2025 Division Preview: NFC West
3 replies.
1. Los Angeles Rams
I’m not a fan of the NFC West this year, so the Rams are going to win the division almost by default. Davante Adams is a nice addition, but otherwise they’re sort of just stuck in the mud. They’re good, but not good enough to seriously compete for a Super Bowl.
2. San Francisco 49ers
I thought the 49ers were overrated last year, and while they’re going to get a lot of injured players back they also lost a significant amount of talent in the offseason. This team simply isn’t as good as it was when they went to OT in the Super Bowl. And now that Purdy is making real money it’s going to be tough for them to put together another contender.
3. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are another team stuck in mediocrity. It’s hard to believe but Kyler Murray has played 6 NFL seasons, and in that time they have managed to make the playoffs exactly once, with Murray himself having a losing record in his career (which is true even if you exclude his rookie season).
The Cardinals should explore trading Murray next offseason if they don’t see any improvement this year. At this point it’s clear they’re not going to win any games of significance with him.
4. Seattle Seahawks
I really dislike the Seahawks going from Geno Smith and DK Metcalf to Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp. Kupp’s All Pro year is now a distant memory, and since then he’s struggled to stay on the field and hasn’t put up dominant numbers even when he is playing. His last two seasons were the lowest yards per game of his career outside of his rookie season.
But the much bigger issue for Seattle is going from the suddenly competent Geno Smith to the flash in a pan Sam Darnold. Yes Darnold had a great season overall last year, but the last two games against the Lions and Rams where the Vikings scored a combined 18 points showed that the league figured him out again. There is every reason to believe Darnold is going to go back to being the guy who was bouncing around the league as a backup.
I don’t think the Seahawks will be competing for the top pick in the draft or anything, but they will be eliminated from the playoffs with plenty of time for them to make vacation plans.
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I guess it’s time to see how badly the 9ers overpaid Purdy
not a Niners fan, but not at all impressed with the Rams … either one could win that division, neither will be much of a threat in the playoffs … I do think the Niners “bounce back” just from getting players healthy (esp CMC)
My guess is the Rams will be improved over last year and the 49ers will decline. I was surprised to see Tony list them as even.
In my opinion, the Rams have very solid coaching and have been drafting for being solid in the long-term. My main concern is with the QB. If he can stay healthy, then I think they are playoff bound.