NFC WEST
Seahawks
There’s not a lot to cover last season for the Seahawks… well other than they won the Super Bowl! Mike Macdonald has developed this team into one of the best oiled machines in sports. The unselfish behavior and mindset behind seemingly everyone on the team is astounding and you see it in how they play. Moving into this season Seattle will have a new challenge they have to face and that’s overcoming their Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak leaving this offseason. While it’s certainly something to keep an eye on the hire of Brian Fleury is very promising. Fleury has been a Tight End coach, a run game coordinator, and an offensive and defensive quality control coach for the 49ers over the past 6 seasons. While Fleury is lacking in experience as a coordinator that resume is nothing to scoff at and hopefully for the Seahawks he has some of the Kyle Shanahan magic after years of being around him. This staff is outstanding and so long as they have Mike Macdonald in charge I’m going to struggle to doubt them in all honesty.
Offensively there’s not a ton of change to talk about here. Obviously the coordinator change is a big deal but until we see what Brian Fleury is or isn’t capable of it’s hard to make judgements or even predictions as to how that change will impact them. The biggest change roster wise was Kenneth Walker III leaving in Free Agency and the Seahawks going on to replace him with their 1st Round pick that used on Notre Dame back Jadarian Price. This offense will miss the explosiveness of Walker III but the addition of Price is very exciting and should make up for a lot of what they would have missed without K-Walk here. Price’s vision, quick feet, and contact balance shined at Notre Dame despite him being the 2nd back in the offense and I don’t see him slowing down at the NFL level. While it’s hard to say exactly how Fleury will call this offense considering he was the run game coordinator in San Francisco with Shanahan I expect there to be a heavy emphasis on the zone running scheme which Price will fit into without any issue. The one issue I do still have with this team is their Right Guard spot. Anthony Bradford improved last season but was still an issue for them in pass protection more than you’d like and while they added rookie Beau Stephens in the 5th round I wish they had added one more veteran to challenge for that spot as well or maybe use a high pick to get a more established player at that position. Now while I don’t expect this offense to pick right up where they left considering it is a new play caller here there is enough continuity from the player side of things that they should be completely fine long term, so long as Fleury is half ways decent that is.
The defense’s story isn’t all that different from the offense as they have the majority of their roster returning but the secondary does have some new faces. This offseason you saw two crucial secondary pieces leave Seattle with Riq Woolen signing with the Eagles and Coby Bryant signing with the Bears. The Seahawks took a shotgun approach to filling those wholes by using draft capital (Bud Clark and Julian Neal), lower end free agent signings (Noah Igbinoghene, Trevon Diggs, and Terrion Arnold), and giving players a bigger role from last year’s team as well (Ty Okada). Bud Clark and Julian Neal should be able to carve out roles here throughout the season but the most intriguing piece has to be former 1st Round pick Terrion Arnold. Arnold’s career has gotten off to a rocky start with his legal issue this offseason being the last straw for Detroit, who decided to cut him and move on following it. Arnold has all of the athletic traits and tools he needs to be a quality Corner in this league and the good news for him is Seattle is the perfect place for him to develop and grow as not only a player but as a human as well. I expect nothing less than the results of last year for this defense and I’m excited to see how they may even be able build on last year.
This Seahawks team is still incredibly well rounded and deep and while the change at Offensive Coordinator does give some pause it’s hard to imagine this team with the overall coaching staff and culture here struggling to make it work.
