The start of a new league year is a time of transformation. It gives hope to the teams coming off of a tough season. It brings stress to teams in salary cap Hell. But more than anything it brings joy to people like me, who are fascinated by the chess board that is the National Football League.
There is not a single team in the NFL without at least one need. Some teams like the Jaguars, Bears and Texans have quite a few more needs than the Bills, Packers or Rams; but no team is infallible. This period between the NFL Combine and free agency is arguably the most important time in the league year for teams. Your entire franchise can change for the better or worse with a savvy draft evaluation or money well spent on a free agent.
Over the course of a few articles, we here at MIP will be covering teams “wishlists” for the offseason. How all 32 franchises should be attacking their offseason to maximize their potential for success. In this first edition of NFL Wishlist, we’re journeying into the west.
The NFC west is arguably the strongest divisions in the league. But as I stated, none of the 4 teams are without flaw. Not even the defending Super Bowl champions.
Los Angeles Rams
Despite the people of Los Angeles not realizing it, the Rams took home their second Lombardi in franchise history; the first in L.A. While it’s hard to poke holes in a team less than a month removed from a Super Bowl, they certainly have a few positions where they could afford to get better.
Without a first round pick, moved in the Matthew Stafford trade; L.A will need to hit on their mid-round picks and spend their limited cap space wisely to have a chance at repeating.
Needs
Offensive Line
3/5ths of their offensive line from the big game could also be gone. Andrew Whitworth will be hanging his cleats up after nearly two decades. Center Brian Allen and right guard Austin Corbett are both free agents. Joseph Noteboom, their top backup; stepped in admirably in relief of Whitworth this season. He is also going to be hitting free agency and will likely be courted with deals bigger than The Rams can afford to give.
Edge Rusher
Both of The Rams big mid season acquisitions in Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller are scheduled to hit the open market. Having Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Van Jefferson makes Beckham’s potential departure a pretty easy pill to swallow. The same can not be said for losing Von Miller.
Miller, despite being acquired at mid season posted the third highest sack total on the team this past year. While it’s easy to generate pressure with Aaron Donald commanding triple teams, the Rams can’t go into next season with just Donald and Leonard Floyd and expect to get consistent pressure on the QB.
Cornerback
When you have Jalen Ramsey, arguably the best corner in the NFL; it’s easy to forget you there’s still two other wide receivers that need covering. Darious Williams has been a consistent and steady presence for The Rams opposite Ramsey the last two seasons. He is another member of the team hitting free agency this offseason. They will need to address CB2 in either the draft or free agency.
San Francisco 49ers
The Niners started off slow this year. Coming off a 2020 season with tons of injuries, it seemed that they were in for more of the same. They lost Mike McGlinchey, Raheem Mostert, Jason Verrett, George Kittle, Robbie Gould, Dre Greenlaw, and Javon Kinlaw for significant amounts of time. They limped their way to a 3-5 record at the halfway mark of the season, before taking off like a rocket down the stretch going 7-2 to close the season; coming within one score of their 2nd NFC title in three years.
There are tons of questions about what they will be doing at quarterback. Will they stick with Jimmy G, hand the rock to young Trey Lance or make a big splash for Aaron Rodgers?? There’s already enough talk about that out there so we will leave that alone for redundancies sake.
Needs
Cornerback
If there was a weak spot on the 49ers defense last year it was certainly the secondary. Demeco Ryans had his players overachieving, but at times their weakness at corner came back to bite them, especially early in the season. While they surprisingly were top 10 in passing yards allowed, they were bottom 10 in passer rating allowed and interceptions. Unfortunately, as talented as Jason Verrett is, he can’t shake the injury bug. Without a first round draft pick, the 49ers are lucky this is a relatively deep class of corners.
Offensive Guard
Trent Williams just came off one of the most impressive seasons by a lineman ever. PFF ranked his season as the best they’ve ever graded for an offensive tackle. As strong as they are at tackle with Williams and Mike McGlinchey; they’re just as weak at guard. Laken Tomlinson is the only starting caliber guard on the roster, and he is an impending free agent. I could see them making a move in the trade market or drafting a guard with one of their day two picks in the coming NFL Draft.
