Post by Pittsburgh Steelers (Malachi) on Aug 18, 2021 21:20:06 GMT -5
Jerry Rice Division Preview: As we will see over the course of the write up, this division was a very decorated one. Chris opened his LHL account by finishing the regular season with the best record in the league. The Rams claimed the first title, but also see a new owner come in to take over the team. Seattle missed the playoffs to the eventual champs because of a head to head tie breaker. The 49ers who I picked to win the division, finished last and will need to make up significant ground if they want to win the division this time around. A hierarchy in the division could begin to form here in the 2nd year of the league, but with moves made and a new owner in the fold, it will be a while before we see if that is the case or not. As was the case in 2020, vote on the poll for who you guys think the favorite is to win the division
Arizona Cardinals (Chris): 2020 Record: 10-2
Looking back at 2020 real quick, I predicted Arizona would finish 4th in this division and be well below the playoffs. I was flat wrong on that, and on quite a few others in the league. I will play it off as a new league is hard to predict and add that with a weird year of covid, anything can happen. All that said, Arizona finished with the best record, thanks to a tie breaker, in the league and won their division by 4 games. The playoffs were not as successful though for Chris as he saw his Cardinals lose their first matchup with division rival and future LHL Super Bowl winners, the Los Angeles Rams. Chris will open the season as the clear favorite to win the division this time around, thanks to a very talented roster that he tweaked on over the off-season. It wasn’t an overhaul, but when you win the division by that margin and finish at the top of the regular season standings, it stands to reason that you do not have to do a ton to the roster. During RFA, the biggest departure for Arizona was Mike Davis at RB. Thanks to that departure, Arizona will rely on Josh Jacobs to be a top 10 at best RB to make the position a strength on offense. It remains to be seen what Chase Edmonds' role will be in the real life Cardinals offense, but if he can take the lion share of the touches over James Conner it will create a strong duo for the LHL Cardinals at RB. It was a real life trade for Matthew Stafford that should lead to more scoring at the QB position for Chris here in 2021, as Stafford moved from a bad Detroit team to an absolutely loaded LA Rams offense, despite Akers going down for the season, Stafford and his weapons should put up a lot of points and make Stafford a top 8-10 QB on the season. Chris has a very tasty looking WR core headed into the 2021 season and it is led by Tyler Lockett, who until he leaves Seattle, retires, or Russ leaves will be a threat to finish top 10/15 at the position, and Cooper Kupp, one of Stafford’s new weapons to use and like Lockett is very productive. Behind the top dogs at WR, Chris has a trio of 23 year old WRs all at different stages with Michael Pittman Jr who could easily be the #1 in Indianapolis as soon as this season, N’Keal Henry, who is fighting for his spot in New England, but likely needs a move to really pop in the NFL, and recently signed Frank Darby, who is just looking to get on the field in Atlanta after Julio Jones left this off-season. Arizona also has Demarcus Robinson, who is by far a better best-ball fantasy WR than anything with how many guys that are in front of him in Kansas City so it will be hard for Chris to play him on the right week when he does hit on a long TD (which he will likely do once or twice with this offense). Arizona will easily have one of the top offenses in the league in 2021 and his best position on that side of the ball might just be TE with a trio of Travis Kelce, Robert Tonyan, and rookie Pat Freiermuth. Chris is admittedly looking to move Tonyan and has the ability to do so with both Kelce and Freiermuth in the fold, but if he holds onto Tonyan, this TE group will likely never be matched or out done in LHL. For Chris, defense was a point of emphasis for this off-season and will likely remain one for the season. Over the off-season Chris went out and added players to each position group by trading for Ja’Whaun Bentley at LB, drafting Trevon Moehrig at DB and Joseph Ossai at DL, and signing Robert Spillane and Linval Joseph in UFA. It is clear that Chris felt defense is what cost him in the playoffs and handed him a quick exit there and thanks to these additions the defense has improved and now has depth for the season. The LB core will likely be led by De’Vondre Campbell and Ja’Whaun Bentley, though Campbell’s success will rely on how GB use him and how he settles into his role there. Mercilus and Spillane both will be rotational players, Spillane more so now that the Steelers have brought in Schobert and pushed Spillane to a rotation LB on the roster. Elandor Roberts and Tae Crowder fill out the depth at LB. It seems DB will be the best position of the group thanks to Kareem Jackon, Quandre Diggs, Rodney McLeod, and rookie Trevon Moehrig. That is a very solid 4 man rotation that could see 3 or 4 of them play on a weekly basis with 1 or 2 in the IDP slots. At DL, Jeffrey Simmons and Linval Joseph will lead the way this season with former Bengal, current Seahawk Carlos Dunlap and rookie Bengal Joseph Ossai providing depth for byes and potential injuries. Defense for the Cardinals won’t be a top tier group, but it likely won’t be a liability this year, which should lead the Cardinals to being a better all around team in 2021. Another under the radar move made over the off-season for the Cardinals was stealing K Rodrigo Blackenship from fellow division winners Las Vegas. Not many think Ks are important, but a move like that could help decide any close matchups. With the most difficult schedule in the division this year, it remains to be seen if Arizona can build on a strong opening season or have some regression in 2021. The regression, of course, could be from the hard schedule the Cardinals will draw in the middle of the season as they will face the other 5 division winners.
