For years the AFC North has been the best division in football, but that’s not the case anymore. There’s an obvious choice for what the best division in football is and that set of teams could hold that title for a long time moving forward. It’s time to get ready for some NFC West dominance. Here are the reasons why:
Quarterback Play
The NFC West could have one of the better quarterback rosters in the NFL. Russell Wilson is playing at an MVP-level and has already won a Super Bowl. Jared Goff has a lot of critics and has been compared to a new-age Alex Smith, but as long as he has Sean McVay’s help, he’ll do fine. He has the skill set. Plus, Alex Smith isn’t great, but he’s not exactly bad either. Jimmy Garoppolo doesn’t have to be great in Kyle Shanahan’s system, but stories of his demise in the preseason seem to be greatly exaggerated. He has weapons in the passing game as well. The jury is still out on Kyler Murray, but he’s shown the ability to make plays in the NFL.
Coaching
Sean McVay is such a good coach that if you shook his hand, you may get a coaching offer from a desperate team in the NFL. He’s already won Coach of the Year. He’s been to the Super Bowl. He only took over the Rams three years ago. This is the first time Los Angeles hasn’t been first in the NFC West. Pete Carroll won a Super Bowl and always cobbles together a winning team. Search the internet and you will find people singing praises about Shanahan’s schemes. It’s not time to bury Kliff Kingsbury yet. Let’s give him a real offensive line and a semblance of a defense before we officially say that his hire was a mistake.
Youth
The Niners have a young defense with multiple first-rounders up front. They can keep that side of the ball on cost-effective contracts and continue to build their offense. They also have $19 million in cap space this year and $26 million in 2020. Their offense isn’t exactly old either. The Seahawks constantly reload. The Rams have their young talent locked up in longer-term contracts. The Seahawks average age is 25.5, Rams 25.6, and Niners 25.7. The Cardinals somehow have an older roster and it’s 26.4. Larry Fitzgerald must really throw that number off.
Star power (and potential star power)
Stars win games. They can make a difference. Here are some of the names that will be in the NFC West for a while: Aaron Donald, Nick Bosa, Russell Wilson, Jared Goff, Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, Todd Gurley, George Kittle, Mike McGlinchey, Arik Armstead, DeForst Buckner, Kyler Murray, Eric Weddle, DK Metcalf, Jadeveon Clowney and Bobby Wagner. Even if they lost a few players, they could field a bunch of pro-bowlers.
