Until the regular season begins, we’re going to get an onslaught of power rankings whether it be by team, division or both. All of these should be taken with a grain of salt as we really won’t know anything about anyone in the NFL until the season is underway and a few games are played.
That said, NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal is here with power rankings by division. The NFC West comes in at third ranked behind the NFC North at second and the NFC South at first. Here’s what Rosenthal said about the division:
Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan are set up to have the best coaching rivalry of the next decade, with Shanahan having the edge at quarterback. The Rams’ aggressive remodeling effort could wind up costing people jobs, with owners from other franchises wondering: Why can’t we do that?
Any team led by Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner and Earl Thomas can’t be counted out, while any offense with Josh Rosen and David Johnson should be fun to watch. This has been the best division in football on balance for the decade -- and it’s on the way back up.
Like we said, these rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. While Seattle somehow has the magic ability to take what should be a bad roster on paper and make it a team to fear, it's definitely been neutered with all their offseason departures. Dontae Johnson is not going to create a new Legion of Boom, it’s that simple. Seattle simply isn’t as scary as it has been in the past.
Putting the West at number three seems about right. While it has a great chance to be number one at season’s end, there’s no telling what that Rams team will be like with all the personalities on it. The North has a returning Aaron Rodgers and an underrated Matthew Stafford along with one of the best teams in the league in the Minnesota Vikings, but they also have the Chicago Bears, which is the sole reason they sit at second place and not first.
The jury is out on how competitive the West is as a whole. If Seattle can bring it together again this year, and Arizona isn’t as bad as I think they will be, this could be a very solid all-around division. That’s a lot of ifs for June, though.