Every year I debate, what is the best way to do team previews? Last year on the podcast I found it. Create an all division team using position groups from every team. Outside of Quarterback which will be chosen on an individual basis the rest of the all division team will be selected in groups. So if I take the Cardinals at wide out for example I am taking their entire receiving core. The team positions will be as follows: QB, RB, WR (this includes tight ends), OL (based off PFF scores), DL (tackles and ends), Linebackers, Corners, and Safeties. Let’s go.
NFC West

QB Russell Wilson

Really there is no other choice for this division. There are question marks surrounding Jared Goff and Jimmy Garoppolo right now. Serious questions, like for Jared Goff, are you actually a franchise NFL signal caller? While Kyler Murray has insane upside he is not better than Wilson and probably won’t be for at least several more years. Wilson is the clear favorite and just may well be the best passer in pro football right now, seriously, what has Patrick Mahomes shown us that Wilson can’t do? Having watched both guys extensively, there is just not much of a difference in what they can do.

RB Seattle Seahawks: Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, Travis Homer.

Before the injury in 2019 Chris Carson was simply running like one of the best backs in football. There is no other way to put it. Seahawks fans often get mad at that coaching staff for running the ball to much but up through that Vikings game last year it was working. When the running game works the Seahawks should lean on it because it works to the team’s advantage. That said sometimes you just need to let Russ cook as the kids say. Back to running back rooms though, the NFC West has some good ones. Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmunds plus some Eno Benjamin in Arizona make for an exciting room. Drake has a lot to prove consistency wise but if he can produce like he did in the last 4 games of the season for an entire year the Cardinals might just have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. The Rams offense entirely depends on what Cam Akers is. So much of that passing game is predicated off the play action, they have some receiving weapons, if the O line improves and Akers can move the ball the Rams offense might be back in business. Meanwhile the Niners have Kyle Shanahan, pair that with Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman and you have another great running game. The trend here is that every single passing game except the Seahawks depends on the running game in this division. Perhaps that’s an obvious statement but if either Arizona or Los Angeles get going on the ground the passing games could reap tremendous benefits.

 

WR Arizona Cardinals: Deandre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald, Andy Isabella

Speaking of passing games. There really isn’t much of a discussion to be had. When you have a top 5 receiver in Deandre Hopkins, an emerging super star in Christian Kirk and a legend like Larry Fitzgerald, who is still producing by the way 804 receiving yards in 2019, you have one of the best receiving corps in the league. The other top contender in this division for best wide out group probably goes to Seattle. You would expect DK Metcalf to make a significant second year jump, you bring in Phillip Dorsett to take on Tyler Lockett’s old role and move Lockett to the Doug Baldwin role and you add top eight NFL tight end Will Dissly, that is a scary group. The Seahawks are a team built to out run you and blitz you down the field in the deep passing game. It isn’t a huge drop off to the 49ers but without Deebo Samuel you could see problems arising. Samuel might miss the first four weeks of the season and that really doesn’t bode super well for the Niners passing game. Luckily George Kittle can help lessen the blow but you are counting a ton on Brandon Aiyuk, Travis Benjamin and Dante Pettis being great. Which is a bit worrying seeing that Aiyuk had some real naysayers in the draft community. Pettis is fine but Samuel is unreplaceable. You would imagine the passing game the first few months would not be used as heavily by Shanahan and would mostly flow through Kittle. The Rams might actually have a better wide out group than the Niners. Cooper Kupp looked more explosive last year even coming off an ACL. Josh Reynolds emerged as a real weapon and Robert Woods moves the chains.
OL San Fransisco

DL San Francisco

It’s a tough race between the Rams and the Niners here. The Rams line is fantastic Aaron Donald continues to just be other worldly good and the Rams kept Michael Brockers after contract negotiations broke down with the Baltimore Ravens. A’Shawn Robinson will ball out beside Brockers and Donald you would imagine. Those three will have to play out of their minds this year to stop the run because the linebacking situation in Los Angeles is legitimately awful. All that said, the Niners are my choice for the best group within the division. The depth is incredible the starters might be the best group in the NFC. Nick Bosa was incredible as a rookie you would imagine a massive jump is in store in year two. Javon Kinlaw has injury questions replacing Deforest Buckner but Buckner’s upside. Arik Armstead had a career high 10 sacks last year and that type of production should be in store again in 2020. Dee Ford was a revelation at pass rusher. Basically the most dominant defensive line last year returns all there starters. The Cardinal’s defensive line is a weakness. Corey Peters is the only guy in that group that jumps of the page when looking at this roster. Leki Fotu, a fourth-rounder might win a starting job. The Seahawks line is in a word fine, they stuff the run well but I don’t see where the pass rush is coming from.

LB San Francisco

A very hot take incoming. Fred Warner will be better than Bobby Wagner in 2020. Wagner struggles in coverage these days and simply put Warner is one of the best coverage linebackers I saw last year. He’s going to be an all pro in 2020 and that makes the Niners the best linebacking core in the division especially if Kwon Alexander can stay healthy. That said, the competition is stiff. KJ Wright is just a tackling machine in Seattle and the Seahawks look like a team that you won’t be able to run on in 2020. The Cardinals could make a strong case as well. Chandler Jones is constantly overlooked for defensive player of the year honors. He posted another 15+ sack season last year, with the Cardinals offense getting more shine he’d be my dark horse to win DPOY this year. Jordan Hicks lead the team in tackles last year and is a solid run stuffer and the Cardinals add Isaiah Simmons who simply put might be a top five defensive player in the leauge within the next three years. Meanwhile the Rams linebackers are mostly unproven backups, worry city.

CB San Francisco

Richard Sherman is still a lock down corner. Emmanuel Moseley is solid but not a lock down guy, solid though. The Seahawks have question marks at corner, Shaq Griffin is aggressively average and Tre Flowers is flat out bad. Who knows if Quinton Dunbar plays this year with legal issues looming. That said if he does play he can hid a lot of what is wrong with this secondary. For Arizona more question marks as well, Patrick Peterson was bad last year, no other way to put it. Robert Alford is an extreme injury risk. Pass coverage could be a real problem for Arizona. The Rams have talented safety help, more on that later, and Jalen Ramsey, CB2 is a concern but they certainly aren’t the worst group in the division that honor goes to the Cardinals.

S Los Angeles Rams

No great safety tandems in this division. So I go with my favorite safety in the division, Taylor Rapp. I love this guy, great in coverage, takes good angles, super fast, hard hitting just everything you want in a safety. The Seahawks have a decent safety room though I don’t love Quandre Diggs as much as other people do. Budda Baker is probably my second favorite safety in the division, love his ball skills and aggressiveness. The Niners safeties are fine, Jimmie Ward is fine.

Overview

Best offense
Seattle Seahawks: Listen I like to keep it simple. Wilson is the best QB in the division right now hands down, DK Metcalf is going to get a lot better in year two and they add Phillip Dorsett as a deep threat. Pair that with an offensive line that added pieces and a great running game and despite Brian Schottenheimer the Seahawks will succeed in 2020.
Best Defense
San Francisco
Zero holes at any level of the defense means being the best defense in the division. It helps that Robert Salah is the next coordinator in line to become a head coach. It is shocking how young Richard Sherman is, he’s only 32 you would imagine this kind of run lasts until he’s 35. Still got three to four years of his prime left.

Predictions
Seattle 13-3
San Francisco 11-5
Los Angeles Rams 9-7
Arizona Cardinals 8-8