Heaps: Seahawks’ offense won’t just be better, it will be best in NFC West

The NFC West is home to some of the top offensive minds and skill players in the entire NFL, and for the Seahawks, they have far and away the division’s best quarterback as well as one of the top wide receiver duos in the NFL.

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Despite the presence of offensive-minded head coaches Sean McVay (Rams), Kyle Shanahan (49ers) and Kliff Kingsbury (Cardinals), former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps believes that defensive-minded head coach Pete Carroll’s Seahawks now boast the top offense in what’s arguably the NFL’s best division.

He shared his thoughts with 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant this week on the show’s daily Blue 42 segment.

Heaps doesn’t think the Seahawks’ offense is “complete yet” in terms of adding players this offseason, not is it quite a “Super Bowl offense” as things currently stand, but he believes we should see a Seahawks offense that performs more it did during the first half of 2020 rather than the second half of the season, when points and big plays became harder to come by.

“Aa the heart of it, you weren’t able to make adjustments (during the second half of 2020),” Heaps said “As a quarterback, (Russell Wilson wasn’t) able to make adjustments. As an offensive coordinator, (Brian Schottenheimer wasn’t) able to make adjustments in (his) play-calling.”

Another big part of the offense’s struggles, Heaps said, was the offensive line and pass protection, which Wilson has made it clear he’s been unhappy with. That group’s play caused a domino effect of sorts in how the offense operated, according to Heaps.

“You weren’t able to make adjustments to alleviate the pressure off your offensive line without totally killing the vibe of your offense, without totally being conservative and going backwards in your approach,” Heaps said. “And I don’t mean that from a run-pass standpoint, I mean an aggression standpoint and being able to get explosive plays downfield.”

Most of the Seahawks’ key players on offense from last season will be back for 2021, but maybe most important is that Schottenheimer is out as offensive coordinator and former Rams passing game coordinator Shane Waldron has been hired to take over that position. Heaps has been very vocal since Waldron was hired that the first-time NFL offensive coordinator should play a big part in making Seattle’s offense more consistently explosive in 2021.

“I think Shane Waldron is going to change that dynamic,” Heaps said.

Going back to the offensive line, despite the Seahawks returning four of five 2020 starters, Heaps thinks that adding veteran guard Gabe Jackson to the mix is a big help, especially after the team had inconsistent play at left guard last year.

“You replace Mike Iupati and Jordan Simmons, who really struggled in the second half of the season at that left guard position, with either (2020 rookie right guard) Damien Lewis or Gabe Jackson. I think that tremendously helps,” he said.

Waldron is also bringing a potential weapon with him from Los Angeles to Seattle, and Heaps is excited to see how that plays out.

“You’ve got a legitimate chess piece at tight end in Gerald Everett now and Shane Waldron knows how to use him,” he said.

Really the only spot Heaps is waiting to see get filled out is the No. 3 receiver spot, which is vacant as David Moore signed with the Carolina Panthers in free agency.

“If they can find a really good and effective third receiver, I think that this offense really does have a chance to rival the group that scored the most points in franchise history (in 2020) because I don’t think you’re going to see this offense go through as big of a rut as they did (late) last year,” Heaps said. “I mean, that was historic for Russell Wilson and this offense. I think they get that cleaned up and I think they become a more effective and potent offense.”

Listen to the full discussion at this link or in the player below.

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