The Sheldon Richardson trade makes Seattle a more formidable opponent in the NFC

The Seattle Seahawks are not a perfect football team. They have approximately ten running backs, none of whom look elite, plus a shaky wide receiver situation after the excellent Doug Baldwin. Their offensive line is an absolute abomination before the Football Gods, and the once-vaunted secondary isn’t quite the wrecking crew it once was.

That said, they’re still one of the best teams in the NFC, and they just objectively got even better after swapping a high-round draft choice and wide receiver Jermaine Kearse to the Jets for Sheldon Richardson.

The implications of this move are obvious. It takes a Seattle team that looked a bit creaky last year and improves it, making their defensive front unbelievably intimidating. The Falcons will have to play against this line on November 20th, and while any number of things can happen between now and then, it’s going to be a legitimate challenge for this high-powered offense. Seattle’s definitely better positioned for a deep playoff run, too, even with their real holes. Richardson is that good, and their defensive line was already that good.

On the other side of the coin, the Jets game this season promises to be even more of a cakewalk for the Falcons now that Richardson is gone. The Jets better have gotten a good draft selection out of this, because Kearse is an average receiver at best, and this team looks like an absolute train wreck for the foreseeable future. Thanks a lot, Jets!