Quarterbacks
1. Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are first in this category because Russell Wilson is a very solid all-around quarterback. I don’t think he has the highest ceiling out of all the quarterbacks in this division, but right now he is the most complete. His brand new jewelry also helps make a more convincing argument in his favor.
2. San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick might have a higher ceiling than any other quarterback in this league not named Aaron Rodgers. He is that dangerous. What knocks him down to second on this list is his progressions. At this point he has troubles getting through his progressions and staying in the pocket for an extended period of time.
3. St. Louis Rams
Sam Bradford has a lot to prove this season and if he doesn’t improve a great deal, this could be his last season with the St. Louis Rams. Even if he hadn’t gotten injured as much as he has in his young career, Bradford would still be considered a disappointment in St. Louis. Not only does he have to have a much better year than any year he’s had so far, he’ll have to do it with a very pedestrian wide receiver corps.
4. Arizona Cardinals
Carson Palmer is getting up there in age. He has almost zero mobility. And on top of both those things, he throws a lot of interceptions. None of those traits are traits teams want in their quarterback, especially with the offensive line they have in Arizona. Palmer is the kind of quarterback that might have a few games where he plays really well, but you can bet the farm he’ll revert back his old self; throwing interceptions at costly times. With Palmer at quarterback, the Cardinals can only go so far.
Running Backs
1. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are absolutely stacked at the running back position. They have two guys coming back from last season that received significant carries. Those two are Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter. Gore is an absolute work horse who punishes defenses while Hunter is more of a skat back and a danger to break a long one every time he gets the ball. On top of that, they are getting Carlos Hyde and Marcus Lattimore, probably the two best backs from each of the last two drafts. Another part of their running game every team has to account for as well is Kaepernick. He can break loose at any point as well.
2. Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks aren’t far behind the 49ers in this department. They are returning beastmode himself, Marshawn Lynch, and someone a lot of people haven’t heard of yet in Christine Michael. Although a lot of people haven’t heard of Michael yet, after this season they most certainly will know who he is. Early reports out of Seattle indicate Michael will be splitting carries with Lynch. While Lynch punishes defenders by running them over, Michael is extremely fast and elusive. They’ll compliment each other very well.
3. St. Louis Rams
The Rams have a backfield that is very talented but none of their running backs are household names. Their two main backs will be Zac Stacy and rookie Tre Mason. Stacy is an undersized back who runs tough and can bounce one outside if the hole isn’t there. Mason is another undersized back with a lot of quickness. Mason won’t be able to run it between the tackles like Stacy does but Mason is going to get a great deal of chunk yardage this season.
4. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals boast their own tandem of backs with Andre Ellington and Stepfan Taylor. Ellington has great quickness and will be the back to break the long runs. He’s extremely hard for defenders to get their hands on him once he has any open space. Taylor is much more of a power back. He’s going to be the guy to get the carries on the goal line and in short yardage situations.
Wide Receivers
1. San Francisco 49ers
Last season this position group was considered a weakness for the 49ers and now they have one of the best receiving corps in the entire NFL. Their receivers each bring something different and special to the table. With Anquan Boldin being their possession guy that can catch anything, Michael Crabtree being their sideline receiver who is great for yards after the catch, and newly acquired Stevie Johnson being the burner to take the tops off of defenses, there isn’t much a defense can do to stop all of them. Not to mention tight end Vernon Davis is one of the biggest mismatches in the entire league.
2. Seattle Seahawks
Exactly where this position ranks in the entire league is largely dependent on whether Percy Harvin can play most of the season or not. If he’s healthy for most of the year, this unit is very strong and well-rounded. Harvin is their slot guy who can do just about anything and has to be accounted for no matter what, Doug Baldwin is their possession receiver, and Jermaine Kearse is the deep threat. Rookies Kevin Norwood and Paul Richardson make the group even more well-rounded and dangerous.
3. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have one of the best receivers in the game in Larry Fitzgerald and a respectable number two receiver in Michael Floyd. However, the drop off after Floyd is substantial. Their next wide receiver is Ted Ginn who is much more useful on special teams as a returner than he is as a wide receiver, just ask the Carolina Panthers. Their tight end Rob Housler is solid but nothing special.
4. St. Louis Rams
This unit is extremely talented and has the potential to be a very formidable unit. However, as the saying goes, potential just means you haven’t done anything yet. Truer words have never been said about this unit. Wide receiver Tavon Austin could be a Percy Harvin type receiver but the Rams failed to use him efficiently last season. Kenny Britt has all the talent in the world but can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble. And tight end Jared Cook is one of the better pass-catching tight ends in the NFL but somehow got overlooked in his first year with the team.
