The turmoil that faces every NFL franchise each season starts in their own division. Six of the 17 games square off against an opponent who is intimately familiar with you, and vice versa. Every NFL season provides a different script, whether you believe it is predetermined or not. Some divisions are a battle of futility, with the “winner” hosting a playoff game despite sporting a losing record. Other divisions, like the NFC West, are a bloodbath where even the basement dwellers can make noise in the postseason if they slip into a wild card berth.
The NFC West figures to be a touch weaker than it was hyped to be leading into last season, but the weapons we covet in dynasty fantasy football are in bountiful supply across the four teams. The trajectories and values have changed, but the talent persists. Here’s the breakdown leading into the 2023 season.
- Dynasty Divisional Primer: AFC North | AFC South | AFC East | AFC West | NFC North | NFC East
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NFC West Dynasty Primer (2023 Fantasy Football)
Let’s dive into the NFC West’s dynasty outlook.
San Francisco 49ers
I’ll just kick this thing off with the burning question on everyone’s mind: Who will be the 49ers’ starting QB in 2023? Brock Purdy was surprisingly adequate after San Francisco’s annual injury meltdown put Mr. Irrelevant under center. His major elbow injury suffered in the NFC Championship game has the rumors flying. I have severe doubts about his fantasy relevance, should he be ready for the start of the season.
Once the league gets tape on him, he does not have the talent to find that next gear and flourish. Trey Lance should be the one the 49ers turn to in order for the team to make that final leap into an unstoppable force. He has elite traits and has yet to be given an opportunity to showcase the game-breaking talent that made him the third pick overall.
Sam Darnold is here, but hopefully, for insurance, should Purdy start the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. I’m afraid Purdy will be ready to go and hamper the team’s potential, whereas a healthy Lance could turn this team into another dynasty.
Christian McCaffrey leads a backfield that has, at one point, held a lot of promise in its own right. CMC is a surefire RB1 candidate again this season, especially now that the “injury-prone” clamoring has been rightfully shut up. Elijah Mitchell is a great change-of-pace for McCaffrey if his knees can hold up. The wide zone scheme Shanahan runs has chewed up and spit out many RBs over the years, but it is so explosive and creative. Jordan Mason is here as a special teams ace, while Tyrion Davis-Price is on the chopping block after a miserable rookie season.
Trade rumors have been swirling all offseason, centered around Deebo Samuel and especially Brandon Aiyuk. Deebo is the third “RB” on this team, although he was relieved of most of that yeoman work once McCaffrey was acquired. His WR chops are severely underrated too. Aiyuk had his fifth-year contract option picked up by the team, seemingly headed toward a long-term extension. Aiyuk is the catalyst for a believable passing attack, as he is the X-receiver who can win on the boundaries and free up the middle of the field.
This is paramount to the Shanahan system’s success in the passing game. Aiyuk is a sleeper breakout candidate at his current average draft position (ADP). I believe the same goes for Jauan Jennings farther down the board. He has enjoyed some really nice performances yet is getting almost no fanfare.
George Kittle is the main benefactor of Jimmy Garoppolo‘s departure. His splits with any other QB besides Mr. Handsome are astronomically better. We saw this with his connection with Purdy throughout their run to the playoffs in 2022. The team also drafted an ace blocking TE in Cameron Latu, which will hopefully mean a higher percentage of routes run for Stone Cold Kittle.
Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith is among the best QB values in dynasty, period. Seattle has surrounded him with a lot of exciting weapons, so much so that I expect him to have the highest completion percentage in the NFL again in 2023. A potent running game really helps Smith in the play-action game, which now includes all-universe route technician Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Most dynasty managers don’t expect Geno to be a long-term option but don’t be surprised if the team continues to invest in him long into the future.
“We’ve been hit!” Ken Walker‘s dynasty value took a direct hit when the Seahawks selected versatile RB Zach Charbonnet in the second round of the draft. If you were wondering whether Walker was going to shoulder more than 60% of the touches regardless, the answer was always “no.” However, these two are going to be a formidable tandem punch with complementary styles.
Walker is a home run hitter, while Charbonnet is a bruiser who also excels in the receiving game. I believe Seattle envisions Charbonnet as their next Chris Carson, while Walker is the burst back. I ultimately envision these two alternating series in a backfield that allows both to flourish in fantasy.
The Seattle receiving corps instantly became one of the best in the NFL. DK Metcalf is still a candidate to be a WR1 long into the future, especially now that teams will not be able to key on him as he moves around the formation. Tyler Lockett continues to be the most underrated WR in fantasy football. I correctly predicted he would outperform ADP more than any other WR in 2022, whereas his value has still not risen.
It was Lockett who scored the most fantasy points between him and Metcalf last season, but I expect Smith-Njigba to swiftly seize that mantle. JSN is stellar in every single way. He provides a third receiver who can bend coverages to his will and get wide open for Smith. The rest of this corps is very suspect, but don’t forget about UDFA rookie Jake Bobo from UCLA. He is a big slot type with a history of red zone prowess, something the Seahawks missed last season.
