Los Angeles Rams

Sean McVay is one of the best coaches in the NFL and for the first time in quite a while he didn’t lose either of his coordinators in the off season. OC Mike LaFleur and DC Chris Shula return and will look to build on the successes of last season and plug the holes they had.  The Rams were a tough out in the playoffs last season and they are hoping to push themselves even farther this year. 

QB Matthew Stafford flirted with leaving this off season as he looked for more certainty in his contract and the team debated the idea of trying to get younger at QB.  Eventually, both sides realized they were better off together and they agreed to a reasonable extension.  Stafford can still have some good years left and the team will look to manage his workload to keep him healthy.  He has been dealing with a back issue throughout camp and that could be a concern.

They did cut ties with Stafford favorite WR Cooper Kupp as his age has been catching up to him.  They still have Puka Nacua who took over Kupp’s WR1 role last year and he looks like he’s not slowing down. They needed a running mate for him and someone to fill the X receiver role instead of someone who was duplicative like Kupp was to Nacua.  They signed Devante Adams who is the perfect outside X receiver.  He wins one-on-one and doesn’t need to move around the formation to do so.  Also, Stafford is the best QB he’s played with since Aaron Rodgers last MVP season, that was in 2021.  I’m not completely sure why but McVay likes Tutu Atwell as his third receiver so we will go with it.  They did draft Terrance Ferguson to give them a dynamic athlete at TE and they hope Tyler Higbee can stay healthy and, on the field, to give them some two-TE sets. 

RB Kyren Williams is the unsung hero of McVay’s offense.  There are not a lot of RBs who get 300 carries in a season anymore as teams generally go with a shared backfield these days.  Not McVay, he rides Williams as much as just about any coach.  There were only six backs with 300+ carries last year and the only two who had more than Williams were Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry.  Williams didn’t have the per carry average of those two but his offensive line wasn’t as good either. 

The offensive line can be good as a group but everyone has to be healthy and playing their best.  LT Alaric Jackson is dealing with blood clot issues to start training camp but is starting to work out already.  LG Steve Avila started last year playing center but was moved back to guard, he’s better there.  Beaux Limmer stepped in at center and played well enough but the team did re-sign veteran Coleman Shelton and it seems they are going with Shelton, I’m guessing Bears’ fans would advise against that.  RG Kevin Dotson has a big contract and can be very good.  RT Rob Havenstein is an aging veteran they are trying to squeeze every last ounce out of before they have to replace him.  This line is on the razor’s edge; they don’t have much depth if the five starters aren’t healthy or are struggling.  This line is “good enough” but they barely meet that threshold.   

Chris Shula took over the defense last year and did as good of a job as anyone could reasonably expect with a young defensive front, a suspect LB corps, and a secondary you can’t expect much out of. The team drafted a pair of Florida St. defenders in the first two rounds last year and it worked.  OLB Jared Verse was great and provided the outside pass rush they needed. He’s a power rusher who dominates at the point of attack and crushes the pocket.  DL Braden Fiske was the 3-4 DE they needed up front and he was good too. DL Kobie Turner has been excellent for his first two years in the league but this line was missing something, a dynamic run stuffer.  Bobby Brown III was fine but they upgraded when they stole Poona Ford from the Chargers.  Ford doesn’t look like the typical NT since he’s 5’11 310 lbs. but he’s a beast in the middle of a three-man line.  He will improve the run defense himself. OLB Byron Young is a good complementary speed rusher opposite Verse.

The Rams seem to have an aversion to good ILBs.  Former undrafted free agent Omar Speights will start at one ILB spot, he’s okay.  For now, it looks like former Falcon Nate Landman, another former undrafted free agent, will be the other guy.  Fifth-round pick Chris Paul Jr. out of Ole Miss seemed like a potential sleeper but clearly he was too good for them because they cut him.

The Rams secondary returns unchanged and that’s one of the bigger mysteries of the off season.  Did the Rams not watch their secondary last year?  CB Darious Williams is their top CB with Ahkello Witherspoon the other outside guy and Quentin Lake as the nickel.  This felt like an area they would address in the off season and they didn’t.  They picked up Emmanuel Forbes after the Commanders cut him last season, and he’s a former first-round pick, but he’s been terrible in his career.  There was some thought they would look to trade for former Ram Jalen Ramsey when Miami was looking to dump him but he got traded to Pittsburgh instead.  Kam Curl and Kamren Kitchens are fine as a safety duo but they aren’t exactly the most dynamic.  They are not the problem in the secondary and I shouldn’t lump them in with the underwhelming CB group. 

