For a brief moment, the NFC West was the division in the NFL. There were four teams all capable of winning the division and making a real run at the Super Bowl. Even before the fleeting moment of four very good teams, there were three outstanding teams. And even now, with the Seattle Seahawks trending in the wrong direction without Russell Wilson as their starter for the first team in 10 seasons, there are still excellent teams in the West – and one of them happens to be the reigning Super Bowl champions.
The Los Angeles Rams will be one of the favourites to retain the Lombardi trophy in 2022, but they’ll face stiff competition from the Cardinals and 49ers in their own division. They’re still the team to beat in the NFC West, but they’re not without their flaws.
Arizona Cardinals
Biggest Strength: Receiving Options
This receiving core will look even better once DeAndre Hopkins returns from a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy – but they’re in pretty good shape regardless. The Cardinals traded away their first-round pick for Marquise Brown on draft night and, while it might have been a bit of a fleece job from the Baltimore Ravens, they’ll get a receiver that fits their identity.
The Cardinals and Kyler Murray are all about the big plays – only Tom Brady had more Big Time Throws than Murray in the regular season, and no quarterback had more BTTs on passes of 20 yards or more. Murray is electric when he stretches the field with his arm, but his receivers go a long way to compliment him.
Hopkins, when he returns from suspension, is still going to be Hopkins. He can do everything. A.J. Green had a nice season with the Cardinals, and despite being 33 years old, still showed that he can be a deep threat. Rondale Moore is an electric gadget that can be used anywhere, and Brown is another speedy over the top threat.
It’s not just at wide receiver where the Cardinals are blessed. Zach Ertz is still an excellent pass-catcher and Trey McBride has the potential to be a hit at tight end. The Cardinals have options, more options than most.
Biggest Weakness: The Secondary
Budda Baker is one of the best safeties in the NFL. A hard-hitting safety who’s as good in coverage as he is as a blitzer, Baker is the heart and soul of the Cardinals secondary – but he’s often let down by the rest of the unit. The Cardinals secondary was quietly a weak spot on a good defense in 2021.
The cornerback duo of Byron Murphy Jr. and Marco Wilson both finished with coverage grades of below 65 and the Cardinals secondary had the 24th best coverage grade, per PFF. Jalen Thompson had a career-high 129 combined tackles and could grow into an important part of the Cardinals defense in 2022, but the front office made no real attempts to strengthen the cornerback position.
That’s not the way to make substantial improvement where necessary.
Los Angeles Rams:
Biggest Strength: Star Talent
The reigning Super Bowl champions lost the likes of Von Miller and Andrew Whitworth to free agency and retirement, but not many teams have the luxury of star talent like the Rams do. It’s that top end talent that won them a Super Bowl in the first place.
Superstar players consistently create game-changing moments, and in Super Bowl 56, it was up to Cooper Kupp, Matt Stafford, and Aaron Donald to do it. Kupp and Stafford combined on the game-winning drive to give the Rams Super Bowl glory, while it was the incredible play by Donald on the defensive line that ended the game. As good as having a well-rounded roster is, it’s nothing if you don’t have those star players that can produce in the big time moments – and the Rams have those players in abundance.
Jalen Ramsey is the best cornerback in the NFL – by a decent margin, Allen Robinson signed in free agency and despite a bad year in Chicago in 2021 is a supremely talented wide receiver, and Bobby Wagner was once the best linebacker in the NFL and still has juice left. The Rams roster is solid, but it’s the elite talent that makes them tick. Having one of the best receivers, two of the best, if not the best, defensive players in the NFL, along with a very good quarterback is a surefire way to challenge for a Super Bowl.
Biggest Weakness: Offensive Line
The Rams just don’t have many flaws – that’s why they’re the reigning Super Bowl champions. But even with a loaded roster, there are little seeds of doubt, precariously shaped like tiny baby question marks. No matter how small, they’re noticeable and they’re hovering above the offensive line.
As mentioned, the Rams lost their stalwart left tackle, Andrew Whitworth, to retirement at the end of the 2022 NFL season. Whitworth was able to ride off into the sunset after the Rams’ Super Bowl success, and the team believes they’ve found the perfect replacement in-house with Joseph Noteboom.
