Quarterback

The Seahawks seemed to be starting a rebuild two off-seasons ago, trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos for a package that included three players, two first round picks, and two second round picks. However, Wilson’s former backup Geno Smith has broken out over the past two seasons, after making just five starts in the previous seven seasons, while Wilson dropped off significantly in Denver and was cut after just two seasons. 

In his first season as the Seahawks’ starter in 2022, Smith completed 69.8% of his passes for an average of 7.49 YPA, 30 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Smith wasn’t quite as good in 2023, completing 64.7% of his passes for an average of 7.27 YPA, 20 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions, but he proved he wasn’t a one-year wonder and led an offense that ranked 11th in both yards per play and first down rate. What held the Seahawks back as a team in 2023 was mostly their defense, which ranked 24th in yards per play allowed and 29th in first down rate allowed. In an attempt to improve that side of the ball, the Seahawks fired long-time head coach Pete Carroll, an aging defensive mind, and replaced him with a much younger defensive mind in ex-Ravens defensive coordinator Mike McDonald.

Because of Smith’s performance, the Seahawks have been able to have a little bit of the best of both worlds, remaining competitive, while accumulating significant draft capital. Over the past two seasons, the Seahawks have finished 9-8 in each season, qualifying for the post-season in 2022 and just missing out in 2023, while also selecting eight times in the top-75 picks between the 2022 and 2023 drafts. Whether or not the Seahawks can take the next step in 2024 largely depends on how those recent high draft picks develop, although that assumes Smith can avoid declining, now in his age 34 season.

The Seahawks haven’t used one of their high draft picks on quarterback of the future behind Geno Smith, but they did trade for ex-Commanders starter Sam Howell this off-season and the 2022 5th round pick is still only in his age 24 season, so he still has long-term potential. He was underwhelming in 18 starts over his first two seasons in the league in Washington, completing 63.2% of his passes for an average of 6.52 YPA, 22 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions, while taking 68 sacks, despite decent pass protection in front of him, leading to the Commanders moving on this off-season, but he’s at least a capable backup with the upside for more in the future, while Smith could remain a solid starter for at least another season. With Smith and Howell, this is a solid, if unspectacular quarterback room.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

Smith has played well, but he has definitely had help on this offense, most notably in the receiving corps. The Seahawks already had one of the best wide receiver duos in the league in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, who both surpassed 1000 yards receiving in 2020 and 2022, and they added further to this receiving corps last off-season when they used one of their first round picks, 20th overall, on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Smith-Njigba got off to a slow start to his rookie season, in part due to missing most of the off-season with injury, but from week 5 on, he had a 51/556/4 slash line in 13 games, which extrapolates to a 67/727/5 slash line over 17 games, while averaging 1.44 yards per route run over that stretch, doing so despite having Metcalf and Lockett ahead of him on the depth chart.

Now going into his second season in the league, with a healthier off-season, Smith-Njigba could easily take a step forward. If he does, it would probably come at the expense of Lockett, who is going into his age 32 season and seems to be on the decline. From 2018-2022, Lockett averaged a 79/1057/9 slash line per season with a 1.97 yards per route run average, but in 2023, he fell to 79/894/5 with a 1.61 yards per route run average, both lower than any single season during the previous five seasons. 

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Lockett decline further in 2024, though he could still remain a solid pass catcher and he could age better than most receivers, having only ever missed two games in nine seasons in the league. DK Metcalf, meanwhile, is only going into his age 27 season and is very much in the prime of his career. A 2nd round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Metcalf has averaged a 74/1066/9 slash line per season with a 1.91 yards per route run average in his career, while also being very durable, missing just one game due to injury.

The Seahawks have one of the top wide receiver trios in the league, but injuries could happen, so depth may be needed. Jake Bobo, a 2023 undrafted free agent, showed some promise as a reserve last season, with a 19/196/2 slash line and a 1.31 yards per route run average, and he would probably be the Seahawks first option if one of their top-3 misses time. The Seahawks also still have 2021 2nd round Dee Eskridge, although he’s shown next to nothing in three seasons in the league, with just 17 catches and a 0.59 yards per route run average. Already going into his age 27 season, he’s running out of time to even be a capable backup and he won’t be guaranteed a roster spot.

