2020 NFC West Preview
Yahoo Sports’ Senior NFL Writer Frank Schwab gives an in-depth breakdown of the division. Including team-by-team roster changes, key points of the schedule, and his over/under picks for season win totals.
Video Transcript
FRANK SCHWAB: The last two NFC representatives in the Super Bowl, the Rams and the 49ers, both came out of the NFC West. Can the Seahawks and Cardinals get closer to that goal in 2020? Let's take a team-by-team look at the NFC West, starting with the San Francisco 49ers, the defending NFC champs.
Their off season got to a little bit of a shaky start. They traded DeForest Buckner. They let Emmanuel Sanders go on free agency, as expected. But they really rallied late, trading for left tackle Trent Williams, a fine move with Joe Staley moving on in retirement, and then picking two guys in the first round-- it can really make an impact right away-- defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
49ers have a tougher schedule this year, and one part really stands out-- from week 7 through 10. The 49ers go to the Patriots, to the Seahawks, play the Packers at home, and then play at the Saints. That's a ridiculously tough four-game stretch with three really, really hard road games. The 49ers are going to have to get through that, winning at least a couple games, if they want to maintain their supremacy in the NFC West.
The over-under at BetMGM for the 49ers win total this year is 10.5. I'm going to go over, but just slightly. I do think the Super Bowl hangover is going to hit this team, but it is a very, very good, talented team, well coached by Kyle Shanahan. And I think they just barely sneak over that 10.5 win mark.
Now we move on to the Seattle Seahawks, who had a pretty quiet off season. They didn't have many moves of note. And then the draft, and they took Texas Tech linebacker Jordyn Brooks, a player most people didn't have in the first round. The Seattle Seahawks have their own methods of evaluation and had another strange draft, at least in our eyes. But it usually turns out pretty well for them.
The Seahawks schedule is highlighted by both games against the 49ers, and one in particular. We all remember last year's week 17-- that great game up in Seattle that came down to the last play. And this year, again, week 17, Seattle plays the 49ers. This one's in San Francisco. They could end up making that another NFC West championship game.
The BetMGM over-under for the Seattle Seahawks this year is 9.5. I've often been wrong about this team in the past few years, and I'm just going over. I'm not betting against Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll anymore. I think the Seattle Seahawks team is, again, going to find a way to get over that win total at 9.5.
Next, we're moving on to the Los Angeles Rams, who continue to experience a talent train. This was a bad off season for the Rams. They lost a lot of key players. Eric Weddle retired. Dante Fowler left on free agency. So did Cory Littleton. Todd Gurley was cut. Clay Matthews was cut. A lot of key pieces are gone for the Rams as they experience a salary cap crunch.
In the draft, that didn't have a first round pick. That traded that for Jalen Ramsey last year. And their first pick in the second round was running back Cam Akers, which really didn't seem to fit a position of great need for them.
The schedule for the Los Angeles Rams gets off to a hard start right away. In week 1, they open up their new stadium in Los Angeles against the Dallas Cowboys, then go on the road for tough road games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills, a couple of teams that could be in playoff contention.
At BetMGM, the Rams' over-under this season is 8.5 wins, and I just have to take the under. There still is some blue chip talent on this team, but they lost a ton, and I just can't see them being a dominant team we saw a couple of years ago. So I'll take the under on 8.5.
Finally, we get to the Arizona Cardinals, who made the biggest acquisition of the off season. That's right, the infamous trade to get DeAndre Hopkins from Houston, barely paying anything to get one of the NFL's best receivers. Then they had a big draft, nabbing Clemson "Do Everything Defender" Isaiah Simmons in the first round. Then in the third round, they grabbed offensive tackle Josh Jones, filling a huge need for them. He could probably play right away.
With the Cardinals' schedule, we're going to find out a lot about them right away. Their opener is at the San Francisco 49ers. Now, they played the 49ers well both times last year, but we all know how good this San Francisco team is. If this Arizona team has improved as much as I think, we're going to see it right away in week 1 against a very tough opponent.
The BetMGM over-under for the Cardinals win total is 6.5 this year, and I'm going over. I think Kyler Murray improves in year two. DeAndre Hopkins is an enormous addition. I like their draft. I just think this is a Cardinals team on the rise, and I think they're going to go over that 6.5.
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To recap the NFC West, I still have the 49ers in first place. I think that the Super Bowl hangover is real. It's going to hit them a little bit, but I still think they have the best roster and are going to win the division. Second place, I have Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. They always seem to outperform what I think they're going to do, and I think they're going to give the 49ers a pretty tough challenge.
After that is a Rams team that has just been depleted in the off season. And following them up is the Cardinals, who are going to be in last place, but one of the most exciting teams in the NFL this year.