Matthew Stafford could have his dream of one more Super Bowl ring derailed by a back injury that's followed more than a decade of playing through brutal hits. The Arizona Cardinals have made important improvements on the defensive side of the ball, but it may not matter if Kyler Murray can't fulfill his potential. The San Francisco 49ers gave Brock Purdy the mega-contract reserved for players who are 27-15 as starting quarterbacks, but it came at the expense of shedding proven, pricey veteran talent. The Seattle Seahawks swapped out several key skill players and are now led by Sam Darnold and a defense that finished 2024 on a heater.
That leaves a division where every team has claimed at least one crown over the past decade as open as ever. Let's take a look at each team in the NFC West, rolling back through this summer's 32-team previews to go beyond the depth chart. Teams are listed in alphabetical order by location.
Biggest question to answer in 2025: Is the defense ready to rally on Kyler Murray's off days?
Arizona did little by way of upgrading Murray's offense. The run game will still rely heavily on an aging James Conner. The 1-2 punch of Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. remains Murray's clear-cut receiving wish list. That suggests 2025 will look a lot like 2024's good-not-great unit.
Last year's Cardinals went 1-6 when scoring fewer than 20 points. Wringing more out of the league's 24th-ranked defense is vital -- so much so that Arizona could break in as many as six new defensive starters to start next season. Reinforcing the trenches was vital for a team that ranked 25th in rushing yards over expected (RYOE) allowed, so in came Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson and 2025 first-round pick Walter Nolen Jr. (once he's healthy) to pair with 2024 first-rounder Darius Robinson.
Potential weakness: The linebacking corps
Consider this an overarching question about the team's pass rush AND ability to create stops from the second level. Adding Josh Sweat will punch up the league's 26th-ranked pressure rate, but his support will come from high potential/low production teammates like Baron Browning and Zaven Collins.
The inside linebacker duo of Mack Wilson and Akeem Davis-Gaither won't help a defense that was a bottom-six unit against the run. Each brings concerns in coverage as well.
Most important newcomer: EDGE Josh Sweat
The Cardinals' pass rush ranked 23rd in pressure rate last season. Only two players had more than 3.5 sacks and no one had more than five. Enter Sweat, who'll pair with Baron Browning and Zaven Collins at the edge in hopes of relieving the pressure on a secondary whose 0.101 expected points added (EPA) per dropback ranked 24th in the league. That'll also put some pressure on second-round rookie Will Johnson, who has the chops to be 2025's biggest draft steal.
Overlooked gem: TE Tip Reiman
Look, I'd love to make this about rookie cornerback Will Johnson, who slipped to the second round and could have an immediate impact on the league's 24th ranked passing defense. But Reiman deserves a second look, because that's what you do when you see a 6-foot-4, 273-pound freight train with 4.6-second 40 speed getting upfield to maul a linebacker ahead of James Conner. Reiman played just 41 percent of the team's snaps as a rookie and had only six catches (on seven targets!) behind Trey McBride.
That's fine! That's not his game! Reiman is out there to clear space for a run game with questions to be answered (will Conner hold up in his age 30 season? Is Trey Benson ready for a bigger role?) and maybe lamprey a few touchdowns off McBride's plate to frustrate fantasy managers. He thrives on contact and, after getting his sea legs as a rookie last season, is ready to steam ahead. This could be the season he establishes his bonafides as a guy who makes his offense better despite rarely touching the ball.
Biggest question to answer in 2025: How long can Matthew Stafford keep doing this?
Stafford is 37 years old and has thrown more than 8,500 NFL passes in his career -- more than players like John Elway, Warren Moon or Vinny Testaverde did in long NFL stints. Despite this, he's shown few signs of losing the fastball that makes him an asset even as his 40th birthday appears on the horizon. While a myriad of offensive line injuries portended a slow start last fall (three touchdowns, four interceptions and a meager 6.4 adjusted yards per attempt in a 2-4 stretch to open 2024), he finished with 21 touchdowns, four interceptions and 8.1 adjusted yards/attempt in a 9-3 finish in which the Rams gave the Eagles their toughest test of the postseason.
Credit here is at least shared by offensive line coach Ryan Wendell's ability to adjust on the fly, but Stafford remained an upper crust quarterback capable of being the difference between contending and rebuilding. Thus, general manager Les Snead, fresh off a wildly successful rolling rebuild, added veteran talent to boost the final stage of Stafford's career.
