Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers are no longer the unquestioned top dogs in the much-improved NFC West, which could make for a situation where one error in a team's roster construction may be all that is needed to bring them crashing down to a very disappointing last-place finish.
Even though the Seattle Seahawks gave Sam Darnold a ton of money in free agency after coming just a few percentage points short of making it the postseason as a wild-card team last year, the Niners should still feel confident in any of their hypothetical head-to-head matchups due to a suspect offensive line.
While the Seahawks do have left tackle Charles Cross and are fresh off using a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on North Dakota State's Grey Zabel, the rest of the offensive line is a huge question mark that San Francisco can exploit.
As bad as center Olu Oluwatimi was last season, right guard is the biggest sore spot on the roster, as 2024 holodver Anthony Bradford and second-year player Christian Haynes (who is coming off a down season) are fighting it out for the starting role.
The 49ers likely won't be too scared of either of them.
49ers can take advantage of Seahawks' continued struggles with building elite offensive line
Haynes was a below-average performer in his limited action, and Bradford was so poor that his struggles played a big role in the Zabel selection. Against San Francisco's defensive line, they could wilt.
The 49ers have invested a ton of resources into fixing their defensive line, as they used three draft picks in the first four rounds to bring in Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, and CJ West. New defensive coordinator Robert Saleh had his faults with the New York Jets, but he always managed to put together a solid D-line and pass rush.
Assuming that Nick Bosa is his usual, excellent self and the rookies live up to billing, the Seahawks may not have the capability to slow down this improved San Francisco defense.
In this division, that guard spot could be a sore spot that ends up impacting the overall win-loss record.
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