Should Seahawks block NFC West rivals from potential trades to stay ahead?
Seaside Joe 1333: As long as they keep winning, Seattle will keep leading
Do the Seahawks need to block the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, or Arizona Cardinals from making a trade before the November 1 deadline?
I will breakdown the possibilities for all four NFC West teams, as they’re separated by a game or less, top-to-bottom, and each of them still thinks they can win the division this season. They all have a point. They all need help.
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What do the Rams need?
The Rams are clearly the biggest threat to make a move. In 2019, general manager Les Snead traded two first round picks for Jalen Ramsey before the deadline. In 2021, he traded a second and a third for Von Miller. Both of those moves were huge parts of L.A.’s run towards being the best team in the NFC West and Super Bowl champions.
Of course those are just the midseason trades, setting aside deals for Matthew Stafford, etc. Snead is as active as any executive in football, including Pete Carroll, and the fact that the Rams do not have a 2023 first round pick will do little to slow him down.
The question for L.A. is not a willingness to trade picks, but in their confidence to repeat. The Rams are 3-3, but that’s no big deal. They have the same number of losses as the Seahawks and a well trod history of beating Seattle as long as they have Aaron Donald. The real issue for Sean McVay and Snead is that the team…might actually be bad.
The Rams are down to “the Oday Aboushi plan” at right guard, a desperation fallback option that the Seahawks are all too familiar with. McVay is also down to his backup left tackle A.J. Jackson and a third string choice at left guard in Bobby Evans. The Allen Robinson signing has been a bust, Cam Akers is so far into the doghouse that he’s moments away from being traded out of the Rams house, and L.A.’s failed to land punches with their wide receiver picks recently.
That means that the Rams offense is essentially just Matthew Stafford throwing to Cooper Kupp behind a battered offensive line and no running game. By almost any measure, L.A. is the worst first and second down offense in the league, the passing offense is morbidly inefficient, and McVay can only dream of the days that he had a running back like Todd Gurley.
But the Rams’ biggest need, which is offensive line help, is nearly impossible to find at this point of the year. It’s easier to find edge players, wide receivers, and maybe even a starting quarterback (Jimmy Garoppolo for example), than it is to convince a team to let go of a good offensive lineman in the middle of the year. It just doesn’t happen.
Instead, the Rams need to turn to weapons and edge players. More specifically, the Rams were reportedly ready to match San Francisco’s offer for Christian McCaffrey, so Snead might be willing to go the extra mile for someone like Alvin Kamara. L.A. was reportedly also making inquiries about a reunion with Brandin Cooks.
The Rams could get back receiver Van Jefferson this week. But the miss on Robinson could force L.A. to make another move and they can’t guarantee that Odell Beckham, Jr. will want to return when he’s healthy next month.
Defensively, it’s unclear if the Rams could offer the Panthers enough for somebody like Brian Burns. But you can’t count out Snead from trying.
Should the Seahawks block?
With Seattle leading the NFC West after seven weeks, could Carroll get aggressive at the deadline? The Seahawks haven’t been shy about shipping picks for players in the past, but Seattle can’t sacrifice their immense 2023 draft capital for someone unless they’re positive that the move will have immediate dividends. There is no way that the Seahawks should lose anything in the future for someone like Burns unless they actually believed that winning the NFC was a possibility this season.
The trade block that would be more shocking, but not off the table, is making a move for a running back. Seattle is lucky to have Ken Walker III, but the injury to Rashaad Penny might be enough to necessitate a move for a player capable of starting, if necessary. Even though Travis Homer is also expected back soon.
What do the 49ers need?
The 49ers did spend their first round pick on a quarterback this year. And their first round pick last year. And their first round pick next year. On Trey Lance.
After giving up second, third, fourth, and fifth round picks for Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco has little left to bargain with and accept that this is their roster. And Jimmy Garoppolo is their quarterback. The 49ers were 3-5 last season and they came close to reaching the Super Bowl, so that’s the type of belief they have in themselves despite a slow start and Garoppolo.
There’s nothing to block
But take a look at the advantage that Seattle will have to potentially improve faster than the Rams and 49ers in the near future:
Here are the 49ers picks in 2023:
3rd round (compensatory)
3rd round (compensatory)
5th round
7th round
7tn round (from Broncos)
Here are the Rams picks in 2023:
2nd round
3rd round
6th round
6th round (from Packers)
6th round (from Titans)
7th round
Makes it all the more important that the Seahawks have two first round picks and two second round picks. Seattle could choose three to four times before the Rams and five times before the 49ers.
What’s the Cardinals biggest need?
Arizona tends to be the least aggressive team in the division, but they have made offseason trades for DeAndre Hopkins, J.J. Watt, and Marquise Brown. There is a clear sense of trying to make the team work now so that they don’t have to admit defeat on the decision to hand everything over to Kliff Kingsbury in 2019.
The fact that the Cardinals looked a lot better in Hopkins’ return would seem to bode well for Arizona fans hoping to see the team make a second half push. And I’m sure “in season Hard Knocks” would like to see a splashy move too.
The name that Cardinals fans would like to see the most is Daron Payne. There are rumors that he’s available, but Washington has won their last two games and that could be enough to eradicate thoughts of giving up. Especially because Ron Rivera is far from a sure thing to return next year.
Arizona may need to look elsewhere and all focus could be paid attention to the defense, although injuries at the running back position could make that a priority too. Revenge of the Birds mentions Bradley Chubb as a player who could help the Cardinals, but he would most likely cost Arizona one of their first two picks, at least. More likely, Arizona targets a relatively cheap cornerback or linebacker and hopes to keep playing better with Hopkins.
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Should the Seahawks block?
The Seahawks should not make any blocking moves for Bradley Chubb or any other high-priced trade acquisition. I believe Seattle should hold firm with picks in the first four rounds, at least, and not worry too much about the Cardinals, 49ers, or Rams getting better.
What do you say?
The Seahawks: "We all we got/we all we need."
With the way the rookie class has contributed there isn't much pressure to add anyone except maayybe a WR depending on how soon DK is able to get back. But even there, Marquise Goodwin looked pretty good last week, and there may be some opportunity for Dareke Young to get some snaps and see what he can do. The 2023 Seahawks will be better if they can keep working in their rookies.
We had a plan from the very beginning. It looked sound/reasonable. So far, it’s working wonderfully.
Don’t screw up what’s working OR If it’s not broke don’t fix it.