NFC Notes: Mike Macdonald, Sean McVay, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

• In his final projection of 2025 compensatory picks, Over The Cap’s Nick Korte projects the 49ers getting two fourth-round picks and a seventh for the loss of DE Chase Young, QB Sam Darnold, and WR Ray-Ray McCloud. 
• Korte notes the biggest uncertainty in his projections is where the exact cutoffs will fall between the rounds, so it’s possible Darnold could qualify as a fifth-round pick instead of a fourth. Unfortunately, that would change the cancellation charts and result in the 49ers being awarded a seventh for losing DE Clelin Ferrell instead. 

Rams

Rams HC Sean McVay was visibly upset following the team’s close loss to the Eagles on Sunday night, ending their impressive postseason run. He still showed class and gave credit to Philadelphia for their gritty performance. 

“Congratulations to the Eagles,” McVay said, via RamsWire.com. “Tough, hard-fought game. Give them credit, they made enough plays to win the game but man, I’m damn proud to be associated with this football team. I didn’t see it going any other way than us winning that game, 29-28. I think this game in a lot of ways epitomized the grit, and the ability to overcome adversity. Just had a couple of things that we couldn’t overcome. There will be some things that we can learn from, but this is the time for gratitude, for appreciation. I love this group, I love this coaching staff, I love these players. I also understand and appreciate how difficult it is to be in positions like this where you’ve got the game in hand – I feel like we had total control toward the latter part of that game – momentum was in our favor and we had an opportunity to win that game and we just came up short.”

“Give the Eagles credit, it’s an excellent football team. They were able to make enough plays, but love this group and I’m just really sad that this journey is over,” McVay continued. “This was a special season. It’s as much fun as I’ve had, as much as you’ve ever wanted to do right for the people in that locker room. We’ve had a lot of special teams, but this team, there was something special about them. I think I’m up here pretty shocked because I know a lot of people didn’t think we could come in here, but we had the full expectation to come in here. And I don’t think anybody expected the end of the season to be right now. The finality of it is tough for me to swallow because of the love and appreciation I have for this group. But you give Philly credit, they did their thing, made enough plays, and obviously Saquon (Barkley) was excellent today. I think the two turnovers were really costly, but I’m not going to make any excuses and I’m proud of our team.”

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald assessed the play of first-round DT Byron Murphy and said that he stood out for the team despite not having a strong season of statistic production.

“He does the stuff at a high level, he plays really hard, he’s a great technician for being how young he is,” Macdonald said, via Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. “Production-wise, I know the sacks aren’t there and the pass rush reps, but every time this guy’s taking a three-technique pass rush rep, that means Leonard Williams isn’t on the field. Right now, I think Leonard is probably the best interior D-lineman in the game. So, it’s like, what do you want to do? We have to be more creative to get him on the field, but he’ll earn those opportunities, and the production will be there in the long run. I’m convinced of that. This guy’s a really good player. Byron is going to be a great player in this league. He already is a great player in this league. He’s going to have a great career. He’s in a great room, so his role can skyrocket. It’ll be what he makes of it, and he’ll create that. But this guy’s a three-down player. He’s done a great job.”

• In his final projection of 2025 compensatory picks, Over The Cap’s Nick Korte projects the Seahawks getting fourth, fifth, and sixth-round picks for the loss of G Damien Lewis, LB Jordyn Brooks, and LB Bobby Wagner.