Seahawks DL Leonard Williams Headed to Pro Bowl

Williams is now the first Seahawks defensive lineman to make the Pro Bowl since defensive end Michael Bennett in 2017. Bennett had 40 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks that season — a solid resume, but still not as impressive as Williams' 2024 campaign.

This season, Williams piled up 64 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, three pass deflections and a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown, the longest pick-six by a defensive lineman in NFL history.

His 41 run stops and sack total ranked second among interior defensive linemen despite missing two games, and he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for the final calendar month of the regular season.

It's just the second Pro Bowl nod of Williams' career. His last selection was in 2016 — his second season in the league — when he totaled 68 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, seven sacks and two forced fumbles.

Earning the honor may ease some of Williams' disappointment he felt after the initial rosters were released.

"It's pretty disappointing, if I'm being honest," Williams said after he was originally snubbed. "There's been another year I had in the league where I had like double-digit sacks and didn't go to the Pro Bowl, and after that year, I pretty much told myself it's all fluff and fan voting and stuff like that, so I pretty much tried to trick myself into thinking it doesn't matter."

Williams was referencing his 2020 campaign with the New York Giants when he finished with 57 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and a career-high 11.5 sacks. This season was the second time Williams has crossed the double-digit sack mark in his career.

Second-year cornerback Devon Witherspoon is the only other Seahawks player headed to Orlando with Williams. Witherspoon has been a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first two years in the league since being selected No. 5 overall out of Illinois in 2023.