Seattle Seahawks

Mike Macdonald is an excellent defensive coach and with the players he has on that side of the ball, he could really raise the play there.  His first OC was Ryan Grubb and it didn’t go well, he decided to replace him after one year with Klink Kubiak.  Kubiak brings the Shanahan offense with him and it should be a great fit with the guys they have on offense.  However, the biggest change isn’t the offensive coordinator it’s the QB.

The team traded Geno Smith to the Raiders and signed Sam Darnold coming off his career resurgent season in Minnesota.  Darnold operated a similar offensive system last year with Kevin O’Connell and now he’ll get the Kubiak version of the offense.  It fits him well but he won’t have the same level of talent around him in the passing game as he had with the Vikings.  WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a very good player who is ascending but he’s not in the same class as Justin Jefferson.  He can be a #1 WR for sure but he’s a step below.  Cooper Kupp is 31-year-old WR but he might as well be 35 with all the punishment his body has taken and the injuries he’s dealt with.  They hope he’s got at least one good year left in him.  They signed Marqez Valdes-Scantling who played for Kubiak in New Orleans last season to be the downfield threat but they cut him at the end of the preseason.  Fifth-round WR Tory Horton got off to an excellent start in camp and he beat out MVS.  Horton is a truly talented player who had some unfortunate injury luck in his college career, if he’s healthy, he’s really good.  At TE, the team cut Noah Fant right before training camp and they will go with AJ Barner, a very good blocker, and rookie Elijah Arroyo, he’ll be the more dynamic weapon.

One player who should really benefit from the new offensive system is RB Kenneth Walker III.  The Shanahan offense is a zone based running scheme and Walker should find more holes to exploit and his burst and acceleration will be a great match.  That’s assuming Walker stays healthy, that’s been an issue for him.  Luckily for the Seahawks, Zach Charbonnett has looked excellent in the preseason.

 The entire offense is designed to help hide the deficiencies of the offensive line, the 49ers have been doing this for years.  The Seahawks actually have some talent on the line but this system will make those guys better and hopefully hide the problems they may still have.  LT Charles Cross is a talented player and as long as he’s healthy, his athleticism should thrive in this system.  The team drafted LG Gray Zabel in round one to fill that hole and he too is a good athlete who can excel in the system.  C Olu Oluwatimi stepped in last season when their center retired mid-season and he wasn’t bad.  He’s not the strongest player at his position but again, in this offense, that’s less of an issue.  The RG position was supposed to be a battle between Anthony Bradford and Christian Haynes but Bradford wins by default as Haynes went on IR.  RT Abe Lucas is a talented player who just needs to get healthy and stay that way. When he plays, he’s pretty good, he just misses far too many games and they don’t have any OT depth to speak of. 

Mike Macdonald can get the best out of this defense no matter who plays but the front office is trying to give him some real players to work with.  DE Leonard Williams was awesome last season and while he’s no spring chicken, he should have some good years left.  DE Jarran Reed is also aging but he’s rock solid.  They need second-year man Byron Murphy II to be the playmaker he was in college on the interior of the line.  He and Williams could be a devastating duo up front. 

This team needed pass rush help on the edge and signed Demarcus Lawrence from Dallas, he’s definitely not what he once was but he’s still solid. They would really love it if Uchenna Nwosu would get healthy on the other side but he’s already hurt in camp.  They have some depth with Derik Hall and Boye Mafe so they aren’t completely screwed by Nwosu’s injury.  The ILB were awful last year until they traded for Ernest Jones IV mid-season.  Macdonald needs a good ILB to run his defense and Jones is just that guy.  He stabilized the defense and now they hope he can elevate it in his second year.  Tyrice Knight was a solid partner for Jones but he’s still developing. 

