1. Seattle Seahawks: They were able to claim this division for the first time since 2016. In back to back years, we’ve seen Russell Wilson start off fast. The MVP talks start up and he’s the favorite to run away with the award. Then, he hits a bump in the road and begins to struggle. One of the biggest wins for the Seahawks in the off-season was the resigning of Tyler Lockett. He’s a key part of the Seattle offense. What’s been holding the Seahawks back the last few seasons has been their defense. I still remember when that was their strong point. There was a time last year when they were beginning to come around and play better. Just imagine if the Seattle offense with Metcalf had the Legion of Boom defense. That’s a scary thought to process.
2. Los Angeles Rams: For the first time since 2018, they were a playoff team in 2020. The Rams had the best defense in the league last season. They also have two of the best defensive players in the game in Jalen Ramsey and of course, Aaron Donald who won his third defensive MVP in four seasons. Aaron joined J.J. Watt and Lawrence Taylor as one of the three men to win the award three times. I really enjoyed watching Cam Akers for the offense. When the Rams run the football, they’re a tough out. This offense will have a new signal caller under center. Matthew Stafford was acquired by the Rams for Jared Goff. Stafford comes in with nice weapons around him including a running game to lean on and a stingy defense. Something he never had much of in Detroit.
3. Arizona Cardinals: I thought they were a playoff team at one point. Kyler Murray was playing at a high level and DeAndre Hopkins was still that number one receiver. What hurt the Cardinals was their inconsistency. It appeared as if they just didn’t show up after “Hail Murray” in 2020. Their defense took a hit when Chandler Jones was lost for the season due to injury. Not only will Chandler be back, J.J. Watt will also join him. The Cardinals signed the free agent defensive end in March. On the offensive side, the Cardinals signed A.J. Green to a free agent contract. The million dollar question right now is will Larry Fitzgerald come back for another year? Only time will tell.
4. San Francisco 49ers: After winning the NFC the year before, 2020 wasn’t kind to the San Francisco 49ers. They were the definition of banged up. In week two, San Fran lost both Solomon Thomas and Nick Bosa for the year with torn ACL’s, Deebo Samuel was in and out of the line up with injuries, George Kittle struggled to stay healthy and Jimmy Garoppolo also missed time. It’s never easy when a chunk of your team is sidelined. When they’re healthy, they’re a tough out for many teams. One of my favorite players is back and that’s Fred Warner. After trading up to the third pick, the Niners drafted Trey Lance as their quarterback of the future.
2021 Predictions
1. Rams (12-5)
2. Seahawks (11-6)
3. 49ers (10-7)
4. Cardinals (8-9)
This is a very intriguing division. I could make a case for either team to win this race. I’m leaning towards the Los Angeles Rams to claim the NFC West for the third time under Sean McVay. I see Stafford letting the ball spin all over the field in this offense. He also won’t have to do as much because he can lean on that running game. I also don’t see this defense missing a beat. If they can stay healthy, this will be the biggest threat to the Buccaneers in the NFC.