The Seahawks gave significant playing time to three tight ends last season, Noah Fant (570 snaps), Colby Parkinson (494 snaps), and Will Dissly (378 snaps), but this season the Seahawks seem likely to just feature Fant as their primary tight end, re-signing him on a 2-year, 21 million dollar deal ahead of free agent, while letting Parkinson and Dissly go elsewhere. The only player remaining on the roster that the Seahawks acquired in the Russell Wilson trade, Fant is a 2019 1st round pick who has averaged a decent 1.48 yards per route run in his career and is only heading into his age 27 season. His 1.29 yards per route run average in 2023 led all Seahawks tight ends, so this offense could benefit from him having a bigger role.

Fant only had a 32/414/0 slash line last season, but that came on just 43 targets and Parkinson and Dissly leave behind 56 vacated targets, so Fant should see a significant uptick in production in 2024, even on a team that has a great trio of wide receivers. The only additions the Seahawks made at the tight end position this season are Pharaoh Brown, a veteran blocking specialist who has only caught 64 passes in 70 career games, and 4th round rookie AJ Barner, who is unlikely to play a significant role in year one. Led by a talented top-3 at wide receiver in DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a promising pass catching tight end in Noah Fant, this is a well above average receiving corps.

Grade: A-

Running Backs

The Seahawks also had an effective running game in 2023. Kenneth Walker was the lead back, with 905 yards and 8 touchdowns on 219 carries. That’s an average of 4.13 YPC, which was down from his rookie season, when the 2022 second round pick turned 228 carries into 1,050 yards and 9 touchdowns, a 4.61 YPC, but Walker had a disproportionate amount of his yardage as a rookie on long carries, with 17 carries of 15+ yards going for 481 yards, 45.8% of his overall total. On his other 211 carries, he averaged just 2.70 YPC and, as a result, Walker had a carry success rate of just 39.9%.

In 2023, Walker only had 28.0% of his rushing yards on 10 carries of 15+ yards, averaging 3.12 YPC on his other carries and seeing his carry success rate jump to 46.6%. The Seahawks took Zach Charbonnet in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft as competition for Walker because of Walker’s low carry success rate as a rookie, but Walker was able to improve in that area and hold Charbonnet off for the starting job all season, with Charbonnet limited to 108 carries as a true backup. Charbonnet was effective in that role though, averaging 4.28 YPC with a 49.1% carry success rate and looks more than capable of taking over the lead back job if needed in case of an injury to Walker. 

Walker also took a big step forward as a pass catcher in his second season in the league in 2023, going from a 27/165/0 slash line and 0.67 yards per route run as a rookie to a 29/259/1 slash line and 1.30 yards per route run in his second season. In addition to giving them another option as a runner if Walker didn’t improve his carry success rate, Charbonnet was drafted to be a passing down complement to Walker, but Charbonnet ended up only having a 33/209/0 slash line and averaging 0.76 yards per route run as a rookie. He could be better in that aspect in year two though. Walker and Charbonnet should remain an effective tandem in 2024 and they could be even better than a year ago, given how young both still are.

Depth behind Walker and Charbonnet is a minor concern, as the Seahawks don’t have another running back on the roster with an NFL carry and the only one who didn’t go undrafted is 2023 7th round pick Kenny McIntosh, who didn’t play a snap as a rookie, but both Walker and Charbonnet seem capable of being a feature back in the case that the other one is injured so whoever the third back is would likely not see much action even if one of the two backs ahead of him on the depth chart gets hurt. Led by Walker and Charbonnet, this is a solid backfield, even if their depth is a small concern.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

In addition to using high draft picks on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker, and Zach Charbonnet in recent drafts, the Seahawks also used a pair of high draft picks in the 2022 NFL Draft on a pair of offensive tackles, Charles Cross, who went 9th overall, and Abraham Lucas, who went 72nd overall. Both immediately became starters as rookie, with Cross receiving a 63.7 PFF grade in 17 starts on the left side and Lucas receiving a 68.5 PFF grade in 16 starts on the right side. 

