Jamal Adams Helps Seahawks A Lot Right Now, But at a Considerable Price Later

Jamal Adams is heading to the Seahawks after publicly falling out with the Jets. Seattle adds the fourth ranked safety in the NFL last regular season according to Pro Football Focus, to a defense that has badly needed a playmaker of that caliber since the disbandment of the Legion of Boom. But, they’re giving up two first round picks and a third round pick (while getting a fourth rounder in return) and they’re going to have to pay Adams a mint to keep him from being a rental.

The Seahawks were 11-5 last year. They fell short of winning the NFC West by maybe a few inches when Jacob Hollister got tackled right at the goal line in the final moments of Week 17, and if they had the bye and home field while the 49ers had to go on the road in the first round perhaps that would have swung the fortunes of the entire conference.

Adams is an impact player and Pete Carroll is capable of handling outsize personalities, at least for a year or two at a time. You can say the Seahawks overpaid, but they’re betting on themselves that the picks will be on the back end of the first round. Two first round picks is the price tag now for an impact player, as we saw with Laremy Tunsil, Jalen Ramsey, and Khalil Mack.

Reasonable minds can differ, but I’d still have Seattle behind at least San Francisco and New Orleans in the NFC pecking order. Tampa Bay will also still probably have better gambling odds than Seattle when the dust settles, but I’m not as sure if that should be warranted.

Everyone rushes to declare winners and losers on trades right away. Adams is a clear winner because he’s going to a title contender where the coach and GM sent a strong signal he’s wanted there. We’ll see what this ultimately means for the Seahawks and Jets.