Sunday’s Week 13 matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets had a revenge narrative looming over it, largely centering around Geno Smith taking on his former team. However, there’s another former Jet turned Seahawk who is also enacting some revenge against his former squad.
Midway through the second quarter at MetLife Stadium, Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams hauled in an interception off of Aaron Rodgers and returned it 92 yards to the house for a pick-6. Not only did this score help Seattle get back into the contest after trailing 21-7 at the time, but it also made some NFL history. This marked the longest pick-6 by a 300 lb player in league history. It’s also the second-longest touchdown of any 300 lb player all-time, only looking up to Mike Patterson’s 98-yard fumble return for a touchdown in 2006.
Of course, Williams is quite familiar with the Jets after the franchise drafted him with the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of USC. The 30-year-old played his first five seasons with the organization and earned a Pro Bowl nod (2016) during that tenure. Williams was eventually traded across to the New York Giants during the 2019 campaign, where he played until 2023, when he was traded again, this time to Seattle.
Coming into Sunday’s action, Williams had tallied 31 tackles and five sacks on the season, but the crowning jewel on his stat sheet for the season is almost certainly his first-career touchdown.
