2017: Seahawks acquire left tackle Duane Brown and 2018 fifth-round pick for 2018 third-round pick and 2019 second-round pick.

Brown was already in his 10th season when the Seahawks acquired him in 2017, but over the next five seasons he showed he had plenty left in the tank, stabilizing one of the sport’s most important positions following a lack of consistency there after Russell Okung left in free agency the previous season. Brown missed only five games in his four full seasons with the Seahawks, was selected to two Pro Bowls and played on three playoff teams, including the 2020 team that went 12-4 and won the NFC West.

2019: Seahawks acquire Quandre Diggs and a 2021 seventh-round pick for a 2020 fifth-round pick.

Diggs was already a very good defensive back by the time the Seahawks acquired him in a trade with the Lions, but he took his game to an even higher level in Seattle. After a strong finish to the 2019 season, Diggs earned Pro-Bowl honors in each of his first three full seasons with the Seahawks, recording 14 interceptions, 24 passes defensed and 229 tackles from 2020-2022. Diggs left in free agency in 2024, then returned to the team last year, spending most of the season on the practice squad while providing a valuable veteran presence in the secondary.

The Seahawks not only got a great player in Diggs, but incredible value, adding him, plus an additional pick, for only a fifth-rounder.

2020: Seahawks acquire defensive end Carlos Dunlap for center B.J. Finney and 2021 seventh rounder.

Dunlap, of course, will best be known for his long, successful career with the Bengals, which included a pair of Pro Bowl selections and 82.5 sacks in 11 seasons, but he also made solid contributions in his year and a half with the seasons, recording 13.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 28 quarterback hits in 25 games.

Dunlap said when he arrived in Seattle that his remaining goals were to get to 100 career sacks and win a Super Bowl, and he was able to check off those two boxes, in 2022 with Kansas City.

2023: Seahawks acquired defensive tackle Leonard Williams for 2024 second-round pick and 2025 fifth-round pick.

Schneider and Carroll both pointed out over the years how valuable and rare dominant interior linemen are in the NFL, and with the 2023 deadline approaching, the Seahawks made a big swing to acquire Williams, who has become exactly the type of game-wrecker the Seahawks have long coveted at that position.

Williams, a former first-round pick of the Jets in 2015, joined the Seahawks after five seasons with the Giants, and has played the best football of his career after turning 30. In his first full season with the Seahawks, Williams had 11 sacks, 16 tackles for loss and 28 quarterback hits on his way to Pro-Bowl honors, then he backed that up by earning second-team All-Pro and Pro-Bowl honors in 2025 while helping lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title. Not only is Williams one of the best players on a loaded defense, he is also one of the leaders of the Dark Side defense that emerged as the league’s best in 2025. Williams signed a multi-year contract extension this offseason, giving him a chance to add to a legacy that will see him go down as one of the best defensive linemen to wear a Seahawks uniform.

2024: Seahawks acquire linebacker Ernest Jones IV for 2025 fifth-rounder and LB Jerome Baker.

The Seahawks defense was still trying to find its way midway through its first season under Mike Macdonald when the team decided to make a change at linebacker. Jones, a young standout for the Rams from 2021-2023, surprisingly was traded to Tennessee prior to the 2024 season, then with the Titans off to a slow start, they moved Jones again, with the Seahawks being the benefactor.

While Jones wasn’t the only reason for Seattle’s defensive improvement, there is no arguing that he made a big difference as the Seahawks turned things around midway through the year. Jones has not only been a playmaker, leading the team last year in both tackles (126) and interceptions (5), he has also become the heartbeat of Macdonald’s defense, an outspoken, emotional leader that the entire team, not just the defense, rallies behind. Among his many important leadership moments, Jones famously defended quarterback Sam Darnold after he threw four interceptions in a Week 11 loss to the Rams last season, slipping a few profanities in for emphasis. That game, as well as Jones’ emphatic defense of his quarterback, became a turning point for the Seahawks, who went on to win 10 straight games to close out the season, including Super Bowl LX.