Rumors have been swirling of the possibility of the Seahawks trading Richard Sherman. It's not entirely clear if he wants out, or the team is weary of him. What is clear is that he's been part of the league's best pass defense since entering the league.
Prior to Sherman being drafted in 2011, Seattle hadn't ranked in the top 20 in pass defense since 2002 -- nearly a decade. In the six years Sherman has been with the team, meanwhile, Seattle hasn't ranked lower than 11th defending the pass; top-10 five years in a row. Their average ranking over Sherman's six season is 5th -- better than any other team.
It's not all Sherman, but he certainly deserves a healthy share of the credit for a defense that started excelling right at the time he showed up in the lineup.
NFL pass defense rankings over the last six seasons, sorted by average rank, are shown below.
NFL PASS DEFENSE RANKINGS, 2011-2016 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Avg |
Seattle | 11 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5th |
Houston | 3 | 15 | 3 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 8th |
Buffalo | 19 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 7 | 10th |
Denver | 18 | 6 | 27 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 10th |
Kansas City | 6 | 9 | 25 | 2 | 10 | 17 | 12th |
San Francisco | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 12 | 12th |
NY Jets | 5 | 2 | 22 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 12th |
Baltimore | 4 | 17 | 12 | 23 | 8 | 10 | 12th |
Arizona | 17 | 3 | 14 | 29 | 9 | 5 | 13th |
Cincinnati | 9 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 22 | 11 | 13th |
Cleveland | 2 | 24 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 20 | 14th |
Pittsburgh | 1 | 1 | 9 | 27 | 30 | 19 | 15th |
Chicago | 28 | 10 | 15 | 30 | 4 | 6 | 16th |
LA Rams | 7 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 23 | 9 | 16th |
San Diego | 13 | 18 | 29 | 4 | 12 | 21 | 16th |
Carolina | 24 | 14 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 29 | 17th |
Tennessee | 14 | 26 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 30 | 17th |
Jacksonville | 8 | 20T | 26 | 22 | 29 | 3 | 18th |
Detroit | 22 | 13 | 23 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 18th |
Minnesota | 26 | 25 | 31 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 18th |
Miami | 25 | 27 | 16 | 6 | 21 | 16 | 19th |
Indianapolis | 15 | 22 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 27 | 19th |
Green Bay | 32 | 12 | 24 | 10 | 6 | 32 | 19th |
Philadelphia | 10 | 7 | 32 | 31 | 28 | 14 | 20th |
Dallas | 23 | 16 | 30 | 26 | 5 | 25 | 21st |
New England | 31 | 29 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 13 | 21st |
Atlanta | 20 | 23 | 21 | 32 | 11 | 28 | 23rd |
Tampa Bay | 21 | 32 | 17 | 28 | 16 | 22 | 23rd |
Washington | 12 | 30 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 26 | 23rd |
NY Giants | 29 | 28 | 10 | 18 | 32 | 23 | 23rd |
Oakland | 27 | 20T | 28 | 16 | 24 | 24 | 24th |
New Orleans | 30 | 31 | 2 | 25 | 31 | 31 | 25th |
--Andy Richardson