Exemplary Executive Action (NFC)

Organizations doing everything in their power to create the spark their franchises need

Seahawks:

The Seahawks just came off of another year chalked full of disappointment. Metcalf continually displayed his talents on an inconsistent basis, Geno Smith was all over the place, and the offensive line killed all hope. Injuries, a 40 year old Jason Peters at tackle, and unrivaled redzone woes meant the Seahawks had to seek immediate change to break out of mediocrity. The franchise’s time is now. Stafford in the twilight of his career. Will Sean McVay be the Rams Coach for much longer? How about the 49ers who seem to have gotten a lot worse this offseason. Is there any way they step up to the plate and go on a run? Despite CMAC being haunted by his unavoidable injury bug and with Trent Williams being on the verge of retirement. Who’s their top wideout now? Aiyuk was in the midst of an abomination of a first contract season after demanding a huge payday. This was prior to his torn ACL. Ricky Pearsall has shown flashes, but has been incredibly limited in his opportunities and Jauan Jennings would have to replicate his career year in 2024 once more to be the team’s top option. I don’t even need to get into the Arizona Cardinals because even at their peak it is the same old song and dance. Kyler sets the league ablaze through the season’s first seven or eight weeks to turn around and melt down in an astronomically miserable way. Especially when Murray’s team needs him the most. Everyone knows how to corral Kyler when the games with heightened pressure come along. This landscape is what opens up the window for this Seahawks squad. 

Other than the Rams it’s easy to see Seattle atop the NFC West for the first time in a long while. On defense Seattle has been quietly building a steel curtain once again. Linebacker Ernest Jones V became the team’s leader last season at only 25 years old. He anchored their linebacking core that was yearning for some life. He provided it. This offseason they paid him for three years and less than $30 million. An unbelievable value for being the heartbeat of the Seahawks defense. Then you look to Seattle’s secondary and things start to get real scary. Having athletic, physical, young cornerbacks on both sides of the field with Woolen and Witherspoon has been a blessing for this rising unit. Now in the draft Seattle’s biggest need for a safety was filled. Nick Emmanwori from South Carolina was exactly what Mike Macdonald needed to accompany Julian Love up top. Emmanwori might be the most gifted safety prospect I have ever evaluated. He demolished all other defensive players at the combine and possesses a monstrous frame at 6 feet 3 inches and 227 pounds. He flew all over the field in college. Had Lanorris Sellers stayed on the field the whole year for South Carolina the team likely would have made the College Football Playoffs. In large part due to Emmanwori being an enforcer all over the field. Now the franchise has a vision with newly acquired depth in the trenches for their defensive line, a solid linebacking core with Boye Mafe plus Jones, and a complete secondary. Emmanwori is the chess piece the team needed to form one of the top secondaries in all of football. The bigger problem last year with Seattle was the offensive side of the ball. 

In an attempt to climb out of an apparent rut on Offense Mike MacDonald realized he needed someone new at the helm for play calling duties. He chose OC Klint Kubiak from the New Orleans Saints. An innovative play caller who has had success at every street in the NFL. He was the catalyst for the Saints early dominance last year and now his new organization has given him the reins. First off the Seahawks let go of Geno Smith for draft capital in order to cash in on one of the best discounts the sport has ever seen at the QB position. Sam Darnold for 3 years, $33 million a year after he easily was a top tier QB last season despite his late season collapse. After grabbing their guy at QB with ZERO contract stipulations beyond this year if things go ary, the team cleaned out their wide receiver room. With Metcalf due for a massive contract the Hawks dumped him to the Steelers for more draft capital opting for a much cheaper Cooper Kupp. Kupp is truly the ultimate receiver in terms of being a route technician that can lineup and beat you anywhere. Next to JSN it’ll be impossible for teams to double team the two. That’s the element Metcalf was missing. He wasn’t a great route runner and rarely commanded a double team. Alongside the two main men at wide receiver in Seattle the team added NFL vet Marquez Valdez-Scantling and two enticing young prospects in the NFL Draft. Both Ricky White III and Tory Horton were potential steals in the NFL Draft. Big time producers with loads of speed and upside. It’s not hard to foresee either of these rookies getting a significant role considering MVS has had drop issues and isn’t really someone with a cemented role. Lastly the Seahawks run game just has to be mentioned for their rise next year.