Prediction
10 – 14 Wins – Super Bowl Hopeful
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Rams
After falling to their division rival and the eventual Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game the Rams made it a mission to further improve their already impressive roster this offseason. General Manger Les Snead and this front office made two major trades on the defensive side of the ball for former Chiefs Corner Trent McDuffie and the most dominant player in the league right now former Browns Edge Myles Garrett. Along with the major additions in trade they also continued to bolster their secondary by signing another former Chiefs Corner in Jaylen Watson. The craziest part to all of this is they may not even be done adding as Aaron Donald’s decision to come back is seemingly headed the right direction for the Rams and the wrong direction for the rest of the league. An offseason like this really showcases why this franchise continues to find ways to stay competitive year after year and why Les Snead is one of if not the best GM in football. The one concern I have in making these moves is it creates a top loaded roster that lacks depth and quickly becomes reliant on injury luck but that’s where this excellent coaching staff comes in. Under Sean McVay the Rams year after year find ways to minimize holes on their roster and even further emphasize their strengths with great coaching and even better play calling. Not to mention both coordinators (now OC Nate Scheelhaase and DC Chris Shula) are back in the building following an offseason where both were in the running for Head Coaching jobs across the league. This organization from top down is world class and this year truly showcased why they continue to be Super Bowl contenders and/or favorites year and year out.
This offense is largely unchanged from last year but by no means is that a knock of them. With the reigning MVP Matthew Stafford at Quarterback, and elite receiving corps, a deep running back room, and while not the flashiest one of the more consistent O-Lines in the league that perfectly fits their scheme it’s hard to knock anything here. My one concern for this unit is the depth but circling back to what I said earlier about the coaching staff is why I’m not making a bigger point about the issue. I simply trust McVay and this coaching staff to get everyone that makes the 53 in a spot where they’re at least capable of filling in when needed. That same point comes back in their first draft pick as well, Alabama Quarterback Ty Simpson. While Simpson wasn’t my favorite prospect coming out there’s no better situation for him than to in this building paired with McVay and learning under Stafford. Hopefully we don’t have to see him this year but moving forward they at least have someone that has the tools and ability to be a starter. All in all what makes this offense so dangerous is their diverse personnel, especially in the receiver and tight end rooms. These two rooms have really solid depth and diverse skill sets that will allow McVay and this staff to utilize a large array of alignments and personnel groupings to keep defenses off balanced and constantly guessing. I expect them to play even more heavy sets this year as they also added Tight End Max Clare through the draft and Terrance Ferguson seems to be taking steps this camp and is carving out a larger role. It’s an incredibly well rounded unit that any team in the league is going to have issues with stopping or even slowing down for that matter.
Defensively we went over the additions but how those additions are going to help is even more important. Last year the Rams pass rush was effective more often than not and while their secondary as a whole had success with an excellent Nickel in Quentin Lake and a really solid Safety tandem in Kamren Kinchens and Kam Kirk the outside Corner spots created issues they couldn’t overcome. With Emmanuel Forbes as one of their starting outside Corners and Cobie Durant opposite of him the Rams were limited in what coverages they could call. Man coverage was a roll of the dice every single time they went to it but with the additions of Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie that couldn’t be farther from the case now. Then you add on top of those additions to the secondary with Myles Garrett now replacing Jared Verse and not only do you now have better cover Corners now but you a guy that will dictate how long a Quarterback can even think about holding onto the ball. Jared Verse was no slouch as a pass rusher but Myles Garrett is a generational player that is going to dictate anything and everything an offense can to do down to down and god forbid they add Aaron Donald alongside him. Aside from a few spots I’d like to see more depth at this defense is going to be a nightmare to deal with for any offense out there.
This team has everything they need from top down to go and compete for a Super Bowl just as they did last year. The scary part is they made the NFC Championship game last season and are markedly better on paper from a roster perspective and lost no coaches for the first time a long while as well. Everything is here for them to do it now they have to go and prove they can once again.
Prediction
10 – 14 Wins – Super Bowl Hopeful
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49ers
Despite an injury riddled season last year Head Coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff managed to coach this team to a 12-5 record and a divisional round appearance where they finally fell to Seattle in a blowout. Year after year Kyle Shanahan showcases why he’s one of the best coaches in the entire league by continually out play calling opposing coaches and getting unreal Quarterback play no matter who’s running the show. Along with Shanahan they also have some of the offensive and defensive coordinators with OC Klay Kubiak and new DC Raheem Morris. Klay Kubiak similar to his brother Klint is quickly rising up the ranks of young offensive minds and has a real chance of being a Head Coach eventually. As for Raheem Morris some may be down him following a strutting stint as head man in Atlanta but as a DC he’s hard to beat but he’s got quite the job ahead of him having to replace what Robert Saleh last year. This coaching staff is elite and to think they may not even be the second best in their own division is crazy.
