Welcome to the NFC West preview. One of the oldest divisions, established way back in 1967, There have been a total of 18 Super Bowl appearances shared within the teams of this division over the years with 49ers (8), Rams (5), Seahawks (3), and Cardinals (1) of course these three later teams all won a Super Bowl title. (49ers 5, Rams 2, and Seahawks)

All of these teams have been in the thick of the NFL action if you look at recent history. Since realignment in 2002, the NFC West has undergone significant changes, with each team actively shaping and competing, in the NFL landscape. All these teams have been significant during this span with the Seahawks (9), 49ers (6), Rams (3), and Cardinals (3) each claiming three division titles over the past decade.

As each season passes, it's no coincidence that these teams will play a huge part in shaping the playoffs.

San Francisco 49ers IDP Outlook

Total Defense: 303.9 (8th)

Rushing Defense: 89.7 (3rd)

Passing Defense: 214.2 (14th)

With the exception of the regrettable Trey Lance trade in 2021, this team top to bottom has been hitting it big and landing franchise cornerstones on both sides of the ball. GM John Lynch has drafted the likes of Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuels, Brandon Aiyuk, Dre Greenlaw, and George Kittle in no particular order.  The emergence of 2022 Mr. irrelevant selection Brock Purdy, ranked 12th in Fantasy Football QBs last season, further strengthens the point at just how competent of a franchise this team is.

Coming off a 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, this is the second SB loss to the same team, roster construction is inevitable and the pressure is most certainly on now to win with these players while in this window. With any luck, they could hit big in the draft and replace some of their leaving players.

Team needs:

1. Offensive Line. draft a tackle to play RT and possibly be the LT replacement in the future. It's now the biggest problem because Colton McKivitz, Matt Pryor, Jaylon Moore, Alfredo Gutierrez, or Leroy Watson neither are the answers. More importantly, why this is the number one concern is elite LT Trent Williams is 35 years old now father time waits for no man.
2. Wide receivers might catch up to them. At the time of this writing, Brandon Aiyuk is asking to be traded. A few depth players to hit the FA market is a possibility as well.
3. Defensive backs. So we have a weird development that could turn into a problem given how wide-receiver-loaded this division is. Starting free safety Tashaun Gipson (a free agent at the time of this writing in April), and starting strong safety Talanoa Hufanga is recovering from an ACL. Not to mention the cornerbacks are not scary at all.

Defensive Line

It all starts here. Nick Bosa, the former 2022 Defensive Player Of The Year made his presence known early last season. Creating pressure and hurries but felt like the stat line left a little on the field. (see other end position)

Despite this observation, Nick Bosa still made another Pro Bowl and had 10.5 sacks on a whopping 35 QB hits! A true menace on the field looks no further than this stat line- 52 combined tackles, resulting in 16 of those tackles for a loss! Many observers consider this a down year for the elite option, which is mind-blowing so considering this to be his floor is simply unbelievable. The reality is, Bosa was still the same player averaging similar pressure rates it's just that most people look at just sacks.

Let's talk about this team's other defensive end but first here are some fun facts: This team's other edges positions which rank 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in pressure on this team (Chase Young, Randy Gregory, and Clelin Ferrell) are all free agents now so the search is on for the new replacement. Adding to this the departure of Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead certainly put more attention on this.

A sneaky depth option is Yetur Gross-Matos (4.5 sacks and 10 QB Hits), who historically lines up DL, but has slipped away to play edge as well. Look as early as last season, in the Panther's 3-4 scheme he was too small so moved to outside linebacker; as opposed to his previous years where he played 4-3 defensive end. This move at the very least gives the team flexibility in the short term.

Defensive Backs

Los Angeles Rams IDP Outlook

Total Defense 337.9 (20th)

Rushing Defense  106.8 (12th)

Passing Defense 231.1 (20th)

1. Defensive Backs. Bringing in Kamren Curl is nice but the rest of the unit looks beatable, especially on the corners.
2. Defensive Line. Does anyone else miss the recently retired Aaron Donald? I do. Adding more fuel to the fire Jonah Williams also left in free agency.
   
3. Offensive line. Left guard and Center look to need upgrades, but PFF ranked them 14th best unit. Still, make me nervous given the age of the starting QB.

