The Pittsburgh Steelers are scheduled to play the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17. This is still a couple months away with the game occurring on New Year’s Eve, but the Seahawks just got a little stronger on their defensive line with the addition of DL Leonard Williams.
Williams spent the last four years on the New York Giants after being traded by the team that drafted him, the New York Jets, in 2019. He was drafted in 2015 with the sixth pick of the first round by the Jets. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Twitter, the Seahawks gave up a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick to get him. The Jets and Giants just played in Week Eight with the Jets coming out victorious in overtime.
Williams has played against the Steelers twice in his career, once as a member of the Jets and once as a member of the Giants. He recorded a sack in each game and has nine total tackles with two sacks and three tackles for loss against the Steelers.
Through seven games, Williams has the lowest Pro Football Focus overall season grade of his career with 67.7. He has 21 total tackles and 1.5 sacks in 2023 but is headed to a solid team in Seattle. The Seahawks are currently atop the NFC West, narrowly edging out the San Francisco 49ers. With that division being as tight as it is, Pete Carroll and John Schneider opted to bolster their defensive front with Williams to remain competitive in the NFC.
Williams was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2015 and made the Pro Bowl the year after that in 2016. He is 29 years old with plenty left in the tank. For his career, he has tallied 470 total tackles, 39.5 sacks, 162 QB hits, and six forced fumbles. Assuming he is on the field in Week 17, he will try to make it three straight games against the Steelers with a sack.
