Williams capped off a brilliant season with a dominant December and first week of January.
Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams might have been a Pro Bowl snub, but his efforts have not gone completely unrecognized.
Williams won NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors to wrap up December—technically speaking, the first week of January counted toward December stats). It is not far-fetched to suggest that the Seahawks would’ve been bounced from playoff contention much sooner had Williams not played at an All-Pro level. Here are some nuggets provided by the NFL:
- Williams tied for the most sacks (six) and tackles for loss (nine) in the NFL, ranked first among NFC defensive linemen with 33 tackles and recorded two passes defensed, including a 92-yard interception-return touchdown, in six games during December and January. Leonard was the only player in the league to record 30-or-more tackles and five-or-more sacks during the span and his interception-return touchdown was the longest among defensive linemen in the past 15 seasons (2010-24).
- This is Williams’ first-career Player of the Month. He is the fourth Seahawks defensive end to earn Defensive Player of the Month, joining Cliff Avril (October, 2016), Patrick Kerney (November, 2007) and Michael McCrary (December, 1996).
- Williams is the fourth former USC player to earn Defensive Player of the Month Honors since 2000, joining Everson Griffen (three-time winner), Clay Matthews (September, 2010) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Junior Seau (September, 2002).
Williams finished with 11 sacks, leading the Seahawks in both sacks and tackles for loss while becoming Seattle’s first defensive player to record 10+ sacks in a season since Frank Clark in 2018.
Now… can he at least make an All-Pro team after not making the initial Pro Bowl roster? He’s earned that distinction after being a truly dominant player on an improved Seahawks defense.