The former third-round pick has played a little over 1200 snaps in his four year career, and while Noteboom has definitely impressed in that small sample size, it is indeed just that: a small sample size. How Noteboom will transition into becoming an every-down left tackle remains to be seen. He could fit seamlessly, but if he doesn’t, the growing pains could cause issues up front.
San Francisco 49ers
Biggest Strength: Running Game
Having a potent running game in the NFL isn’t considered vogue or sexy. It’s 2022 and the league is very much a pass heavy league. Most teams are opting to pass more than run on early downs, but there are outliers. The 49ers are one of those exceptions. Their early-down pass rate of 43 percent was the third-lowest in the NFL in 2021, but they had the best rush-EPA in those situations. Overall, the 49ers have one of the best and most unique running games in the NFL.
Kyle Shanahan’s wide zone scheme stretches defenses laterally while creating holes for the running backs to attack. It helps that the 49ers have one of the best offensive lineman in the NFL: Trent Williams at their disposal. Williams is a devastating run-blocker thanks to his size and athleticism. On the right side of the line, Mike McGlinchey played in just under 500 snaps in 2021, but he has the talent to be a great run-blocker too.
The 49ers have the means at running back too. Elijah Mitchell had a strong rookie season, rushing for 963 yards at a clip of 4.7 yards per carry. He also had the sixth-most rushing yards over expected, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Of course, Shanahan’s scheme helps make the team tick, but it helps when you have once-in-a-blue moon players like Deebo Samuel. Whether Samuel will be with the team at the start of the season is another story, but the strength in the running game will remain.
Biggest Weakness: Interior Offensive Line
The 49ers offensive line took a huge hit in the offseason. It started with losing Laken Tomlinson to the New York Jets in free agency, and it continued with veteran center Alex Mack retiring at the start of June. Losing two-thirds of your interior offensive line – the best two-thirds – is a terrible position to be in.
Replacing that sort of production, as well as two players that fit so well into the scheme, is a hard task. The 49ers still have Daniel Brunskill lined up at right guard, so the continuity helps, but he didn’t exactly have a stellar season – allowing five sacks and 36 total pressures. It’ll help that the 49ers will have Trey Lance, a quarterback wholly more suited to evade pressure under center, but with Colton McKivitz expected to line up at guard, a position he has played just 296 career snaps at, and Jake Brendel at center, the 49ers could face some issues in the heart of their offense.
Seattle Seahawks
Biggest Strength: Starting Receivers
We’ll get to this while it’s still applicable. There’s every chance that the Seahawks trade D.K. Metcalf between now and the NFL’s trade deadline, but until they do, not many teams have a better starting duo than the Seahawks have in Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. They, along with Russell Wilson, were the fulcrum of the Seahawks’ offense over the last three seasons.
Since Metcalf’s rookie season, he and Lockett have combined for 6456 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns. They’ve been as reliable as receivers come on the outside. Both are true deep threats, but each adds different individual qualities. Lockett just has a knack for getting open with his route running and quickness, while Metcalf is a physical specimen. He eats man coverage for breakfast but his route-running has improved over the last two seasons and his catch radius is elite.
The Seahawks don’t have many options beyond Metcalf and Lockett, but having those two on the field together is a luxury that not many teams have – which makes this next section hurt a little more.
Biggest Weakness: Quarterback
Drew Lock. It would be very easy to just leave it at that. It’s probably more than enough of an explanation. But we’ll dig in a little. Sorry, Seahawks fans.
There is no worse starting quarterback in the NFL right now than Lock. The Seahawks acquired the former second-round pick in the deal that sent Wilson to the Denver Broncos and, despite rumours linking them with Baker Mayfield, look set to roll with Lock as their starter for the 2022 season. If that’s the case, so be it, but the Seahawks will be in for a tough year.
Lock played in 24 games for the Broncos in three seasons, completing just 59.3 percent of his passes, throwing 25 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Physically, Lock is capable. He can move around the pocket, has a decent arm, and is pretty mobile. But he’s struggled with so much of what separates NFL talent from…non-NFL talent.
His decision-making is erratic at best and his pocket presence is virtually non-existent, meaning that he just doesn’t have the knack to feel pressure. As a result he was sacked on 7.5 percent of his dropbacks last season, per Pro Football Reference. Not good. But luckily for the Seahawks, this will likely be a temporary solution.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @tvalentinesport