Daniel Jeremiah: Seahawks have more talent, but Pats have 3 to worry about

In the eyes of many experts, the Seattle Seahawks are the favorite to beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60.

Part of that has to do with Seattle simply having a larger collection of talent than New England.

Seahawks could make Super Bowl a nightmare for Pats QB Drake Maye

For instance, the Seahawks have eight players who received All-Pro and/or Pro Bowl honors: quarterback Sam Darnold, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, defensive tackle Leonard Williams, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, linebacker Ernest Jones IV, return specialist Rashid Shaheed and punter Michael Dickson.

The Patriots, meanwhile, have just three players who were All-Pro and/or Pro Bowl selections: quarterback Drake Maye, cornerback Christian Gonzalez and punt returner Marcus Jones.

During his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah echoed that sentiment.

“If you took the top 30 players playing in the Super Bowl, I would say 20 of them probably are Seahawks – 18 to 20 of them,” Jeremiah said.

3 Patriots to worry about

However, Jeremiah went on to list three Patriots who have the potential to take over the game.

• QB Drake Maye: Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, ranked first in the league in completion rate (72%), first in yards per pass attempt (8.9), fourth in passing yards (4,394), third in touchdown passes (31) and first in ESPN’s QBR metric (77.1) this season. He also finished fourth among all quarterbacks in rushing yards (450).

• CB Christian Gonzalez: Gonzalez, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 draft, allowed the fifth-lowest passer rating (58.3) in the NFL this season among qualified cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

• DT Milton Williams: A fifth-year pro, Williams had 3.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss in 12 regular-season games and added 2.0 sacks in the Patriots’ wild-card playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers. In particular, Jeremiah said Williams could pose a threat in the trenches against Seahawks right guard Anthony Bradford, who has had an up-and-down season.

“You look at the three guys for New England that you have to worry who could try to take over a game,” Jeremiah said. “It’s Maye using his legs more than anything else. It’s the corner in Gonzalez, who’s a great player. And then Milton Williams – and specifically Milton Williams on Bradford. For two weeks, I would be studying how to not let that beat me in this game.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this post. Tune into Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

More Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl coverage

• Tom Brady details big difference between Seahawks’ D and the LOB
• Seattle Seahawks injury report has new concern for LB Ernest Jones IV
• Hasselbeck warns how Patriots could give Seahawks trouble in Super Bowl
• Stacy Rost: What changed to make Seattle Seahawks a Super Bowl team
• Seattle Seahawks poised for more long-term success than LOB era

Related

Pro Football Hall of Fame overhauls selection processNFL exempt list puts unsavory story lines on display amid season openersBreakdown: The Seahawks’ next contract extension candidatesBrock: The important change the Allen family leaves with SeahawksSeahawks roles for Khosla family announced as team sale becomes finalESPN’s Peter Schrager says Rams hype ‘out of control,’ not to overlook Seahawks