2018 NFC West Preview

Los Angeles Rams

Best Case Scenario:

This team is gunning for a Super Bowl as hard as any I can recall in recent history. They made a massive leap into the playoffs a year ago, and they spent the offseason adding as many huge names as they could fit on their roster. Ndamukong Suh, Brandin Cooks, Aqib Talib, and Marcus Peters have all joined a roster that looked ready to compete in the NFC even before they arrived, and it’s hard not to list them as the conference favorites when you look at them on paper. If Jared Goff can continue to develop and Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald continue to wreck worlds, this team has the look of a truly dominant squad, and anything less than a championship will be a disappointment.

Worst Case Scenario:

Normally I’d be comfortable penciling a team with this roster into a wild card spot, but the NFC this year is far from normal. Still, I have a hard time imagining this team bottoming out enough to not be competitive as the year goes along. Adding these big names has come at the expense of depth, and a few injuries could be more devastating to this team than a normal one. And after one extremely bad year and one solid year, I think it’s fair to wonder if the jury is still out on Goff. We’ve seen quarterbacks regress in year three before, and of all the teams at the top of the NFC, the Rams have to be a little worried that they have the least certainty at the quarterback position.

Player to Watch: John Johnson III

Johnson will never be a household name, in large part due to the fact that his name is as unmemorable as they come. But on a defense that is loaded with stars, he is a rare bright spot among the supporting cast, a young player who has stepped up already early in his career. The tight man coverage and aggressive styles favored by Talib and Peters will put a lot of pressure on the Rams’s safeties to erase potential big plays. If Johnson is up to the task, he can produce some big plays of his own, snagging interceptions from quarterbacks harried by the elite pass rush and tight coverage. If not, the Rams could find themselves fighting to keep up in a lot of shootouts, putting even more pressure on their young quarterback.

Seattle Seahawks

Best Case Scenario:

The Seahawks have the best quarterback in the division, and that will always give them a chance. Russell Wilson couldn’t do everything by himself a year ago, but the Seahawks spent this offseason reinforcing their offensive line, and they spent a first round pick on Rashaad Penny in the hope of opening up the running game. Despite losing some big names on defense, they still have a superstar in Bobby Wagner and potentially in Earl Thomas, if they can get his contract situation worked out. This team has been competitive for years, and they’re not going to fade that quickly, and if the Rams slip up the Seahawks could push them for a division title.

Worst Case Scenario:

If I’m being honest, it was pretty hard to spin things positively in the section above. This team has been trending down for years, and I really can’t see any way they’re better than a year ago, when they failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011. They lost two of their biggest threats on the receiving game in Paul Richardson and Jimmy Graham, and Doug Baldwin still isn’t back from a knee injury. After being so deep for years on defense, they’re now in a situation where they’re looking at starting Barkevious Mingo and Erik Walden. Wilson is a very good quarterback, but he showed last year that he can’t do it alone, and it isn’t going to be any easier this season.

Player to Watch: Shaquill Griffin, CB

Rookie fifth round pick Shaquem Griffin is getting attention for obvious reasons, but his twin brother will likely be the more impactful Griffin. After a solid rookie season, Griffin now finds himself as the potential leader of this secondary, heavy expectations for someone following the Legion of Boom. If Thomas doesn’t end up sticking around, Seattle’s cornerbacks will face a much more difficult task than they have in years past, with no safety blanket behind them when they press up to play physically. Griffin has good size and impressive speed, and if he can develop into a quality cornerback it will be a major help for a defense suddenly thin on talent.

San Francisco 49ers

Best Case Scenario:

We saw what this team could be during their five game win streak to close the season, which culminated with three consecutive impressive victories over playoff teams. Obviously most of the attention has gone to their offense, where the hype around Jimmy Garoppolo has reached unsustainable levels. Combined with the playcalling of Kyle Shanahan, an explosive running back in Jerick McKinnon, and some quality additions on the offensive line, this could be a very dangerous unit. And on the defensive side of the ball they have the potential to take a leap forward, partnering emerging stars DeForest Buckner and Reuben Foster with veteran addition Richard Sherman. I’m lower on the 49ers than most people, but I can absolutely see the upside here, and it wouldn’t shock me if they end up pushing for a wild card spot.

Worst Case Scenario:

I definitely considered putting the 49ers second on this list, but in the end I had to ask myself, what about this team makes me think they’re better than Seattle? All the hopes of this team are pinned on Garoppolo performing at an elite level, but Wilson was elite a year ago, and it still wasn’t enough. Garoppolo can be great, and this still probably isn’t a playoff team, not until they fix the flaws in pretty much every other part of their roster. And if Garoppolo isn’t the player he was during that five game stretch at the end of last year, this team could be in line for a disaster of a season.

Player to Watch: Pierre Garcon, WR

The biggest weak point of this offense is on the outside, where they are stuck with a couple journeyman wide receivers to fit into a scheme that dominated in Atlanta throwing to Julio Jones. There is no one remotely of that caliber on the 49ers roster, and they are going to have to find other ways to get players open down the field. Garcon has been around a long time, and he has been solid at every stop, even as his athleticism has declined. A veteran player, he will become an essential safety blanket for Garoppolo, someone he can trust to be exactly where he expects him to be on every play. Garcon won’t have the big flashes of someone like Marquise Goodwin, but he’s likely more crucial to the success of this offense.

Arizona Cardinals

 

Best Case Scenario:

There are two possible routes this could go. The first is that Sam Bradford manages to stay under center all year long and forms a clean, efficient passing attack with Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson tearing defenses apart underneath. If everything breaks right, they might be able to push for a wild card spot, though in this circumstance they will still probably fall short. You could argue that with such a limited ceiling, the true best case scenario involves getting Josh Rosen onto the field, letting him develop and show what he can do as a rookie. This team isn’t aiming to win in 2018, and you can make an argument that the best thing for them would be to prepare for what lies ahead.

Worst Case Scenario:

On paper this is probably the worst team in the NFC. Their defense has been stripped bare, and outside of Patrick Peterson and Chandler Jones they are counting way too much on the emergence of unproven youngsters like Budda Baker and Robert Nkemdiche. Their offensive line is a catastrophe waiting to happen, especially in front of two quarterbacks who struggle to move behind the line of scrimmage. The return of Johnson will help balance things out on their offense, but it won’t erase everything that was wrong with them a season ago, and in all likelihood they will be well out of the playoff race by the midway point of the season.

Player to Watch: Deone Bucannon, LB

Bucannon has had an interesting career. He was drafted in the first round to play safety, but a series of injuries forced him to fill in at linebacker, a position he took to and has held down since. For a couple years early in his career it looked like he heralded a new age of defenders, fantastic athletes who made up in speed what they lacked in size. But the past couple seasons haven’t been kind to Bucannon, or to any of the “money” linebackers around the league. Offenses have adjusted to take advantage of his small stature and lack of linebacker instincts, and he needs to take this opportunity to grow as a player, or else face a league that no longer has a place for him.