Predicted Division Finish: 1st
Los Angeles Rams (Reid): 2020 Record: 6-6
One of the few teams, as far as division finish prediction, I got right in 2020 was the Los Angeles Rams. What I did not see coming for the Rams was finishing 6-6 on the season, getting into the playoffs on a tie breaker, going on a 4 week playoff run, and claiming the first LHL Championship. Thanks to the Rams winning the title, the Jerry Rice division was the most decorated in 2020 with the best overall record and the first Super Bowl win. With how things shook out it was a surprising result to see the Rams win the league, mostly due to the fact they were onto their backup QB, Ryan Tannehill, and did not have an offense one would expect to see from a league winning team. The defense was a very big reason for this team winning the league, which I personally love to see. I guess Thomas was satisfied with a perfect record of winning the league his only year in the league, because shortly after the season he let me know he would not be back and for those in the basketball league I run will know this happened in that league as well. The team that won that league in year 1 also had its owner leave after that first year. Am I doing something wrong with these leagues… maybe I should look into that, oh well. So we see Reid come in and now has some big shoes to fill as he will look to keep the Rams perfect and win the league again this season. For now the roster, outside of the K, is the exact same as when the season ended. I can’t totally blame Reid for not moving anyone given how the season ended for the Rams last season, but he does have 3 rookies that need to be signed, so some roster moves will need to be made here soon to make room for those players. On offense we will start with the clear best position on that side of the ball, QB. If it weren’t for a horrible injury last season Dak would have been a top 3-5 QB and likely would have finished the season as the #1 QB, so the position is on lock there for the Rams, but they also have top 10 threat Ryan Tannehill on the roster. Reid could try to flip Tannehill for an upgrade elsewhere on the roster and avoid the $10 penalty for 2 QBs on the roster, but I am guessing the plan is to keep both and see how it plays out and play the matchups for the 2 QBs, at least until Dak shows he is healthy. Of the 3 skill positions, RB is likely gonna be the best this season for Reid as he has Singletary and Damien Harris at the top of that position, but both are gonna share their respective backfields with 1 or more other guys, so the likelihood of either guy being even top 20 is scarce. Behind those 2 are 2 guys that are backups to top 5 RBs in the league. If Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cooks go down this season, Reid is in line to gain the most with Darryton Evans and Alexander Mattison in the fold. If not, those 2 will only be bye week/injury fill-ins. The Rams WR room is 8 players deep, but how effective those 8 are remains to be seen. The top guy there is JuJu, who signed a 1 year deal to stay in Pittsburgh, but is in a loaded WR room there. Gabriel Davis and Kendrick Bourne are fighting for targets on their teams like JuJu, but have not had the success JuJu has, so will not be as reliable. The other 5 guys on the roster are Tyron Johnson, Miles Boykin, John Hightower, and rookies Amon-Ra St. Brown and Dez Fitzpatrick, so if 1 of those 5 end up hitting, it will add a lot to the WR room. Hayden Hurst is at TE and we all know why that isn’t a great thing at this point as he saw his fantasy value destroyed this off-season, so Reid will need reinforcements there. The offense will likely be middle of the pack this season unless Reid can bring in some guys to bolster his options. Defense is where the Rams made their success last season and it starts with the trio up front on DL, Sam Hubbard, Daron Payne, and Dexter Lawrence. All 3 under 25 and all 3 very good options. Not to be out done by DL, the LB group is led by Jaylon Smith, Shaq Thompson, and Kenneth Murray. Providing depth for that stellar top 3 is a pair of Packers Oren Burks and Rashan Gary and Panther Haason Reddick. The DB unit is also a strong one thanks to another top level trio in Derwin James, Jessie Bates, and Jordan Fuller with DeShon Elliot sitting behind them. This entire unit will be in the discussion for the best in the league and it is thanks to the balance in the starting lineup and some solid depth behind them. Derwin James being healthy all year will be the biggest reason this defense claims the top spot for that side of the ball. Despite winning the league last year, the Rams will have a far more favorable schedule in 2021 than the Cardinals above them, so could that be a big factor in who wins the division this season?