Both remained starters in 2023, but injuries limited Lucas to six mediocre starts (53.1 PFF grade), while Cross missed three games of his own, though he did take a step forward with a 67.6 PFF grade. In their absence, Stone Forsythe (8 starts), Jake Curhan (4 starts), and Jason Peters (2 starts) all struggled, with PFF grades of 58.2, 55.7, and 53.9 respectively. Both Cross and Lucas should remain starters in 2024, and Lucas has bounce back potential if healthy, while Cross has a chance to take another step forward in his third season in the league, but the Seahawks also improved their depth by signing veteran George Fant, who could theoretically push Lucas for his starting job if he continues struggling this season.

Fant is an experienced starter, with 73 starts in eight seasons in the league, while finishing above 60 on PFF in all but two of those seasons, with two seasons above 70, but he’s now going into his age 32 season and has been mediocre with PFF grades of 48.4 and 63.5 on snap counts of 516 and 915 over the past two seasons, so his best days are probably behind him. He’s not bad depth to have and it wouldn’t be hard for him to be an upgrade over the backup tackles the Seahawks had last season, but he could struggle if forced to start for an extended period of time. Stone Forsythe also remains, but the 2021 6th round pick has been mediocre across 633 career snaps and would likely need multiple injuries ahead of him on the depth chart to see action, while Jake Curhan and Jason Peters were not brought back this off-season.

The Seahawks also got mediocre play from the interior of their offensive line last season, as five players made starts at the three interior spots and all finished below 60 on PFF. When you include their issues at tackle, the Seahawks had ten players make starts on the offensive line last season and only Charles Cross finished above 60 on PFF. The Seahawks weren’t a bad run blocking offensive line last season, ranking 15th on PFF in team run blocking grade, but they struggled mightily in pass protection, ranking 28th on PFF in team pass blocking grade. 

Left guard Damien Lewis, 59.6 PFF grade in 16 starts, right guard Phil Haynes, 52.0 PFF grade in 8 starts, and center Evan Brown, 55.5 PFF grade in 16 starts, all weren’t retained this off-season, but the players the Seahawks replaced this with this off-season aren’t really upgrades. Veteran guard Laken Tomlinson is probably the biggest addition they made. In his prime, he was a solid starter, finishing above 60 on PFF in five straight seasons from 2017-2021, including career best PFF grades of 78.8 and 75.9 in 2020 and 2021 respectively, but he has fallen to 56.8 and 55.0 in two seasons since and now heads into his age 32 season, so his best days are almost definitely behind him and he could easily continue struggling. 

Tomlinson is at least experienced, with 138 starts in nine seasons in the league, and is probably locked into a starting job, due to the lack of a better option. The Seahawks also used a third round pick on Christian Haynes and he will likely compete with 2023 4th round pick Anthony Bradford for the right guard job. Bradford was underwhelming as a rookie with a 51.7 PFF grade in 10 starts, but Haynes could struggle through growing pains as a rookie and wouldn’t necessarily be an upgrade. It’s possible Bradford could be better in his second season in the league and he’s probably the favorite for the starting job, but there’s a good chance right guard is a position of weakness regardless.

At center, the Seahawks signed ex-Browns backup Nick Harris to compete with 2023 5th round pick Olu Oluwatimi, who struggled with a 53.1 PFF grade on 128 rookie year snaps. Harris isn’t necessarily a better option though, as the 2020 5th round pick has been mediocre across just 522 career snaps. Oluwatimi could take a step forward in his second season in the league, but it’s likely that center will also be a position of weakness in 2024. The Seahawks should have better health at tackle this season, but they are still weak on the interior of the offensive line and this should remain a below average offensive line overall.

Grade: C+

Edge Defenders

As I mentioned, the Seahawks had eight picks in the top-75 between the 2022 and 2023 drafts due to Russell Wilson trade and five of those picks were used on offense, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, running backs Kenneth Walker, and Zach Charbonnet, and offensive tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. The Seahawks also used two of those picks on edge defenders, taking Boye Mafe in the second round in 2022 and Derick Hall in the second round in 2023.

