Lessons for the 49ers from Super Bowl LX

The moves the Niners will need to close the gap with Seattle

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (3) and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) react after a play during the first quarter against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Led by their suffocating defense, the Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champions and positioned to contend for years with a young core. If the 49ers are to return to the Super Bowl, they need a blueprint to close the gap with the Seattle D.

Taking on the Seattle defense – think in skill sets, not scheme

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Kyle Shanahan said in the pre-game, you have to be able to run on Seattle or they stick the safeties back two-high and take away the explosive plays.

Seattle depends on stopping the run with a light box, so their defense is built on speed, size, and power in the front four, and speed, size, versatility in the back seven. Shanahan tries to win the run game on scheme, on angles, using speed to win the edge.

When the running back is a step slow, the offensive line loses the matchup on power, and receivers and tight ends can’t maintain blocks, the running game loses against the Seahawks. To win, all three phases have to be upgraded by physical skill sets. More speed at RB, more power at OL, more speed and power from the weapons.

The running game moves

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RB/FB – Christian McCaffrey needs to transition to a third down back. Add Travis Etienne in free agency; speed is essential. Kyle Juszczyk is 35 next season. Riley Nowakowski of Indiana is a versatile 7th round/UDFA H-back that fits the role well. He served plenty of pancakes in the college playoffs.

Weapons – More speed to get the secondary out of position, and more power to block them. The Niners could trade up in the draft for Kenyon Sadiq, the freak tight end from Oregon, with speed and power. They can also draft an X that can block, like Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields.

OL – Drafting OL, New England used the 4th pick on Will Campbell and he was a banana peel. If the Niners use a draft pick, he has to fit the skill set needs, but the 1st round power guards are too slow to the 2nd level for Shanahan’s taste. Drafting a speed tackle and moving them to guard might work, but that’s Georgia’s Monroe Freeling or ASU’s Max Iheanachor, who are emerging but works in progress.

In free agency, the top guards are Buffalo’s 28-year-old David Edwards, a solid pass/run blocker, or the driving power off the line of 32-year-old Isaac Seumalo from Pittsburgh.

If the Niners want a running game answer against Seattle next year, take note the solution may take several players, not just one, and will mandate spending in free agency.

To run on Seattle, you have to win the individual trench matchup first. Edwards and Seumalo win it, rookies probably not.

Running on Seattle forces change on Shanahan. He either has to spend in free agency on OL or draft it early, and he must expand his skill set preferences beyond just speed. Size and power are prerequisites now.

In the passing game against Seattle, the Niners are too slow. They need playmakers that get off the line, release and separate, beat the zone, make the catch, and get YAC. That’s Omar Cook Jr. of Indiana. It’s not K.C. Concepcion of Texas A&M with a 10% drop rate, four fumbles in two years, and a man beater but not a zone beater. It’s not UW’s Denzel Boston with long speed but not quickness, who can struggle to get off the line and has a limited route tree and releases. They have to get the WR pick right and avoid the higher mocked shiny objects.

At tight end, trading up for Sadiq takes on one of the keys to why Seattle’s defense wins, Nick Emmanwori, LB/S/Big Nickel. The best way to beat an athletic freak is with one of your own.

The Moves

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TE - A trade up for Sadiq if they can, and be sure to get Nowakowski by dealing for a late Day 3 pick. Don’t leave him to chance in UDFA. If no Sadiq, Georgia’s Oscar Delp is the next best inline blocker.

WR – Cook, not Concepcion or Boston. Fields maybe, hands and blocking. Kick the tires on Georgia State’s Ted Hurst, look at Baylor’s Josh Cameron and TCU’s Eric McAlister late.

Play calling notes

New England used six offensive linemen once. Completed a 21-yard pass, then never returned to it. If the Niners want to use that tactic against the Seahawks next year, they have to draft OL in volume. This draft has quality at center into the late rounds, and tackle into the 4th.

On defense, the Patriots had success anticipating play-action throws and blitzing against them. Raheem Morris likes to blitz much more often than Robert Saleh; there’s a situation that merits it.

The Niners can’t close the gap with Seattle in a single off-season, but with the right moves, they can close the gap significantly. Those moves will require a change in philosophy on the offensive line, in free agent spending, and drafting skill sets, not scheme. Are Shanahan and John Lynch capable of making those changes? Until they do, it will be difficult to close the gap.