The 49ers may not have won the offseason, but they didn't end up losing it like this other NFC West squad did.
The San Francisco 49ers didn't exactly have the best of an offseason.
Highlighted by a mass departure of well-established talent, including standout players like linebacker Dre Greenlaw and wide receiver Deebo Samuel, it's easy to see why Niners fans are concerned with what the future holds following what general manager John Lynch referred to as a "reset."
As tough as that all was, San Francisco used the opportunity to get back to its roots, focusing on the defensive line in the NFL Draft and hoping to reinforce what was once its biggest strength by adding rookie linemen in Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins and C.J. West while selecting other prospective talents to get both younger and cheaper.
It seems like one of the 49ers' NFC West rivals focused on the opposite approach, and that painted a losing picture for the offseason, at least according to one league analyst.
Bleacher Report calls Seahawks the NFC West's biggest offseason loser
Moe Moton, a well-respected Bleacher Report analyst and columnist, went through every division and highlighted the biggest offseason loser from each.
The Niners weren't the losers from the NFC West, no. Instead, it was the Seattle Seahawks, who also endured a tumultuous offseason and bade farewell to longstanding wide receivers Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf while also saying goodbye to quarterback Geno Smith.
To replace those three, the Hawks turned to wideouts Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Cooper Kupp, and they also inked quarterback Sam Darnold to replace Smith.
Moton wasn't a fan of the approach, writing:
"This offseason, the Seattle Seahawks added older or less established players at key positions. ...
On one hand, Darnold is coming off his best year, a Pro Bowl campaign with the Minnesota Vikings. Yet he only has one quality year in a full-time starting role. The Seahawks had limited options on the free-agent market and added the best available quarterback. Still, Darnold could be primed for regression with a lesser supporting cast than he had in Minnesota."
Moton added how Kupp and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence are both well on the wrong side of 30 years old and have a lengthy injury history, while Darnold was something of a one-year revelation in 2024 in Minnesota.
Reading the room, it sure seems as if Seattle got older and more injury-prone, whereas San Francisco aimed to get younger and more dynamic.
The latter sounds much more like a winning strategy.