The two teams have a different approach.
Super Bowl 60: How many former blue-chip recruits are starting for Patriots and Seahawks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Super Bowl 60 is fastly approaching. In three days, the AFC champion New England Patriots and NFC champion Seattle Seahawks will meet in Santa Clara, Calif., with rosters that reflect two very different recruiting paths to football’s biggest stage.
Every player’s journey began long before the NFL, often in high school, where recruiting rankings once shaped expectations. For this Super Bowl matchup, those early evaluations offer a revealing snapshot of how talent development and talent discovery still defines championship teams.
New England enters Sunday with a lineup heavy on former blue-chip prospects. Fourteen projected Patriots starters were rated as four-or five-star recruits coming out of high school, six more than Seattle, according to Rivals.
The Patriots also feature just one projected starter who went unranked by Rivals, underscoring how frequently elite prep talent has translated into NFL production on their roster.
The Patriots’ offense is led by quarterback Drake Maye, a former four-star prospect and top-50 national recruit, surrounded by a mix of high-profile skill talent and developmental pieces.
Five-star wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte headline a group that also includes four-star tight end Hunter Henry and a largely blue-chip offensive line. Defensively, New England’s secondary and front seven are similarly stocked with former four-star recruits, including Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and Christian Barmore.
Seattle’s path has been less star-driven and more selective. The Seahawks are projected to start eight former blue-chip recruits, including two five-stars in wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and right tackle Charles Cross. Quarterback Sam Darnold, a former four-star prospect, leads an offense that leans heavily on players who outperformed modest recruiting profiles.
The Seahawks have five projected starters who were unranked coming out of high school, four more than New England. That group includes standout contributors such as Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed and Devon Witherspoon, all of whom developed into high-impact NFL players without national recruiting hype.
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Defensively, Seattle is known for perseverance. Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II anchor the defensive line as former four-stars, while much of the back seven consists of three-star or unranked prospects who climbed through college football with little fanfare.
Sunday’s Super Bowl will ultimately be decided by execution, not star ratings.
However, the contrast is striking to say the least. New England built its run largely on blue-chip foundations, while Seattle leaned on development in college. Two approaches with one Lombardi Trophy on the line. 60 minutes will decide which path comes out on top.
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