Offensively we’ve gone over how great the coaching staff is but roster wise there’s some questions I have. At first glance this team is incredibly talented but when you take into context the age and injury concern of many of their best players it starts to get scary. Whether it’s Trent Williams, Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel Jr, Mike Evans, or even Christian McCaffrey there’s some combination of injury, age, or regression concerns that loom over those players. If they’re all healthy this offense is going to be incredibly hard to deal with but that’s also a lot of luck to have for a team that seemingly has the opposite. Those injury concerns have already popped up as well. Ricky Pearsall has already been diagnosed with a season ending injury after his knee injury from last season wasn’t healing correctly. The injury and age concerns aren’t the only issues either. Without Pearsall in the receiver room this team is going to be heavily reliant on their rookie De’Zhuan Stribling and older veteran receivers such as Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel Jr, and Christian Kirk. Evans is aging well but can he stay healthy consistently, Deebo has taken major steps back over the past 3 seasons so can he turn it around being back in San Francisco, and De’Zhuan Stribling has flashed through camp and preseason but can he step in and be everything they need immediately? You also have George Kittle coming off an achilles injury late last year as well that only adds onto the questions in the receiving room. The biggest issue for me though is clearly the O-Line. Trent Williams is still elite but injuries are starting to become more of when than if. Colton McKivitz, Dominick Puni, and Jake Brendel are all serviceable starters but don’t exactly move the needle and Left Guard whether it’s Robert Jones, rookie Carver Willis, or anyone else on the roster leaves me worried. Shanahan does an unbelievable job of hiding weaknesses on his rosters and I’ve seen him do more with less more often than just about any coach in the league but I wish there were a few more certainties here for him to work with.
Defensively I’m a bit more optimistic for the roster as there’s a ton more young talent and depth on this aside of the ball. Their secondary runs three spots deep in spots and has a long list of names that I like despite them not being household names/star players quite yet. At Corner you have Upton Stout, Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, rookie Ephesians Prysock, Jack Jones, and Nate Hobbs and Safety is no different with Ji’Ayir Brown, Malik Mustapha, Siran Neal, and Ashton Davis. This secondary may not be the biggest names but these young players are incredibly talented and Raheem Morris is going to have an unreal time coaching these guys. The D-Line and front seven is also incredibly talented with a good amount of depth as well the only thing that worries me is the lack of game changer along the front. Nick Bosa has previously been that guy for this team and is making the money to be said guy but in recent years with injuries piling up he’s taken a step or two back and isn’t consistently as dominant as he once was as a passer rusher. They did add former Cowboys IDL Osa Odighizuwa which gives them a guy that has the tools to pair with Bosa as a lethal tandem when they’re both healthy but once again that’s a huge if. Overall the unit is incredibly solid and young players like Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, CJ West, rookie IDL Gracen Halton, and rookie Edge Romello Height add a level of upside that at least gives me hope for this season. Then you have the Linebacker tandem of Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw back together which once again comes with injury concern with Greenlaw and Warner coming off an ankle injury last year. Warner is one of the best players in the league regardless of position and his impact cannot be overstated for this defense. From top down this group has a ton of talent and while there’s a handful of questions still to be answered I feel more optimistic from a roster perspective than I do for the offense.
In most divisions this team would be my runaway favorite but the bad news for them is they’re in a division with the most talented top end of a roster in the league with the Rams and the Seahawks coming off a Super Bowl winning year. That doesn’t they can’t or won’t win the division but it’s going to be a tough hill to climb having to play those two teams a combined 4 times.