Predicted Division Finish: 2nd
San Francisco 49ers (Mike): 2020 Record: 4-8
As we were building into the 2020 season, I had the 49ers marked as the top team in the division. Their roster had a lot to like and as we go through this write up, it still does have a lot to like, so it will be interesting to see what 2021 has in store for this team. A 1-5 start to the season really sealed the fate for the 49ers on the year as they ended the season 3-3 after the brutal start. Had they just gone .500 on the season it might have been them making the run to the LHL Super Bowl instead of the Rams. RFA was a relatively quiet process for SF as they lost a couple role players, but no one of consequence and did not sign anyone during that time either. Mike made a pair of trades during the draft and were the only trades he made over the off-season so going from 2020 to 2021 the 49ers will look largely the same as they did last year. As Mike tries to lead this team out of the basement of the division he will hope the changes he did make this off-season were the right ones. Both RB and WR are very similarly constructed for Mike currently with a stud vet and a young rookie or sophomore that have the makings of being studs in the not too distant future. At RB it is Joe Mixon and JK Dobbins making up that duo with Jerick McKinnon and Lynn Bowden behind them. At WR it is Mike Evans and Jaylen Waddle being the two I mentioned with depth of Sammy Watkins, KJ Hamler, John Ross, and Jalen Hurd. So both positions will be very top heavy and hope the top 2 at each spot stay healthy all season. Luckily for Mike, he won’t have to worry about QB as it is Aaron Rodgers, who will be looking to play at a high level this season. The biggest concern for the 49ers in 2021 is easily TE as the two guys on the roster, Ian Thomas and David NJoku, have looked like they would be relevant TEs at one point in their careers, but do not look that way this season. The offense is likely an impact player or 2 light of being one of the top 10 in the league. Any discussion on the 49ers’ defense has to begin with the stud LB duo currently on the roster. Roquan Smith and Fred Warner are arguably the best LB duo in the league and one that Mike will likely try to keep together for the foreseeable future. Jarrad Davis and rookie Jamien Sherwood as the backups at LB do leave something to be desired though. Thanks to the starters and the depth at the position, DB is easily the best on this side of the ball for the 49ers and might be the best on the roster for Mike. Buddha Baker and John Johnson will put up a lot of points between them. Marcus Maye is no slouch either and could be the best DB on a lot of teams in LHL, but is the 3rd option for Mike. Rookie Richie Grant, Sophomore Jeff Okudah, and vet Jalen Mills fill out the rotation that will give Mike 6 good to great options. Like TE on offense, DL on defense will be a giant hole for San Francisco. Currently the 3 guys on the roster are rotational at best for their NFL teams and would need an injury in front of them to even begin to make them fantasy relevant this season. Melvin Ingram, LJ Collier, and Taven Bryan were already a bad unit last season and might be even worse this season. With the schedule being the most favorable for the 49ers in this division, they have a good shot at not finishing last in the division, but given the holes on both sides of the ball, it would be surprising to see this team push for a playoff spot this season. Unless Mike makes some big swings to improve the roster.
