With Week 1 in the books and Week 2 underway, the Seattle Seahawks already have an advantage over their NFC West division rival, the Los Angeles Rams: a win. The Rams’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers, followed by an Arizona Cardinals win, left them at the bottom of their division; they are the only team with a loss.
Of course, it's just one week, so putting too much weight on 1-0 and 0-1 records is a fool's errand. Furthermore, it's unlikely and unexpected that Arizona will win more games than they lose, just as it's unlikely the Rams will lose more games than they win. That said, the Rams are facing trouble and some significant question marks.
The Seahawks don't have many, unless your faith in Drew Lock is non-existent. As it stands, the Seahawks already look better than the Rams, and although the latter has the star power, it doesn't match one element the Seahawks possess, according to NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah.
NFL analyst claims the LA Rams fall short of the Seattle Seahawks in the "depth" category
Sometimes investing heavily in star power translates into success. Sometimes, it falls short. What happens with the Rams this season will answer which category they fall into, because star power is driving their engine right now, whereas the Seahawks have another factor driving theirs.
According to Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network, the Seahawks have one particularly major advantage over the Rams in roster construction. The Rams may have the Seahawks beat in big names and stacked resumes, but the Seahawks have something that may prove better, as Jeremiah writes: depth.
“We had the discussion in the offseason about the Seahawks versus the Rams,” Jeremiah said on Seattle Sports' Brock & Salk show. “We can have the discussion on the starters. That’s a fair one there, on the defense. I would lean toward Seattle there. But when you get into the depth, it’s not close. And you saw no drop-off when that next group (of Seahawks defensive linemen) came in there.
“And that’s what’s won the last two Super Bowls,” Jeremiah added, “It’s the number of guys you can roll through there.”
Jeremiah said two things that are correct. First, with Seattle's starters and backups, the defense doesn't seem to lose any steps or momentum. They truly take the "next man up" philosophy to heart and execute it with precision.
Second, when you look at the last two teams to win Super Bowls—the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024 and the Seahawks last year—depth was clearly evident on both sides of the ball, especially on defense. Seattle's defensive depth is among the league's best: you can insert backups or rotational players and not have to worry about losing ground.
When players like Derick Hall (LB), Rylie Mills (DT), Tyrice Knight (LB), and Nehemiah Pritchett (CB), among others, who are all considered secondary in their positions, come in to fill in for starters for a play or two, they all execute in their roles better than those in the same positions on other teams in the NFL.
The Seahawks seem to do everything well, and it's shown from last season into the current one. That's why they're so dangerous, and their defensive and offensive depth gives them an advantage over most, if not all, other NFL squads, including the Rams.
The Rams might have all the attention, but what matters in the end is how everything translates on the field. While it might be nice to have a superstar or two, the Seahawks are, without question, content with who they have, and that's why they have the edge over the Rams despite all the offseason noise.
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