early on, Ford drew praise from both Pete Carroll and Bobby Wagner. Carroll compared him to former All-Pro Henry Thomas, whom he knew from his days in Minnesota. After five seasons in Seattle, Ford had an injury-plagued year in Buffalo before bouncing back last year with the Chargers. Last month, he inked a three-year, $27 million deal with the Rams, so Seattle may be seeing a lot more of him in the years to come.
1. Doug Baldwin: Wide receiver, Stanford (2011)
Baldwin played all eight of his NFL years as a Seahawk and currently ranks as the club’s fourth all-time leading receiver in catches and yards, and third in receiving touchdowns. He hit the ground running as a rookie and, after a minor regression during his second year, really never looked back.
He had more than 50 catches in seven of his eight years and led the league in receiving touchdowns in 2015. He made the Pro Bowl in two of his final three seasons.
Baldwin wasn’t very big and though he was fast, he didn’t have the blinding speed that everyone wants. All he did was catch the ball – pretty much every single time he got his hands on it. Baldwin was known for having the best hands in the league. You’d think that kind of skill would get a player drafted.
Hopefully, John Schneider finds another gem amongst this year’s crop of UDFAs. After that great run early on, he’s due.
