Los Angeles Rams vs Seattle Seahawks: Has Myles Garrett Trade Actually Shifted NFC West Power Balance?
Seattle just won the Super Bowl. The Rams just traded for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Six months before kickoff, the NFC West already looks like the toughest division in football.
The Los Angeles Rams pulled off the biggest trade of the NFL offseason on June 1, acquiring two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick. It marked the first time in league history that the reigning Defensive Player of the Year was traded the following offseason, and it landed directly inside a division the Seattle Seahawks currently rule as defending Super Bowl champions.
Why the Myles Garrett Trade Is Being Called a Power Shift in the NFC West
Garrett set the NFL's single-season sack record with 23 sacks in 2025 and has recorded at least 14 sacks in each of the past five seasons, with his 83 sacks over that stretch sitting 17.5 clear of any other player in the league. Seattle Sports Radio Network analyst Michael Bumpus did not hide his concern, calling the move "an earthquake-level move here in the NFC West." Producer Curtis Rogers went further, comparing it to the Rams' earlier trade for cornerback Trent McDuffie: "That trade didn't tilt anything in their favor. But this one, I mean, it's Myles Garrett. That is a trade that could very much shift things toward the Rams' favor."
ESPN's Bill Barnwell was blunt in his own assessment of where the Rams now stand: "I don't know how anyone can comfortably say that a team is clearly better than the Rams. All things being equal, the Rams look like the best team in football on paper heading into 2026."
Why the Seahawks Believe the Path Still Runs Through Seattle
The Seahawks have not made any major additions of their own this offseason, instead re-signing core defensive pieces including edge rusher Derick Hall on a three-year, $42.5 million extension and banking on internal development under coach Mike Macdonald. Macdonald has familiarity with Garrett from his time coordinating Baltimore's defense and will have roughly seven months to prepare a plan before facing him on Christmas Day at Lumen Field, the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams in the final three weeks of the schedule.
Some analysts argue the trade could even benefit Seattle long-term, given the draft capital and cap flexibility the Rams gave up to make the deal. What is not in dispute is that the margin between these two teams was already razor-thin last January, when Seattle beat Los Angeles in the NFC Championship Game on the way to the title. Garrett's arrival has not changed that margin. It has simply raised the stakes around it.