When the Seahawks and Buccaneers came into the league in 1976, a big part of both teams’ roster construction was the expansion draft. And in that expansion draft, the Seahawks added several players who would enjoy long and successful careers in Seattle.  

At the top of that list is cornerback Dave Brown, who joined the Seahawks after spending his rookie season with the Steelers, who selected him in the first round of the 1975 draft. Brown began his Seahawks career at safety in 1976 before switching the following season to right cornerback, the spot he’d hold down for the next 10 seasons in Seattle, starting a total of 159 games in a Seahawks uniform, the seventh most starts in franchise history.

“Dave Brown was a first-round draft choice as a safety,” said Seahawks Legend and current Seahawks broadcaster Steve Raible, who was teammates with Brown for six years. “Not often do you see guys move from safety to cornerback. He moved to corner, and became one of the greatest cornerbacks ever for this franchise and in the league.”  

In his 11 years in Seattle, Brown recorded 50 of his 62 career interceptions, five interceptions return touchdowns and 12 fumble recoveries, a resume that helped him become the third player inducted into the Seahawks Ring of Honor.  

Brown’s 1984 season saw him record a career-high eight interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns, on his way to Pro-Bowl and All-Pro honors. It was an outstanding season that was somewhat overlooked because of the play of safety Kenny Easley, a future Hall of Famer who led the NFL with 10 interceptions that year on his way to Defensive Player of the Year honors. That season, the Seahawks recorded a staggering 63 takeaways, setting a post-merger NFL record that still stands, helping the Seahawks win 12 games for the first time in franchise history.

Brown finished his career as the franchise leader in interceptions with 50, interception return touchdowns (five), and interception return yards (643), while also finishing ninth in tackles with 684. A four-time team captain and the team’s Man of the Year nominee in 1982, Brown returned to the Seahawks as a defensive backs coach from 1992-1998. Brown later went on to coach defensive backs at Texas Tech before dying of an apparent heart attack in 2006 at the age of 52.

"I don't know anybody who doesn't love Dave Brown," Gary Wright, then the Seahawks’ vice president of administration, told the Seattle Post Intelligencer after Brown’s unexpected death. "He was a class individual. He just stood out. He stood out as an athlete. He stood out as a human being. He will be missed.”