In the divisional breakdown series Mase & SC will rank each offensive and defensive position per division for the 2024 NFL season. SC will speak about his top ranked player by position on the offensive side of the ball. On the other hand, Mase will speak about his top ranked player by position on the defensive side of the ball. On another note, they will rank every player per position that they believe can have some sort of fantasy relevance this season. They will discuss the NFC WEST in their first divisional breakdown.
AFC West Teams: San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams.
2023 Division Winner: San Francisco 49ers
2023 Offensive Division MVP: San Francisco 49ers, Running Back, Christian McCaffrey
2023 Defensive Division MVP: Seattle Seahawks, Linebacker, Bobby Wagner
Quarterbacks
- Arizona Cardinals – Kyler Murray
Murray missed half the season last year, but in the eight games he played he was magical. He completed 65.6 percent of his passes while throwing for just below 1,800 yards. This was achieved without having a true alpha at the wide receiver position. That changes this year, the Cardinals drafted top tier prospect Marvin Harrison Jr. Plus, the emergence of tight end Trey McBride looks promising. McBride became a favorite target for Murray down the stretch as former Cardinals wide receiver Hollywood Brown missed five of the eight games Murray was active. In his return to the field, Murray showed his playmaking ability by rushing for 5.5 yards per carry on 44 attempts. After a full off season of being healthy Murray looks poised to lead the Arizona Cardinals to new heights. The hope is with his new X, Harrison Jr., is that we get the something close to the 2021 version of Murray. That season he threw for over 3,700 yards with 24 passing touchdowns in 14 games. Arizona wants to be competitive again, and to do that they need Murray to thrive. He is healthy with an alpha receiver, an all-around tight end, and two stout running backs. This is the year Murray returns to fantasy glory. - San Francisco 49ers – Brock Purdy
- Los Angeles Rams – Matthew Stafford
- Seattle Seahawks – Geno Smith
- Seattle Seahawks – Sam Howell
Running Backs
- San Francisco 49ers – Christian McCaffrey (CMC)
Until he is not, he is. That is the unanimous RB1 in majority of fantasy formats. Even in super-flex style leagues CMC is considered the king, in many cases he is the first non-quarterback taken off the board. He can quite literally do it all. We will not see him play quarterback full time, but he has thrown a touchdown pass. CMC will get your team points from running the ball or catching the ball. If one were to look up the definition of dual-threat running backs then they will find CMC’s name in big bold letters. There are other young running backs that have great potential to usurp CMC from fantasy glory. However, until they do, he is king, especially at the running back position. It helps that he is in arguably the best rushing scheme in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers. Last year was CMC’s best year averaging 5.36 yards per carry. He is incredible through every aspect of the game, and he is not slowing down with age. When it comes time to draft in your leagues, do not over think this. Draft CMC. - Los Angeles Rams – Kyren Williams
- Seattle Seahawks – Kenneth Walker
- Arizona Cardinals – James Conner
- Los Angeles Rams – Blake Corum
- Arizona Cardinals – Trey Benson
- Seattle Seahawks – Zach Charbonnet
Wide Receivers
- Arizona Cardinals – Marvin Harrison Jr.
Yes, he is a rookie, but the truth is his biggest competition for targets is the Cardinals tight end. This means Harrison Jr. should see the bulk of the targets. Murray, his quarterback, will feast him with targets likely sending over 100 his way. Through his three seasons at Ohio State, Harrison Jr. caught 62.5 percent of his targets. That is not the only thing. Harrison Jr. is a playmaker when the ball is in his hands. In fact, 30 percent of his collegiate yards came from after the catch. His route running is crisp, he has a remarkable catch radius, and he brings the speed to stretch the field when needed. Before even stepping on an NFL field Harrison Jr. is a favorite to potentially win Rookie of the Year. Yes, Murray will play a part in that. On the other hand, Murray finds success at the quarterback position because Harrison Jr. is an elite wide receiver. - Los Angeles Rams – Cooper Kupp
- Los Angeles Rams – Puka Nacua
- San Francisco 49ers – Brandon Aiyuk
- Seattle Seahawks – D.K. Metcalf
- San Francisco 49ers – Deebo Samuel
- Seattle Seahawks – Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- Seattle Seahawks – Tyler Lockett
- Arizona Cardinals – Michael Wilson
- San Francisco 49ers – Ricky Pearsall
Tight End
- Arizona Cardinals – Trey McBride
If anybody wants to argue Harrison Jr. has competition for targets then they are likely talking about McBride as his competition. He is an aspiring young prospect with tons of potential. In the final eight games, the ones when Murray was his quarterback, McBride caught 53 of 66 targets for 538 yards. That is important considering on the season McBride had 81 receptions for 825 yards. In other words, McBride was cooking when Murray was his quarterback. Their chemistry clicked immediately. I expect that to progress further with the addition of Harrison Jr. The threat on the outside could allow McBride to be open even more as defenses try to scheme against Harrison Jr. Murray, Harrison Jr, and McBride could form a great trinity becoming a league winning stack. Whatever the case, if anybody has at least one of the three then they have a potential top five talent at their position. The Cardinals are ready to cook this season. - San Francisco 49ers – George Kittle
