Before going into this group of NFC teams and an upgrade I think they need that will help their teams. I want you to be aware that I will being doing one of these for each division and each team. Keep in mind these are my personal opinion as a casual sometime more than casual football enthusiast. However I do believe that in most cases most of you would agree with me. So enough with the chit chat and let's get into it.
Seattle Seahawks:
Starting with the Superbowl champs the whole NFC West had basically the strongest teams in the NFL. Clearly the best of the bunch were the Seahawks. And let's be honest here, this team was stacked. They were dominant on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side they ranked in the top 10 in every category. And honestly I would dare to say that Sam Darnold may be their answer as a franchise quarterback. He is still young and we know that quarterbacks are one of the positions we see players play well into their 30's; And as of lately into their early 40's. If Darnold can stay healthy and continue to perform the way that he has in the last two seasons. I will say that the Seahawks are in good hands with their quarterback.
Now their defense clearly were the strongest unit of the two sides. For crying out loud I think their nickname says it all "The Dark Side". They ranked 1st in defense and across the board as well. They were a force to reckon with. When I look at a team like this it's hard to think how can they get better. Now there are key pieces that are going to end up as free agents. Whether or not the Seahawks resign them is a big uncertainty. If they don't resign Riq Woolen and at least Coby Bryant or Josh Jobe then we will be talking about their the cornerback position.
But what I'm going to do here is think about best case scenario. I highly doubt that the Seahawks will let all three walk. I do believe they more than likely will resign at least two of them. Will it be expensive? Yes! They are now Superbowl champs and that raises their stock prices. Yet, I do believe they will try and more than likely succeed in resigning two of the three. So that leads me to the upgrade that I'm thinking they might need to look into to make sure they can get back to the big game.
Their running game was a big part of their offense. Yes, the splash plays to JSN were phenomenal. But the truth what helped them win the Superbowl wasn't the passing game. It was both the defense and their run game. It wasn't always pretty but that run game came in hand and allowed the kicking game to be successful. We know the Kenneth Walker III is not coming back and going to test free agency. To me this is a big need going into next season. Zach Charbonnet is going to be coming back from a bad injury. I'm not saying that he won't be himself when he gets back healthy. But he's always been a change of pace kind of running back. What the Seahawks need is a workhorse in the backfield. If they can get someone to become that, I think their offense can be so much better.
Los Angeles Rams:
The Rams ended the season with a respectable 12-5 record. It wasn't always pretty but they were consistent. Matthew Stafford can still sling it and actually has looked better in the past 2-3 years. Compared to his time with the Lions, we see a much more mature quarterback. He's never been one to move a lot. But his pocket presence seems to have gotten better with the years if you ask me.
Going into their needs well in this case upgrade. We can look at primarily one position and that was their achilles heel if you ask me. They were 19th in passing yards allowed last season. Don't get me wrong they weren't so high in a lot of the defensive categories. But their weakest points were in passing, total yards allowed which ranked the same 19th, and lastly sacks coming in at 15th with 47 total sacks. The truth of the matter is I think their defense would've been much better with better CB's.
If I'm being quite honest writing out their rankings would be a pain to do. Their rankings all were below 70. Now I know numbers don't always mean everything. But anyone that has watched any of the Rams games last season could easily see that their cornerbacks failed that team. Their offense did everything they could to keep this team afloat. Which let's be honest here. Defense is what we know that wins championships.
Yes, you can say quarterback. Because we all know that Stafford isn't going to be around forever. Or maybe another defensive lineman. Which I would dare to say are valid positions for upgrading or at least getting an additional piece to help. But the cornerback position will surely help them solidify a defense that was once really good!
San Francisco 49ers:
Another team that was really good but dealt with a lot of issues. The surprising part of it all is that they still ended with a 12-5 record as well. When I say that this division was good, that maybe an understatement. If the 49ers were healthy I think we probably would've seen them beat the Seahawks to make it to the Superbowl if I'm being honest here. And I know there are people that are going to bring up the divisional round and how they got blown out by the Seahawks. But if there were less injuries and mainly less injuries to key players, I think we all would've been seeing this differently. But that wasn't the case of course.
Yes, there are a few positions that can actually be upgraded and for various reasons right. Like we can talk about at tackle position with Trent Williams turning 38 by the start of the 2026 season. Now I won't say that tackles can't have a long career for crying out loud I think Jason Peters played into his 40's. Yet, that doesn't always mean being able to play at a high level throughout the later stages of their career. The truth of the matter they can upgrade the tight end position, as well as an additional edge rusher. However I think there's a bigger hole to fill on their team. Mister Brandon Aiyuk which I will call mister headache for the 49ers. Has been just that to the organization; a headache. The niners gave him the deal he practically wanted and still injuries and his un-seriousness to get on the field has truly handicapped their offense.
With Aiyuk more than likely out the door soon. You have two other players that are going to be free agents as well. Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne may test the free agency market. With the likes of Jenning probably getting the most looks. So with all this said you can kind of see what position I'm heading towards as a must upgrade. Even with Jennings and Bourne on the team the niners would still be missing on a true number one wide out. They need opposing teams to fear the passing game. Yes, CMC has helped in that regard as well as Kittle when healthy. But imagine having a beast on the outside. For crying out loud if they were able to get a hold of AJ Brown which to be clear I wouldn't want. Would upgrade and make their offense that much more scary if you ask me.
Arizona Cardinals:
Is there a lot to say here? Look this whole team was a mess! To think that only one position would help this team greatly is a ridiculous thought. But, that is the point of this post right? Listen the truth is this team has plenty of holes. On top of that all the drama that the team has carried for years with Kyler Murray doesn't help either. With his release confirmed by the team just a week away at this point. There's going to be a rebuilding happening in the desert. The team has some players on the team. But most are either okay with a handful of really good players like McBride, Kitan Crawford, and Walter Nolen.
So making this part of the shortest if not maybe the shortest semi-insight for a team that you'll probably read on this blog. The truth is there is only one position they really need to upgrade, and I personally think they've needed to upgrade this position for some time now. That is the quarterback position. Kyler Murray was always undersized and let's be honest you can't fix that. He's struggled a lot and has had injury issues too. His stature has been a problem and running around like a child holding an oversized football; has truly been his only saving grace. So simply put it this way. The quarterback position is what they need to upgrade.
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