Predicted Division Finish: 4th
Seattle Seahawks (Justin): 2020 Record: 6-6
Headed into 2020, Justin had a very strong roster on paper, Unfortunately for Justin, the best laid plans on paper still need to come together off paper and due to some injuries to his top LB duo and another key LB behind them, Gerry, and underperformance from his TE spot it was not meant to be in 2020. A brutal division also played a factor in the season Justin had as he had to square off with the team with the best record and the eventual 2020 LHL Champion which were Arizona and the LA Rams. Thanks to a tiebreaker with the Rams, Justin missed out on being the 6 seed in the playoffs in the NFC and might have missed out on his chance to make the run that the Rams did in doing so. Possibly not the biggest move Justin made, but quite certainly the most notable due to the name involved, was the move to let Tom Brady go and declare it Tua time in Seattle. It is certainly a move we all knew would happen, but still surprising when it actually happens. During the rookie draft Justin also made a trade to bring in electric WR DJ Moore to add to an already stellar WR core. To do so he parted with a 1st, 3rd, and Krys Barnes and the picks turned into Trey Lance and Odafe Oweh, so we shall see if the price was worth it. During RFA, Justin did not have any players to be bid on so that was a very quiet period for the team. Headed into the 2021 season it would seem with minimal moves that Justin is banking on health and better seasons from some guys to make a run at the playoffs this year. We have already seen what Justin’s plan is at QB so we will look at the other spots on offense and start at WR. Before the off-season started Justin had a top level WR group with studs Stefon Diggs and DK Metcalf, once dominant Antonio Brown (still can have some massive outings), and young high upside guys Mecole Hardman and Jalen Raegor. As mentioned, DJ Moore was added into this group and makes for what might be the best WR group in the league. RB is very top heavy and does not have the depth that WR does for Seattle as Zeke Elliot will lead the way there. It will remain to be seen if Justin Jackson, Jeff Wilson, or Kerryon Johnson can carve out a role in their respective backfields and provide much needed depth behind Zeke. The weak link on offense will certainly be TE as Justin is relying on Dawson Knox and Will Dissly, both have shown flashes, but have not made it consistent enough to be viable first choice options. Due to how the 2020 season and the 2021 off-season played out this Seahawk defense probably won’t be as good as it was in the 2020 season, but still has a lot of potential to be a strong overall unit. Thanks to a trade with the Raiders, Justin now sports Jordyn Brooks and Tremaine Edmunds at the LB spot with Leighton Vander Esch, Kenny Young, and Nathan Gerry providing some depth. Thanks to Johnathan Abram, Malcolm Butler, Justin Reid, and Trevon Diggs, DB will be a solid position all season for Justin. Like offense, it appears defense does have a position that is lacking a clear cut point getter and that is DL for Seattle. The 3 guys in this unit are Maxx Crosby, Trey Hendrickson, and Ed Oliver. Crosby should be good enough, but Trey and Ed will need to play above expectation to give DL needed points to keep pace with other teams. Thanks to finishing 3rd in the division last season, Seattle will have a better schedule than both the Cardinals and Rams, so that might play into their favor this season and their playoff hopes.
Predicted Division Finish: 3rd
Arizona Cardinals (Chris): 2020 Record: 10-2
Looking back at 2020 real quick, I predicted Arizona would finish 4th in this division and be well below the playoffs. I was flat wrong on that, and on quite a few others in the league. I will play it off as a new league is hard to predict and add that with a weird year of covid, anything can happen. All that said, Arizona finished with the best record, thanks to a tie breaker, in the league and won their division by 4 games. The playoffs were not as successful though for Chris as he saw his Cardinals lose their first matchup with division rival and future LHL Super Bowl winners, the Los Angeles Rams. Chris will open the season as the clear favorite to win the division this time around, thanks to a very talented roster that he tweaked on over the off-season. It wasn’t an overhaul, but when you win the division by that margin and finish at the top of the regular season standings, it stands to reason that you do not have to do a ton to the roster. During RFA, the biggest departure for Arizona was Mike Davis at RB. Thanks to that departure, Arizona will rely on Josh Jacobs to be a top 10 at best RB to make the position a strength on offense. It remains to be seen what Chase Edmonds' role will be in the real life Cardinals offense, but if he can take the lion share of the touches over James Conner it will create a strong duo for the LHL Cardinals at RB. It was a real life trade for Matthew Stafford that should lead to more scoring at the QB position for Chris here in 2021, as Stafford moved from a bad Detroit team to an absolutely loaded LA Rams offense, despite Akers going down for the season, Stafford and his weapons should put up a lot of points and make Stafford a top 8-10 QB on the season. Chris has a very tasty looking WR core headed into the 2021 season and it is led by Tyler Lockett, who until he leaves Seattle, retires, or Russ leaves will be a threat to finish top 10/15 at the position, and Cooper Kupp, one of Stafford’s new weapons to use and like Lockett is very productive. Behind the top dogs at WR, Chris has a trio of 23 year old WRs all at different stages with Michael