Reach, Ty, Love: NFC West slammed for draft picks

If the Seahawks started the draft in the lead, they came out of it with a bigger one

Onlookers have been understanding of what the Seahawks did in the draft, even after picking a running back in the first round who was projected by some as a third rounder, because Seattle made decisions that aligned with team needs and took prospects that were selected roughly in, or at times above, their projections. That includes Bud Clark in round two and trading for Beau Stephens in round four.

Their three NFC West counterparts, especially the two who are actually trying to beat them next season, aren’t being treated as kindly.

San Francisco 49ers: Reach

When even Mel Kiper, a loyal apologist for most prospects, says that a team reached then it means that the GM either has a unique strategy or more likely no strategy at all.

“I like De'Zhaun Stribling, Kaelon Black and some others, but it seemed like general manager John Lynch went off the board to get the guys he wanted, often way ahead of where they were valued.”

Kiper added that by not securing insurance for players like Trent Williams and George Kittle, the Niners were not “thinking ahead” with their draft class.

Beat reporter Grant Cohn asked Niners GM John Lynch was he was so confident deviating from the consensus ranking of prospects given his “track record” and that it “seems like it leads to you making reaches”.

The Niners were the least-aligned drafting team by consensus big board rankings by a mile.

Another 49ers account noted that receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, the first pick of round two, was the fourth biggest “reach” of the Lynch-Shanahan regime. Stribling was projected to go around 91st but he went 33rd.

The Ringer’s Danny Kelly gave the class a C- and called Stribling a “head-scratcher” with what other players were left on the board:

“The Niners kept what seems like a now yearly tradition of making head-scratching skill player picks on day two, grabbing Ole Miss receiver De'Zhaun Stribling (my 83rd overall player) and Indiana running back Kaelon Black (who was outside my top 100 and not invited to the combine) in the second and third rounds, respectively.”

On Black, arguably the biggest reach for any player picked by the league on day two, Shanahan told reporters that they view him as a good third down back who was fast at his pro day. Black was Dane Brugler’s 15th-ranked running back but the third one off of the board.

For the Win gave the class a D- and PFF went with a D.

Sometimes redditors sound smarter than GMs and this comment from a 49ers fan makes a lot of sense to me:

“I think the most frustrating thing about our front office is that the draft strategies on days 1 and 2 seem to be wildly different than day 3.

On days 1 and 2 they hyper fixate on their favorite targets, oftentimes drafting them way ahead of where they were projected. These players are usually big and speak well in interviews, but they usually have a major flaw in their profile that the 49ers are willing to overlook (Mykel Williams’ lack of pass rush refinement, Javon Kinlaw’s degenerative knee, TDP’s lack of burst, Trey Lance’s lack of experience).

On day 3 they target either freak athletes who are raw or guys that have at least 1 pro ready trait that the coaching staff can build on (Kittle’s blocking, DJ Jones’ anchor in run defense, Jauan Jennings’ YAC ability, Purdy’s processing).

I think the differing strategies is primarily why we’ve seen different results. We are a below average drafting team in rounds 1-3 and maybe the best drafting team in rounds 4-7.

The infuriating thing is that the front office hasn’t picked up on this and adjusted. If we drafted in rounds 1-3 the same way we draft in rounds 4-7, we likely would’ve won a super bowl by now. Maybe 2.”

As Seahawks fans can attest to sometimes bad draft grades end up as cherished memories…

But Lynch and Shanahan have done nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt. Fans already kind of hate last year’s first round pick (Mykel Williams) and the four previous to him were Ricky Pearsall, Trey Lance, Javon Kinlaw, and Brandon Aiyuk. Day 2 picks are almost exclusively composed of busts.

The 49ers have made the playoffs in five of the last seven years despite their mistakes in the top-100 picks so maybe it won’t stop them from competing for the one-seed again next season. Maybe Stribling will prove to be an immediate help—Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, and Pearsall still appear to be the starters though—if not someone else being a late round surprise.

For right now, Lynch continues to avoid “atta boy”’s for his draft picks.

Los Angeles Rams: Ty goes to the reacher

Starting with Mel again, imagine a draft analyst who loves Shedeur Sanders but doesn’t understand why the Rams would pick quarterback Ty Simpson and you have … the opinion that Simpson is worse than Sheduer:

“I had wide receiver and right tackle as my top two needs for the Rams, and I saw addressing either position in a meaningful way in Round 1 as the potential topper on building a real no-joke contender. When Los Angeles got on the clock at No. 13, Monroe Freeling and Blake Miller were there. Makai Lemon, whom I projected to the Rams in my final mock draft, was still there. It was all lining up for coach Sean McVay and the Rams.

But then Los Angeles shocked everyone and took Ty Simpson.”