Offensive Line
1. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers had one of the best offensive lines in the league last season and managed to get better and deeper this offseason. Their returning starters are left tackle Joe Staley, left guard Mike Iupati, right guard Alex Boone, and right tackle Anthony Davis. Center Jonathan Goodwin left in free agency and will be replaced with either Daniel Kilgore or rookie Marcus Martin. Either one is more skilled than Goodwin is at this point in his career, the question is can either one match Goodwin’s intelligence at the center position. I believe Martin will win the starting job and as the season progresses he’ll get more and more comfortable with the play calls.
2. St. Louis Rams
The Rams have improved a great deal on the offensive line. Most seasons Bradford has been running for his life and taking some pretty big hits but this season will be different. The left side of their line could be one of the best left sides in all of football right off the bat with Jake Long at left tackle and rookie Greg Robinson at left guard. The other three starters at this point are Scott Wells at center, Rodger Saffold at right guard, and Joe Barksdale at right tackle. The weakest link out of those three is Barksdale who has a very hard time with speedy edge rushers.
3. Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks had a major problem at the offensive line last season. This offseason they’ve lost some depth and haven’t acquired much talent, however, they will have a few guys healthy going into this season that weren’t healthy last season. Their two best linemen are their left tackle Russell Okung and their center Max Unger. Their other starters are left guard James Carpenter, right guard J.R. Sweezy, and right tackle Michael Bowie. The right side of their line is still a big problem and teams will likely key in on that during the season.
4. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are another team that will be better if they can keep everyone healthy. The main player they want to keep healthy who didn’t play last season due to injury is left guard Jonathan Cooper. To help him on the left side the signed free agent Jared Veldheer. Their other starters are center Lyle Sendlein, right guard Paul Fanaika, and right tackle Bradley Sowell, all of which are average at best.
Defensive Line
1. St. Louis Rams
The Rams have the best defensive line in football and I don’t think it’s very close. It was extremely good last season and only got better this offseason. They’re returning All-Pro defensive ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn and defensive tackle Michael Brockers. As if that weren’t bad enough for opposing offensive lines, they went and drafted defensive tackle Aaron Donald who most people considered the best defensive lineman in the draft. With this defensive line it is going to be very difficult for offenses to execute their game plan, regardless of what that plan may be.
2. San Francisco 49ers
What puts the 49ers’ defensive line above the Seahawks’ and Cardinals’ is their depth. Ray McDonald might be the most underrated defensive tackle in the NFL while Justin Smith boasts the most fearsome bull rush. Behind these two they have Tony Jerod-Eddie (an undrafted free agent who made a name for himself last season), Demarcus Dobbs, and Tank Carradine (Carradine is pretty much a rookie this season since he missed all of last season with an injury sustained during his senior season in college). Carradine has top-level talent and is expected to be the future of the 49ers at this position. At nose tackle they have Ian Williams, Glenn Dorsey, and Quinton Dial. Dorsey and Williams are both starting quality nose tackles while Dial is going into his second year and showed a lot of promise during his rookie campaign.
3. Arizona Cardinals
This defensive line is one that a lot of people don’t know too much about but they are vicious. They can rush the passer and stop the run very consistently. Darnell Dockett has been terrorizing tackles for years now and most people somehow still don’t know him. On the other side is Calais Campbell and he can do just about everything also. In the middle they have Dan Williams who can do everything a nose tackle is asked to do. He can split double teams, take up space in the middle while covering both gaps, penetrate and create pressure, and stop the run right at the line of scrimmage.
4. Seattle Seahawks
While the Seahawks’ defensive line is ranked last in the division, that speaks more to the talent of the other teams rather than the lack of talent of the Seahawks. This defensive line is extremely good, but what puts them below everyone else is the talent they lost and haven’t acquired any to replace it. Their defensive ends, Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, are two of the best pass rushing ends in the league but their tackles, Tony McDaniel and Brandon Mebane, aren’t where the other tackles in this division are. A player to look out for on this defensive line is Jesse Williams, I expect him to make a lot of noise this season.
Linebackers
1. San Francisco 49ers
The linebacking corps the 49ers have is unmatched in the NFL. Their starting inside linebackers, Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, are both on pace to be first ballot hall of famers and 1a and 1b in the NFL at their position. Outside linebacker Aldon Smith has more talent than anyone else at his position but still needs to get the mental part figured out so he can stay out of trouble and stay on the field. On the other side of Smith is one of the more underrated linebackers in the league, Ahmad Brooks. The depth they have is also incredible. At inside linebacker they have rookie Chris Borland, an absolute tackle machine, and Michael Wilhoite, who backed up Willis admirably last season when he was injured. At outside linebacker they have Corey Lemonier, Dan Skuta, and rookie Aaron Lynch to come in when needed.
