When an NFL team experiences ultimate success in the form of a championship season, everyone else in the league does their best to figure out how they did it, as well as with whom they got there.  

The vast majority of the time, a team that wins the Super Bowl doesn’t only have a good core of starting players, but a deep roster all around. They have backups who can come in and fill the starter’s role adequately in the case of injury or if the starter simply needs a breather. Many backups on championship caliber teams would be starters on the majority of other NFL teams, and this year’s Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks are no exception.

Seattle undoubtedly had the deepest roster in the NFL this past season, and now that free agency is upon us, teams all over the NFL are eyeing former Seahawks.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, whose head coach is former Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, are already quite active in pursuing former Seahawks. Starting at the beginning of the 2013 season, Bradley picked up both linebacker John Lotulelei and safety Winston Guy from the group of players Seattle cut at the beginning of the season, and both Guy and Lotulelei saw considerable playing time for the Jaguars in 2013.

Jacksonville made one of the biggest signings of the off season just days ago by signing former Seattle standout defensive lineman and run stuffer Red Bryant.  Bryant has been a pivotal part of Seattle’s defense over the past several years, and was coached by Bradley for five of the six years he spent in Seattle. 

This move will bolster Jacksonville’s already improving defense even further by adding a veteran player who is also one of the most versatile defensive linemen in the game, and has one Super Bowl ring under his belt. 

There have also been rumors that Jacksonville will pursue Seattle defensive end Chris Clemons if and when Seattle parts ways with the veteran pass rusher. Clemons is aging and struggled with injuries last year, but recorded 38 sacks over the past four years in Seattle and would add a great veteran pass rushing presence opposite of Jaguars incumbent pass rushing defensive end Jason Babin, another former Seahawk.

Several other Seahawks could be picked up by other teams as well. Given that Michael Bennett, the most highly touted defensive lineman in this year’s free agent class, just re-signed with the Seattle Seahawks yesterday, the biggest name remaining on the list is receiver and return man Golden Tate.  

Tate will be hitting free agency as Seattle has yet to re-sign the speedy playmaker. The New York Jets are thought to be interested in Tate given that Jets General Manager John Idzik formerly comes from the Seahawks current front office camp, and the Jets have a glaring need for a receiver. 

Seahawks slot receiver Doug Baldwin could  be signed by another team as well, although the Seahawks have placed a second round tender on the restricted free agent, meaning that any team wishing to sign him must be willing to give up their second round draft pick in next year’s NFL draft to the Seahawks if Baldwin accepts. Also, if another team does offer Baldwin a contract, Seattle will have an opportunity to match or better the other team’s offer and retain Baldwin.

This process of other teams poaching a championship team’s departures is one that has worked in the past. Ken Whisenhunt left the Steelers after winning a Super Bowl with the team in 2006 to take the helm as head coach for struggling Arizona in 2007. 

When he did so he brought over multiple former Steelers, as well as a handful of assistant coaches, and the strategy paid off.  The Cardinals would go on to play in the first Super Bowl in Arizona history after the 2008 season, and although they lost to his former employer, the Steelers, Whisenhunt’s strategy of picking up Pittsburgh’s scraps led to temporary success with the Cardinals.

The fallout of a championship season is huge. Not only do other teams want to copy Seattle now and steal their championship caliber players, but it also affects the players themselves, as that one championship will raise their monetary value considerably on the free agency market. While other teams may try to steal Seattle’s success, it might take a while for the rest of the league to catch up with the Seahawks’ innovative model.