Seahawks DL Leonard Williams Named NFC Defensive Player of the Month

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams became the first Seattle Seahawks player to earn the NFC Defensive Player of the Month Award since 2016.

Connor Benintendi | 8 Hours Ago

Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) celebrates against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

Although he was snubbed of many season-long accolades, Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams earned NFC Defensive Player of the Month for December/January.

It's the first Player of the Month award in Williams' 10-year career and the first by a Seahawks defender since 2016 (Cliff Avril), per the team.

Williams posted an NFL-high six sacks and nine tackles for loss in the last month of the regular season, in addition to a 92-yard pick-six of Aaron Rodgers in Seattle's Week 13 win over the New York Jets. He also had four tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss in that game en route to an NFC Defensive Player of the Week award.

With Seattle's season ended, Williams was named just a Pro Bowl alternate and didn't land on the third annual NFL Player's Association All-Pro team. The Associated Press All-Pro teams are yet to be released.

Despite his alignment versatility all over the defensive front, Williams tied for second among interior defensive linemen this season in sacks (11) and run stops (41) even though he missed two games.

He also had a league-high 16 tackles for loss at the position. Williams also had three pass deflections in and completed the longest interception return touchdown by a defensive lineman in NFL history.

Williams was a key chess piece for Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald to move around his defensive front. The veteran had four games this season with two or more sacks while aligning on the interior 46.5 percent of the time, over the offensive tackle 32.1 percent and as a stand-up edge rusher on 17.3 percent of his snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

The Player of the Month award will hardly be a consolation if Williams isn't named an All-Pro, but it still represents how dominant he was to close out the season.