Golden Nuggets: How much closer are the Seahawks now to the 49ers?

Happy Monday. Football returns tomorrow. Let’s get into some San Francisco 49ers links.

Seahawks close talent gap with 49ers following Jamal Adams trade

However, the Seahawks closed the gap on Saturday following a blockbuster deal with the Jets to acquire All-Pro safety Jamal Adams. The added star power, especially on a defense that was sorely in need of more premium talent, should pay major dividends for Seattle in 2020 and beyond.

Quarterback – Seahawks (significant advantage)
Offensive line – 49ers (significant advantage)
Running back – Wash
Wide receiver – Seahawks (slight advantage
Tight end – 49ers (significant advantage)
Defensive line – 49ers (significant advantage)
Linebacker – Seahawks (slight advantage)
Cornerback – 49ers (slight advantage)
Safety – Seahawks (significant advantage)
Special teams – 49ers (slight advantage)
Overall – 49ers (slight advantage)

Even with Wilson’s greatness, the disparity along the offensive and defensive lines tips the scales slightly in San Francisco’s favor. The funny thing about this exercise is that it ultimately doesn’t matter much. If these teams lined up tomorrow, do you have any doubt that it would go down to the final possession? Of course not. That’s just how these two teams do business.

Fingers crossed we get treated to another NFC West title game this year in Week 17.

Kyle Shanahan reveals his ‘oh no’ moment in 49ers’ Super Bowl LIV loss

“Right when they got that third-and 15, because I thought it was over to me if they didn’t get that,” Shanahan told Simms. ”And right when they got that, I knew it wasn’t over. I knew it was a game.

“When you can have two possessions with no worry about the time — like, the clock isn’t a deal to me — and it would have been three possessions if they didn’t get that first down. And that’s when the clock was a deal. But once they got that, I was like, ‘All right, this is a game now.’”

Making sense of why 49ers didn’t trade for Jamal Adams

It’s easy to set aside the long-term implications of a blockbuster trade for one of the NFL’s best safeties. Especially for a team like San Francisco that was so close to winning a Super Bowl last season. Adding Adams surely would’ve put them on the inside track for another trip to the NFL’s biggest stage, and might’ve been good enough to get them over the hump. There are some things that have to be considered though from the 49ers’ perspective:

• The salary cap is going to dip.
• Adams will want a huge contract.
• George Kittle still needs a contract.
• The 49ers have a lot of unrestricted free agents next year.
• They prefer to restock through the draft.
• Positional value

Given the value of the pass rush vs. the value of the secondary, it’s easy to see why the 49ers didn’t move the draft picks to acquire a safety that would eventually be one of their two highest-paid defenders. We saw last season how effective the Jimmie Ward-Jaquiski Tartt safety tandem is behind a strong pass rush. The improvement from Tartt to Adams doesn’t outweigh the uptick in price.