We covered the NFC East and North earlier in the week, and we now shift to the current home of the Super Bowl trophy: The NFC West. The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams were arguably the two best teams in football last season, and both have spent the offseason trying to strengthen already dangerous rosters.
Arizona and San Francisco are much harder to figure out.
The Cardinals are diving headfirst into a rebuild after a major quarterback change, though some of their draft decisions raised eyebrows. The 49ers drew similar criticism for their draft approach, but they were aggressive in free agency while trying to push back into the playoff picture quickly.
Let’s take a look at each NFC West team and where things stand entering training camp.
Los Angeles Rams
Key Additions:
QB: Ty Simpson (Round 1)
TE: Max Klare (Round 2)
OT: Keagen Trost (Round 3)
C: Logan Jones (Round 2)
LS: Joe Cardona (Free Agency)
CB: Trent McDuffie (Trade)
CB: Jaylen Watson (Free Agency)
Key Departures:
WR: Tutu Atwell (Dolphins)
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo (Current Free Agent)
OT: DJ Humphries (Current Free Agent)
CB: Ahkello Witherspoon (Commanders)
CB: Roger McCreary (Lions)
EDGE: Nick Hampton (Panthers)
It’s been a relatively quiet stretch for the Rams in terms of sheer roster turnover. There haven’t been many major departures, and LA mostly chose targeted upgrades instead of massive roster reshuffling.
In reality, the Rams made their biggest noise through trades and the draft. Trading for proven talent has become standard operating procedure under Sean McVay and Les Snead. Drafting and developing? That’s been a little less consistent.
Holding two first-round picks, the Rams made a classic McVay move by sending the later selection to Kansas City for Trent McDuffie. It was a smart trade. McDuffie is already one of the league’s better cornerbacks, and pairing him with Jaylen Watson gives the Rams far more flexibility defensively. LA should feel comfortable dialing up pressure packages without worrying as much about exposing the secondary.
The draft, however, was far more divisive.
The Ty Simpson selection is clearly a long-term play, and many fans viewed it as a reach. There’s some merit to that criticism, but this also feels like the Rams borrowing from Green Bay’s approach of securing a potential successor before the current quarterback leaves.
Simpson may not project as a top-tier prospect, but this quarterback class lacked depth beyond the top names, meaning the Rams likely felt it was necessary to act early if they believed he could eventually become the answer.
The Max Klare pick is harder to defend. The Rams have spent years stockpiling tight ends, and now they’ve used another premium pick on a player who currently slots behind multiple established options. Klare could absolutely climb the depth chart, but it’s fair to question whether that selection best supports a roster still trying to maximize Matthew Stafford’s remaining window.
Ironically, Keagen Trost may end up becoming the rookie with the quickest impact. He has a legitimate shot to beat out Warren McClendon Jr. at right tackle immediately.
Overall, I like what the Rams accomplished outside the draft, and I’m more comfortable with the Simpson pick than most. LA didn’t overhaul the roster, but the moves they did make largely improved the team.
Grade: B+
Seattle Seahawks
Key Additions:
RB: Jadarian Price (Round 1)
RB: Emanuel Wilson (Free Agency)
OC: Brian Fleury
EDGE: Dante Fowler Jr. (Free Agency)
CB: Noah Igbinoghene (Free Agency)
CB: Julian Neal (Round 3)
S: Bud Clark (Round 2)
S: Rodney Thomas II (Free Agency)
Key Departures:
RB: Kenneth Walker III (Chiefs)
WR: Dareke Young (Raiders)
OC: Klint Kubiak (Raiders)
EDGE: Boye Mafe (Bengals)
CB: Riq Woolen (Eagles)
S: Coby Bryant (Bears)
The Seahawks came out of nowhere last season to win the Super Bowl. Mike Macdonald entered the year viewed as a fringe playoff coach at best, while Sam Darnold was still trying to prove he belonged as a long-term starter.
Now expectations have completely changed.
Unfortunately for Seattle, success comes with consequences. The Seahawks lost multiple key contributors not long after the confetti fell, especially in the secondary. Riq Woolen’s departure wasn’t shocking after some inconsistent play and questionable on-field decisions, but losing Coby Bryant stings far more.
Seattle responded aggressively.
The Seahawks added Noah Igbinoghene while also investing premium draft capital into Bud Clark and Julian Neal. Clark has a real opportunity to beat out Ty Okada at free safety, while Neal should immediately factor into the rotation.
Up front, Seattle may have quietly improved. Boye Mafe became expendable, and Dante Fowler Jr. could easily outperform expectations in Macdonald’s system. The Seahawks should still generate consistent pressure.
The offense is where things become trickier.
Kenneth Walker capped off a massive season by winning Super Bowl MVP before heading to Kansas City. Seattle simply couldn’t match that market. In response, the Seahawks drafted Jadarian Price, who brings explosiveness but also durability concerns.
