The Fantasy Points staff recently welcomed NFL Insider Adam Caplan to talk about the NFC West as part of our Virtual Town Hall Series. We highly encourage you to check out the entire conversation by accessing our Fantasy Points YouTube page and the Fantasy Points podcast feed.
Adam joined John Hansen and company to break down the NFC West from front to back to help us get a deeper understanding of every roster heading into the summer. John has been holding these closed-door meetings with Adam for the last 15+ years. The Fantasy Points staff is proud to let the public peek behind the curtain during these exclusive meetings! Here are the notes we compiled from the NFC West conversation.
Arizona Cardinals
Adam Caplan (AC): Drew Petzing comes from the Kevin Stefanski coaching tree. They’ll use more 12 personnel if Zach Ertz and the tight ends are healthy. No one wanted the DeAndre Hopkins contract, and they’re still talented at WR. Kyler Murray won’t be ready until after the season starts coming off of his ACL injury. The offensive line is still a problem even after drafting Paris Johnson early in the draft. They don’t have anyone behind James Conner at running back, and he’s hurt a lot. This is an offense to completely avoid.
Brett Whitefield (BW): Michael Wilson was one of my guys in the whole process. He came onto my radar at the Senior Bowl. He could play a role like Tee Higgins on the outside or be used as a big-bodied slot receiver.
Joe Dolan (JD): Trey McBride came on a little bit at the end of last season, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he takes a step forward. He was the best TE in last year’s draft class. (Brett added that he can play on the outside.)
Los Angeles Rams
AC: This secondary is going to be bad. Every team should throw it on them on every down.
BW: This was a good landing spot for Puka Nacua. My comp for him was Robert Woods. Van Jefferson has been cast as this vertical receiver, but he’s a really good route runner and can do the nitty gritty stuff. They need to give him a more diverse route tree.
AC: Jefferson is still going to be their shot-play guy. He wasn’t quite right last year, but he’s finally healthy after his meniscus surgery in 2022
Graham Barfield (GB): Sean McVay’s offense was so bad last year. It was hamstrung by trying to get the ball to Cooper Kupp on every play.
BW: Cam Akers played well at the end of last season, and they have nothing behind him. They were so bad late last year that his performance went under the radar. He’s heading into his contract year, so they could ride him into the ground.
San Francisco 49ers
BW: Kyle Shanahan’s scheme draws out the efficiency. Brock Purdy will come back to earth this year. He was chucking up some YOLO balls that weren’t intercepted. He once threw in an interception 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage in college. His poor decision-making could rear its head this season.
AC: They made the decision they wanted Purdy to be the guy moving forward at the end of last season. He needs his whole body to be behind him to throw the ball with velocity downfield. Shanahan can make guys look better than they are. The question is can Purdy do what he did as a rookie over the course of a full season.
Seattle Seahawks
GB: Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a baller. The Seahawks kind of told us what they’re envisioning for Tyler Lockett. Seattle was top eight in pass rate over expectation, and they selected the best WR in the draft. They got more plays off last season because they picked up the pace, and Geno Smith was much better at converting third downs. JSN could be their top fantasy scoring receiver as a rookie.
AC: Pete Carroll doesn’t want to throw the ball as much as they did last year. They had to throw it more last year because of their bad defense and Rashaad Penny’s injury. The Seahawks have the personnel to throw the ball, but that’s not what Pete wants to do.
JD: Pete never wanted to play without a running back again after having to play with DeeJay Dallas last season. That’s why they drafted Zach Charbonnet.
