Seattle Seahawks 2022 End of Season Awards
Ed Stein
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After finishing the regular season 9-8, the Seattle Seahawks are headed to the playoffs. It’s time to pass out the awards.
The Seattle Seahawks Cinderella regular season ended with a 19-16 overtime win over their NFC West rivals from Los Angeles. The victory improved Seattle’s record to 9-8, which earned them a playoff spot.
They couldn’t have gotten that far without some great players. After reading Bill Barnwell’s NFL Awards on espn.com, I was inspired to hand out some end-of-regular season awards to the Seahawks.
Here are the winners.
Offensive Player of the Year – Geno Smith
This award has to go to Geno Smith. Russell Wilson complained about carrying the team when he left. Geno didn’t have to carry the Seattle Seahawks because he worked within the system and got others involved without treating them like they were his supporting cast.
His final regular season numbers were 399 of 572 (69.8% led the NFL) for 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Smith also ran for 366 yards and another touchdown. Not bad for a guy playing behind a starting line that featured two rookie tackles.
For those in the know, Smith still hasn’t written anyone back.
Defensive Player of the Year – Uchenna Nwosu
There are good cases to be made for both Tariq Woolen and Jordyn Brooks, but I’m going with Uchenna Nwosu. Cast aside by penny-pinching Baltimore, the edge rusher was a great pickup by Seattle Seahawks General Manager John Schneider.
Nwosu led the team in tackles for loss (12), QB hits (26), and tied Darrell Taylor for most sacks (9.5). What impressed me the most was how often he was in the picture when plays were made in the opponent’s backfield.
Rookie of the Year – Tariq Woolen
Fifth round pick Tariq Woolen, who might even be the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, came out of nowhere to be the Seattle Seahawks best cover corner. For the most part, his coverage was great.
I can’t wait to see what he’ll be like a year or two from now. I’m going with Richard Sherman 2.0
Also worthy of mention is running back Kenneth Walker. His 1,050 rushing yards were 12th best in the NFL.