Seahawks: Safety tandem among the best

The tandem at the back end of Seattle’s Secondary is probably the perfect combination. Free safety and playmaker Earl Thomas alongside the hard-hitting strong safety Kam Chancellor. While both bring a well-rounded skill set,  each has areas where they excel.

Earl Thomas is the roaming free safety in the Legion of Boom. While many safeties in the league spend more time in coverage (27^th with 542 coverage snaps), Thomas is one of the most feared in the league. Our Signature Stats show that in the regular season Thomas was only targeted once every 23.6 snaps and only gives up a reception every 41.7 snaps – both stats good for 5^th-best in the NFL. When Thomas does give up a reception, receivers aren’t able to do much (51 YAC).

A look at Chancellor’s numbers and you can definitely tell who’s supplying “the boom”.  The tone-setting safety excels in the box—spending 81.3 % (highest in the league) of his snaps within 8 yards of the line of scrimmage at the snap. In the box, Chancellor’s 24 total run stops trails only the Ram’s T.J. McDonald.

The performance of these two stellar safeties remains crucial as the Seahawks seek to repeat.