San Francisco 49ers
Strength: The 49ers have some very good players at key positions, such as George KIttle, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams. The player that I think is the biggest difference maker on this team is Nick Bosa. He had 16 sacks and 4 forced fumbles last year. What is incredible about that sack total is he was able to reach that total while being double teamed most games and being schemed for by the opposing OCs.
Weakness: The interior of their offensive line is the weakness of this team. Their Tackles are good, but their Guards and Center leave a lot to be desired. The projected starting lineup is Aaron Banks, Daniel Brunskill and Jaylon Moore. Banks saw very limited playing time last year and only played week 11. Moore played in 5 games last year, which isn’t much more. Brunskill played every week and finished the season ranked in the bottom half of the league.
Arizona Cardinals
Strength: James Conner was an absolute beast last year for this team. He was tied for 2nd most rushing TDs in the NFL last year with 15 TDs. He added 3 more receiving TDs to that tally for a total of 18 TDs on the season. He is an underrated receiving threat out of the backfield. During a season when Hopkins had a rare down year, Conner stepped it up and was a real attribute for this team.
Weakness: The starting CBs for the Arizona Cardinals are not very good. Marco Wilson is ranked 109 out of 116 CBs in the NFL. He was targeted 68 times and allowed 50 receptions last year. On the other side Byron Murphy Jr. is ranked 80 out of 116. Byron was targeted 80 times and allowed 53 receptions. These CBs combine to be in the bottom quarter of the league.
Los Angeles Rams
Strength: Aaron Donald. We should all enjoy watching Donald play this game. He is a generational talent that doesn’t come along that often. He has been the highest rated defensive lineman since 2015 for good reason. He led the league with 15 sacks and 4 forced fumbles last season. In the last 4 seasons his lowest sack total was 14 sacks, which speaks to his consistency.
Weakness: I think the biggest weakness the Rams have is at the RB position. They have been struggling at the RB position since they lost Gurley. Their current projected starting RB is Cam Akers. Last year he missed significant time due to injury. As if that wasn’t concerning enough there are a slew of journey men RBs behind him with no clear leader of the group. I think it is risky to go into the season with this group of RBs on your roster.
Seattle Seahawks
Strength: Their starting WRs Metcalf and Lockett are a dynamic duo. Most teams in the NFL would be thrilled to have one of these WRs on their roster, much less both. Lockett had 73 receptions for 1175 yards and 8 TDs. Metcalf finished the season with 75 receptions, 967 yards and 12 TDs. The Seahawks have a lot of holes on their roster, but their top two WRs are not a weakness.
Weakness: The Seahawks have been lucky to have a tremendous QB for years. After the trade that sent WIlson to the Broncos they are going to see a massive dropoff at that position. Drew Lock is favored right now to start for the Seahawks and he has not proven to be a starting QB in the NFL thus far in his career. He was a 2nd round pick in 2019 out of Missouri. In 2020 he was a starter for Denver and recorded 2933 yards, 16TDs and 15 INTs in a sixteen game season. Those are hardly numbers that should excite anyone.