It’s no surprise that the NFC West is the toughest division in the NFL. I’d feel sorry for the Cardinals, except they’ve been such an unwarranted pain in the - well, you know where. Every rival made big offseason moves, but the 49ers made the moves that should worry the Seattle Seahawks the most.
The San Francisco 49ers improved their wide receiver group exponentially. The Seattle Seahawks are already hard-pressed in the defensive backfield this season. The Rams obviously made the biggest moves, far bigger than any other team.
They brought the reigning NFL Defensive MVP, Miles Garrett, from the Browns. And just last week, they announced that professional holy terror, Aaron Donald, has returned to the team.
The Seattle Seahawks' defensive backfield is just too thin for now
So why am I saying that Seattle should worry more about the moves in San Francisco than what Los Angeles did? Was I suddenly struck stupid? Kindly keep your comments to yourself on that one, 12s. No, not at all. Well, maybe. But I think the Seahawks are in a better position to handle the influx of the Rams’ power twins than they are to take on the Niners new players.
Here’s the thing, gang. The Seahawks are coming into the season with the best offensive line they’ve had in several years. Anthony Bradford has taken a lot of heat for his play, often from me as well as more learned folks.
But over the last part of the season, he played much better. Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Bradford's average grade was 18.0. That’s on a scale of 0- 100, so you don’t even have to be mathy to know that’s awful.
But from Week 9 on, he was a different player. His average grade skyrocketed to 79.8, which would rank him fifth among all guards in the league. Yes, he struggled against the Rams, but the offense came through in both the critical Week 16 game and the conference championship game.
The Seahawks’ O-line isn’t at the top of the league, but it is vastly better than when it was near the bottom before the arrival of Charles Cross and Abe Lucas.
The defensive backfield in Seattle has suddenly become a worrisome area, though. Devon Witherspoon was, of course, the Offensive Player of the - oh, sorry, just reading the plaque the NFL sent out. Okay, so Spoon is the best corner in the game.
Nick Emmanwori proved to be the Swiss Army Knife we all predicted last season, while Ty Okada surprised as a great sub for Julian Love when he missed 9 games. The addition of rookie safety Bud Clark made things look better than ever for the Seahawks in 2026.
But then Emmanwori was injured, and Bud Clark was lost for the season. Of course, now Okada may be out for some time. Seattle is heading into Week 1 with just three safeties on the active roster, and Emmanwori is one of them. He’s expected to be available for the Wednesday night kickoff, but it certainly doesn’t help that he has four fewer days to get game-ready.
They’re thin at cornerback as well. Nehemiah Pritchett is the third CB for now, with Julian Neal listed as questionable and Trevon Diggs likely at least two weeks away from taking the field. But all signs point to a big yes for Diggs. As for Terrion Arnold, he might not appear until the final weeks of the season, if at all.
So with all the question marks among the Seahawks’ DBs, the Niners’ moves worry me more than the Rams' moves. They replaced Jauan Jennings, a good WR2, with Mike Evans, a guy who will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Yes, he’s coming off an injury, but 2025 was the first time in his 12-year career that he didn’t reach 1,000 receiving yards. He was coming off his second straight Pro Bowl season, and in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, it would be no surprise to see him back in the Pro Bowl this season.
Rookie wideout De’Zhaun Stribling has speed to burn (4.36 in the 40), and great hands as well. He was a standout for the Niners in camp and in the preseason. I know, I know, training camp and preseason games aren’t “real” football, but all signs point to yes for this kid.
The all-too- dangerous Deebo Samuel is back, and Christian Kirk will replace the enigmatic/perpetually unhappy Brandon Aiyuk. Kirk is on injured reserve until at least Week 5, which, of course, just happens to be the first game between the Niners and the Seahawks.
So by Week 5, Shanahan’s receiving corps could be at full strength, while Mike Macdonald’s defenders could still be undermanned.
Listen, I’m not saying I’m not concerned about the Rams defense. But as far as matchups go, especially in the first contest between critical rivals, the Seahawks have more to be worried about from that team in NorthCal than those SoCal guys. Seattle won't even see them until Week 16.
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