Edge Rusher
Nick Bosa is one of the most formidable defensive players in the NFL, but besides him the 49ers are lacking in edge rushers. Their investment in Dee Ford has not gone according to plan. The former Chief has only played in 17 games in three years and registered a paltry 9.5 sacks in that time. If San Fran can get Bosa a running mate they will be keeping opposing offensive coordinators up at night. This is a great draft to go after edge rushers with nine of them in my top 50 prospects.
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle is in football purgatory at the moment. Russell Wilson is unsure of his future with the team. Pete Carroll is the oldest coach in pro football. A once profound defense has been reduced to a shell of its former self. To top it all off the Seahawks have no first round draft pick.
Coming off the worst season of the Wilson/Carroll era; the Seahawks have a ton of holes to fill if they want to have a team that will keep Russ around. The team is relatively devoid of talent outside of wide receiver so a full rebuild may be on the menu in Seattle.
Since Russ, Lockett, Metcalf and Wagner are all still on the roster let’s do this exercise assuming they’re all still in the Pacific Northwest this September.
Needs
Offensive Line
Seattle had the 25th ranked offensive line this season according to Pro Football Focus. Duane Brown was their best lineman this past season. He is 37 years old, declining rapidly and a free agent. The rest of the offensive line is pedestrian at best, if they wanna keep Russ around the franchise has to show that they’re willing to protect him. While incredibly durable, he is no spring chicken and needs some protection as his mobility starts to decline.
Cornerback
Seattle surrendered the 2nd most pass yards in the NFL and allowed the 6th highest completion percentage on the year. They ranked dead last in slot coverage according to PFF. The Legion of Boom is distant memory now. It’s hard to win games when you’re constantly trying to play catch-up. Not even a future hall of fame quarterback can win a ton of games under those circumstances.
Defensive Line
Seattle finished in the bottom 10 for sacks, and finished 20th in pass rush win rate. They had tons of trouble getting after opposing quarterbacks, which certainly did not help their already porous secondary. If they are rebuilding the team there aren’t many places better to start than in the trenches. If they decide to run it back with Russ and Co. bolstering the defense is a good way to help Seattle be contenders once more.
Arizona Cardinals
Arizona was the best team in the NFL for the first 2/3rds of the season. After a 10-2 start they limped into the playoffs on a 1-4 skid. It’s not surprising to see a young, inexperienced team afflicted by injuries lose steam; but it appeared the wheels fell off entirely. Despite their late season struggles Arizona managed to finish top 10 in both total offense and defense; so there’s reason to hope last year can be a learning experience.
Kyler Murray isn’t exactly pleased with the franchise right now. So the Cardinals making the right moves to make their young franchise quarterback happy is of utmost importance. There aren’t tons of glaring holes on the roster but there’s always room to improve.
Needs
Cornerback
The Cardinals weren’t horrendous at the corner spot last year. Their cornerback unit finished 20th in the NFL according to PFF, so slightly below average. Most of that production was due to Byron Murphy Jr. having a fantastic year; but he is best suited in the slot. This is a pretty top heavy Cornerback class in the NFL Draft and free agency so the it may take a sizable investment to make any real improvement at outside corner.
Tight End
While the first thing you think of in regards to Arizonas needs may not be tight end, it’s certainly a position they should look to address this off-season. Zach Ertz was a welcomed addition to the passing game after acquiring him from the Philadelphia Eagles. He put up 574 yards on 56 receptions, despite Kyler Murray missing a month of action.
Maxx Williams has been a virtual non factor in his three seasons with the club, missing 19 games in the last two seasons. When he was on the field he was less than impressive posting only 497 yards and 3 touchdowns in 30 games played in Arizona.
With the ever growing importance of the tight end position in NFL passing games as well as Ertz and Williams both scheduled to hit the open market; Arizona would be wise to address the position this off-season.