The Seattle Seahawks have acquired defensive lineman Leonard Williams from the New York Giants in a trade for a 2024 2nd-round pick and 2025 5th-round selection, according to Ian Rapoport.
Coming off a big win against the Cleveland Browns that moved the Seahawks into first place in the NFC West, Seattle has decided to add to an already formidable defense with the acquisition of Williams, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman who recorded 11.5 sacks in 2020 with the Giants.
Williams, 29, has spent his entire 9-year career in New York, first with the Jets for four and a half seasons, and then with the Giants. Williams has long been regarded as one of the league's premier interior rushers, and ranks 18th out of 116 eligible interior defensive lineman in pass rush grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
Which team wins the trade for Williams? Let's take a look at each team's perspective.
Giants: Playing for the next year
Williams, 29, still has plenty left in the tank. Unfortunately, the Giants do not. With Daniel Jones still hurt and Tyrod Taylor suffering a rib injury on Sunday, the Giants are down to third-string quarterback Tommy Devito with a 2-6 record in one of football's toughest divisions. It's essentially a lost season.
Trading Williams is almost solely about the money, as getting Williams's big remaining salary off the books this year will give the Giants greater financial flexibility and allow them to receive greater draft pick compensation than simply letting Williams walk in free agency this upcoming offseason.
The trade haul for Williams is a good one, as well. The Giants can use the 2024 2nd round pick to add a badly needed infusion of offensive talent around whoever the starting quarterback will be for 2024. The Giants aren't close to realistically contending, and 9 more games of Leonard Williams wasn't going to change that. The future pick could, and the cap flexibility created can help add some important pieces down the line.
It's always difficult to pull the plug on a season, but kudos to the Giants for being realistic and setting the team up better for the future by acquiring quality draft capital for the expiring contract of Williams. It's really hard to get a second-round pick in any trade, and the Giants did well to do that here.
Grade: B
Seahawks: Pushing all-in with Williams
The Seahawks have burned once before by trading for a star defender from New York in the Jamal Adams trade, but not being afraid to push the chips in again is part of what makes Seattle and Pete Carroll special. The Seahawks have been terrific stopping the run this season, allowing just 3.6 yards per attempt, which is the 3rd best mark in the league. Seattle is generating lots of pressure on the edge (26 sacks in seven games) but could use more production from their interior lineman, which is where Williams will fit perfectly.
Seattle's scheme is a great fit for Williams, as he can play to his strengths as a pass rusher and be ultra-aggressive knowing that he'll be covered up in the run game by Bobby Wagner and company behind him. With Williams, the Seahawks have all the makings of an elite defense and should make an already incredibly talented secondary look even better with Williams consistently pushing the pocket.
It's hard to imagine Seattle picking any other spot to upgrade via trade. Perhaps you could argue that some of that draft capital and money could have been used to improve the offensive line instead, but Geno Smith has been pretty well protected (14 sacks through 7 games) and the run game has been effective with Kenneth Walker.
The old saying is that you can never have too many pass rushers, and Seattle was wise to go get one of the best available players on the trade market in Williams in hopes that he'll stick around in free agency this offseason as well. It's an all-in move for the Seahawks, and while trading a second-round pick is always scary, the window for the Seahawks to compete with a veteran quarterback and talented defense is right now.
Grade: B+
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