The secondary has a chance to be one of the better secondaries in the league if a couple of things fall right.  CB Riq Woolen has an incredibly high ceiling but he can be very inconsistent.  He has the size and physical tools to be a Pro Bowler, now he just has to play like it.  Devon Witherspoon can play the other outside CB spot but his best spot is the nickel.  If Josh Jobe could hold down the second outside CB spot, that would allow Witherspoon to be the nickel and they could unleash him.  The X factor is second round safety Nick Emmanwori.  He’s one of the most athletic players you’ll ever see but his best spot is up for debate.  The Seahawks have been having him concentrate on learning the nickel spot because they have two good starting safeties.  SS Julian Love and FS Cobe Bryant are a very underrated duo. If the team can unlock Emmanwori and leave Witherspoon at outside CB or get one of the outside CBs to step up so Witherspoon is the nickel, this unit could be elite under Macdonald.   

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers had the season from hell last year with injuries all over the place to go along with some poor personnel moves over the years finally adding up.  The coaching staff had also had plenty of turnover and Kyle Shanahan didn’t do a great job of filling the holes last season.  There’s some turnover again, mostly on the defensive side, where it was badly needed.  Robert Saleh returns to the team as defensive coordinator after his tenure as the Jets head coach ended mid-season last year.  He’s an excellent defensive mind and has made some noted changes to get the defense back on track.  Shanahan is still one of the smartest offensive minds in the game but he did promote Klay Kubiak to offensive coordinator to acknowledge the job he’s doing.  Shanahan will still call plays but Kubiak is an important voice in the room.

QB Brock Purdy finally got his new contract extension this off season and it’s a big one.  Now the pressure is on him because the team needs him to raise the level of the play around him as his supporting cast is changing. The team traded Deebo Samuel who was a reliable target for Purdy.  WR Brandon Aiyuk is still rehabbing from a major knee injury and it’s not certain when he’ll be ready.  WR Jauan Jennings wants a new contract and he’s banged up.  That leaves an unproven Ricky Pearsall as the most reliable WR.  The other WRs they have are Russell Gage, who hasn’t been healthy in years and Skyy Moore, a former Chiefs bust.  Luckily, Purdy does still have TE George Kittle who had a great season last year.  He’s getting a bit older but doesn’t look to be slowing down just yet. 

The running game is always good under Shanahan and he proved that last year using Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo in place of Christian McCaffrey when he was hurt.  That said, the running game is a lot better if McCaffrey is healthy.   He’s still one of the most dynamic playmakers in football.  He’s 29 and he’s had a lot of touches in his career so they need to manage his workload to keep him healthy. They traded Jordan Mason in the off season and then saw a number of injuries at RB so they made a brilliant trade to get Brian Robinson Jr. from Washington.  He’s going to be a key piece of the offense to keep McCaffrey healthy.   

Shanahan’s offense is known for making the offensive line better than the sum of its parts and they are really putting that to the test.  LT Trent Williams will be 38 this year and he took some time off for personal reasons last season, he’s not going to be around forever.  They let LG Aaron Banks leave in free agency, it was smart not to pay him what the Packers are paying him, but they don’t have great replacement options. Ben Bartch is penciled in for now.  C Jake Brendel is fine but not great.  RG Dominic Puni played well for them as a rookie last year, it would be nice if he continues to develop. The problem is he was hurt in camp and his return is unknown. RT Colton McKivitz is somehow still the starter there.  They also lost OT Jaylon Moore to an overpay by the Chiefs in free agency but that means they have no depth on this line at all.  This line is one Trent Williams injury away from being very bad. 

The defense gets a makeover on the coaching staff and they didn’t stop there.  The 49ers were awful up front on defense last year as it was basically DE Nick Bosa and a bunch of guys you didn’t want starting.  They started the makeover with the draft taking DE Mykel Williams in round one.  He’s not a great pass rusher but he’s an excellent run defender already and he’ll start.  The run defense was terrible so they didn’t stop with Williams. At DT they have Jordan Elliot but they drafted Alfred Collins and CJ West in rounds two and four respectively in the draft.  Collins and West are going to be big for them whether they start or not.  GM John Lynch pulled off one more move to help up front.  He made a trade to get Bryce Huff from the Eagles as a designated pass rusher.  Huff was a bad free agent signing for the Eagles last year but he played well under Saleh in New York and should fill a need here. 

