The Rams Added Star Corners and It Still Won't Be Enough to Knock Off the Seahawks

The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks had a quiet offseason. They lost Kenneth Walker III and Coby Bryant to free agency. They're working with only four draft picks and a cautious spending approach. Their roster is mostly complete as it stands.

And honestly? That might be exactly what they need.

Defense Wins Titles, and the Seahawks Have the Best One

This team had the top-scoring defense and the third-best scoring offense in the league last year. With most of their core pieces still under contract, they should be just fine heading into the 2026 season. Even with the Rams bringing in Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to shore up their secondary, it's not enough to dethrone Seattle.

Lou Scataglia's latest power rankings have the Seahawks at No. 1, with the Denver Broncos at No. 2 and the Los Angeles Rams at No. 3. "The Super Bowl champions are the best team in the NFL," Scataglia wrote, "and while they don't necessarily have the best quarterback in the world, the current group was plenty good enough last year and should be plenty good enough in 2026."

The Rams Are the Only Real Threat in the West

The Arizona Cardinals won't pose much of a threat. The San Francisco 49ers made good moves and should improve, but Mike Macdonald seems to have Kyle Shanahan's number. The Rams? That's a different animal.

Seattle went 2-1 against Los Angeles last season and dominated them in the NFC Championship Game. But those three regular season matchups were close, decided by 2, 1, and 4 points respectively. The Rams are clearly going all-in to play in the Super Bowl at home at SoFi Stadium. Their additions of McDuffie and Watson are a direct response to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Rashid Shaheed wreaking havoc in Seattle's receiving corps.

The Pressure Is On

Winning a Super Bowl is hard. Winning the next one? That's the real test. This is a copycat league. Everybody is either trying to replicate what the Seahawks did or building something specifically designed to counter their strengths. Mike Macdonald will face more pressure than ever.

The Seahawks are the team to beat until proven otherwise. But that's when defending champs get dangerous. Looking down on the opposition has doomed plenty of great teams before.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.