Defensive Line

Here's a fun fact: Last season, the Rams allowed 4.1 yards per carry to running backs, which ranked 16th. They were also 16th in total pressure rate. Their EDGE rushers posted the league's second-worst pressure rate at 15.6% and managed the third-fewest total pressures so this is an immediate need at this position.

This corps also lost  HOF player Aaron Donald after ten seasons, going to his tenth Pro Bowl with an eight-sack season.

Kobie Turner as "just a third-round rookie pick" leads this team with nine sacks. returns following an impressive rookie campaign. The pressure rate is a bit lower than you would expect at 10.7% pressure rate but had nine stops in the running game.

(Not Whitney Houston's husband)  'Bad" Bobby Brown once again had limited playing time with 13 games last season, totaling 32 games over his first three years in the league. He is actually good against the run by the metrics when he could get on the field

Desjuan Johnson is a depth player who had a few moments as a decent pass-rusher but this team will need to add more depth and this is a draft to do it.

Linebackers

Ernest Jones leads this group with 140 tackles. You will be hard-pressed to be able to pick him now, in Dynasty leagues as he is considered a premier younger player at this position.

DL/LB Michael Hoecht (11.8 percent pressure rate) and Byron Young together contributed 14.0 sacks rotating in and out of lineups as the hybrid DL/LB edge that this team is utilizing.

Depth players Nick Hampton and Zach VanValkenburg (cool name) are just names that have not gotten any specific role at this time. The team generates runes just 1-LB coverage so don't see room for work.

Defensive Back

This is a major concern here. This unit finished 20th against passing yards and 22nd against TDs. The guy who leads this unit with 94 tackles (Fuller) left in free agency and there are question marks at cornerback too.

There is an overhaul here with three starters. Cornerback Tre'Davious White used to be considered a top shadow corner, but now has injury concerns and whether he could stay on the field will be news this season.

Darious Williams, who used to play for the Rams, returns from the Jaguars. Williams was a waiver wire discussion last season as he displayed excellent play last season, QBs dipped to 63.9 passer rating when throwing his way in coverage.

Russ Yeast played most of his snaps at Saftey last season and pencils in as the starter. He was hot and cold all season (ranked outside the top 100 per PFF in targets allowed at the Saftey position)

Kamren Curl is a free agent signing who is coming off a down year but generally is a top option in IDP for his tackling ability instead of coverage ability.

Quentin Lake (son of former Steeler's great Carnell Lake) provides good depth and sleeper potential, able to play both positions but mostly got work in the slot last season.

Summary:

I like this scrappy underdog team and dare I say it an incredibly great young coach! For this reason, this team will always be in the mix for a playoff spot but could just as easily be a .500 team. At least we know the games will be close.

Seattle Seahawks IDP Outlook

Total Defense: 371.4 (30th)

Rushing Defense 138.4 (31st)

Passing Defense 233.0 (21st)

Team needs:

1. Offensive Line center and guard could use upgrades and have free-agent questions
2. Linebacker losing Brooks and Wagner is going to be hugely missed
3. Tight End Noah Fant, Pharaoh Brown, and Brady Russell are not good here. I would not want any of these guys as my starter.

Defensive Line

Traded to the team halfway through the season, Leonard Williams only played nine games but finished 2nd with nine TFL and four sacks last season.

Jarren Reed returns for his second tour of duty with the Seahawks and finished second in sacks with seven.

Dre'Mont Jones proved he too could get after the player holding the ball with eight run stops and  4.5 sacks.

Jonathan Hankins is a depth player who is known as a run-stuffer. Also waiting to see if anything emerges out of fifth-round pick Michael Morris.

Linebacker

More fun facts. Despite losing both Brooks and Wagner, this unit was also noticeably bad still with them. They gave up an alarming 4.6 ypc (ranked 27th) then 3.1 yards after contact (30th) and a missed tackle rate of 14% (which ranks 31st) Want to fix the defense let's start here.

Tyrel Dodson is graded 90.2 per PFF and should excel with this opportunity. He is regarded as a sleeper candidate this off-season. 

After surprising the world in his rookie season, second-year player Riq Wololen also only allowed 5.4 in coverage.

Those numbers tie them for 16th amongst cornerbacks per PFF.

Michael Jackson was not a "thriller" and allowed 8.3 yards on catches, so he will need to work on this if he wants to keep his outside starting corner duty.

