Richard Sherman, cornerback, Seattle Seahawks
Earl Thomas. We cannot emphasize just how much this All Pro safety has meant for Seattle throughout is career. And for Sherman in particular.
Once Thomas went down with a season-ending injury 11 games in last year, the Seahawks’ defense simply wasn’t the same. Postseason included, this unit gave up 30-plus points in three of its final seven games. For comparison’s sake, the Seahawks yielded 30-plus points three times in their last 29 games with Thomas on the field.
For his part, Sherman’s ability to be a dynamic shutdown guy surely took a hit. We saw how a watered-down Brandon Marshall took him to school during a Week 4 game against a bad Jets team. That came with Thomas on the field helping out on the back end. We also saw Sherman brutalized to an extent in the NFC Divisional Playoffs against the Atlanta Falcons.
Overall, Sherman’s performance throughout the 2016 season was nowhere near up to snuff with most expected from a 28-year-old corner who was seemingly entering his prime.
While Thomas seems to be on track to return next season, there’s no telling whether his leg injury will impact him initially. Remember, he’s a true center-fielder in the secondary. Even a minimal amount of regression in terms of coverage speed will impact Seattle’s Legion of Boom in a big way.
The soon-to-be 29-year-old Sherman has yet to have to work through dominating opposing receivers without elite-level help in the back end. When he was tasked with this last year, the five-time Pro Bowler simply wasn’t his normal self. All this is magnified even further should the Seahawks trade Sherman to a lesser team, as has been bandied about recently (more on that here).