NFC West Fantasy Football Rankings: Grades for all four teams
Fantasy football analyst Matt Harmon hands out grades to every NFL team based on their fantasy juice for 2023. Check out the NFC West grades below — go here for his full NFC rundown.
Arizona Cardinals: D+
The Cardinals are a difficult unit to rank with Kyler Murray’s status a bit shrouded in mystery. He has his flaws but is good enough to bump them into the C or B- range if fully healthy. At this stage, I don’t expect him to start Week 1. The Cardinals also employ a few veterans, such as Zach Ertz and James Conner, who are on the deep back-nine of their careers.
Marquise Brown is their lone skill-position player who is established as a high-quality starter in the prime of his career. Brown is an underrated player overall and was on a tear before DeAndre Hopkins returned from a PED suspension last year. This could be Hollywood's best season yet, as he enters camp the top receiver by a wide margin.
That last part is a roster issue, too. Arizona's second-best receiver, Rondale Moore, is a nice role player but is more of a gadget/short area slot-only option. If third-round rookie X-receiver prospect Michael Wilson isn’t ready to start Week 1 — a lot to ask — this is going to be an extremely light (pun intended) room.
Los Angeles Rams: B-
The Rams are a tough unit to rank because the duo of Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp is nearly unmatched in the league. They are top-10 players at the position and were difference-makers in 2021. Both guys have injury questions, and the rest of the skill positions are OK to weak.
I like Van Jefferson as an underrated player, but he’s the lone proven receiver behind Kupp. Tyler Higbee is a fine starting tight end, and I’d put Cam Akers in that same range among running backs. I can hear an argument that I am overrating the Rams based on two players alone.
Seattle Seahawks: B+
The Seahawks offense is incredibly talented. The wide receiver duo of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett was already electric, and then Seattle went and added the top receiver in the draft in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. What a group. Metcalf is squarely in his prime and has developed with each passing year. Lockett has been the most underrated wideout in the NFL for years and has shown zero signs of slowing down. Smith-Njigba’s strengths complement and complete this unit.
The tandem of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet has the potential to be murky for fantasy managers, but it’s a pair of young backs who should fill the gaps in the other’s skill set. Hopefully, they can both surpass their current injuries.
Even Noah Fant at tight end is a quality start. I was tempted to put the Seahawks in the A-tier but wanted to leave some wiggle room for the risk of Geno Smith taking a step back. I don’t think it happens — I buy his performance from last year — but it should be backed in nonetheless.
San Francisco 49ers: A
Easy A grade. Christian McCaffrey is the best player at his position and brings so much to the offense from a rushing, passing and gravitational defensive-attention standpoint. Deebo Samuel is a unique player but an underrated technician against zone coverage — and a YAC monster. George Kittle is an elite tight end. Lastly, I happen to think Brandon Aiyuk can be the best and most valuable player on the offense this year. Players who run routes and separate against man and press coverage like he does as the X-receiver are special.
If I were sure that Brock Purdy is both going to start Week 1 and play at the level he did to end 2022, this team would be in the A+ group. For now, you have to admit that the quarterback position is uncertain, and that leaves something to be desired for this unit, no matter how good Kyle Shanahan is as a play-caller.