Prediction
10 – 13 Wins – Super Bowl hopeful
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Cardinals
The Cardinals once again went into this offseason trying to find the answer at Head Coach and Quarterback. While I can’t say with certainty they accomplished either of those goals they at least gave themselves a shot with Mike LaFleur at Head Coach. LaFleur like many Head Coaches in this league earned his shot at a head job as an Offensive Coordinator under Sean McVay. Many have a poor perception of LaFleur as his stint as OC with the Jets didn’t go as well as you’d hope but looking back he was really used as a scapegoat for poor decisions by General Manager Joe Douglas. The roster he was operating with had a young exciting hope to it but largely those players failed to pan out. With that being said the lack of success without McVay is a bit concerning and not something that can just be written off. The overall coaching staff is fine but is certainly a wait and see approach as Offensive Coordinator Nate Hackett and Defensive Coordinator Nick Rallis have shaky histories at these positions. To be fair though similar to LaFleur there are reasons/excuses that you can use to make an argument to be more hopeful for the hires as well. One thing is for certain though and that’s General Manager Monti Ossenfort has tied his job to LaFleur and this coaching staff so hopefully for himself and Cardinals fans he made the correct hires.
The offense has some really fun position groups to it with the “weaponry” being the best. Whether it’s the Receiver room with Marvin Harrison Jr, Michael Wilson, and company, Tight End with Trey McBride, or the Running Back room with Tyler Allgeier, James Conner, and none more important than the #3 overall pick Jeremiah Love! It’s a really fun group that has a ton of talent and even a couple true game changers in my eyes with Trey McBride and I believe Jeremiah Love can be that right away as well, not to mention how well Michael Wilson played last year and Marvin Harrison Jr still having the talent and pedigree that he does. Where I start to slow down my hopes for what this could look like in year one is the Offensive Line. Paris Johnson Jr at Left Tackle and Hjalte Froholdt at Center are really solid players but every other spot is a question for me, especially following the injury to rookie Guard Chase Bisontis. The Quarterback room also leaves a lot to be desired as you know none of these guys are the future here, unless Carson Beck outdoes my greatest expectations that is. Jacoby Brissett is a solid/capable Quarterback but he’s not going to be a guy that wins you games by any means. All in all this offense has the talent and potentially the coaching as well that should allow them to be competitive week to week but the lack of high end Quarterback and Offensive Line play lowers the floor for me quite a bit.
While there was no change at Defensive Coordinator this offseason not having former Head Coach Jonathan Gannon does leave DC Nick Rallis with more control over this unit than he’s had with Gannon in town. With that being said Rallis was in charge of play calling when Gannon was in town so any hope for drastic change is more than likely out the window. My biggest gripe with this defense was their lack of urgency on adding to their Linebacker room. A huge flaw in this unit last year was their inability to cover from the Linebacker position and/or their inability to adjust around that. Not making a change at Coordinator or Linebacker worries me quite a bit as I do not see a snap increase for Cody Simon solving this major issue. Now while that wasn’t the most positive talk I’m actually quite bullish on the talent here overall. The secondary really sticks out to me as a strength despite not having the biggest names outside of Budda Baker. Garrett Williams is one of the most underrated players in the entire league and is up there for best Nickel, in my opinion. Along with Budda you have a really solid corps in the Safety room with newly acquired Andrew Wingard, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, and Koran Crawford. Finally at outside Corner you have Will Johnson, Denzel Burke, Max Melton, and Kei’Trel Clark. Everyone I listed is at least serviceable in my eyes and the best part about it all is the versatility amongst the group as well. The one concern that really goes for the entire defensive unit is the lack of real star talent. While IDL Walter Nolan III, Josh Sweat, and Garrett Williams are close for me they need to take another step as players before I feel that level of confidence in them. It’s a really talented young group of young guys from top down but until Nick Rallis takes steps as a play caller and/or some of these young guys take another step or two I’m afraid they may have similar results to last year, which was inconsistent at best.
To be honest I think this is going to be a really fun and competitive season for the Cardinals but sadly they’re in the hardest division in football. That means they’re going to have to fight and scarp just to get 2-3 wins from those 6 divisional matchups throughout the year. While it may not result in a playoff appearance all Cardinals fans have been waiting for or sadly a top pick in the draft for a young Quarterback I really like the outlook for this team and I think they’re going to be a sneaky favorite to watch this season.
Prediction
5 – 9 Wins – Rebuild/Retool Season
