Last season, the Arizona Cardinals had the hottest start in the NFL. The offense was electric, and DeAndre Hopkins was a big reason why. However, the team could not sustain that success after Hopkins was injured, leading to an exit in the Wild Card round of the NFC Playoffs.
Still, both Arizona’s head coach and GM got extensions, and the team is looking to win the NFC West this year. The bad news is that they will be without Hopkins for the first six games of the year. The NFL suspended Hopkins after he failed a PED test.
The Cardinals traded for Hollywood Brown, but they also lost Christian Kirk from last year’s team. Can this team find a way to win the NFC West? Let’s take a look at BetOnline’s odds for each team to win the division.
We’ll start with the favorites to win the division and work our way down.
Los Angeles Rams (+135)
It’s clear to see why the Rams are the favorites. The team won the Super Bowl last year, and most of the key contributors are back for another run. Other teams in this division lost key contributors, but the Rams reloaded with quality free-agent signings.
Adding Allen Robinson as a receiver will help with the loss of Robert Woods. A healthy Bobby Wagner will be a difference-maker on defense, and Aaron Donald deciding to return is massive.
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This team was elite last year, and the division should be easier to win this season. Unless there is some regression from the team’s star players, this team will be well in the hunt to win the NFC again.
I expect the Rams to see a drop in value early in the year. If they prove that they are still hungry and other NFC West teams struggle out of the gate, this bet might have negative value. As it stands, this is one of my favorite division bets for the upcoming year.
San Francisco 49ers (+215)
The 49ers are the most interesting team in the NFC West for three reasons. They lost Mike McDaniel, the offensive coordinator. While Kyle Shanahan is the mastermind behind the offense, this is worth tracking.
Beyond that, there are two personnel problems. San Francisco has to choose between Trey Lance and Jimmy G. Lance should be ready to start after a year of learning the system, but reports are that the team is underwhelmed. Jimmy G is coming off of an injury, and there have been no trade offers to this point.
Can Lance be a franchise quarterback? Can Jimmy G get healthy and retain the job? Will the 49ers trade away one of these quarterbacks?
Don’t forget that Deebo Samuel wants out. If he is gone, this offense will lose the most dynamic receiver in the NFL.
Arizona Cardinals (+275)
Assuming that Kyler Murray plays this season, the Cardinals should have a great offense. The only issue is that they still haven’t addressed the offensive line, so they are asking Murray to take over games. That is not sustainable, and it becomes dangerous as the season progresses.
Without Hopkins, the Cardinals are asking more out of Murray and the other offensive weapons. The draft class was lackluster, so the odds of improving from last year are low.
We’ll know a lot more once the schedules are released. If the Cardinals have tough games to start the year, the odds of winning the division should plummet. If they can survive the first six games with easy opponents, they may stay in the hunt.
Seattle Seahawks (+900)
It’s obvious that Seattle won’t be competitive in the NFC West this year. After trading away the franchise quarterback and cutting Bobby Wagner, this team can’t expect to make the playoffs.
It appears that Drew Lock is the team’s starting quarterback, which already sets a ceiling on the offensive potential. The team also had a lackluster draft class, so the NFL odds of turning things around this offseason are low.
The Seahawks failed to make the playoffs last year, and they are almost certainly going to miss it this year. Expect them to be in the hunt for a quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft.
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