NFL: Each team’s biggest concern heading into 2018
By Peter Panacy
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals — How to Get Through 2018
The Cardinals are going to hinge their hopes on rookie quarterback Josh Rosen after moving up to grab him at No. 10 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
He likely won’t be asked to start right away, though, as oft-injured veteran Sam Bradford will take the lumps on a bad, bad Arizona offense.
Sure, there are some offensive playmakers like the ageless Larry Fitzgerald and coming-back-from-serious-injury David Johnson. But the offensive line is terrible, the defense has question marks at all levels and there’s little else at the skill positions.
It’s going to be a long year out in Arizona.
Los Angeles Rams — Meeting Expectations
The Rams’ flurry of offseason moves immediately turned what was a surprise team under then-first-year head coach Sean McVay in 2017 to a legit Super Bowl contender.
After all, all L.A. did was add talents like Marcus Peters, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, cornerback Aqib Talib and wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
With quarterback Jared Goff still on his low-cost rookie contract, the Rams are in all-out win-now mode.
On paper, they’re more than capable to give any team in the NFL a run for its money. But games aren’t won on paper, and the entire pressure cooker of expectations could wind up being little more than a disappointment.
San Francisco 49ers — Edge Rush
After boasting just 30 sacks (tied for 26th in 2017), the Niners didn’t exactly do much to address the pass-rush department this offseason.
In fact, they let go of their best pass-rusher from last year, EDGE Elvis Dumervil, and are relying on less-known names like Cassius Marsh and Jeremiah Attaochu to hold the line.
To be fair to San Francisco, the offseason edge-rusher market wasn’t particularly strong. 49ers general manager John Lynch instead focused on revamping a questionable offensive line and adding bodies to the secondary.
But getting to opponents’ quarterbacks will likely be a major issue for the red and gold this season.
Seattle Seahawks — Offensive Line
The Seahawks could have used their first-round NFL Draft pick on a solid offensive lineman, thereby upgrading a unit that ranked 25th in pass protection last year, per Football Outsiders.
Instead, they reached and grabbed San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny. Penny is good, but the O-line is bad. He’ll have a tough time getting it going for a while. In fact, Seattle waited until Round 5 to address the line, grabbing Ohio State offensive tackle Jamarco Jones at No. 168 overall.
Sure, the Seahawks suffered a ton of attrition on defense. But that unit figures to be decent in 2018.
Seattle’s biggest need — the O-line, of course — means Penny will have little to run behind. And quarterback Russell Wilson will again be scrambling for his life.
Next: NFL player award predictions for the 2018 season
He’s made it work this way before. But it’s not exactly the wisest of formulas.