With the NFL season approaching Eric Jensen looks to break down the rosters of all 32 teams. Here is our part one of the NFC West season preview. The second half will drop on weekends and Fridays with short paragraph blurbs on each team with predictions. 

Rams

Biggest question: WR depth. A starting tandem of Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson is certainly nothing to slouch at. However, it should be pointed out that Robinson was largely terrible and a nonfactor last year in Chicago. The Rams are betting on a huge bounce back. Meanwhile, Van Jefferson has established himself as a great deep threat, but sort of lacks the other key traits to be a successful third wide receiver, especially consistency, which has been one of his biggest issues. Outside of those three guys, the WR core gets very thin for the Rams.

Cardinals

Biggest question: The linebacking group. Isaiah Simmons and Zaven Collins have shown flashes in their young careers but neither has done enough to convince me that they are pro bowl level linebackers. They seem replacement level, on a roster that is well, replacement level, at least defensively so. This was a defense that didn’t do particularly well towards the end of last year and you wonder if history is doomed to repeat itself in 2022. Collins could make a second year jump, the Cardinals will need to count on it if they want to remain competitive. I view this as an average NFL roster, anyone confident in the Cardinals as some kind of contender sees something I just don’t when I watch this team.

49ers

Biggest question: Obviously Trey Lance but I want to challenge myself here. What exactly is this team doing at corner? You’re counting on Ambry Thomas and notably middling Emmanuel Moseley to really do a lot for you here. This was a group that was not great last year and struggled in the playoffs, and they lost pieces. It’s just tough for me to believe in this secondary group, not a ton of proven good pieces in it. Just worries me a little bit, the Rams and Cardinals have above-average passing attacks, could be a massive flaw in the system.

Seahawks

What exactly is this Seahawks team going to be? Look, this team has far to much talent on it to end up with the number one pick next year, Drew Lock and Geno Smith are not that bad. This team is going to win some surprise games that no one sees coming, looking at you Cardinals and Niners. The team is also not good enough to compete for a playoff berth, even in an extremely weak NFC. The Seahawks will end up selecting in the top ten while remaining competitive in just about every game they play this year. For as critical as I am of Pete Carroll schematically, he still is one of the best leaders in the NFL, his team will not crumble out of the gate. The defense is too good for this season to be considered dead in the water before we even start.