Pittman Jr who could easily be the #1 in Indianapolis as soon as this season, N’Keal Henry, who is fighting for his spot in New England, but likely needs a move to really pop in the NFL, and recently signed Frank Darby, who is just looking to get on the field in Atlanta after Julio Jones left this off-season. Arizona also has Demarcus Robinson, who is by far a better best-ball fantasy WR than anything with how many guys that are in front of him in Kansas City so it will be hard for Chris to play him on the right week when he does hit on a long TD (which he will likely do once or twice with this offense). Arizona will easily have one of the top offenses in the league in 2021 and his best position on that side of the ball might just be TE with a trio of Travis Kelce, Robert Tonyan, and rookie Pat Freiermuth. Chris is admittedly looking to move Tonyan and has the ability to do so with both Kelce and Freiermuth in the fold, but if he holds onto Tonyan, this TE group will likely never be matched or out done in LHL. For Chris, defense was a point of emphasis for this off-season and will likely remain one for the season. Over the off-season Chris went out and added players to each position group by trading for Ja’Whaun Bentley at LB, drafting Trevon Moehrig at DB and Joseph Ossai at DL, and signing Robert Spillane and Linval Joseph in UFA. It is clear that Chris felt defense is what cost him in the playoffs and handed him a quick exit there and thanks to these additions the defense has improved and now has depth for the season. The LB core will likely be led by De’Vondre Campbell and Ja’Whaun Bentley, though Campbell’s success will rely on how GB use him and how he settles into his role there. Mercilus and Spillane both will be rotational players, Spillane more so now that the Steelers have brought in Schobert and pushed Spillane to a rotation LB on the roster. Elandor Roberts and Tae Crowder fill out the depth at LB. It seems DB will be the best position of the group thanks to Kareem Jackon, Quandre Diggs, Rodney McLeod, and rookie Trevon Moehrig. That is a very solid 4 man rotation that could see 3 or 4 of them play on a weekly basis with 1 or 2 in the IDP slots. At DL, Jeffrey Simmons and Linval Joseph will lead the way this season with former Bengal, current Seahawk Carlos Dunlap and rookie Bengal Joseph Ossai providing depth for byes and potential injuries. Defense for the Cardinals won’t be a top tier group, but it likely won’t be a liability this year, which should lead the Cardinals to being a better all around team in 2021. Another under the radar move made over the off-season for the Cardinals was stealing K Rodrigo Blackenship from fellow division winners Las Vegas. Not many think Ks are important, but a move like that could help decide any close matchups. With the most difficult schedule in the division this year, it remains to be seen if Arizona can build on a strong opening season or have some regression in 2021. The regression, of course, could be from the hard schedule the Cardinals will draw in the middle of the season as they will face the other 5 division winners.
Predicted Division Finish: 1st
Los Angeles Rams (Reid): 2020 Record: 6-6
One of the few teams, as far as division finish prediction, I got right in 2020 was the Los Angeles Rams. What I did not see coming for the Rams was finishing 6-6 on the season, getting into the playoffs on a tie breaker, going on a 4 week playoff run, and claiming the first LHL Championship. Thanks to the Rams winning the title, the Jerry Rice division was the most decorated in 2020 with the best overall record and the first Super Bowl win. With how things shook out it was a surprising result to see the Rams win the league, mostly due to the fact they were onto their backup QB, Ryan Tannehill, and did not have an offense one would expect to see from a league winning team. The defense was a very big reason for this team winning the league, which I personally love to see. I guess Thomas was satisfied with a perfect record of winning the league his only year in the league, because shortly after the season he let me know he would not be back and for those in the basketball league I run will know this happened in that league as well. The team that won that league in year 1 also had its owner leave after that first year. Am I doing something wrong with these leagues… maybe I should look into that, oh well. So we see Reid come in and now has some big shoes to fill as he will look to keep the Rams perfect and win the league again this season. For now the roster, outside of the K, is the exact same as when the season ended. I can’t totally blame Reid for not moving anyone given how the season ended for the Rams last season, but he does have 3 rookies that need to be signed, so some roster moves will need to be made here soon to make room for those players. On offense we will start with the clear best position on that side of the ball, QB. If it weren’t for a horrible injury last season Dak would have been a top 3-5 QB and likely would have finished the season as the #1 QB, so the position is on lock there for the Rams, but they also have top 10 threat Ryan Tannehill on the roster. Reid could try to flip Tannehill for an upgrade elsewhere on the roster and avoid the $10 penalty for 2 QBs on the roster, but I am guessing the plan is to keep both and see how it plays out and play the matchups for the 2 QBs, at least until Dak shows he is healthy. Of the 3 skill positions, RB is likely gonna be the best this season for Reid as he has Singletary and Damien Harris at the top of that position, but both are gonna share their respective backfields with 1 or more other guys, so the likelihood of either guy being even