It seems people truly under rate K9 at the running back position. His injuries have kept him off the field too much so far in his young career, but when he plays he looks like he could enter the top five RB conversation with ease. The combination of power, speed, versatility, contact balance and agility K9 has is just unreal. Hopefully the line in front of him can step up to the plate with their tackles being healthy headed into 2025 and the addition of Grey Zabel on the interior to bolster the guard position. He was the best interior lineman in the draft and should be an impact starter day one. Beyond the improvements to the line heading into this season, Zach Charbonnet has really developed into a real ball player next to Walker. Kubiak not only loves the run game, but he loves the screen component of running back play. He uses screens as an extension of the run game quite often and both of Seattle’s backs possess serious receiving upside. Beyond a shadow of a doubt K9 will have a career year this year, which will significantly help Darnold. One thing is for certain. The Seahawks are swinging for the fences now that there’s a real opportunity to take down the NFC West. Hopefully K9 and Kupp can remain healthy. If they do, watch out.

Falcons:

As the 2024 season wound down Atlanta started to form a clear vision for their future. Michael Penix showed glimpses in primetime games with the highest stakes imaginable. Throws in windows. Throws with unreal velocity. And highlight reel deep balls that floated right into his intended targets hands. It became painfully obvious what was truly dragging their franchise down. Abysmal defensive play. Matthew Judon was a non-factor as an ancient edge rusher, a shell of his former self. Along with having zero pass rush their secondary simply needed another piece for the Falcons to have a shot at taking down the NFC South. In this year’s draft there were plenty of players in both areas to select. They immediately went all in on forming a horrifying tandem on the edge in the first round. The Falcons trading back up into the first round was simply genius. The first man they took, Jalon Walker out of Georgia, was expected to be a top 10 selection, but fell all the way to 15th in the draft. He’s an uber athletic disruptor who can collapse the edge on runs as well as being a more than capable pass rusher. His only real knock is his height at 6 feet 2 inches. He was the second best all around edge in the draft and him falling to them was perfect for the franchise. Their second pick that they traded back up into the first round for could be a phenomenon in the NFL. At one point he was supposed to go as high as top 3 in the draft. James Pearce Jr. has the potential to be the best pass rusher in the draft. Consistent production, blazing speed off the edge, power, finesse, and a ginormous frame are all positives for him heading into the NFL. 

Pearce’s only concern was his attitude and coachability. You tell me how smitten you’d be if you had to play for Tennessee in 2024. Having perhaps the most incredibly overhyped QB in all of college. Nico Iamaleava failed to pass for 200 yards in eight of his thirteen appearances. Despite this he almost held out of Tennessee's playoff game since he didn’t believe his NIL compensation was enough. With this context James Pearce’s conduct issues are a resounding positive to me. His competitive fire in a non competitive environment was likely the source of his turmoil. Prior to the 2024 season Tennessee was expected to be a dominant team although they fell incredibly short. Even though they made the College Football Playoffs they were by no means a playoff team. Pearce next to Walker is the best edge rushing unit the franchise may have ever had in all reality. After addressing the gaping hole they had at edge, the team made one of the best picks of the draft in the third round by selecting Xavier Watts out of Notre Dame. He’s had 13 interceptions over the past two seasons as an anchor for Notre Dame’s defense. He’s a ball hawk who excels in coverage as well as being a stellar tackler at the safety position. In 2023 he was the college defensive player of the year and in his last two seasons at ND he was a first team All-American. The guy’s a stud. A plug and play top end safety in the league to put next to Jessie Bates on the backend of Atlanta’s secondary. Although the franchise had a modest free agency bringing in only Leonard Floyd, their future is getting increasingly brighter. Floyd should be a good veteran presence to mentor their two young pass rushers. A consistent producer who’s been successful everywhere he has been. He himself said he’s looking to reach a career high in sacks. Then you just ponder the emergence of their young talents on offense.

Darnell Mooney might be one of the top wide receiver twos in the league. Yes, he did have a couple drops he would’ve liked to have back, but his route running and ability to stretch a defense deep should aid in letting his second year quarterback take flight after just three appearances in 2024. Drake London, next to Mooney, is coming off a career year. Plenty of highlight catches especially of the contested variant are likely to continue coming his way. Drake London has been yearning for a quarterback of Penix’s caliber. He’ll give London plenty of chances to assert himself as one of the top wideouts in the league with a year that’s looking to be incredibly fruitful for the young star. No I won’t comment on Pitts, but I think his redzone usage will be the best in his career considering he’s the biggest target they have and Penix loves to zip the ball into the smallest openings when the field condenses. Along with this formidable pass catching crew Bijan Robinson has been among the best of the best in the backfield since he entered the league. It’s not hard to foresee the Falcons being one of the top offenses in the league this upcoming season and now they finally have the pieces on defense to get a damn stop. Last year close games as an Atlanta fan were simply unwatchable considering Penix would put on his cape just to have his defense collapse in dramatic fashion. The NFC South simply has to be taken down by these guys this year. Otherwise the year will be a significant disappointment.