MLB Fred Warner is still one of the best in the league but he’s working with an unproven group around him.  Dee Winters was a sixth-round pick in the 2023 who stepped in when Dre Greenlaw was hurt last season but doesn’t have much experience. The other likely LB is rookie third-round pick Nick Martin.  He’s fast but a little undersized and has no experience. Saleh has his work cut out for him with this group but even more so with the secondary. 

At CB, Deommodore Lenoir will have to step into the CB1 spot with Charvarius Ward leaving for Indy.  He’s a good player but it’s a big step up for him.  Renardo Green was solid as a rookie but now he’s moving up the depth chart too.  They are also counting on rookie Upton Stout to be the slot corner.  The safety spot is also beat up.  Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha are supposed to be the starters but both are injured and Mustapha starts the year on the PUP list. For now, it’s rookie Marques Sigle, a fifth-round pick and Jason Pinnock, a career backup.  It could get ugly fast if they don’t get pressure up front. 

Arizona Cardinals

This will be year three for head coach Jonathan Gannon, OC Drew Petzing, and DC Nick Rallis and it’s time to take a step forward.  The offense should have consistency at least with almost no turnover in personnel.  They are looking for development from the young guys and for Kyler Murray to step up.  On defense they needed a lot of help and they made some major upgrades in personnel, especially on the front. 

QB Kyler Murray is going into his seventh year in the league and he needs to take a step forward if this offense is going to succeed.  Last year was his first full year in the offense after missing the first half of 2023 coming off a knee injury.  He had 11 interceptions last season and that’s a little high considering he only had 21 TDs.  It’s on Murray to find ways to improve because the team didn’t get him any real help, they are running it back on offense. 

Marvin Harrison Jr. didn’t have a great season as a rookie but contrary to some opinions, he wasn’t bad.  WR Michael Wilson is probably the WR2 with Greg Dortch set to be the slot guy.  It’s not a great group and veteran Zay Jones is the next guy.  TE Trey McBride did have a breakout season last year as he lived up to his talent.  He’s the top target although they would like to get Harrison to be that guy.

The running game was effective last year with James Connor leading the way.  Connor is a solid back but they hope to get Trey Benson more involved to add a more dynamic element to the run game.  The offensive line isn’t teeming with great talent but they work well as a unit.  LT Paris Johnson Jr. is a good player.  C Hjalte Froholdt has turned into a competent center.  LG Evan Brown returns after a decent year while RG Isaiah Adams steps in full-time at RG.  RT Jonah Williams missed most of last season and they hope to have him back this year.  They don’t have depth to count on so they need these guys to be healthy. 

The defensive front has undergone a major revamp.  Veterans DE Calais Campbell and DT Dalvin Tomlinson were signed to give the front some much needed heft and consistency.  Add in the return of last year’s first-round pick Darius Robinson and you have a whole new look up front.  They also drafted Walter Nolen III in round one this year but he’s injured to start the year.  Pushing guys like Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols to backup roles also helps the depth up front. 

They also spent big to get themselves a new pass rusher in Josh Sweat.  He is coming off a good year in Philadelphia where he once played for Jonathan Gannon.  OLB Baron Browning should start opposite Sweat with BJ Ojulari eventually returning from injury as the third guy.  LB Zaven Collins has been a pass rusher for a few years but the team is also looking at him back at ILB where he played early in his career.  The have Mack Wilson returning at one ILB spot and then they signed Akeem Davis-Gaither as the new running mate inside.  They aren’t a dynamic duo but they are a solid pair.   

The secondary has some nice pieces but besides FS Budda Baker they lack top-end talent.  Or at least they did until round two of the draft when they stole CB Will Johnson.  They have needed a CB1 for a few a while and Will Johnson had some injury history and some speed questions that had him fall to round two of the draft.  He’s a massive steal and he’s looked awesome in camp and should be their top CB immediately.  Max Melton is their second-year guy who can be the CB2 with Garrett Williams as the nickel guy.  That’s a decent trio to go to work with.  Baker teams with SS Jalen Thompson who is an underrated player.  The secondary could be good if the team can get a pass rush up front to help them out.