Noah Fant should be the runaway favorite tight end on this team. Unfortunately, Pete Carroll continues to rotate his options in an infuriating manner. Colby Parkinson and Will Dissly are still here and will take snaps away from the athletically superior Fant. Fant was already set to be the obvious downgrade from the JSN pick. Seattle has not been trustworthy with fantasy tight ends since Jimmy Graham was there.
Los Angeles Rams
Despite the annoying insistence that Matthew Stafford is dust, he is perhaps the best value among all fantasy QBs entering 2023. His decision not to retire tells me his elbow feels much better than it did last season. Cooper Kupp is also back in the fray for the former Super Bowl champs, along with Sean McVay’s offensive ingenuity. The team also invested well in their offensive line and wide receiver during the draft, despite not holding any early picks. Stafford should still have a few years left in the tank, with a very high ceiling in fantasy. Fortunately, he is nearly free to acquire because of injury and retirement fears that have persisted against every piece of news to the contrary.
Despite being despised by a good portion of the fantasy community, Cam Akers is a really good running back. He finally was given the reins of the running game at the end of last season and averaged 5.5 yards per carry over the last four games, including more than 100 rushing yards in each of the last three. Baker Mayfield was the QB at the time, and Cooper Kupp was already on the shelf too.
I love the 23-year-old Akers at cost going forward. Kyren Williams is a solid No. 2 back but is athletically challenged and not likely to be fantasy relevant. The Rams spent a sixth-round pick on Zach Evans from Mississippi, which was a good value on a back who has shown plenty of flashes throughout his college career. He will push Williams for snaps early on, even if he does not have the juice to overtake Akers.
Cooper Kupp was on another frenzied WR1 overall pace in 2022 before succumbing to a high ankle sprain. We apparently have the memory of a goldfish because Kupp is severely undervalued in dynasty. Ageism is very real and exacerbated by recent injury history. I am still buying Kupp wherever possible. Tutu Atwell is actually a pretty nice deep threat for the Rams, even if his size prevents him from becoming more than a respectable field stretcher. Puka Nacua is the next Robert Woods in this offense, a role that Ben Skowronek and Van Jefferson failed to live up to last season. Nacua is a gritty player with immense versatility, like Woods. He was a stellar pick for Sean McVay.
I despise the tight end room in Los Angeles. It could very well be that I’ve never successfully started Tyler Higbee during one of his good games, instead flailing at him in desperation when I need a warm body at the position to do something. He never does well on those occasions. I suppose he’s merely just another anonymous face in a sea of inconsistent fantasy TEs. Brycen Hopkins is also here, probably just to frustrate us when Higbee is lined up with a choice matchup. Kendall Blanton and Gerald Everett did that a few times over the years. This TE room is a nightmare, so avoid whenever possible.
Arizona Cardinals
What a mess. With the Washington Commanders finally ridding themselves of a universally hated owner, the Arizona Cardinals appear set to pick up that musket and trudge onward as the league’s most dysfunctional franchise. To make matters worse, their franchise QB is recovering from a torn ACL. Arizona is at a crossroads.
They own two first-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft that are both very likely to be in the top five. The 2024 QB class is the strongest in a few years if the Cardinals wish to tear it down and go full “Trust the Process” mode after this season. Murray will be back at some point this season and will be a stellar QB for fantasy scoring, especially with a competent (?) head coach. Either Colt McCoy or Houston rookie Clayton Tune will hold down the fort until then.
James Conner is…okay, I guess. He was a humongous fantasy value in 2021 before he was sidelined yet again with injuries last season. He is a touchdown-scoring machine and well-rounded enough to make up for his athletic limitations. The real prize in this backfield, I believe, is Keaontay Ingram. The sixth-round pick from USC is a promising player whom the Cardinals did nothing to threaten on the depth chart this offseason. They might still add one of the free agents still looking for their next team before camp, but it would surprise me.
DeAndre Hopkins is still hanging out in the desert…for now. The team was not able to find him a suitor to accommodate his supposed trade request. The Cardinals actually have quite a nice receiving corps, especially once you add in the talent at tight end. Marquise Brown is a fantastic vertical threat at flanker and is getting too much of a value downgrade in Murray’s absence.
Rondale Moore is a zippy slot weapon who can be a force in the right circumstances. Greg Dortch really stepped up as a slot receiver who earned a ton of target volume last season when pressed into duty when the injury bug ran rampant through the team. The Cardinals also drafted Stanford WR Michael Wilson in the third round. He brings good size and solid route running on the boundaries that they sorely missed without Hopkins.
Zach Ertz and Trey McBride are one of the best TE receiving tandems in the NFL. Ertz seems to be gliding into retirement gracefully, as his fantasy production was very solid before going down in Week 10 last season. McBride’s rookie season started slowly with injuries, but he did seem to settle in at the end of the season as the primary option for McCoy. He is a very good receiver and is squarely at the top of my “must-buy TE” list in dynasty leagues.
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