The Mafe selection has worked out well. He was decent in a rotational role as a rookie with a 65.8 PFF grade on 423 snaps and then took a big step forward in his second season in the league in 2023, playing 808 snaps, receiving a 73.9 PFF grade, and totaling 9 sacks, 7 hits, and a 13.1% pressure rate as a pass rusher. He’s a one-year wonder in terms of playing at that level, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he regressed a little bit in 2024, but he came into the league with a lot of upside, so he could easily continue being an above average starter and he could also improve further. Derick Hall, on the other hand, has not panned out yet, struggling mightily with a 44.4 PFF grade as a rookie, playing terribly against the run and managing just a 8.0% pressure rate as a pass rusher. 

Hall still has plenty of time to improve, but he would need to improve in a big way to even be a decent rotational player in 2024, so he could easily continue struggling. Another former second round pick, Darrell Taylor, also struggled at the edge defender position for the Seahawks last season, with 50.9 PFF grade across 522 snaps, but he is already going into his 5th season in the league and his age 27 season and he’s consistently struggled throughout his career, finishing below 60 on PFF in every season, struggling mightily against the run and managing just 21.5 sacks, 16 hits, and a 9.9% pressure rate in 49 career games, so he’s running out of time to improve and will likely continue struggling in 2024.

The Seahawks also have veteran Uchenna Nwosu, who they should get a healthier season out of, after he was limited to 283 snaps in 6 games last season. Nwosu was decent with a 68.5 PFF grade in his limited action last season and had PFF grades of 64.3 and 72.6 on snap counts of 781 and 904 in 2021 and 2022 respectively, so he has plenty of bounce back potential in 2024 if he’s healthy, only going into his age 28 season. He had also only missed three games with injury in his first five seasons in the league prior to last season, so he’s not an injury prone player.

Nwosu was a reserve for most of his first three seasons in the league, but he has finished above 60 on PFF in all six seasons in the league, holding up against the run and totaling 26.5 sacks, 52 hits, and a 12.3% pressure rate in 85 career games, with 16.5 sacks, 31 hits, and a 11.6% pressure rate in 40 games over the past three seasons since becoming a full-time starter. Assuming he’s healthy, which he should, I would expect a similar level of play from him this season. He and Mafe should be a solid starting duo, but top reserves Derick Hall and Darrell Taylor are likely to continue struggling, which hurts the overall grade of this position group.

Grade: B

Interior Defenders

With so many high selections between the 2022 and 2023 draft, the Seahawks could afford to part ways with a high pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and they did so by trading their second round choice to the Giants for interior defender Leonard Williams in the middle of the 2023 season. Williams was in the final year of his contract and the Seahawks had to give him a 3-year, 64.5 million dollar deal to keep him long-term, so the total investment the Seahawks made in him was very significant, but he the type of player you can build a position group around, so the decision to pay that price for him made sense.

Originally the 6th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Williams has lived up to the billing, surpassing 70 on PFF in all nine seasons in the league, playing equally well against the run and as a pass rusher, while totaling 43.5 sacks, 140 hits, and a 10.1% pressure rate in 142 career games. He’s also been very durable, missing just six games in his career, despite playing 51.9 snaps per game and 818 snaps per season. In 2023, he played 884 snaps and had a 76.2 PFF grade, while totaling 5.5 sacks, 11 hits, and a 10.8% pressure rate. The one concern is he’s now going into his age 30 season and could start to decline soon, but he’s starting from such a high base point that, even if he does start to decline this season, he should remain an above average every down player and it’s possible he doesn’t decline at all. 

In addition to trading away their second round pick for Williams, the Seahawks also used their first round pick this year on another interior defender, Byron Murphy, who should be an effective rotational player in year one, even if he struggles through some growing pains. Veterans Dre’Mont Jones and Jarran Reed also remain and will continue playing roles, although, with Williams going into his first full season in Seattle and Murphy being added, it’s hard to see them matching last year’s snap counts, when Jones played 762 snaps and Reed played 809 snaps.

Jones signed a 3-year, 51.53 million dollar deal with the Seahawks last off-season, so it’s very likely he’ll see a higher snap count than Reed, who is on a 2-year, 9 million dollar deal. Jones isn’t much of a run defender and was probably overpaid last off-season, but he does have 26.5 sacks, 26 hits, and a 9.6% pressure rate in 73 career games, including 4.5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 9.8% pressure rate last season, so he’s at least a useful pass rusher and should continue playing the vast majority of sub package snaps for the Seahawks. Still only in his age 27 season, I would expect more of the same from Jones in 2024, below average run defense, but above average pass rush.