top 20 is scarce. Behind those 2 are 2 guys that are backups to top 5 RBs in the league. If Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cooks go down this season, Reid is in line to gain the most with Darryton Evans and Alexander Mattison in the fold. If not, those 2 will only be bye week/injury fill-ins. The Rams WR room is 8 players deep, but how effective those 8 are remains to be seen. The top guy there is JuJu, who signed a 1 year deal to stay in Pittsburgh, but is in a loaded WR room there. Gabriel Davis and Kendrick Bourne are fighting for targets on their teams like JuJu, but have not had the success JuJu has, so will not be as reliable. The other 5 guys on the roster are Tyron Johnson, Miles Boykin, John Hightower, and rookies Amon-Ra St. Brown and Dez Fitzpatrick, so if 1 of those 5 end up hitting, it will add a lot to the WR room. Hayden Hurst is at TE and we all know why that isn’t a great thing at this point as he saw his fantasy value destroyed this off-season, so Reid will need reinforcements there. The offense will likely be middle of the pack this season unless Reid can bring in some guys to bolster his options. Defense is where the Rams made their success last season and it starts with the trio up front on DL, Sam Hubbard, Daron Payne, and Dexter Lawrence. All 3 under 25 and all 3 very good options. Not to be out done by DL, the LB group is led by Jaylon Smith, Shaq Thompson, and Kenneth Murray. Providing depth for that stellar top 3 is a pair of Packers Oren Burks and Rashan Gary and Panther Haason Reddick. The DB unit is also a strong one thanks to another top level trio in Derwin James, Jessie Bates, and Jordan Fuller with DeShon Elliot sitting behind them. This entire unit will be in the discussion for the best in the league and it is thanks to the balance in the starting lineup and some solid depth behind them. Derwin James being healthy all year will be the biggest reason this defense claims the top spot for that side of the ball. Despite winning the league last year, the Rams will have a far more favorable schedule in 2021 than the Cardinals above them, so could that be a big factor in who wins the division this season?
Predicted Division Finish: 2nd
San Francisco 49ers (Mike): 2020 Record: 4-8
As we were building into the 2020 season, I had the 49ers marked as the top team in the division. Their roster had a lot to like and as we go through this write up, it still does have a lot to like, so it will be interesting to see what 2021 has in store for this team. A 1-5 start to the season really sealed the fate for the 49ers on the year as they ended the season 3-3 after the brutal start. Had they just gone .500 on the season it might have been them making the run to the LHL Super Bowl instead of the Rams. RFA was a relatively quiet process for SF as they lost a couple role players, but no one of consequence and did not sign anyone during that time either. Mike made a pair of trades during the draft and were the only trades he made over the off-season so going from 2020 to 2021 the 49ers will look largely the same as they did last year. As Mike tries to lead this team out of the basement of the division he will hope the changes he did make this off-season were the right ones. Both RB and WR are very similarly constructed for Mike currently with a stud vet and a young rookie or sophomore that have the makings of being studs in the not too distant future. At RB it is Joe Mixon and JK Dobbins making up that duo with Jerick McKinnon and Lynn Bowden behind them. At WR it is Mike Evans and Jaylen Waddle being the two I mentioned with depth of Sammy Watkins, KJ Hamler, John Ross, and Jalen Hurd. So both positions will be very top heavy and hope the top 2 at each spot stay healthy all season. Luckily for Mike, he won’t have to worry about QB as it is Aaron Rodgers, who will be looking to play at a high level this season. The biggest concern for the 49ers in 2021 is easily TE as the two guys on the roster, Ian Thomas and David NJoku, have looked like they would be relevant TEs at one point in their careers, but do not look that way this season. The offense is likely an impact player or 2 light of being one of the top 10 in the league. Any discussion on the 49ers’ defense has to begin with the stud LB duo currently on the roster. Roquan Smith and Fred Warner are arguably the best LB duo in the league and one that Mike will likely try to keep together for the foreseeable future. Jarrad Davis and rookie Jamien Sherwood as the backups at LB do leave something to be desired though. Thanks to the starters and the depth at the position, DB is easily the best on this side of the ball for the 49ers and might be the best on the roster for Mike. Buddha Baker and John Johnson will put up a lot of points between them. Marcus Maye is no slouch either and could be the best DB on a lot of teams in LHL, but is the 3rd option for Mike. Rookie Richie Grant, Sophomore Jeff Okudah, and vet Jalen Mills fill out the rotation that will give Mike 6 good to great options. Like TE on offense, DL on defense will be a giant hole for San Francisco. Currently the 3 guys on the roster are rotational at best for their NFL teams and would need an injury in front of them to even begin to make them fantasy relevant this season. Melvin Ingram, LJ Collier, and Taven Bryan were already a bad unit last season and might be even worse this season. With the schedule being the most favorable for the 49ers in this division, they have a good shot at not finishing last in the division, but given the holes on both sides of the ball, it would be surprising to see this team push for a playoff spot this season. Unless Mike makes some big swings to improve the roster.
