NFL Rumors: 49ers quarterback roulette, Mahomes’ fiery hot take, Rams over Seahawks?

NFL Rumors: Colin Cowherd will want to eat his words on Seahawks 2023 fate

Every sports pundit has his controversial say-what-now take from time to time, and Colin Cowherd is no exception. The FOX Sports analyst recently gave his predictions for 2023’s NFC West rankings, and he had the Los Angeles Rams finishing first.

Just kidding, that would be clinically insane. But he did have them finishing second in the division behind the 49ers, beating out the Seattle Seahawks for a wild card spot.

Cowherd said:

"I think the Rams and the Seahawks will be tied at the end of the year, both winning about nine games. I don’t think Geno Smith will double down on that year. Most of their stars are still very young, schedule may be a tad tougher. The Rams still have Stafford, they have Sean McVay, they have Cooper Kupp, they have Aaron Donald. Don’t tell me they’re gonna stay down long. It’s a coach-quarterback-weapon league."

Pinning hopes on the trio of Stafford, Kupp, and Donald is fine, but Cowherd has to realize those three alone won’t win games.

This is not the same Rams’ Super Bowl-winning squad. This is a roster that completely fell apart last season in part due to the revolving turnstiles that epitomized the offensive line. Ten different linemen surrendered sacks in 2022. The Rams need to see a vast improvement from its front five to even think about staying competitive in their division.

The Seahawks don’t have the strongest trench forces either, but they at least have high upside in young tackles like Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. Another golden year from Geno, more production from their wideouts (we’ll take Metcalf, Lockett, and Smith-Njigba over Kupp any day), and the gritty resolve of Pete Carroll could turn Seattle into sneaky playoff contenders in a relatively weak NFC.