Seattle also lost offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak after he accepted the head coaching job in Las Vegas, and that change could end up being one of the biggest blows any contender suffered this spring. Kubiak played a massive role in elevating Darnold, Walker and Jaxon Smith-Njigba throughout Seattle’s championship run, and replacing that kind of offensive architect is never easy. That responsibility now falls on Brian Fleury, who steps into one of the NFL’s toughest coordinator jobs with enormous expectations attached to it.
Seattle dealt with plenty of adversity this offseason, but the organization largely anticipated the damage and acted quickly to stabilize the roster.
Grade: B
Arizona Cardinals
Key Additions:
RB: Jeremiyah Love (Round 1)
QB: Carson Beck (Round 3)
WR: Kendrick Bourne (Free Agency)
G: Isaac Seumalo (Free Agency)
OT: Elijah Wilkinson (Free Agency)
OL: Chase Bisontis (Round 2)
HC: Mike LaFleur
NT: Roy Lopez (Free Agency)
Key Departures:
QB: Kyler Murray (Vikings)
WR: Greg Dortch (Lions)
G: Evan Brown (Texans)
HC: Jonathan Gannon
S: Jalen Thompson (Cowboys)
DL: Dalvin Tomlinson (Chargers)
DL: Calais Campbell (Ravens)
LB: Akeem Davis-Gaither (Colts)
Jonathan Gannon’s firing was one of the more surprising coaching moves of the cycle. Many expected him to enter the season on the hot seat, but very few expected Arizona to move on immediately given the state of the roster.
Now Mike LaFleur gets his first opportunity as a head coach after spending years working within the Sean McVay coaching tree. Whether he can replicate his brother Matt’s success remains to be seen, but Arizona clearly wanted a fresh offensive direction.
From a roster perspective, the Cardinals focused heavily on short-term veteran help while also taking major swings in the draft.
Isaac Seumalo should stabilize the offensive line, while Elijah Wilkinson projects more as depth than a true long-term answer. Kendrick Bourne may honestly be the most impactful veteran addition, which says a lot about where this roster currently stands.
The most fascinating move, however, was drafting Jeremiyah Love.
Love immediately becomes one of the NFL’s highest-paid running backs because of where he was selected. The issue is Arizona already has James Conner, Trey Benson returning from injury, and Tyler Allgeier arriving on a fairly sizable contract.
Love absolutely has elite talent, but the roster fit is questionable.
Then there’s Carson Beck.
Arizona appears headed toward 2026 with Jacoby Brissett penciled in as the starter after Kyler Murray’s move to Minnesota, but contract talks haven’t progressed smoothly. That leaves Beck potentially one injury or holdout away from playing meaningful snaps immediately.
Beck helped lead Miami to a surprising College Championship run, but there are still major concerns about his long-term NFL ceiling. Can he handle pressure? Will the elbow fully hold up? Nobody really knows yet.
That uncertainty is what makes Arizona’s quarterback plan feel shaky. It would have made sense for the Cardinals to build a more stable bridge before potentially throwing Beck into action.
Grade: C+
San Francisco 49ers
Key Additions:
WR: Mike Evans (Free Agency)
WR: Christian Kirk (Free Agency)
WR: De’Zhaun Stribling (Round 2)
RB: Kaelon Black (Round 3)
OT: Vederian Lowe (Free Agency)
LB: Dre Greenlaw (Free Agency)
CB: Nate Hobbs (Free Agency)
Key Departures:
WR: Kendrick Bourne (Cardinals)
WR: Jauan Jennings (Vikings)
WR: Brandon Aiyuk (Status Uncertain)
OT: Spencer Burford (Raiders)
G: Ben Bartch (Lions)
DL: Jordan Elliott (Titans)
LB: Dee Winters (Traded to Cowboys)
LS: Taylor Pepper (Dolphins)
If you’ve seen a team consistently make stranger draft decisions than San Francisco, please let me know.
The 49ers entered the spring needing an infusion of young, high-end talent after injuries derailed last season. Instead, they reached multiple times early in the draft and left plenty of analysts confused.
De’Zhaun Stribling was generally viewed as more of a Day 3 prospect with a relatively safe floor but limited upside. San Francisco selected him ahead of several receivers many expected to come off the board first.
The same applies to Kaelon Black. His projected range wasn’t especially close to where the 49ers selected him, making both picks feel more like misreads of value than calculated gambles.
Of course, draft evaluations always look different a few years later. It’s entirely possible San Francisco saw traits others missed.
Free agency, meanwhile, was outstanding.
The 49ers lost some useful pieces, particularly Jauan Jennings and Dee Winters, but they answered aggressively by bringing in Mike Evans, who is clearly an upgrade at receiver. The Brandon Aiyuk situation remains messy, though at this point it may actually become addition by subtraction considering the lack of trade interest around his contract.
Reuniting with Dre Greenlaw gives the defense an emotional and physical boost, while Vederian Lowe adds valuable tackle depth and flexibility.
San Francisco is very clearly operating in win-now mode. The draft may continue drawing criticism, but the veteran additions give this roster a real chance to push back into contention quickly.
Grade: B+
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