2. Seattle Seahawks
The three linebackers the Seahawks have also make an elite unit. Bobby Wagner and Bruce Irvin are two of the better young linebackers the league has to offer while Malcolm Smith is more of a second or third tier guy. He has very good speed for his position, great instincts, and is a solid tackler. He is also one of the key contributors on special teams. Two key backups for the Seahawks at linebacker are K.J. Wright and O’Brien Schofield. Both are very important to this defense because they are so versatile.
3. St. Louis Rams
The Rams are lucky their defensive line is so good because that keeps their linebackers clean and allows them to make more plays. If these linebackers weren’t free to make plays, it would be a pretty mediocre group. Alec Ogletree is the guy in this unit that has the most upside and they’re looking at to make the biggest leap this season. In the middle is James Laurinaitis and next to him is Jo-Lonn Dunbar. This linebacker unit is a bit undersized and has to make up for that with their speed. Considering the talent at the defensive line and that offenses are putting a lot more bodies on the line instead of the backers, they don’t need as much size to shed blocks as they do speed to get to the ball.
4. Arizona Cardinals
With their best linebacker Daryl Washington being suspended for the entire 2014 season, the Cardinals are now relying on second year linebacker Kevin Minter and veteran Larry Foote to control the defense. While Minter shows promise and Foote use to be above average, neither are the guys you’d want calling plays for your defense. On the outside the Cardinals have pass rush specialist John Abraham and the versatile Matt Shaughnessy. Abraham is certainly up there in age and his most important asset, his speed. And at the age he’s currently at, the cliff players fall off is steeper and steeper.
Secondary
1. Seattle Seahawks
While the Seahawks currently have the best secondary in all of football, the gap isn’t quite as wide as it was last season. They still have arguably the best cornerback in the NFL in Richard Sherman and absolutely the best safety in the game in Earl Thomas, but they lost two very solid cornerbacks in Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond. Byron Maxwell is now taking over the other starting cornerback position but would get picked on at times last season. Now instead of covering a team’s third or fourth option at wide receiver, he’s going to be asked to cover the receiver on the left side of the field every play, which will most likely be the first or second wide receiver. Backup cornerback Jeremy Lane adds more flexibility to this secondary. A player no team wants to forget about for personal safety reasons is strong safety Kam Chancellor, one of the hardest hitting safeties in the NFL.
2. Arizona Cardinals
This secondary is also one of the better units in the league but is slightly overrated because of one player; Patrick Peterson. A lot of people believe that he is a top-5 cornerback in the NFL but the tape suggests otherwise. He’s extremely good, but definitely not elite. Their other cornerback is Antonio Cromartie, a very solid addition. Free safety Tyrann Mathieu is a pure playmaker. Wherever the ball is, you’ll see Mathieu right there or not far behind. Rookie Deone Bucannon is taking over at strong safety and is a big hitter. He’ll take a little while to get adjusted to the NFL and he’ll make some mistakes his rookie season, but he’s going to be a good addition to this secondary.
3. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers lost a few players from last season and have a few question marks about who is going to fill those roles. Second year safety Eric Reid will be accompanied by veteran safety Antoine Bethea. This will be a symbiotic relationship in the secondary because Bethea will learn about the defense from Reid while Reid learns some tricks of the trade from Bethea. Both will benefit greatly from one another. At cornerback they have Tramaine Brock and Chris Culliver as their starters. Both are young and extremely talented but both are fairly unproven and Culliver is coming off an ACL tear last season. Rookie Jimmie Ward will play either the third safety spot if the 49ers decide to run a cover-3 defense or will play the nickel cornerback. In free agency and in the draft the 49ers decided to go after big cornerbacks for depth by acquiring Chris Cook, Keith Reaser, Dontae Johnson, and Kenneth Acker (Acker will miss this season due to an injury sustained last season while he was in college).
4. St. Louis Rams
This secondary is pretty average overall. Janoris Jenkins is their best player back there while everyone else is average or slightly above average. They also lack depth, which they tried to address in the 2014 draft. By drafting E.J. Gaines and Lamarcus Joyner they did a pretty good job addressing it. This secondary is young and has a long way to go, but I expect them to make a lot of progress early in the season and sustain steady growth through the rest of the season.