Sep 25, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Seahawks DC reveals resurgent pass rusher Uchenna Nwosu's 'superpower'

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Oct 20, 2025 11:30 AM ET

For Seattle Seahawks pass rusher Uchenna Nwosu, the past two years have been nothing short of agonizing.

Nwosu, 28, had a breakout debut season with the Seahawks in 2022, as he tied for the team lead with a career-high 9.5 sacks. However, he's played just six games in each of the past two seasons due to a plethora of ailments, including a pectoral injury in 2023 and multiple leg injuries in 2024. He also underwent knee surgery, which weighed on him even more throughout the summer.

"All day, every day, rehabbing," Nwosu said, per the Seahawks' website. "I was in there literally all day just trying to get my knee strong again. I couldn't really do any running because I was in crutches for like eight weeks. When I got back, I couldn't hit the field. I had to keep getting strength back in my knee and get support. So literally just rehabbing from February to the second or third week of August is when I finally was able to get on the field."

Nwosu made his return in Week 2 of this season, but surprisingly, he looks to be back in peak form. The eighth-year veteran has four sacks this season - just behind Byron Murphy II for the most on the team - and all of them have come in the past three games. He had two sacks in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals, his first multi-sack game since 2023, and 1.5 in Week 6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Amidst Nwosu's hot streak, defensive coordinator Aden Durde shed some light on the keys to the pass rusher's resurgence.

"Patience, instinct, understanding of where the quarterback is in the pocket and how he relates to him is kind of Chenna's superpower. Plus, his ability to play the game. He's a very, I know this is an overarching word, but Chenna's ike a really good football player. He understands space, time, you can put yourself into bodies to make tackles in open space and I think that helps him when he's playing off other guys on the front.

"I think it's shown up since Arizona. I think his ability to play off players shows up week in and week out. You saw it on the sack in the Tampa game. He understands when he's moving. He understands who's outside and who's inside of him. He can feel this color on either side of him."

Perhaps even more impressively, Nwosu didn't get to take part in offseason workouts due to the aforementioned knee surgery, but he came back looking like he hardly missed a beat.

"Chenna's a pro," Durde said. "When you've played that long, it take him a bit of time to get his wind and his down on down play, but playing a snap and understanding what to do, that's there inside of him, it's like riding a bike."

This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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