POLL RESULTS: Metcalf deemed Seahawks’ best non-quarterback

The votes are in and DK Metcalf is the pick, but not by a lot.

The Seattle Seahawks completed their regular season last Sunday with a 26-23 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Glendale, Arizona. The victory gave the Seahawks a final record of 12-4, and Seattle enters the playoffs as the NFC’s No. 3 seed. The Seahawks host the Los Angeles Rams in a wild-card game at 1:40 p.m. Saturday at Lumen Field.

With the regular season reaching its conclusion, it seemed a natural time to pick a Seahawks MVP. However, in football the quarterback is almost always the choice as the team’s most-valuable player, and that’s particularly the case with Seattle’s Russell Wilson, who would probably win this poll in a landslide.

Therefore, in this week’s Seattle Sidelines poll we took Wilson out of the equation and asked readers who they thought was the Seahawks’ non-quarterback MVP for the 2020 season.

POLL: Who was the Seattle Seahawks’ non-quarterback MVP for the 2020 season? Full context, including a look at the candidates, here (and if you choose “other” let us know who): https://t.co/n6rC6GrVNh

— Nick Patterson (@NickHPatterson) January 4, 2021

Tabulate the votes between the poll posted on The Herald’s website and the one posted on Twitter and receiver DK Metcalf was the narrow winner. Metcalf received 38% of the vote, while middle linebacker Bobby Wagner took in 30% and strong safety Jamal Adams garnered 26%. The final 6% of voters picked “other.”

Metcalf is a worthy choice. The second-year player broke out in a big way, as he caught 83 passes for a franchise-record 1,303 yards and 10 touchdowns to earn a Pro Bowl nod. He was a constant deep threat with his unique combination of size (6-foot-4, 229 pounds) and speed (4.33 40-yard dash), and he also improved his route running, which made him nearly uncoverable. His emergence as a top receiving threat gave Wilson a tremendous weapon in the passing game. On top of that, Metcalf provided the season’s most-indelible highlight when he ran down Arizona’s Budda Baker to prevent a pick-six.

That said, Metcalf’s best games mostly came in the first half of the season. When the Seahawks finished 6-1 in their final seven games to claim the NFC West title, it was the defense that led the way. So it’s not surprising to see both Wagner (a team-leading 138 tackles) and Adams (9.5 sacks to set an NFL record for a defensive back, despite missing four games) get substantial support. Wagner has been playing at such a high level for so long that he’s an easy choice for a voter stumping for defense, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that Seattle’s defensive improvement coincides with Adams returning midseason from a groin injury. Indeed, I wonder how the vote would have gone had I listed just one defensive player instead of two. Did Wagner and Adams split the vote of those who were defense-minded? Or would there just have been a large number of “other” votes?

Speaking of “other,” I asked readers to say who they picked if they chose the “other” option. The only player who was mentioned as an alternative was running back Chris Carson, whose physical rushing style resulted in 681 yards on 141 carries and five touchdowns in 12 games, as well as 37 receptions for 287 yards and four TDs.