Reed, on the other hand, is going into his age 32 season, another reason why I would expect him to be behind Jones in the pecking order this season. He’s also never been much more than a snap eater in his career, averaging 677 snaps per season in eight seasons in the league and 44.4 snaps per game in 122 career games, but never exceeding a 66.8 PFF grade for a season from PFF, with three seasons below 60. He’s a well-rounded player, with decent run defense and 34 sacks, 68 hits, and a 7.5% pressure rate in his career, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him decline significant this season and, even if he doesn’t, I would expect him to be anything more than a decent rotational player.

The Seahawks also added another veteran, Johnathan Hankins, to the mix this off-season, but he’s also going into his age 32 season and I wouldn’t expect him to be anything more than a deep reserve, given that he was signed for close to the veteran’s minimum and given all of the other options the Seahawks have at the position. In his prime, Hankins was a good run defender who could also get to the quarterback at a decent rate, surpassing a 60 grade overall on PFF in each of his first eight seasons in the league from 2013-2020, including four seasons over 70, but he’s clearly past his prime, with PFF grades of 46.9, 46.0, and 51.8 on snap counts of 568, 235, and 350 respectively over the past three seasons. He won’t see many snaps this season, if he even makes the final roster, in an overall deep position group.

Grade: B+

Linebackers

Off ball linebacker Bobby Wagner was one of the Seahawks’ best defensive players last season, with a 82.4 PFF grade across 1,170 snaps, but he wasn’t brought back this off-season. In fact, the Seahawks completely retooled their linebacking corps this off-season, letting Jordyn Brooks (802 snaps) and Devin Bush (251 snaps) also leave in free agency this off-season. Wagner will be tough to replace, but Brooks and Bush struggled with PFF grades of 57.3 and 57.5 respectively and the Seahawks added a promising option in Tyrel Dodson and a reliable option in Jerome Baker.

Dodson went undrafted in 2019 and only played 471 mediocre snaps in his first four seasons in the league prior to last season, but he broke out in a big way with a 89.5 PFF grade in 550 snaps as an injury replacement last season, excelling in coverage and against the run. He’s never been a season-long every down linebacker and he’s a complete one-year wonder in terms of playing at the level he played at last season, but he’s only in his age 26 season and comes to the Seahawks with a lot of upside, though also a lot of downside, if he regresses back to his pre-2023 form or can’t translate last season’s performance into a season-long every down role.

Dodson probably won’t be as good as Wagner was a year ago, but Baker should be better than Brooks and Bush were. A 6-year veteran, Baker has averaged 887 snaps per season and has exceeded 60 on PFF in four of six seasons in the league, including three straight and PFF grades of 78.0 and 66.6 on snap counts of 1,010 and 713 in his last two seasons. Only in his age 28 season, Baker should at least be a capable every down option, with the upside to be an above average every down option if he can come close to matching his career best year in 2022.

Depth behind Dodson and Baker is a bit of a concern and would be a big concern if either Dodson or Baker missed significant time with injuries. Tyrice Knight was a 4th round pick in this year’s draft, but is probably too raw to make a positive impact in a significant role in year one, while their other options Drake Thomas and Jon Rhattigan are both recent undrafted free agents with little experience, with Thomas being a 2023 undrafted free agent who played 5 snaps as a rookie and Rhattigan being a 2021 undrafted free agent who played the first 21 snaps of his career in 2023. Dodson and Baker have a good chance to be a solid starting duo, but Dodson comes with a lot of downside, in addition to a lot of upside, and their depth behind those top-2 linebackers is very questionable. 

Grade: B

Secondary

I’ve mentioned seven of the eight players the Seahawks took in the top-75 picks between 2022 and 2023. The final one I haven’t mentioned yet is probably their best, cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Selected 5th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft with a pick that was originally Denver’s following their terrible 2022 season, Witherspoon lived up to the hype and then some as a rookie, with a 84.1 PFF grade across 883 snaps in 14 games. Development is not always linear, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Witherspoon regressed a little in 2023, but he also could continue playing at a similar, if not better level and he looks well on his way towards developing into one of the best cornerbacks in the league for years to come.

