Huard: Why Seahawks gave up more for Williams than 49ers did for Young

The two top teams in the NFC West made two of the biggest moves ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, with the Seattle Seahawks acquiring defensive tackle Leonard Williams from the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers trading for Washington Commanders defensive end Chase Young.

Lefko: Gap closed? How Seattle Seahawks, 49ers match up after trade deadline

The Seahawks sent second- and fifth-round picks to the Giants for Williams, who is 29 years old and in his ninth NFL season, while the 49ers traded a third-round pick to Washington for Young, who is 24 and in his fourth NFL season. Both are pending free agents.

So why did the Seahawks ultimately give up more for Williams than the 49ers did for Young? Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard broke it down during Wednesday’s Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports.

“Because it’s not about name familiarity. It’s about what the market is willing to pay,” Huard said. “You (Williams) are going to go for a little bit more because other people want you. Because defensive tackles that can rush the passer are more of a commodity than defensive ends. And you saw a bunch of defensive ends get moved – in fact, two from that Commanders team itself. So you go for a second and you go for a fifth because you can play up and down the line of scrimmage, because you’re 6 foot 5 and 300-plus pounds, because you are … available. You post. Chase Young, unfortunately, has not been able to do that.”

Williams missed five games in 2022, but had missed just one game in his career before that season. Young, meanwhile, missed all but three games last year and played in just nine games in 2021. This came after he was Defensive Rookie of the Year after going second overall in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Ohio State.

“I saw him in college,” Huard, a college football analyst for FOX Sports, said of Young. “… He was off the charts (athletically) coming out of school. Absolutely off the charts. Injuries have derailed him, and there have been discipline questions.”

The 49ers haven’t had as much success getting after the quarterback this year as in previous years, but they still have a lot of big-name defensive linemen such as Arik Armstead and Nick Bosa, the latter of whom was Young’s college teammate.

“He’s gonna have all the dudes around him to set him up for success. If you’re Chase Young and you’re his agent, you couldn’t get to the Bay Area fast enough, because this is your chance to go prove that you are that kind of elite dude and (can) go get that contract that you think you’re deserving of,” Huard said.

From a Seahawks perspective, though, Huard still thinks the Williams deal was better.

“Push comes to shove, ask me which deal would be better for the Seahawks, which one would I have done … I would take Leonard Williams,” he said.

Listen to the second hour of Wednesday’s Brock and Salk at this link or in the player near the top of this story. 

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Seahawks Football 101: How will Leonard Williams fit into defense?
• Seahawks’ defense continues locking down opponents in second half
• Peters’ Seahawks debut just one reason to highlight O-line
• Carroll: Seahawks watched Leonard Williams for a long time
• Why can Leonard Williams ‘hit the ground running’ with Seattle Seahawks?

Follow @TheBGustafson