CBS tabs 2 Seattle Seahawks defenders best NFL player at their jersey numbers

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the flawed conversation surrounding the Seattle Seahawks this offseason is that it's almost exclusively been focused on one side of the ball. It's somewhat normal for any NFL offense to get more attention, and to be fair Seattle did make a ton of big changes to that unit since last season ended.

However, what we're expecting to be an elite defense has been almost totally ignored by the national media - even after adding former Dallas Cowboys superstar DeMarcus Lawrence up front and swiss army knife rookie DB Nick Emmanwori to the back end.

The real rock star of this group is head coach Mike Macdonald, who's considered one of the sharpest defensive playcallers in the game today. His work in his second season with the Baltimore Ravens as their defensive coordinator is evidence that we should be expecting a big jump forward from this group in 2025 - and they were clearly on their way after a couple changes around the bye week.

This is also a really talented defense, though - with high-level performers at all three levels of the defense. Two of them are even considered the best players in the league at their jersey numbers. Cody Benjamin at CBS Sports has cornerback Riq Woolen tabbed as the top option at No. 27.

"The shutdown coverage skills of the Eagles' Quinyon Mitchell could soon vault him to this spot, but for now, Woolen gets the nod thanks to a three-year track record of quality corner play in Seattle."

Benjamin also has star defensive end Leonard Williams as the man at No. 99 in the post-Aaron Donald era.

"Once definitively owned by Aaron Donald, the No. 99 is now subject to a two-man battle between Williams and Zach Allen, two beefy interior defenders who disrupt pockets for the Seahawks and Broncos, respectively. Williams is the more experienced of the two, as he's been scrapping since 2015."

Woolen is a bit hit or miss, but when he's on his A game his athleticism makes him as good as any cornerback in the NFL today, up to and including Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II.

Meanwhile, Williams is the exact opposite - he's the definition of consistency and has been Seattle's best player since coming over in a trade a season and a half ago. Williams is also playing better than he ever has before even at 31 years old.

So long as middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV (No. 13) and other critical pieces like Williams, Woolen and Devon Witherspoon stay healthy, Macdonald has every reason to expect top-five results from this unit.