The Seahawks built the core of their Super Bowl winning team through some fantastic late round draft picks. With players like Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor arriving via fifth round selections it freed up some extra money for them to make some luxury signings. That included bringing in Bennett on a one-year deal last year, after the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout failed to find a multi-year deal with concerns about rotator cuff injury scaring teams off. He became one of the best signings of the year, playing a key role in a Seahawks defense that steamrollered their way to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
From 434 pass rushing snaps in the regular season and playoffs, Bennett produced 11 sacks, 17 hits and 47 hurries, good for a Pass Rushing Productivity rating of 13.6 that was bettered only by Robert Quinn and Cameron Wake at defensive end in 2013. His best play came in the playoffs, where he had a PRP Rating of 14.5, with his most dominant performance coming in the Divisional Round against the New Orleans Saints. Playing inside 19 of his 56 snaps at the left defensive tackle spot, he made light work of Saints right guard Jahri Evans, beating him for a sack and five hurries as a pass rusher, and getting past him to force a fumble from running back Mark Ingram.
That performance highlighted another aspect of Bennett’s importance, the fact that he can play so well both as an edge rusher and inside. Playing on the outside in the Seahawks’ base defense, and moving inside on obvious pass rushing downs, he saw 275 of his 759 snaps come at either nose or defensive tackle.
He was the second-highest graded player on a talented Seattle defensive line, and offers a versatility that the likes of Brandon Mebane simply don’t have. And even with a fairly stacked class of edge rushers this year, Bennett is still the best fit for the Seahawks. A blend of versatility and performance that’s tough to match, the Seahawks would be foolish to let him go after such an impressive year.