- Seattle Seahawks – Noah Fant
- Los Angeles Rams – Colby Parkinson
- Los Angeles Rams – Davis Allen
- Los Angeles Rams – Tyler Higbee
Defensive Line
- San Francisco 49ers – Nick Bosa
The NFC West has been blessed with young talent at the defensive line position this offseason. However, the 49ers edge rusher, Nick Bosa, still headlines the division at the position. Bosa is not only the top rusher in the NFC West, but he is one of the top rushers in the NFL. This is even after a 2023 season where he finished with the second-lowest number of sacks in his career. He finished with 10.5 sacks, only his rookie season had less with 9 total sacks. The sacks may have taken a dip due to a slow start to the season. On the other hand, his tackles have always been consistent with around 50 tackles a season (53 in 2023).Bosa has started every game for the 49ers since his 2021 season. He typically plays around 75 percent of snaps. However, in 2023 Bosa finished with 1,022 defensive snaps and 122 pressures (career high).If you draft Bosa then you are likely spending a premium draft pick on him. Rightfully so, Bosa offers upside of gaining multiple sacks a game. Plus, as a defensive lineman he offers a good amount of tackles too. In dynasty formats, one can confidently draft Bosa, the 49ers have him under contract until the 2029 offseason. They do have a potential out in Bosa’s contract during the 2027 offseason. Either way, one will get elite production from Bosa for the next few years. Bosa is an elite selection for all IDP formats. - Seattle Seahawks – Boye Mafe
- San Francisco 49ers – Javon Hargrave
- Los Angeles Rams – Byron Young
- Seattle Seahawks – Leonard Williams
- Seattle Seahawks – Uchenna Nwosu
- Los Angeles Rams – Jared Verse
- Arizona Cardinals – Justin Jones
- San Francisco 49ers – Leonard Floyd
- Arizona Cardinals – Darius Robinson
- Los Angeles Rams – Braden Fiske
Linebackers
- Los Angeles Rams – Ernest Jones IV
The NFC West has two higher-profile, sought-out players at the linebacker position: Fred Warner and Ernest Jones. I currently believe Warner is the best real-life NFL linebacker, however, for IDP, the best linebacker in the division is Jones IV. The interesting part about Jones IV is despite being an IDP dandy, the Rams have stated that they want him to play out his rookie contract before the two sides talk about a potential extension. Jones IV will be a premier linebacker in 2025 and beyond, regardless of what team he is on. Jones IV is coming off his best season in his three-year career, all with the Rams. In only 15 games played, Jones IV finished with 6.5 sacks on 37 pressures. Plus, he had 145 combined tackles, with 14 of those being tackles-for-loss. All of these stats were career highs for him. We may not be certain about his future with the Rams, but it should be certain that if Jones can replicate his 2023 season, he will indeed be looking for a payday. Either way, I like him in redraft and dynasty formats, more redraft for now. Depending on your draft, he could be one of the forgotten IDPs, so stay vigilant when drafting, and you could end up drafting a potential LB1 with a 2nd-4th round draft selection in IDP redraft formats. - San Francisco 49ers – Fred Warner
- Arizona Cardinals – Kyzir White
- Seattle Seahawks – Jerome Baker
- Seattle Seahawks – Tyrel Dodson
- Arizona Cardinals – Krys Barnes
- San Francisco 49ers – De’Vondre Campbell
- San Francisco 49ers – Dre Greenlaw
- Los Angeles Rams – Christian Rozeboom
- Seattle Seahawks – Tyrice Knight
- San Francisco 49ers – Dee Winters
Defensive Backs
- Los Angeles Rams – Kamren Curl
This offseason, Curl packed his bags to leave Washington for greener pastures and inked himself a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams did not have a single sack from a defensive back in 2023. They rarely utilized their defensive backs as rushers. However, Curl does have that aspect to his game, though he has never finished with +10 pressures in his four-year career in Washington. Curl is a tackling machine who can “do it both” and be efficient in pass coverage despite his three career interceptions. Curl is a player consistently on the field and can be utilized in multiple defensive packages. I see him as a DB2 with DB1 upside if he can get a big play on game day. If you decided to wait to draft a defensive back in your IDP league until the mid-late rounds of your draft, I would target Curl. Then pair him with another player with upside, like Julian Love. My DB2 in this division - Seattle Seahawks – Julian Love
- Arizona Cardinals – Jalen Thompson
- Arizona Cardinals – Budda Baker
- Seattle Seahawks – Rayshawn Jenkins
- San Francisco 49ers – Talanoa Hufanga
- Seattle Seahawks – Devon Witherspoon
- San Francisco 49ers – Charvarius Ward
- San Francisco 49ers – Ji’Ayir Brown
- Los Angeles Rams – Russ Yeast
- Los Angeles Rams – Quentin Lake
Thanks for reading our breakdown for the NFC West.
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