Kicking off our final week of divisional draft breakdowns, we finish up with the NFC & AFC West!
As always we run through every single pick, talk about their fit on the roster, analyze each class as a whole and then rank them against each other inside the division.
I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t the matchup we expected coming into the season. When sportsbooks initially released their Super Bowl lines, only two teams – the Lions and Texans – had longer odds of winning the Lombardi trophy than the Bengals and you would have yielded a 100-to-one payout or better, had you put money on them. And as of the middle of December, sitting there at 7-6, they were on the outside of the playoffs looking in, among a crowded field of contenders in the AFC. The Rams on the other hand were on the fringe of the top-five in terms of championship odds, but there were some serious doubts about them as well at points, entering December at 7-4 and having a few wins late in the year, which were far from convincing. Yet, these two groups are now set to meet in the big game, knocking off last year’s champs in either conference along the way.
There are a bunch of storylines to follow, such as former Rams assistant and now Bengals head coach Zac Taylor trying to beat his former boss in Sean McVay, Andrew Whitworth facing a Cincinnati team that he was a part of for 11 years and now has a chance to reach the ultimate goal against in his final time on the field possibly at 40 years old, a re-merging superstar in Odell Beckham Jr. meeting the team he suffered a torn ACL against that ended last season for him, two former number one overall picks at quarterbacks trying to outduel each other and even the battle of kickers, with a highly confident rookie and a first-time Pro Bowler, who’s had some issues lately.
Let’s break everything down from a schematic perspective on both sides of the ball, certain matchups to pay attention to and how they may affect the outcome, along with identifying one X-factor on offense and defense for each squad and then coming to a conclusion with a final score prediction.
I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t the matchup we expected coming into the season. When sportsbooks initially released their Super Bowl lines, only two teams – the Lions and Texans – had longer odds of winning the Lombardi trophy than the Bengals and you would have yielded a 100-to-one payout or better, had you put money on them. And as of the middle of December, sitting there at 7-6, they were on the outside of the playoffs looking in, among a crowded field of contenders in the AFC. The Rams on the other hand were on the fringe of the top-five in terms of championship odds, but there were some serious doubts about them as well at points, entering December at 7-4 and having a few wins late in the year, which were far from convincing. Yet, these two groups are now set to meet in the big game, knocking off last year’s champs in either conference along the way.
There are a bunch of storylines to follow, such as former Rams assistant and now Bengals head coach Zac Taylor trying to beat his former boss in Sean McVay, Andrew Whitworth facing a Cincinnati team that he was a part of for 11 years and now has a chance to reach the ultimate goal against in his final time on the field possibly at 40 years old, a re-merging superstar in Odell Beckham Jr. meeting the team he suffered a torn ACL against that ended last season for him, two former number one overall picks at quarterbacks trying to outduel each other and even the battle of kickers, with a highly confident rookie and a first-time Pro Bowler, who’s had some issues lately.
Let’s break everything down from a schematic perspective on both sides of the ball, certain matchups to pay attention to and how they may affect the outcome, along with identifying one X-factor on offense and defense for each squad and then coming to a conclusion with a final score prediction.
We enter the final week of our divisional draft breakdown series, as always starting with the NFC side of things, as we move West! Let’s talk about the Cardinals, Rams, 49ers and Seahawks!
Two first round selections in 2022 and 2023 respectively and a third round selection in 2021. Furthermore, the Rams still owe Jared Goff $22.2 million in 2021 and will pick up the remaining two years on Stafford’s contract for a total of $43 million. After trading for Stafford, the Rams will have potentially gone seven consecutive seasons without a first round pick.
Clearly the Rams are “all-in” in 2021 which has been par for the course since General Manager Les Snead and Sean McVay have began working together in L.A. However, it was the battery of Snead and McVay should not (will not) continue to receive a pass for the Rams’ struggles. Snead’s aggressiveness in terms of acquiring veteran talent via trade and willingness to dole out exorbitant contracts has put the Rams in a challenging cap situation particularly with the salary cap being reduced in 2021. McVay on the other has been insulated from criticism for the most part considering Goff’s struggles. However, a close examination of his situational play-calling and use of personnel reveals that he has not adjusted effectively enough since his meteoric rise to the head coach rank.
CPGM Juice and Drew delve into the blockbuster trade from the perspective of the Rams focusing primarily on: Stafford, McVay and the future of the Rams front office/roster.
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