Seahawks D-line reads samurai fable post-Super Bowl
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- Seattle Seahawks defensive linemen Leonard Williams (32), Jarran Reed (33), DeMarcus Lawrence (34), and Uchenna Nwosu (29) are all reading "Chop Wood Carry Water," a samurai-archer fable about mastering process over end goals, assigned by defensive coordinator Aden Durde after their Super Bowl LX victory over the Patriots.
- Leonard Williams spent last offseason reading all 1,000-plus pages of Tolstoy's "War and Peace"; this summer's shorter fable ties to coach Mike Macdonald's team philosophy about not fixating on end goals.
- Washington Commanders rookie OT Josh Conerly Jr. received "Atomic Habits" by James Clear from general manager Adam Peters after being drafted No. 29 in 2025, as part of his onboarding into the league.
- Vikings QB Carson Wentz has been journaling through the Bible for the past year, working through Psalms in the Old Testament, while Bills TE Dawson Knox said he spends "the most important 30, 45 minutes" of his day on New Testament books.
- Saints CB Martin Emerson Jr. turned to nonfiction reading during six months of bed rest after a torn Achilles cost him the 2025 season, working through "The 48 Laws of Power," "Think and Grow Rich," and "The 7 Levels of Consciousness."
- Jaguars LB Foye Oluokun listens to audiobooks in the locker room, quipping "a chapter a day keeps dementia away," while Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux said he actually reads more during the season than the offseason, when he focuses on business and philanthropy.
Why it matters: The Seahawks' defensive coordinator handing one book to four 29-to-34-year-old linemen coming off a Super Bowl win shows how NFL teams now use shared reading to spark legacy conversations with aging veterans. Multiple players — Wentz, Knox, Saints LB Kaden Elliss — also describe reading as a fixed daily discipline, not casual leisure, treating 30-45 minutes of books as non-negotiable recovery work in an 8-month grind.
