13th best? How Seahawks’ roster talent compares to rest of NFL

It’s the time of year for NFL-related lists.

Last month, NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks ranked the Seahawks’ roster as the most talented in the NFL thanks to its load of “blue chip” players such as quarterback Russell Wilson, wide receiver Doug Baldwin, tight end Jimmy Graham, cornerback Richard Sherman, defensive lineman Michael Bennett and linebacker Bobby Wagner. However, when analytics site Pro Football Focus released its annual rankings Monday for ESPN, the Seahawks came in as the 13th most talented group in the league. PFF ranked Seattle No. 1 the previous two years.

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Here was PFF’s rationale:

Two-straight seasons leading this ranking have given way to a significant drop for the Seahawks, who now find themselves with a roster with a few cracks and weak spots.

Despite a major turnover, somehow Seattle’s offensive line looks worse on paper than the unit that was its Achilles’ heel all 2015. Wilson and Marshawn Lynch hid a lot of problems in the blocking, and while Wilson is back, Lynch has retired. Rookie Thomas Rawls performed an able imitation of Lynch, but the Seahawks’ backfield is a committee of rookies and Rawls and will have its work cut out to find running room.

Seattle’s once-spectacular defense is starting to show some cracks, especially when it comes to depth. Even studs such as Bobby Wagner have not played at their best for a while, and as talented as this team is, it looks like a unit that is slipping, at least until another wave of young players fully emerges to replace those who have faded.

Jim Moore of 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Danny, Dave and Moore” said Monday that he was surprised by the drastic plunge on the list.

“I know they’ve had some changes to the roster just like every other NFL team, but when I look at the 12 teams that are ahead of Seattle, you just shake your head at some of them,” he said, specifically pointing to Philadelphia (No. 5), Oakland (No. 7), Minnesota (No. 10) and Dallas (No. 12). “I’m having a hard time figuring this one out.”

Co-host Danny O’Neil agreed that the offensive line was a significant detriment to the team last season, but he also thinks the turnaround it pulled off can’t be discounted.

“This is still a team that finished fourth in the league in scoring,” O’Neil said. “They straightened things out over the course of a year. And at some point when you’re looking and taking that into account, they do improve. We have yet to see a season where from start to finish they have stunk in one part of the team.”

O’Neil added that he initially didn’t believe that the 2016 team could make up the losses of key players from last season – including linebacker Bruce Irvin, guard J.R. Sweezy, offensive tackle Russell Okung and Lynch – but that team officials seem as optimistic as ever about the team’s haul in the draft.

“I think I was wrong,” he said. “I think they are going to be more talented top to bottom, 1 through 53, than they were a year ago.”

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