Predicted Division Finish: 4th
Seattle Seahawks (Justin): 2020 Record: 6-6
Headed into 2020, Justin had a very strong roster on paper, Unfortunately for Justin, the best laid plans on paper still need to come together off paper and due to some injuries to his top LB duo and another key LB behind them, Gerry, and underperformance from his TE spot it was not meant to be in 2020. A brutal division also played a factor in the season Justin had as he had to square off with the team with the best record and the eventual 2020 LHL Champion which were Arizona and the LA Rams. Thanks to a tiebreaker with the Rams, Justin missed out on being the 6 seed in the playoffs in the NFC and might have missed out on his chance to make the run that the Rams did in doing so. Possibly not the biggest move Justin made, but quite certainly the most notable due to the name involved, was the move to let Tom Brady go and declare it Tua time in Seattle. It is certainly a move we all knew would happen, but still surprising when it actually happens. During the rookie draft Justin also made a trade to bring in electric WR DJ Moore to add to an already stellar WR core. To do so he parted with a 1st, 3rd, and Krys Barnes and the picks turned into Trey Lance and Odafe Oweh, so we shall see if the price was worth it. During RFA, Justin did not have any players to be bid on so that was a very quiet period for the team. Headed into the 2021 season it would seem with minimal moves that Justin is banking on health and better seasons from some guys to make a run at the playoffs this year. We have already seen what Justin’s plan is at QB so we will look at the other spots on offense and start at WR. Before the off-season started Justin had a top level WR group with studs Stefon Diggs and DK Metcalf, once dominant Antonio Brown (still can have some massive outings), and young high upside guys Mecole Hardman and Jalen Raegor. As mentioned, DJ Moore was added into this group and makes for what might be the best WR group in the league. RB is very top heavy and does not have the depth that WR does for Seattle as Zeke Elliot will lead the way there. It will remain to be seen if Justin Jackson, Jeff Wilson, or Kerryon Johnson can carve out a role in their respective backfields and provide much needed depth behind Zeke. The weak link on offense will certainly be TE as Justin is relying on Dawson Knox and Will Dissly, both have shown flashes, but have not made it consistent enough to be viable first choice options. Due to how the 2020 season and the 2021 off-season played out this Seahawk defense probably won’t be as good as it was in the 2020 season, but still has a lot of potential to be a strong overall unit. Thanks to a trade with the Raiders, Justin now sports Jordyn Brooks and Tremaine Edmunds at the LB spot with Leighton Vander Esch, Kenny Young, and Nathan Gerry providing some depth. Thanks to Johnathan Abram, Malcolm Butler, Justin Reid, and Trevon Diggs, DB will be a solid position all season for Justin. Like offense, it appears defense does have a position that is lacking a clear cut point getter and that is DL for Seattle. The 3 guys in this unit are Maxx Crosby, Trey Hendrickson, and Ed Oliver. Crosby should be good enough, but Trey and Ed will need to play above expectation to give DL needed points to keep pace with other teams. Thanks to finishing 3rd in the division last season, Seattle will have a better schedule than both the Cardinals and Rams, so that might play into their favor this season and their playoff hopes.
Predicted Division Finish: 3rd