Julian Love has the most to gain with Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs leaving in free agency. Love is already proven, making the Pro Bowl last season, with four interceptions, ten passes defensed, and an outstanding 103 tackles.

Rayshawn Jenkins at this point in his career may be best suited in Adam's old role as closer to the line of scrimmage. PFF has him graded as a top-25 run defender.

Summary:

I am not sure if this team is coming or going, and then what to make of the firing of Pete Carrol who most believe was overachieving with what they had. Some positions are older while others are younger I guess we could expect a middle-of-the-pack record.

Arizona Cardinals IDP Outlook

Last season, Arizona utilized a very noticeable 3-man front and was in zone coverage over 60% of their defensive plays.

Obviously, teams exposed this and the team struggled often in run defense. Giving up 4.6 yards per carry to running backs, and then another another yard and a half after contact (actually it was 1.65) which ranked dead last in the entire league (143.2 rushing defense). Additionally, the Cardinals ranked 29th per ESPN's in run-stop win rate as well. Given just how bad those four stats are, this is an area that needs emphasis.

In free agency, the team focused on bolstering their defensive front by acquiring Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols, and Khyiris Tonga.

While Justin Jones (4.5 sacks) was part of the Bears' team that was number one against the run last season, the metrics don't support him as the reason however; Jones' run stop percentage (ranks 69th), and rushing stops (ranked 42nd) among qualifying defensive linemen, per PFF's. So they will have to find another that could help in this role.

Bilal Nichols, similarly, boasts solid run-stopping ability but lacks an exceptional pressure rate.

L.J. Collier is an unrestricted free agent and was hurt last season with a pectoral injury. He will be in an interested camp battle with Khiris Tonga to see who starts if he remains with the team.

Roy Lopez could be another DT factor in here to start. He was a practice squad holdover last season when the Texans waived him.

Khyiris Tonga offers support against the run but has been a rotational player in his career. He is being penciled in as a starter at the time of the writing in April.

Dante Stills gained valuable experience as a rookie but is considered a depth piece who was mostly on the practice squad this season. He did have a few waivers wire games last season so look for him to improve his game in the deepest leagues.

Linebackers

The team only achieved 18.5 sacks from this entire unit despite popular names in this group.

The Zaven Collins experience needs to stop. Collins moved to outside linebacker/edge where he continue to be mediocre achieving 3.5 sacks. This is the final year of his contract and is expected to be a starter but walk after next season. IDP owners please stop drafting him thinking he is the next best hybrid and look to the stats.

Dennis Gardeck (six sacks) emerged as the Cardinals' best rushing win rate at 18.3%, and his depth replacement Victor Dimukeje, was good enough with four sacks and a 16.8% pass rush win rate as well. He earned the right to start.

Inside linebackers Kyzir White and Josh Woods both missed six games. White, coming from Philly with Gannon, is the one to own. Kyzir White despite missing those six games had 90 tackles and nine tackles for loss.

The thought is Mack Wilson Jr. came here to be the other starter. Wilson, a free agent from the Patriots where he was a rotational player may be challenged by Kyrs Barnes. So expect a challenging Camp battle between the two this off-season.

Krys Barnes logged the highest snap count among returning linebackers and did fill in decent for the injured Kyzir White, the captain of this defense.

BJ Ojulari, was a 2nd round rookie last season and showed promise with 4 sacks, his 13.4% pressure win rate gives this team something to be hopeful about once Zach Collins is gone.

Owen Pappoe, selected in the fifth round in 2023, figures to still be a depth piece, as he did not do much as a rookie.

Defensive Back

This unit features elite safety options, but suspect play at both cornerbacks.

For a few years now,  Jalen Thompson has been an unsung here in IDP. Thompson had 78 tackles (led the team with 58 solos), five tackles for loss, a sack, four interceptions, nine pass breakups, and a forced fumble generally goes unnoticed.

Popular name Budha Baker was the only player on this team to make the Pro Bowl (his 5th straight year) despite missing five games. Baker had an odd season- with 0 sacks, 0 interceptions, and 0 FFs, he did finish with 87 tackles and 58 solos. To the untrained eye, it may look like a down year but look again.

This just goes to show you the amount of respect Baker has in the NFL, that he could still get voted in (and start) in Hawaii, playing just 12 games while not being targeted to generate impact plays. Despite being thrown away, still averaged 7.4 tackles per game.