Davante Adams will take over Cooper Kupp's spot as savvy veteran route runner. Coleman Shelton and D.J. Humphries have arrived to reinforce the offensive line. Snead didn't have much to spend, but a smattering of short-term veteran contracts (only one deal over two years, and that was for Adams) puts LA's title window clearly in focus. The Rams want to maximize Stafford's twilight; how long can it last?
Potential weakness: Cornerback
Darious Williams allowed a 101.7 passer rating in 2024 -- the highest of his career. Akhello Witherspoon's play declined after a better-than-expected 2023 and, like Williams, he's on the wrong side of 30. While Cobie Durant acquitted himself well in his first season as a full-time starter last fall, concerns exist across the secondary, particularly with a safety rotation that struggled to be the over-the-top eraser Los Angeles needs.
Most important newcomer: WR Davante Adams
Adams pairs with Matthew Stafford in what could be a last dance for both veterans as Pro Bowl-caliber players. Granted, each has avoided the gravity of time to date; Adams' 2.14 yards per route run (YPRR) were a top-25 mark among wideouts and Stafford's savvy play overcame a litany of offensive line injuries en route to another solid season. But both are beyond the point where comparable players at their positions begin to decline. Puka Nacua will boost the passing game, but having Adams to provide a Cooper Kupp-type presence could keep the Rams' Super Bowl window open -- especially with a young defense continuing to improve.
Overlooked gem: CB Cobie Durant
Opponents tested Durant downfield in 2024; his 12.9 air yards per target were the highest among Rams regulars last fall. That left room for some boom/bust plays, but Durant was solidly steady while starting the most games (14) of his NFL career. He only had one interception, but also allowed a single touchdown in coverage as opposing quarterbacks completed only 54 percent of their passes with him in coverage for a modest 6.2 yards per attempt.
That makes him the top boundary corner in a room that also includes a 32-year-old Williams, a 30-year-old Witherspoon and Washington Commanders washout Emmanuel Forbes. There's a significant capacity for age-related decline, placing even more value on a steady, trustworthy hand in the secondary. Durant is 27 years old and his play in 2024 suggested he can be that guy. Another year of growth could unlock his Pro Bowl potential.
Biggest question to answer in 2025: Will Big Money Brock Purdy be as effective with less depth?
Purdy got the appropriate monster deal for a young franchise quarterback with Super Bowl experience (five years, $265 million with $177 million in new money guarantees). But he enters 2025 coming off a lost season with a lineup that won't have Deebo Samuel, has major questions to answer along the offensive line and will be relying on a 29-year-old Christian McCaffrey who missed 13 games last year and didn't look great in the four he played (4.0 yards per carry, a career-low 1.7 yards after contact per carry). If Ricky Pearsall can't fulfill his potential as the next run-after-catch monster in Kyle Shanahan's offense, Purdy is going to have to be the difference between winning and losing.
Paying Purdy didn't just mean losing Samuel and struggling to restock the team's offensive cupboard in free agency. The 49ers defense discarded Charvarius Ward (who was great in 2023 but kinda stunk last year), Javon Hargrave, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga (who each missed the bulk of 2024), Leonard Floyd and Maliek Collins. The deep, devastating defensive fronts of years past will rely heavily on the contributions of rookies Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins. Even with an exodus of veteran talent coming off the books, the Niners' two biggest free agent contracts went to... Luke Farrell and Mac Jones. It's not a great sign when your top two additions are Jaguars depth pieces. San Francisco has to hope GM John Lynch crushed this year's draft.
Potential weakness: Interior offensive line
The secondary could see some issues as a young group takes over following the departures of Ward and Hufanga (as well as the useful linebacker coverage of Greenlaw). But the 49ers, vitally, need to get their offense back up and running.
That means lots of yards after the catch, true to Kyle Shanahan form, but also a dynamic running attack to suck defenders toward the line of scrimmage, create believable play-action scenarios and generally create room for the team's playmakers to thrive. Dominick Puni thrived as a rookie, but the spots next to him clearing room for McCaffrey (or Brian Robinson or Isaac Guerendo) remain iffy.
