Nobody ever said that winning was cheap. As much as any industry it applies in the NFL, where choosing how to allocate your cap money is as critical to building a contender as who your head coach is. Under former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll the team tended to overspend at non-premium positions like linebacker sand safety. It seems general manager John Schneider is determined to correct that based on how he approached this offseason.
One area where Carroll was correct to invest a lot of resources is the wide receiver position, and that’s carried over into the Mike Macdonald era. Heading into the 2024 season, only the 49ers are spending more money at wide receiver based on cap hits:
Most expensive WR groups in 2024 based on cap hit:#49ers – $55.01M#Seahawks – $54.65M#Cowboys – $51.22M#Dolphins – $48.82M#Bears – $45.60M
Cheapest WR groups:#Bills – $15.21M#Cardinals – $13.46M#Chargers – $12.77M#Steelers – $11.71M#Packers – $11.52M
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) May 16, 2024
In Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk the Niners have two of the league’s best receivers – we have both of them ranked in the top 20. They also added Florida’s Ricky Pearsall in the draft, potentially giving them their third Musketeer.
While as a general rule it makes sense to spend at this position, the value is somewhat lost in San Francisco’s case as the extremely overrated Brock Purdy can’t really take full advantage of their talents. Kyle Shanhan and the 49ers offense would probably be better served by shifting some of those resources to their offensive line – or better yet, a QB upgrade.
As for the Seahawks, they’re paying a good amount of money to WR1 DK Metcalf, as well as veteran Tyler Lockett and second-year wide out Jaxon Smith-Njigba. That cap number should drop a bit when Lockett inevitably leaves and is replaced by someone on a rookie contract.
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