5 Unsung Heroes On Seahawks Super Bowl Championship Roster

Eric Saubert headlines list of Seahawks players who do more for Seattle than we give them credit

Sam Darnold, Mike Macdonald, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Devon Witherspoon got plenty of deserved credit for the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl win, but no team wins a championship without the help of people we rarely think about.

The Seahawks were no exception.

How many times have we praised those who aren’t players or coaches, like the scouts who help John Schneider find the best fits for the roster, the number crunchers who make sure Seattle can afford the roster, and the interns who work behind the scenes so everyone else’s life is a little easier on the road to victory.

But I don’t know those people’s names so I’m going to talk about the players again.

The Seahawks’ Super Bowl win over the Patriots featured a sack by Rylie Mills, a catch by George Holani, a few snaps for Olu Oluwatimi on offense, and full-time special teams duties by players like Patrick O’Connell and Connor O’Toole. O’yeah.

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From Week 1 to the Super Bowl these 5 Seahawks did their part but didn’t always get the same recognition as their peers.

TE Eric Saubert

At one point last season, the play that most shifted the balance of power in the NFC came on a catch by Eric Saubert.

Finding an opening in the Rams’ defense isn’t why Saubert is an unsung hero, but the play showed how much the Seahawks trusted him to deliver on only his third target of the season.

Reuniting Eric Saubert with Brian Fleury, his former tight ends coach with the San Francisco 49ers, also reinforces Seattle’s commitment to maintaining offensive continuity and leaning into 12- and 13-personnel packages, with Saubert serving as a key blocking complement to A.J. Barner and Elijah Arroyo.

Historically, Saubert has been used as a run or pass blocker on approximately 70% of his snaps, but that number was up to roughly 80% in 2025. According to the NFL’s data, Saubert ran 63 routes last season:

If he ran 63 routes on 276 snaps, that leaves him in as a blocker about 78% of the time. This was out of only 10 games, as Saubert missed a chunk of the season with a calf injury prior to returning in December, two games before he became the hero of Seattle’s win over the Rams.

In addition to Saubert’s value as a tight end, he is a valuable member of special teams and quietly made nine tackles during the regular season. He also had three tackles against the Rams in the NFC Championship game, which was more than Coby Bryant, DeMarcus Lawrence, Tariq Woolen, Leonard Williams, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall.

I know that their roles are wildly different, but that’s one of those “surprising facts” you can use at your next Seahawks trivia game.

Seattle extended Saubert for an extra year last December, showing their hand that they were more concerned about the offers he could have in 2026 free agency than all of the free agents on the roster who have a higher profile.

Nine years after he was drafted in the fifth round out of Drake, Saubert is on the verge of his 10th season with his 11th career team. Saubert doesn’t even have to worry about impressing another new offensive coordinator because they already know each other.

Saubert reportedly “approved” of Fleury’s hiring with the Seahawks front office and that couldn’t hurt when it comes to his opportunities next season. But Saubert isn’t likely to be asking for more targets.

He knows Arroyo was drafted primarily for his receiving ability, Barner is already one of the best tight ends in the league, and Saubert doesn’t need the spotlight. But he’s not afraid of it either.

These next four players, like Saubert, are likely to have even more important roles with the Seahawks next season and beyond, but they aren’t getting as much coverage anywhere else: