When special teams for the Seattle Seahawks is brought up, it’s easy to think names like Rashid Shaheed and Tory Horton. These two delivered some electric and vintage performances on the way to a championship. There were a few.
If you’re a ball-knower, Michael Dickson might be your guy. Nick Kallerup, Eric Saubert, and Brady Russell also figure to be versatile and tough components of advancing the ball on teams.
This team doesn’t play about “the 3rd phase.”
HBO’s Hard Knocks director, Pat Harris, called
the Seattle Seahawks, “the best in the biz, right now” on The Official Hard Knocks Podcast last week. It is true that we are getting an unprecedented look at the inner workings of an elite sports organization, but the Hawks continue to produce documentary series that shed more and more light on how things tick.
The Seattle Seahawks’ media team released a 3-episode installment entitled, “The Specialists.” It documents Jason Myers (he who set a record for most points scored in a single season in NFL history after five Super Bowl FG’s), Rashid Shaheed (Pro Bowl return man) and Michael Dickson (2nd-team, All-Pro punter).
Mike Macdonald said of the importance the Seahawks organization places on special teams: “You got to back it up with your actions. So, it’s how you invest in it. It’s who you have out there, it’s who you have coaching them.”
In hearing from one of those coaches that is most directly responsible (Specialists, episode 2), we learned what he sees as valuable. Special teams coach, Jay Harbaugh says, “What makes a special teams unit great? You could go on and on and on about that… All the things that would make a defense or an offense great, combined into one. Shaheed, moments later, stated that in 2025, “Special teams was our edge.”
Brandon Pili and Connor O’Toole are both on this roster, and they combined for a big turnover in season last year.
Harbaugh has not forgotten about the defensive guys in discussing the role of “teams,” which “incorporates both offense and defense, [it’s] interesting to observe different techniques.” As we continue to study who made the 53-man roster, it’s very much worth considering special teams value. The Seahawks certainly do.
As far as Mike Macdonald’s defensive scheme goes, in a 3-4 defense, which (presumably) utilizes two off-ball LBs on the field at once, the Hawks kept five. Seattle doesn’t usually rotate that position either. If you play some of the Madden football games, only three will ever really get snaps in a lot of scenarios. This isn’t Madden, but they only kept three on the initial roster last year.
Keeping five inside linebackers took away from their ability to keep guys like Jared Ivey (Atlanta), Noah Igbinoghene (Cleveland), Cody White (Las Vegas) and Jamie Sheriff (Los Angeles Rams and their “super team”). That’s an idea worth addressing.
Macdonald did discuss finding a role for snaps on defense for Tyrice Knight: “it’s a good problem to have, from a coach’s perspective, of trying to figure out a way to get him out there, and what’s best for the team.” Could he replace a current starter, or is it more likely they find a unique role for him? Emmanwori plays a unique role, but this team likes to have multiple guys who can fill those niche positions.
Think D’Anthony Bell backing up E-Man, t times. Think both Leo Williams and “The Polar Bear” (Rylie Mills, a nickname revealed to us by “Big Cat” during one of the preseason games) lining up at DT, but also EDGE at times. Think of both Mike Morris, as well as Jared Ivey playing big-bodied ends, but moonlighting on the interior of the defensive line at times. Think both Knight and Drake Thomas taking snaps on the outside edge of the defense.
Shaheed, a former UDFA who made the Saints’ roster, went on later, in his episode of “The Specialists,” to state plainly: “It’s not everybody’s dream to be on special teams, but it’s always a dream to play in the NFL.”
Whether a new LB role (that pulls in Knight, as well as other candidates) emerges or not, Morris, Patrick O’Connell and Chazz Surratt will be invaluable members of the Seattle Seahawks special teams squads as defensive guys.
The linebackers, in particular might offer unique instincts, football intelligence, and physicality. That could be the biggest reason that it seems Seattle loaded up at that position. I mean, go back up top and click on the hyperlink “electric”, and you’ll see Surratt throw a key block on Horton’s punt return TD against the Saints.
Side note: it may not be the first thing that comes to mind, even on special teams, but I hope there is an episode that gets added later, covering long snapper, Chris Stoll. After the Super Bowl win, Mike Dicko, the kicker said: “Oh yeah, Stoley… he’s the best in the world. He — some of the snaps today just felt like a video game. They came out so perfectly”. He went on to talk about the difficulty of his task, saying, “to be upside-down and be able to throw a ball backwards through the air to a spot this big brings his hands together to form a circle.”
These special teamers deserve more of our respect for what they do outside of the limelight.
