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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 17: Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers is pressured by DeMarcus Lawrence #0 of the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lumen Field on January 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The NFC West has quickly become the talk of the NFL once again, as the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers both made moves this offseason to compete with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Los Angeles went all out with trades for Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie and Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett, while making a few other moves in free agency to shore up holes.
The 49ers added help at wide receiver and linebacker, while not losing much talent in free agency, and they should get a couple of their stars back from injury.
With the NFC West looking like a juggernaut this season, let’s compare the top three teams at every position.
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford leads the way here after an MVP-caliber season for the Rams. The only question with him is health heading into his age-38 season. But, even with back issues and other injuries, Stafford has played in at least 15 games in each of the last three seasons.
There are varying opinions on Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold, but it feels like the former is closer to the Top 10 of quarterbacks, while the latter is just a bit behind after the best year of his career.
All three teams seem quite confident in their quarterbacks. For Purdy and Darnold, their respective teams could ask more of their quarterbacks following each team’s offseason moves (or losses).
Running Back
The 49ers lead the way here after another big campaign from Christian McCaffrey, especially as a pass-catcher.
Kyren Williams and Blake Corum continue to lead the backfield for Los Angeles. Both were fully healthy last year and Williams shored up his fumbling issues a bit(only two lost last year), while rushing for 1,252 yards on 4.8 yards per carry. Blake Corum was quite efficient as well, averaging over five yards per carry in a complementary role.
The big question here will be with the Seahawks, who lost Kenneth Walker III to the Kansas City Chiefs, while drafting Jadarian Price in the first round. Lead backup Zach Charbonnet could be out for a good portion of the 2026 season after his knee injury, so Price could be asked to carry a big load early in his career.
Wide Receiver
The Rams have the elite duo of Puka Nacua and Davante Adams still under contract, although they didn’t address that No. 3 receiver role.
San Francisco improved their receiver core by adding Mike Evans, while losing Jauan Jennings. But there are still major health concerns with a group that now includes Evans, Ricky Pearsall, and Christian Kirk leading the way. We’ll see if the 49ers get more production from that room after the wideouts struggled in 2025.
Seattle re-upped Rashid Shaheed on a three-year deal, keeping him paired with star Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp. There’s probably the biggest disparity between the 49ers and the other two teams here.
Tight End
San Francisco hopes George Kittle will be back for Week 1, which would be a huge boost to the offense. But all three teams will roll out a very similar tight end group to a year ago.
Seattle has AJ Barner and Elijah Arroyo leading the way, while the Rams added rookie Max Klare to a group that includes Tyler Higbee, second-year pro Terrance Ferguson, and Colby Parkinson.
Unlike wide receiver, here is where the 49ers have their biggest advantage, but all three teams do use tight ends at quite a strong rate, with the playcallers all coming from the same system (Brian Fleury, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay).
Offensive Line
The 49ers had a pretty quality offensive line last year, outside of the inconsistent play at left guard. Trent Williams, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, and Colton McKivitz all return as starters, while the 49ers didn’t do much to address the left guard spot, which will have an open competition.
Rob Havenstein retired for the Rams, who seem to have Warren McClendon Jr. be the replacement at right tackle. Their offensive line is also the same with Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, and Kevin Dotson all starting.
Seattle’s offensive line will also be the same with Charles Cross, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, Anthony Bradford, and Abraham Lucas.
All three of these offensive lines were above average to near-elite in 2025, and they’ve got quite a bit of retention for 2026. Heading into the season, it seems like the 49ers and Rams have the slight advantage here, but the Seahawks’ young group could eclipse them in 2026 with more interior consistency.
Defensive Line
The 49ers added Osa Odighizuwa to join defensive tackles Alfred Collins and CJ West. But the biggest question mark will be the returns of Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams on the edge following their injuries. On paper, this group should be good. But it does hinge on the returns of their injured players.
Los Angeles already had a strong defensive line before trading for Myles Garrett. Now, he joins Kobie Turner, Poona Ford, Braden Fiske, and Byron Young to form arguably the NFL’s best group in 2026.
Seattle’s defensive line was also elite last year, which was a big reason why they made it to and won the Super Bowl. While they lost Boye Mafe, they still have Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Byron Murphy III, and DeMarcus Lawrence for 2026. Add in Uchenna Nwosu and Derrick Hall and it’s quite the group.
The defensive line vs. offensive line battles will be fun, but the Rams and Seahawks both have top-five units here.
Linebacker
The 49ers added Dre Greenlaw to pair with Fred Warner, taking a bet on him after he played just under half the season last year with the Denver Broncos. Injury concerns are there, but Greenlaw did have some strong flashes on the field last year as a run defender.
Seattle’s got a quality group led by Ernest Jones, while the Rams have Nate Landman and Omar Speights. When healthy, San Francisco’s easily got the strongest group here, followed by the Seahawks and then the Rams.
Cornerback
The 49ers had some inconsistent play here last year, but saw strong growth from nickelback Upton Stout throughout his rookie campaign. They essentially return the same group, hoping for a bounce-back year from Renardo Green, while veteran Nate Hobbs was added as competition.
The Rams had cornerback as one of their biggest needs and addressed it in a big way. They added Trent McDuffie via trade and Jaylen Watson via free agency to form a nice 1-2 punch, with Quentin Lake projected to slot in the nickel.
Seattle’s group is strong as well, although they did lose Tariq Woolen to free agency. Devon Witherspoon is elite, while Josh Jobe and Nick Emmanwori will be counted upon to take another step.
Los Angeles and Seattle have the best players and the best rooms here.
Safety
The 49ers safety room also was quite inconsistent last year, and they didn’t do much to address it in the offseason. They’re expected to trot out Ji’Ayir Brown, Malik Mustapha, and Marques Sigle again this year, with Ashtyn Davis added as competition this offseason.
Seattle lost Coby Bryant, but still has Julian Love, and will look for one of their younger players to step up into that starting role.
Meanwhile, the Rams arguably have the best of the three rooms with Kam Curl and Kamren Kinchens back out at safety.
Overall, it feels like the Seahawks and Rams both do have better defenses on paper, while the offenses can be argued with the quality of both the quarterback and skill position players.
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