If the Seattle Seahawks come into their Week 1 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers with incredible continuity on the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers lineup projects to be significantly different from last year’s group.
Seattle retained virtually everyone of consequence from the 2024 defense, with the notable exceptions of Dre’Mont Jones, Rayshawn Jenkins (who lost his job midseason), and Roy Robertson-Harris. Otherwise they’ve not only kept their starters and key contributors, they’ve added
DeMarcus Lawrence in free agency and drafted safety Nick Emmanwori. The continuity on the Seahawks defense, which finished last season 10th in FTN Fantasy’s DVOA metric, figures to be huge in letting Mike Macdonald fully implement what he wants in his defensive scheme and play-calling.
The 49ers? Not remotely the same story.
Yes, the mainstays like Nick Bosa and Fred Warner are still there, but the other notable names around them are gone. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga both joined the Denver Broncos as free agents. Cornerback Charvarius Ward signed with the Indianapolis Colts as another high-profile free agent, while fellow CB Isaac Yiadom returned to the New Orleans Saints. Defensive linemen Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins were cap casualty cuts, as was veteran pass rusher Leonard Floyd. For the context of the Seahawks game, safety Malik Mustapha is on the PUP list and defensive tackle Kevin Givens is on IR.
Oh, and the Niners removed Nick Sorensen as defensive coordinator and brought back Robert Saleh, who coached some excellent defenses in San Francisco before leaving for the New York Jets (and won a Super Bowl as an assistant in Seattle).
If you look at the top 20 49ers by defensive snaps played in 2024, half of them are either off the team or won’t be on the active roster for Week 1.
Okuayinonu, Davis, and Gross-Matos are projected to be reserves, while Winters, Green, Brown, Elliott, Lenoir, Bosa, and Warner would be starters. That’s still substantial turnover when you consider new starters and the expectation of substantial snap allocation to rookies.
When you look at the listed starters for the Seahawks and 49ers from last November, everyone on Seattle is set to play on opening day.
Unsurprisingly, the 49ers spent their first five picks on defensive players, including pass rusher Mykel Williams in the first round, along with defensive tackles Alfred Collins (second round) and C.J. West (fourth round), plus linebacker Nick Martin and the wonderfully named cornerback Upton Stout in the third round. They also traded for Bryce Huff, who had one good season with the New York Jets but crashed out of the rotation with the Philadelphia Eagles. Jason Pinnock and Richie Grant are two veteran safeties who came over in free agency.
So for as much as the Seahawks are entering 2025 with a new offensive coordinator, new starting quarterback, and more tweaks along the offensive line and receiver, past matchups will hold little relevance as far as analyzing what could happen this Sunday. Healthy 49ers defenses of 2021-2023 were among the NFL’s best, but they were anything but healthy in 2024 and now there are a lot of fresh new faces in town for Saleh’s second go-round as DC. Unless every rookie pick and the new starters are all instant successes, this is not close to the 49ers’ best defensive group, even with stars like Warner and Bosa still on the roster. It could be a huge early opportunity for the Seahawks offense to (re-)establish a new order in this rivalry.
