NFL DRAFT NEEDS: NFC WEST

The NFC West saw 2 playoff teams from 2021 fail to be respectable and 1 team was a major surprise. The 49ers had their own issues, but those were more injury related. The 49ers are clearly the elite team in the division but need to settle on their QB and stay healthy. The Seahawks nailed last years Draft and came out on fire, spurring them to the playoffs. The Cardinals were a dumpster fire in 2022. The Kingsbury era is over and this draft is critical to the rebuild. It is hard to believe the Rams won the Super Bowl in February of 2022. This team is in the beginning stages of a rebuild with limited draft capital.

I have laid out the current state of each franchise in the NFC West below. We’ll review their current issues, draft needs and draft prospect targets for their first draft selection in 2023. The 49ers don’t select until the very end of round 3, but could package them to move up. The Rams don’t pick until the 2nd round, but 36th overall is a prime spot on Day 2. The Cardinals own the 3rd overall pick and could be encouraged to trade down and collect picks. The Seahawks have 2 picks on Day 1 that could vault this team back to dominance.

If you are looking for positional rankings of the draft eligible players on offense and defense, we have you covered at Spinnable Sports. You can also find my Top 105 NFL Draft Prospects and Mock Draft 2.0: 3 Round Mock Draft in the same spot. The Irrational Confidence Podcast (@IRConfidencePod on Twitter) will be dropping our Live Mock Draft Episode very soon. You can find The Irrational Confidence Podcast on any podcast platform as well as the Spinnable Sports YouTube Channel.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• QB HEALTH AND WHO IS THE FUTURE….PURDY OR LANCE?
• REPLACING MIKE MCGLINCHEY
• RB DEPTH…MCCAFFREY AND MITCHELL HAVE INJURY HISTORIES
• SECONDARY DEPTH
• NO DRAFT PICK UNTIL THE END OF THE 3RD ROUD

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• DB
• DL
• OL
• RB
• WR
• LB

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• NO DRAFT PICKS UNTIL THE END OF THE 3RD RD
• S. JAMMIE ROBINSON. (FSU)
• LB. DORIAN WILLIAMS. (TULANE)
• DB. JAY WARD. (LSU)
• CB. DARIUS RUSH. (SOUTH CAROLINA)
• OL. RICKY STROMBERG. (ARKANSAS)
• S. JORDAN BATTLE. (ALABAMA)
• OL. ANDREW VOORHEES. (USC)
• OT. CODY MAUCH. (NORTH DAKOTA STATE)

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• IS GENO SMITH THE FUTURE AT QB?
• WR DEPTH
• WAS 2022 A 1 YEAR WONDER OR SIGN OF PROGRESS?
• REBUILD THE DEFENSE

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• CB
• S
• DL
• EDGE
• RB
• TE
• QB
• WR

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• 2 FIRST RD PICKS
• DL. JALEN CARTER. (GEORGIA)
• CB. JOEY PORTER JR. (PENN STATE)
• CB. DEVON WITHERSPOON. (ILLINOIS)
• CB. CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ. (OREGON)
• C / OG. O’CYRUS TORRENCE. (FLORIDA)
• DL. CALIJAH KANCEY. (PITTSBURGH)
• EDGE. TYREE WILSON. (TEXAS TECH)
• EDGE. MYLES MURPHY. (CLEMSON)
• QB. WILL LEVIS. (KENTUCKY)
• QB. ANTHONY RICHARDSON. (FLORIDA)
• QB. HENDON HOOKER. (TENNESSEE)

LOS ANGELES RAMS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• A SHELL OF THEIR 2021 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
• OL ISSUES
• LB ISSUES
• SECONDARY ISSUES
• WR / RB DEPTH CONCERNS
• DL ISSUES OUTSIDE OF AARON DONALD
• HOW MUCH LONGER WILL AARON DONALD AND MATTHEW STAFFORD KEEP PLAYING?

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• OL
• DB
• EDGE
• WR
• RB
• DL
• QB

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• FIRST PICK IS 36TH OVERALL IN THE 2ND RD
• C / OG. O’CYRUS TORRENCE. (FLORIDA)
• EDGE. WILL McDONALD. (IOWA STATE)
• OT. ANTON HARRISON. (OKLAHOMA)
• OT. DAWAND JONES. (OHIO STATE)
• EDGE. KEION WHITE. (GEORGIA TECH)
• WR. KAYSHON BOUTTE. (LSU)
• CB. CAM SMITH. (SOUTH CAROLINA)
• CB. EMMANUEL FORBES. (MISSISSIPPI STATE)
• S. ANTONIO JOHNSON. (TEXAS A&M)

ARIZONA CARDINALS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• A COMPLETE AND TOTAL MESS

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• EVERYTHING

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• EDGE. WILL ANDERSON JR. (ALABAMA)
• DL. JALEN CARTER. (GEORGIA)
• CB. DEVON WITHERSPOON. (ILLINOIS)
• CB. JOEY PORTER JR. (PENN STATE)
• CB. CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ. (OREGON)

This is the final installment of my draft need odyssey through the 8 NFL divisions. If you’re looking for the AFC and other NFC divisions, checkout Spinnable Sports. Next up will be players who aren’t all over current mock drafts, but could be Day 1 draft surprises.