This was a division with one great team and three poor ones in 2008 but each team has done some work in the offseason through both free agency and the draft and now it looks like this division will be much better than it was last season. The Cardinals will still be the team to beat and thanks to a pretty decent draft, they may be even better than they were last year. The San Francisco 49ers made some big advances in the draft and the Seattle Seahawks look like they are on their way back up after a dismal 2008 season. The St. Louis Rams have a long way to go but are definitely on their way up.
The following is a team by team look at the drafts of all of the teams in the NFC West with draft grades for each team.
Arizona Cardinals-The Cardinals needed to do get some help with their running game (since everyone knew that they were going to release Edgerrin James) and they got it with Chris Wells. Defensive end Cody Brown will help them rush the passer better and Rashad Johnson, who saw his stock rise in the draft, could be a starter in a year or two. This was a solid draft for the Cardinals and one that they should be able to use to help improve their team greatly. Grade A-
San Francisco 49ers-The 49ers watched as Texas Tech superstar wide receiver fell to them in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft and they just couldn’t resist the temptation. The problem is, they don’t really have a quarterback to throw the ball to him. Running back Glen Coffee was a wise pickup as was Scott McKillop. They also added quarterback Nate Davis to help push some of the other players at the position and LSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois a player that head coach Mike Singletary just might fall in love with. Grade B+
Seattle Seahawks-Seattle could have done several things with their first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft but the wisest thing for them to do was take linebacker Aaron Curry with their first pick. Max Unger is another decent pick for the Seahawks but they needed more help at the wide receiver position, a position that was wrought with injuries. They selected Deon Butler as their only wide receiver and didn’t do much to fill a position of great need. Grade C+
St. Louis Rams-The Rams are clearly a team in a state of rebuilding and with a new head coach and what should be a new team philosophy, this team went into the 2009 NFL Draft with a lot of needs. They came out with one of best offensive tackles in the draft in Jason Smith. They also got a guy who should be a steady force at the inside linebacker position in James Laurinaitis. Bradley Fletcher could be big for them at some point as well. Grade: B
By Bryan Dietzler
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