Most important newcomer: EDGE Mykel Williams
San Francisco shed veteran talent as the salary cap closed in on a team that needed to pay Purdy on top of a cache of stars. That cascaded across the roster, including the typically deep corps of defensive linemen Kyle Shanahan uses to generate pressure without sacrificing extra defenders via blitz. In 2024, the Niners slipped from 10th (38.5 percent) to 19th (32.6) in pressure rate. Leonard Floyd, who finished second on the team in both sacks and quarterback hits, left as a free agent.
Williams has a chance to step into his role after three seasons as a solid hand in Georgia's star-studded defense. He needs more reps and bulk to emerge as a three-down Pro Bowler, but a big rookie campaign would go a long way in getting the 49ers back on track.
Overlooked gem: CB Renardo Green
San Francisco made moves to beef up its defensive front. Bryce Huff arrived via trade and the team added Mykel Williams, C.J. West and Alfred Collins in the first four rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft. However, the depth that was a hallmark of the Kyle Shanahan era may no longer be there, and more time to throw will tax a 49er secondary that could be breaking in multiple new starters.
Fortunately, Green has the tools to be a lockdown corner. He exceeded expectations as a rookie, playing more than 60 percent of the team's defensive snaps and posting a 77.8 passer rating in coverage. His -3.9 expected points added per target led all San Francisco defensive backs. If he can showcase linear growth, he and Deommodore Lenoir could be a pair of trustworthy bookends in that rebuilt secondary.
Biggest question to answer in 2025: How good can Mike Macdonald's defense be?
Things came together for Macdonald's first season as a head coach. After starting the season ranked 20th in EPA allowed (0.21 per play) through Week 9, Seattle ranked fifth over the final nine weeks of 2024 (-0.61 per play). The Seahawks have a heady blend of rising young talent and established veterans, then added Demarcus Lawrence (for a lot of money for a 33-year-old edge rusher, but it can effectively be a one-year, $13 million deal if things fail to pan out).
That sets a high bar for 2025, especially given the rebuild on the other side of the ball. Geno Smith, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are gone. In their places are Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp and fifth-round rookie Tory Horton. There are probably a lot of running plays in Seattle's future, and Macdonald would like nothing more to create his own Legion of Boom to balance it out and keep his team in the playoff hunt.
Potential weakness: Receiving depth
Sam Darnold is going from Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a 32-year-old Cooper Kupp and Noah Fant. Kupp remains a chain-moving presence (more than 2.0 YPRR each of the last two seasons) but he hasn't played a full 17-game slate since 2021. Tight end Elijah Arroyo could help, but the learning curve is steep, even for a second-round rookie in a deep class. Smith-Njigba could be Darnold's huckleberry -- and could be lined up for a ton of contested catches through double coverage. Keep an eye on Horton, who was good enough this preseason for Seattle to release Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Most important newcomer: QB Sam Darnold
Seattle exchanged the high efficiency competence of Geno Smith for the high variance performance of Darnold, who has one season as an above-average starter under his belt. The Vikings unlocked the best version of him by creating space in the pocket for big throws downfield. His 27 percent play action rate was a career high in seasons where he played more than six games and his 8.9 air yards per attempt were the fifth deepest in the NFL last season. Can offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak build from that? Or will he succumb to the same traps the Jets and Panthers did with Darnold before him?
Overlooked gem: CB Josh Jobe
The Seahawks have two high profile cornerbacks in Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon. Just focusing on them, however, is a disservice to Jobe's growth. His defensive snap count has grown from two percent as a rookie to 21 percent to 65 percent last season in games where he was active after playing his way up from the practice squad and making his debut in Week 7. Then first-year head coach Mike MacDonald must have liked what he saw, because re-signing Jobe was one of the team's first moves this offseason.
Jobe is, as you might expect from an undrafted player with plenty of practice squad experience, a land of contrast. He can dazzle you some reps and devastate you with others. But as a whole he recorded a lower passer rating (71.8) and expected points added (EPA) when targeted than either Woolen or Witherspoon. He takes bad angles and jumps out of position in obvious routes, but his recovery speed and coordination help mitigate those concerns. He's not the boom/bust player Woolen is but not nearly as steady as Witherspoon. If he can lean more toward the latter on a snap-by-snap basis, Seattle could have a daunting secondary.