Are the 49ers any better?
The Seahawks play the 49ers in 2 weeks, but which players suit up for San Francisco is anybody's guess at this point
The 49ers traded for two players this week, first acquiring receiver Skyy Moore from the Chiefs on Wednesday, and then next adding running back Brian Robinson on Friday morning. Both were day two picks in the 2022 draft, both are probably hoping that a union with Kyle Shanahan will do for them what it has done for players like Jauan Jennings and Raheem Mostert in the past.
But these moves were not just intended to add talent to the roster before Week 1 — an divisional matchup against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field — they were also a reaction to a harsh reality facing the 49ers at the end of training camp:
The San Francisco 49ers are banged up, old, suspended, and maybe for the first time in a long time, lacking the identity of a cohesive, efficient, and talented unit built on the Shanahan model.
I don’t know how much a receiver with 0 yards last year or a running back who is the definition of “replacement level” is going to help San Francisco’s problems, but the fact that the Niners are being such try-hards on the trade market already is sending up smoke signals that they’re just as worried about the team being in trouble as the skeptics are sure of it.
They’re trading for Christian McCaffrey replacements before he even gets hurt this time because they’re so sure that he’ll get there eventually.
The people who read this newsletter are experts on what the Seahawks have done in the offseason as an attempt to fix one of the league’s worst rushing offenses, trying to restore the balance of what was once the home of Shaun Alexander and Marshawn Lynch. Well, just take everything you know about that and apply it to San Francisco’s run defense.
The 49ers have had the exact same offseason as Seattle with the difference being in the details:
New (but experienced) defensive coordinator
First, second, and two third round picks on defense
Moves for veteran help, such as Bryce Huff
The 49ers ranked 30th in points allowed per drive last season despite having a top-10 pass defense. They drafted edge rusher Mykel Williams in the first, defensive tackle Alfred Collins in the second, and linebacker Nick Martin in the third as an effort to improve their run defense. Third round nickel Upton Stout and fifth round safety Marques Sigle are also expected to start or have significant roles on Sundays.
When we get to September 7th and the Seahawks have the ball, that’s when the fireworks really come out: Which overhauled phase of football — Seattle’s revamped offense under Klint Kubiak or San Francisco’s revamped defense under Robert Saleh — will prove to be the quickest fix?
Here’s the most recent and relevant information I’ve gathered about the 49ers in training camp and preseason that could give Seattle fans better insight into answering that question, as well as how likely it is that the Seahawks will get the home divisional win in Week 1 that they probably need just as bad as Week 18: