Predicting each NFC West team's record for the 2019 NFL season

#3 Seattle Seahawks: 10-6

Russell Wilson

Two words: Russell Wilson. At this point in his career, he may as well be a magician with the nickname Russell 'The Magician' Wilson, simply due to his ability to make something out of nothing. He's a superstar that is the closest quarterback to a 'Steve Young' I've ever seen. Yes, I'm serious.

For what it's worth, Seattle's success in the last seven years is owed, in large part, to Wilson's ability to manipulate defenses and improvise by using an assortment of maneuvers both inside and outside the pocket. Yes, Wilson had the Legion of Boom for a solid portion of his career, but that defense didn't put up 48 points in the 2013 Super Bowl.

The Seahawks do have several issues throughout their team starting with the offensive line that surrendered the third-most sacks in 2018 with 52. Oddly enough, despite having the third-worst offensive line in football last season, the Seahawks still managed to rank 1st in rushing yards per game with 160.0, and 7th in points per game with 26.8.

Wilson's 35:7 TD:INT ratio and 110.9 QBR was among the league's best in 2018. Remember, this is behind one of the worst offensive lines, which ultimately speaks to the playmaking ability of Wilson. Defensively, despite having what many would consider an average defense, Seattle as a unit ranked fairly high in several major categories. They ranked 11th in points allowed per game with 21.7 and 13th in rushing yards allowed per game with 113.2.

As far as personnel is concerned, the only position where Seattle has a clear-cut advantage over their division rivals is the quarterback. However, even if the Hawks don't have the most well-rounded team, I certainly expect them to be a playoff contender by winning 10 games in 2019.