Ceilings and Floors: NFC West
We’ve weathered free agency, dealt with the Draft, and scrutinised the schedule. Now we can look ahead to real football as we build up to the start of the season. So we looked at each team’s schedule and weighed up their offseason moves to predict their best and worst records to find their potential ceilings and floors. Here’s the NFC West:
Arizona Cardinals
Ceiling: 9–7
Floor: 6–10
2016: 7–8–1
After making the NFC Championship game in 2015, the Cardinals regressed last season. Now, after losing several defensive starters in free agency, ageing franchise cornerstones Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald, who both mulled retirement this offseason, face an uphill battle to add a ring before they call time on their careers. The Cardinals are counting on so-far disappointing draft picks like offensive lineman D.J. Humphries and defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche to step up. Their offense is dependent on do-it-all running back David Johnson, and defensive rookies Haason Reddick and Budda Baker need to make an immediate impact as starters alongisde veteran stars Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu. It’s all or nothing for Arizona this season.
Los Angeles Rams
Ceiling: 7–9
Floor: 5–11
2016: 4–12
Now tied to quarterback Jared Goff after trading up to draft him last season, the Rams fired Jeff Fischer and hired offensive guru Sean McVay as head coach, who inherits both Goff and former first round running back Todd Gurley. With Wade Phillips now in charge of a defense that has some great players like defensive tackle Aaron Donald, McVay focused on offense this offseason; signing venerable veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth and receiver Robert Woods in free agency and drafting tight end Gerald Everett and receiver Cooper Kupp. The Rams must now find out whether Goff is their guy or whether they still need a franchise quarterback.
San Francisco 49ers
Ceiling: 6–10
Floor: 4–12
2016: 2–14
After last year’s 2–14 death-march, the 49ers cleared house and hired head coach Kyle Shanahan and ex-analyst John Lynch as general manager. After handing out some questionable free agent contracts, the new tandem nailed the Draft; extracting a ransom from Chicago in exchange for the second overall pick, yet still landed two great players in defensive lineman Solomon Thomas and linebacker Reuben Foster. Shanahan imported some of his old players, signing quarterback Brian Hoyer and receiver Pierre Garcon, while the backfield duo of Carlos Hyde and fourth round pick Joe Williams should give ground game guru Shanahan some weapons to work with. The bottom line is that although San Francisco have improved, this rebuild will take more than one season to come to fruition. But the 49ers have made a good start.
Seattle Seahawks
Ceiling: 11–5
Floor: 9–7
2016: 10–5–1
Seattle has lost some of its dominance since losing Super Bowl XLIX, and their championship window could be closing. This offseason saw the Seahawks attempt to fix their offensive line, their weak spot last year, by signing Jacksonville bust Luke Joeckel and drafting only one immediate starter in LSU center Ethan Pocic; leaving the unit still looking like a weakness. They also signed Eddie Lacy to fix their running game despite his weight issues and drafted four defensive backs in an attempt to find the future of the Legion of Boom. Have they done enough to get back to the Super Bowl? Or are they looking to prepare for their next championship window?