The cliffnotes version of Simpson is that he spent three years as a backup at Alabama (two behind Jalen Milroe) and then made his first and only 15 college starts in 2025 with former Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb calling plays. Cam Newton is often cited as the only successful NFL quarterback with fewer than 20 college starts (but this could be wrong or interpreted different ways).

Simpson fell off hard in the second half of the season and is considered to be undersized with only adequate traits. All of which led to an expectation at the end of the college season that Simpson would be a day two pick, which by draft day became “he might go at the end of round one”, and then the Rams picked him 13th.

Kelly gave the pick a C-:

“In a vacuum, I really don’t get this pick. This feels like a massive reach for an undersized, lightly experienced quarterback who was injured (and played poorly) for half of his only season as a starter. And maybe more importantly, the Rams are in a position to compete for the Super Bowl right now, and this pick doesn’t give them a better chance to do that. But all that being said: Of all the potential landing spots for Simpson, this is, by light-years, the best he could’ve hoped for.”

PFF noted the reach:

“There was growing momentum that Simpson would be selected toward the end of the first round — he ranked 38th on the Consensus Big Board — but few expected him to come off the board this early.”

And The Athletic called it “the most enigmatic” pick of the entire draft:

“This is the draft’s most enigmatic selection, and it’s not close. If a team drafted Simpson to start right away, the grade, at best, would have been a C-minus — he’s not ready for the NFL in that capacity.”

Even mainstream has called the pick “terrible” by the Rams, emphasizing that general manager Les Snead got a mediocre quarterback prospect over a player who might be able to help them be better than the Seahawks…which of course they weren’t last season.

Of course, the upside to drafting a quarterback is that if Matthew Stafford retires in 2027 then the Rams are already a year into the succession process.

(This was the plan to drafting Trey Lance in 2021 and we saw how that worked out for the 49ers.)

After Simpson, L.A.’s other picks were overshadowed by that decision but in ways just as confusing. The Rams drafted TE Max Klare in the second round, just one year after they drafted a tight end in the second round; L.A. now has five tight ends on the roster who are NFL players. I’m not talking depth, I’m not talking about just being ready to run 13 personnel (3 tight ends on the field), I’m talking about they have five tight ends worthy of being top-3 on a roster.

My question is…why?

Klare has been called a “slight reach” too and third round pick Keagen Trost was ranked lower for some than Seattle’s fourth round pick Beau Stephens.

When I look at the Rams roster, I see major problems ahead at receiver (which sixth rounder C.J. Daniels won’t help) and the offensive line (four of their starters are free agents next year) but Snead and McVay went with luxury over logic.

The Rams are Seattle’s biggest competition in the NFC West (I’ll keep repeating as a reminder that I’m picking the Detroit Lions* to be their biggest competition to get to the Super Bowl) but their first round pick is literally not intended to help L.A. beat the Seahawks next season.

*the lions drafted offensive tackle blake miller in the first round, someone who might have helped the rams right away

Arizona Cardinals: Ok sure I guess we’ll talk about them too

Beck once covered John Lennon’s “Love” for a Starbucks compilation album and the Cardinals hope that Beck and Love will combine for star power too. Unfortunately for them, few people believe Carson Beck has a future in the NFL as starter or that a running back—even one compared to the player who Reggie Bush was supposed to become—will help the Cardinals compete next season for anything other than the number one pick.

Arizona’s offseason is heavily designed to draft a quarterback early in the 2027 draft.

In reshaping their coaching staff, the Cardinals hired former Rams “offensive coordinator” Mike LaFleur as head coach, a person who might be underrated but was otherwise not on anyone’s radar to get that promotion prior to being hired in Arizona. LaFleur did not call plays for the Rams and so he’s basically just as experienced as Seattle’s Brian Fleury.

His offensive coordinator is Nathaniel Hackett, the coach famously blamed for the Broncos historic collapse with Russell Wilson in 2022.

At quarterback, Jacoby Brissett is staying away from the team until he gets a new contract but Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort has told the media that the Cardinals don’t have an official starter yet. It could be free agent Gardner Minshew. Or even Beck, a quarterback who spent six years in college and could have fallen to day three without anyone blinking an eye.

Arizona’s moves feel very Raiders-y to me.

The Raiders hired Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly, drafted Ashton Jeanty, traded for Geno Smith, and even if it wasn’t intentional they tanked to the number one pick which led them to Fernando Mendoza.

Now the Cardinals hire coaches who nobody would surprise if they got fired, drafted a running back, have been noncommittal to a quarterback, and might just want to get the best pick next year.

Given their status in the NFC West, it could be Arizona’s best move.

That helps explains the Cardinals draft to a degree—second rounder Chase Bisontis was the player I wanted for the Seahawks—but what’s the excuse for the Rams and 49ers?

Seaside Joe 2611