With The First Pick
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Super Bowl LV: Ranking top 5 NFL NFC contenders

By Nicholas McGee

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 19: Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers addresses the team in the locker room following game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Packers 37-20. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 19: Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers addresses the team in the locker room following game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Packers 37-20. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /
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GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 12: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks plays against the Green Bay Packers during the NFC divisional round of the playoffs at Lambeau Field on January 12, 2020 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 12: Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks plays against the Green Bay Packers during the NFC divisional round of the playoffs at Lambeau Field on January 12, 2020 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

4. Seattle Seahawks

There are several signs that point to a Seahawks regression in 2019. Seattle was 9-2 in one-score games last season as the Seahawks went 11-5 while staying healthy for much of the year – they ranked sixth in adjusted games lost – and the work done in the draft by the front office can be considered uninspiring at best.

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Seattle has concerns at edge rusher, with Jadeveon Clowney somehow still unsigned, and there remain issues on the offensive line despite improvements made up front by the Seahawks last year.

The Seahawks are not a normal team, however. Cases where logic and reason can be applied to Seattle are few and as long as the Seahawks have Russell Wilson under center, they must be considered contenders.

Wilson had the Seahawks within inches of winning the NFC West in 2019 and there is reason to believe the passing attack will be more dangerous in 2020 as D.K. Metcalf grows ever more comfortable in the offense alongside Tyler Lockett at wide receiver.

On defense, the Legion of Boom days may be long gone but the back seven possesses more talent than it is given credit for, with Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright continuing to play at a very high level.

Seattle was 15th in Football Outsiders pass defense DVOA in 2019 but has the players to make improvements in that regard in 2020. If the Seahawks can succeed in making such strides, then that could make life much easier for Wilson and a team that was a win away from last season’s NFC Championship.

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