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Finishing up on the NFC side of things, I analyze the rosters of the Cardinals, Rams, 49ers and Seahawks, to point out the biggest areas of need for each squad with the main phase of free agency and the draft in the past.
This division is in a state of transformation, but every team still has major holes to fill.
Arizona Cardinals – Dual-duty safety
I feel like these Cardinals are not talked about enough at all. Of course, there’s a lot of change with quarterback Carson Palmer retiring, the release of versatile defensive back Tyrann Mathieu and even giving up the speedy receiver John Brown. Regardless of that, this team went 8-8 last season despite playing with their third-string QB and not having several key pieces healthy.
They get an outstanding all-around back in David Johnson, starting left tackle D.J. Humphries and guard Mike Iupati back from injury. So the ground game should already take a huge boost. Newly signed Sam Bradford has proven to be a more than capable signal-caller if healthy (which is a big if) and they have their future of the franchise in tenth overall pick Josh Rosen from UCLA.
I don’t know if the rook will be able to beat out the eight-year veteran in training camp, but either way, they should have an upgrade at the position to what they had for most of last year. I see a bigger role for second-year receiver Chad Williams and Christian Kirk will learn the nuances of the receiver position from Larry Legend.
Defensively, they return the reigning sack king in Chandler Jones, a fast LB unit and a premier corner in Patrick Peterson. I could point out a rather slim defensive line and the fact Haason Reddick only collected 2.5 sacks in his rookie campaign, but with Budda Baker taking on Tyrann Mathieu’s role of rolling into deep coverage as well as covering in the slot, the Cardinals need another versatile defensive back to bring in sub packages.
Former Browns’ cornerback Jamar Taylor was just shipped to the desert, but Arizona used more three-safety packages than any other team in the league and without Mathieu or Tyvon Branch, they probably won’t put Rudy Ford or some of those undrafted free agents on the field that much.
Los Angeles Rams – Outside linebacker
What would you say about a team, that led the league in scoring last year and added Marcus Peters, Aquib Talib and Ndamokung Suh to their defense? Did I forget to mention that their quarterback Jared Goff and play-caller Sean McVay only had their first season together, when they went back to the postseason for the first time in 13 years?
You’d think that they were going to the Super Bowl and with the way they have structured some of their contracts, their window should be right now. The Rams’ offensive line was fortified with the addition of veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth last offseason and as long as Todd Gurley keeps pounding defenses away, I don’t see how opposing defenses can really slow down their bootleg game off zone plays and creative ways of getting their playmakers the ball in space, even with a full offseason for coaches to study them.
With the acquisition of those two feisty corners I mentioned coming from the AFC West, their starting safeties and nickel all coming back, they seem set on the back-end. With all the money they spent this offseason, they had to let go of inside linebacker Alec Ogletree, but I think with undrafted rookie Tegray Scales out of Indiana, they can duplicate his man-coverage on backs and tight-ends at least to some degree.
Los Angeles has built a ridiculous interior D-line with Aaron Donald and Ndamokung Suh, but the edge rush needs some help, now that they traded Robert Quinn to Miami. Matt Longacre did a solid job for them last year, as they run more of a 5-2 on a lot of passing downs anyway, but despite having some upside, guys like Samson Ebukam, Garrett Sickels and Ejuan Price haven’t really done anything in this league yet.
Fortunately for them, Oklahoma’s Ogbonnia Okoronkwo might have been the biggest steal of the entire draft, having been one of the most productive and unique edge rushers in college football over the last two years.
San Francisco 49ers – Pass-catchers
Everything changed for this franchise when they traded for backup quarterback Jimmy Garappolo in the middle of last season. The team was 1-10 when the former Patriots QB was inserted into the starting lineup and boy did he turn things around. Jimmy GQ rattled off five straight wins, while proving command of the offense and giving his teammates hope. San Francisco’s defense is loaded with young talent, such as DeForest Buckner, Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster and others.
With Richard Sherman to go with some of their young corners, they seem to be set on the perimeter and I’d like to see Jimmie Ward move back into the slot, now that they added the rangy Tarvarius Moore out of Southern Miss in the third round of the draft. Having signed Garoppolo to a massive 137.5-million dollar contract, they need to build around their franchise investment.
The offensive line in front of him was a focus early on, signing center Weston Richburg and drafting Notre Dame tackle Mike McGlinchey with the ninth overall pick. Now it’s time to surround their new signal-caller with weapons. Garoppolo was asked to do a lot with very little last season. However, Pierre Garcon is coming back from injury as a dependable possession receiver, there seemed to be a really good connection with the quick Trent Taylor in the slot, Marquise Goodwin emerged as more than a pure deep threat and they added another speedster in Washington’s Dante Pettis by trading up in round two.
I think Pettis will make his mark primarily in the return game though and none of those guys I just mentioned is a true featured guy in the passing game. I like some of the young tight ends on the roster, especially second-year man George Kittle, but give your guy some more weapons and he will light defenses up.
Seattle Seahawks – Right tackle
I said in my draft review, that the Seahawks are in some type of rebuild or retooling process. No matter how you want to call it, I don’t think they are built to compete for championships right now. That’s why I didn’t like the selection of a running back in the first round and I think there’s no other team in the league with two more apparent positional needs.
If Earl Thomas stays in Seattle in combination with Bobby Wagner in the middle, they can build around those two guys. Offensively, it has been all Russell Wilson for the last couple of years. I understand that they want to help him out by providing a rushing attack to take some pressure off his back, but they don’t have anybody I’d be comfortable with as a second tackle to Duane Brown or as a pass-catching tight-end.
As far as right tackle goes, Germaine Ifedi and George Fant are both sub-par starters. I’ve never been very high on Ifedi. He simply isn’t under enough balance to play the position. Fant on the other hand, had a rough first year in the NFL, when he basically came straight off the court to square up against the elite edge rushers in this league and had to watch his quarterback scramble around from the sideline, with a torn ACL in his second season.
Jamarco Jones, who they were extremely lucky to grab late in the fifth round, is a promising young talent. Yet, he is more of a developmental prospect, who won’t be ready to go quite yet. Looking at the tight-end spot, after seeing Jimmy Graham leave for Green Bay, they selected Will Dissly in the third round. He might be a plan to help out on the edges in pass-protection, but he doesn’t offer much in the passing game, other than outlets and drag routes.