Witherspoon will start opposite Tariq Woolen, who wasn’t a premium draft pick, but who was a steal of a 5th round pick in 2022. Woolen has received PFF grades of 71.6 and 67.1 over his first two seasons in the league, while starting 32 of the 33 games he has played. He excels in coverage, with PFF coverage grades of 77.8 and 75.0, but struggles with run defense and tackling, with run defense grades of 47.8 and 37.3 from PFF, while missing 25 tackles across the two seasons combined. Still only in his age 25 season, Woolen should remain an above average cornerback for years to come and he has the upside to be even better if he can improve his tackling and run defense.

The third cornerback job will probably go to Tre Brown or Michael Jackson, who essentially split the role last season, seeing 603 snaps and 474 snaps respectively. Brown, a 4th round pick in 2021, was decent with a 62.8 PFF grade, after playing just 276 nondescript snaps in his first two seasons in the league, but he could struggle in a more expanded role. Jackson, meanwhile, was much better with a 77.0 PFF grade, but the 2019 5th round pick wasn’t nearly as good in a bigger role in 2022, with a 60.2 PFF grade on 1,082 snaps, and prior to 2022, he played just 30 snaps in three seasons in the league. Neither are bad options, but both could be overmatched playing in an expanded role, so it’s possible the Seahawks continue to have them split snaps in 2024.

Veteran safety Quandre Diggs was the weak point of this secondary last season, with a 55.1 PFF grade across 1,155 snaps, as was fellow veteran Jamal Adams was to a lesser extent, with a 54.9 PFF grade across 518 snaps, but the Seahawks cut both of them this off-season, getting out of non-guaranteed salaries of 11 million and 16.5 million respectively in the process. To replace them, the Seahawks gave a 2-year, 12 million dollar deal to another veteran, Rayshawn Jenkins, who could be an upgrade, if only by default. Jenkins has started all 79 games he’s played over the past five seasons, but he’s finished below 60 in two of those five seasons, while only maxing out at 68.9 in 2020. Over the past two seasons, he has mediocre PFF grades of 57.3 and 60.9 and now he heads into his age 30 season. 

Jenkins will probably be marginal at best with the Seahawks this year, but that would at least somewhat be an upgrade over Diggs and Adams. Jenkins will start next to another veteran Julian Love, who had a 72.8 PFF grade across 937 snaps last season. A 4th round pick in 2019, Love took a few years to develop, but he has developed into an above average starter, also posting a 70.0 PFF grade on 1,006 snaps in 2022, and he’s still only in his age 26 season, so he should remain an above average starter for years to come, with the upside for more if he continues developing.

The top backup safety job will likely go to either Coby Bryant or K’Von Wallace. Bryant was a 4th round pick in 2022, struggled with a 58.9 PFF grade across 757 snaps as a cornerback in his rookie season, converted to safety last season, and then struggled even more, with a 34.0 PFF grade across 147 snaps. He could theoretically have upside in his second season at his new position, but he has a long way to go to even be a capable backup and he would likely continue struggling in 2024, so he’s an underwhelming option. 

Wallace, meanwhile, is a 2020 4th round pick who has been middling at best across 1,361 snaps (19 starts) in four seasons in the league, but is probably the better option by default. Overall, this is a solid secondary, led by a young, talented cornerback duo of Devon Witherspoon and Tariq Woolen, as well as an above average safety in Julian Love, but this group does have some concerns outside of those three talented players.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

A year ago, the Seahawks were a middling team with above average offensive performance and below average defensive performance. This season, their offense could continue being above average, unless quarterback Geno Smith regresses as he goes into his mid 30s, but their defense has a good chance to be better, as they are more talented than their results a year ago suggested and are getting a new scheme under bright young defensive end Mike McDonald. This team also has plenty of young talent on both sides of the ball that could take a step forward in 2024. The NFC is getting better though, so even if the Seahawks are better, that won’t guarantee them a post-season spot.

Prediction: 8-9, 2nd in NFC West